David Ziser’s Digital WakeUp Call 2009 Tour will get underway on March 30. I consider this 4-hour event to be a must-attend. You’ll learn a ton about photography and the business of photography.

I had the great fortune to sit in on a mini-version of the Digital WakeUp Call at WPPI in Vegas last month (proof here). For those that don’t know David, he’s a popular instructor at Photoshop World, a prolific blogger (DigitalProTalk), and a fantastic wedding photographer who has taught tens of thousands around the world.

Weddings? Wait! Don’t change the channel! Even if you’re not a wedding shooter (and never want to be), you should read on. As I’ve written elsewhere, cross-pollination is so important for photographers. I’ve come to understand that the pressure under which wedding photographers must shoot creates valuable lessons for the rest of us. As I see it, if you can create beautiful lighting when your #1 subject is wearing white from head to toe, your #2 subject is dressed in full black and there’s a lady on the sideline insisting that “#1 and #2 are 15-minutes late to the party already”, then you’ve got something to share. [Still not convinced? I'll tell you below how you can save $20 on admission and maybe even get in for free.]

Amazingly, David will bring DWC to 58 cities across the country. I bet he’s heading to a town near you. Here’s the schedule and registration page. I’ll be at the San Jose event on May 13th. If you see a guy with crazy red hair, come up and introduce yourself.

David made a special offer for PixSylarians. Enter code ZSADWC09 to get in for $59 – a savings of $20. That’s an incredible deal considering that you’ll go home with materials worth $250 more than you paid to get in:

• Tour Handbook including: program notes, photography, marketing and more
• 2 Hour DVD with extended program content
• $100 Rebate from American Color Imaging
• 1 year membership to WPPI and Rangefinder magazine, a $99 value
• FREE 3 month membership to DigitalProTalkPlus.com, a $45 value
• FREE 3 month subscription to PPA Magazine, a $15 value
• FREE PPA Indemnification (no-fault) insurance for all new PPA members, a $50 value
• Over $2,500 in door prizes awarded each evening
• And a chance to win 1 of 4 Grand Prizes worth over $5,000

Bonus For Canon Shooters: David is a Canon shooter too. His demos are based on Canon gear.

Want to get in for free?

Enter PixSylated’s “Exciting Light” contest on Flickr.

Deadline: Friday, March 27, 2009 5:00pm PDT.

How To Enter

1. You’ll need a Flickr account. It’s easy and free to join.

2. Join the PixSylated Flickr Group.

3. Upload 1, 2, or 3 of your photos that represent “Exciting Light” to your Flickr account.

4. Tag the photo(s) with “dwc09″ (how to tag here). Please, no more than three entries per person.

5. Add your photo(s) to the PixSylated Flickr Group (help here).

6. Promise to tell 4,327 people about PixSylated.

Judging / Fortune & Fame

Friday evening, March 27th, I’ll unilaterally decide on my favorite. Extra credit points will be awarded for photos illuminated with flash photography. “Exciting light” is the key.

I’ll notify the winner by email on Saturday morning, March 28. Be sure to check the e-mail account you use for Flickr. I’ll also post the announcement on the PixSylated forum at Flickr. The winner will get the secret handshake that opens the door to his or her choice of any Digital WakeUp Call 2009 session across the country! I’ll also post the winning photo on PixSylated and the reasons that I selected it. Now that’s a bit of fortune and fame!