Top local experts confirmed for speaker sessions and training workshops at 2013 Canon SA Expo

Canon South Africa’s much-anticipated Canon SA Expo – at the Sandton Convention Centre from 29 November to 1 December this year – will feature inspiring talks by 18 local photography experts. Two speaker sessions will run simultaneously over the three days.

Among the speakers at the 2013 Canon Expo are Paul Hofman; Andrew Aveley; Justin de Reuck; Tim Moolman; Craig Dutton; Manus van Dyk; Dave Devo Oosthuizen; Clinton Lubbe; Heinrich vd Berg; Gerrie van Vuuren; Chris Fallows; Heather Mason; Mark Straw; Jana Santilhano; Lee Slabber; Marlene Neumann; Liam Lynch; Jo Lloyd; Graham Smith; Paul Atkinson; Andrew Beck; Roger Machin (Canon), Abri Kriegler (Canon).

They will present on a variety of photography-related topics, including aviation, wedding; music; wildlife; sharks & ocean; portrait; action; birding; photo walking; blogging and pet photography. The speaker sessions will start at 11:00 daily with the last one commencing at 16:00. Entrance to the Canon SA Expo, and attending the speaker sessions, is free.

Visitors will also have the chance to hone their photo-taking skills at training sessions hosted by professional photographers. There will be a total of 13 different workshop sessions throughout the Expo event, which will be presented daily from 11:00 to 17:00 and can accommodate up to 30 people at a time.. Topics will include digital compact cameras (DSC) and professional SLR as well as video sessions. Visitors will also be encouraged to ask any related questions they might have with regards to utilising their Canon photographic equipment and attendees interested in these sessions are advised to bring along their own equipment.

“South Africa has no shortage of specialist and acclaimed photographers and we are honoured to have some of the very best speaking at this year’s Canon Expo. In the past, we have hosted some of the world’s most renowned photographers at the expo but this year we haveconsciously-decided to keep it local with respected South African photographers specialising in various fields,” says the company’s Marketing Manager, Michelle Janse van Vuuren.

Guests can look forward to a few other changes at this year’s show. For the first time, Canon is introducing interactive product stations, which physically showcase the full input through to output functionality ofselected Canon products. This will give expo visitors a chance to experience the ease-of-use and vast functionality of the products, from the initiation to completion of a job.

Another first is the social media station featuring LCD Screens displaying live Twitter and Facebook feeds on the event. The area will be manned by Canon representatives who can answer questions and offer advice to interested visitors keen to stay connected with Canon. A daily photo competition will be run on this stand where visitors can take fun photos of each other, which will be placed on the Canon photo wall on the stand. One of these photos will be selected daily as the winning photo which will appear on the Canon Facebook page. Those interested can follow Canon at @Canon_SA and #canonexpo.

Copies of the photos taken at the Canon photo booth on the social media stand will also be printed and placed in frames for guests to take home.

“This year’s expo will be alive with activity at every turn. From the interactive product stations, speaker sessions, and training, to the photo booth and social media display, there will be no shortage of things to do and see at the Canon SA Expo 2013, ” concludes Janse van Vuuren.

For those interested in finding out more about the company’s office and production printing products, will be excited to know that Canon will also be showcasing their imagePRESS (Colour digital press), Arizona (Large Format flatbed) andimageRUNNER range of products for the very first time.

Visitors to the event will have unequalled opportunity to interact with Canon experts and wide range of cameras and business solutions, including being amongst the first to see and touch some of the company’s latest technologies. Aside from perusing and experiencing Canon equipment, visitors will also be able to purchase products at discounted prices. This list will be available on the Canon SA website closer to the event.