Austin Wedding and Portrait Photographer : Dustin Meyer Photography » community

First Collages.net Austin CLASS Meeting :)

Dustin Meyer — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:49:43 +0000

Many portrait and wedding photographers across the country are familiar with Collages.net. We use their online galleries, print fulfillment, album design and binding every day. Recently, when I was teaching at WPPI back in March, Sophia and I had dinner with the Collages.net team along with several other studios from across the country. The purpose of the dinner wasn’t just the fantastic food (thanks Kevin!), but to talk about something that Robert and Kathleen Trenske had started back in Connecticut called “Collages.net CLASS” meetings. Basically, these Collages.net Learning And Sharing Sessions were very popular due to the roundtable format of sharing information between studios on how to create and sustain a thriving photography business. From Robert and Kathleen’s idea, the movement has spread. With the Trenske’s laying the groundwork, two more CLASS meetings have sprouted. One in southern California, hosted by Nick of Nick Corona Photography; the other hosted by me!

Needless to say, last night’s first Collages.net Austin CLASS meeting had some very information-hungry photographers! It amazes and saddens me how many new and seasoned photographers feel like they’re completely alone out there. Which is why I decided to have us do headshots of each other to help break the ice!

Afterwards, we had food and drink, then sat down to talk about the real meaning behind our CLASS meetings. I stressed that we are here to help each other build up our businesses. Even though we are competition, we learn from each other and improve our skills which enhances the experience for our clients. So many times, I’ve heard and repeated that there are no secrets in business. And it’s so true! With that out there, everyone was extremely excited to be apart of something that will grow and make a huge positive impact in the photography community. Everything from experienced photographers to beginning shutterbugs, all of us getting together to help each other grow. What a thought ;)

Anyway, our meetings are held on the second Wednesday of every month. We have a Facebook Group that you can join if you’re interested. We’d love to have you!

Eat Local Week: Meet Your Local Brewers Happy Hour

Dustin Meyer — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:18:07 +0000

What better way to end my time capturing the Eat Local Week by Edible Austin than by enjoying beers from local breweries? The popular Austin Whip In mini-grocery is a fine purveyor of beer, wines, and spirits as well as delicious organic and local foods. So, we had a regular parking lot party with some of the best beer and bratwurst in the area! All proceeds go to Urban Roots, a YouthLaunch program that teaches youth about the benefits of community service and organic farming.

Edible Austin Week: Fine Food Art Night

Dustin Meyer — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:14:30 +0000

Edible Austin continues with Eat Local Week at the Wally Workman Gallery with the Fine Food Art Night. Tonight’s event was a delicious combination of foods and fine art on display. Some of the foods were actually displayed as art, hence the rice krispy pig and dog display, :) Participating vendors included Tipsy Texans, Paula’s Texas Spirits, with food and wine by Les Dames d’Escoffier. All proceeds and 10% of all art sales go to benefit Urban Roots, a YouthLaunch program that teaches kids about the benefits of community service and organic farming.

Edible Austin: Whole Foods Local Growers First Frost

Dustin Meyer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:30:32 +0000

What’s more seasonal than ice skating while shopping for locally grown foods? GO TEXAN featured live entertainment and refreshments on the Plaza with local food, wine and beverage vendors offering tastings of their wares inside Whole Foods during the event. Participating vendors included Sweet Leaf Teas, Nazareth Olive Oil, and Go Texan. All proceeds go to Urban Roots, a YouthLaunch program that teaches youth about the benefits of community service and organic farming.

Eat Local Week: Gulf Coast Sampler

Dustin Meyer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:57:11 +0000

Austin Museum of Art and Edible Austin hosted a Gulf Coast Sampler tonight featuring fish, crawfish, and desserts from local providers. Aside from the delicious eats, a discussion panel was hosted by Southern food historian Elizabeth Engelhardt, Arthouse Director Sue Graze, chef Jesse Griffiths, and fisherman Roberto San Miguel to discuss culinary traditions, sustainability, David Bates’s art, and fish tales. Supporting vendors were Becker Vineyards, Dry Soda, Saint Arnold Beer, and Food Smarty. All proceeds go to benefit Urban Roots, a YouthLaunch program that educates teens about community service and organic farming.

