This shot is so meta it hurts

Last Thursday, I spent the evening surrounded by people 10 to 100 times smarter then me. The event was the NYC Big Apps Awards and the players were all phone application developers vying for the prestigious prize of being known as the best app maker in New York (there was some cash involved too).

Here’s the low down: Mayor Bloomberg basically made a call to geeks around the world to create applications for mobile phones that would better NYC life. The apps presented at the awards ceremony did not let me down. Taxihack allows users to report crappy taxi drivers, another allows parents to view the different schools in NYC based on their offerings, while my favorite App, Wayfinder offers dead easy directions to the local subway or PATH train with GPS. All the apps were pretty awesome, but I was left pondering why we really need an app that tells us where every tree in New York is? I guess some people do because it got an honorable mention.

The Mayor appeared for a minutes to thank everyone for their submissions and posed for a number of photos with the winners. The event was coordinated by the fantastic Erin Halley, who put a Big Apple spin on everything from the decor to the drinks.

Apps We Love
So I figured this would be a good post to list our current favorite non-NYC related applications. I’ve only had an iPhone for a few months, but I’ve come to rely on those little plug-ins more than the actual phone. Allison has had the phone attached to her since she got it in June as had no problem mocking me for being sans iPhone for so long. So in no particular order, here’s our favorites:

George’s Favorite Apps:

1. The Kindle App – I can basically pick up wherever I leave off on my Kindle right on the iPhone. While the backlighting doesn’t lend itself to long reading stretches, it’s a wonderful way to keep occupied in cramped quarters (like the NYC subway) or when I forget my Kindle or headphones.

2. Dunkin Donutz Locator – I run on Dunkin. What else do you need to know?

3. Amazon.com – The whole store in a very easy to navigate app. I love the Amazon remembers feature where you can photograph anything and someone in some far off land finds it and puts it in your wish list. Talk about useful outsourcing.

4. Mint – All my money, updated all the time, in one easy to view program. Unless I have to actually move the cash, this is the one stop shop for all my financial inquiries. A perfect replacement for Microsoft Money.

5. TweetDeck – I think I really just love apps that do multiple things from one source. This one allows me to Tweet, update Facebook status, and do whatever LinkedIn is supposed to do, all from one little app. Sure, it doesn’t chirp like Twitterific, but it is so simple to use.

Allison’s Favorite Apps:

1. Facebook: I don’t even need to use a computer anymore.

2. Where’s Waldo – I grew up loving the books and I think the translation to app form is perfect. It’s just like the book version, but tougher and cooler.

3. TMZ – I need to keep up to date with my celeb news.

4. Freecell – I’m obsessed with card games. This one is the best. Hands down.

5. I Can Has Cheezburger – There’s a multitude of reasons why I love this. Funny captions + Kittens = the cure to all that’s evil.

So, what are some of your favorite apps? We don’t care if they are free or cost a buck or two, we just want more cool things to play with. Post your favs in the comment section or on the Facebook page.

I got a call a few months back from Erin Halley, a great client who puts on amazing parties, celebrations, and fundraisers. It’s hard to turn her down because her galas are remarkable, and she rocks events with the same tenacity that I shoot photos. She said she had a fundraiser for me with some pretty big speakers. Would I be up for the job? I said “sure,” and two weeks later I’m being asked by Secret Service for my legal name, date of birth, and social security number.

Originally, the coverage called for me to simply shoot room photos and podium shots of the speakers. The night before I get the call to bring in big strobes for a step-and-repeat and grin-and-greet with the President. For those not in the know, a step-and-repeat is a term for those red carpet pens where VIPs stand and have their photos taken by the paparazzi for a few minutes. A grin-and-greet is a not so fancy term for “line up the important guests and photograph them shaking a celebrity’s hand.” Cake, right? Typically, yes, but not so much when a fleet of secret service guys are giving you hard looks and you are about to photograph a President of the USA.

After switching the location of the grin-and-greet twice, I finally settled on a spot to set up my Alien Bees, umbrellas, and wireless do-dads. The big trouble was that I wasn’t allowed to bring an assistant and I was specifically told by Clinton’s people that I was to be the only photographer anywhere near the President. Then I got the news that the President was running late.

So there I stood, staring at a wall and counting all the ways my gear was going to fail. I had a vivid day dream of one of my Alien Bees catching on fire and landing on my cameras, setting everything up in a blaze of glory. I was even humming the Bon Jovi tune of the same name from the movie of the same name. Seriously, my nerves were shot.

Fifteen minutes later, President Clinton just walks through the door, comes right up to us, says hi and just starts talking and posing with the guests that were lined up for photographs. I picked up my camera (preset to f/11 for zero chance of soft photos) and started chimping away.

“One photo per guest,” a beefy guy with a fancy pin told me. “But what if someone blinks?,” I replied in fear. “I don’t care,” he stared and I shuddered.

Twelve shots later and I was done with the tough part of the evening. The rest of the night I did my thing and documented the guests, the awards, and Clinton’s amazing speech about the difficult decision one faces when choosing to go to war.

My nervousness soon turned to excitement and joy at the realization that I just photographed one of the most important men in the world. After the meet-and-greet, I watched as Clinton walked over and shook the hand of all the important people around me (as well as the hotel staff). He passed by me. Stopped. Turned around and shook my hand while thanking me for photographing him. I just stood there, in complete awe, praying to God that he didn’t trip over the Alien Bee with the faulty cable.