Once again, the visual image and all its ancillary glories were on display this year at NYC’s Javitz’ PhotoPlus Expo, with an interesting mix of exhibitors and no-shows.

Newer and by far more plentiful on the scene were devices and aps to alter photographs, notably some lenses capable of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Lenses to zoom and widen, of course, but to color, re-color, distort, soften and clarify, and programs to fix anything that was already one of the above. Gone are the wide, shallow drawers for storing prints, and on every other aisle we found physically smaller, quicker, more terabyte-spacious hard drives or clouds to tuck your images into for safekeeping and ease of recovery.

Gone, thankfully for this attendee, were the “Why-are-you-here?” booths offering face creams and exercise equipment; this year, as far as I could tell, was 100% for the industry.

Gone, too, were Sony and Leica. Why? Sony typically has a large “booth,” but some attendees thought Sony is doing so well it doesn’t need the show, and some people thought Leica decided their cameras are too expensive a brand to warrant splurging on a spot in a broad-spectrum event. Who knows? We missed them, but there was plenty to do.

Nikon, Olympus, Cannon and others offered models in colorful outfits and/or body paint, or doing something a little different—like rock-climbing—and offering professional running commentary on the best ways to shoot that type of subject, how to alter the lighting, compose for maximum effect and how to avoid common hazards (“See how the model’s bare shoulder has a glare? Well, you can….”, More formal how-to sessions cropped up everywhere, with well-known photographers describing how they got their shots, offering advice and answering questions from their colleagues in the audience. Adobe had it’s own long-running program. Unlike, say, an auto show, while the presenters are paid to sell, the educators weren’t there to peddle the product; it’s more like going to  a driving school run by Ferrari than going to a Ferrari showroom, and well worth the time.

Not that there’s not opportunity to buy. Nikon had a huge—huge—space, table-upon-table of Nikon cameras, Nikon lenses. Other brands did, too, though not with the same acreage. Show discounts abounded, and many booths allowed attendees to use a particular unit for 45 minutes or so to get the feel. That’s ‘way different than standing at a counter and turning 180 degrees, pretending to shoot, and ‘way more helpful.

Plan to go (again) next year, even if you don’t think you need anything photographic. Trust me, spend one day at PhotoPlus Expo, and you’ll find something you must have

—Suzanne Cadgène