Eat Local Week: Alamo Benefeast

Dustin Meyer — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:58:33 +0000

The Alamo BeneFeast featured the movie “Julie & Julia”,and Alamo chefs John Bullington and Trish Eichelberger prepared an exquisite dinner inspired by food featured in the film. All proceeds from the BeneFeast go to Urban Roots, a YouthLaunch program that educates youth about community service and organic farming.

Eat Local Week: Drink Local Night

Dustin Meyer — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:46:03 +0000

Now, I’m sure most of you enjoyed or would have enjoyed attending the Drink Local Night, part of the Eat Local Week put on by Edible Austin. Tonight’s event was hosted by the Tipsy Texans at the Palm Door and catered by Pink Avocado. All of the spirits of Texas were gathered under one roof as patrons sampled local liquors from all of the participating vendors. There was even a cocktail contest with participants required to make unique indulgements for all the guests to sample. The vendors included Railean Handmade Texas Rum, Tenneyson Absinthe Royale, Dripping Springs Vodka, Paula’s Texas Spirits, Balcones Distillery, Dry Soda, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Treaty Oak Platinum Rum, and as always, proceeds from Eat Local Week benefit Urban Roots, a program of YouthLaunch, which teaches youth the benefits of community service and organic farming.

Time for some delicious food…!

What is a party without some beverages?

And the cocktail contest begins. These are our highly trained, and extremely lucky judges :)

Jenna of Edible Austin sneaking a taste of Nate’s “Mom and Apple Pie” Martini

Jeff Boley creating his signature “El Scorpion” cocktail.

Benjamin Craven creating “The Sportswriter”.

Lara Nikon and her creation “We’re in it for the Corn”.

Bill Norris and his amazing “Texas Campfire Flip”.

Garrett Mikell making “The Hemingway Finn”.

and the winner is Lara Nikon for her “We’re in it for the Corn”!

Our friends at Urban Roots!

Edible Austin Eat Local Week: Drink Local Coffee Festival

Dustin Meyer — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:51:47 +0000

All week long, the local food guide Edible Austin will be hosting a week long Eat Local Week. This event encourages and educates people about the benefits of enjoying local grocers, producers, organic foods, breweries, and wineries. Every day hosts a new event with many different foods and drinks to enjoy. Today’s Local Coffee Festival was hosted at Owl Tree Roasting and showcased several wonderful local coffee providers such as Little City Roasting Company, Third Coast Coffee Roasting Company, Caffe’ Medici, Elixer Coffee Solutions, Fara Cafe, Kohana Coffee, Brown Coffee Company, and Texas Coffee Traders. All proceeds go to raise money for Urban Roots, a local Austin youth program that teaches high school kids the benefits of community service and organic local farming.

Eat Local Week: Urban Farms Bicycle Tour

Dustin Meyer — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 16:32:01 +0000

Many of you already know there’s a huge week long festival in town hosted by Edible Austin known as Eat Local Week. This week of events encourages and educates Austinites on the health, social, economic, and environmental benefits of eating locally grown organic foods and beverages. To kick off Eat Local Week, cyclists were able to tour local urban gardens to see just where their foods are coming from. All event proceeds from Eat Local Week go to benefit Urban Roots, a YouthLaunch program that enducates youth on the benefits of community service and organic farming.

YouthLaunch: No Kidding

Dustin Meyer — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:57:48 +0000

Every now and then, I get the opportunity to work with one of my favorite community organizations, YouthLaunch. This organization has several programs that educate teens about the benefits of community service, avoiding gangs, drugs, and alcohol, as well as prevention of teen pregnancy. “No Kidding” is a program geared towards young girls about educating them on the realities of being a teen mother. As a photographer, I believe we have a duty to help generate awareness about programs such as YouthLaunch to others in our community. It only takes a little bit of time, but it can help impact an entire community.