Discounts, Discounts, Discounts: The MGM Grand is already taking room reservations for WPPI 2009. In order to receive the discounted MGM rate of $179, call (888) 646-1203 or reserve your room online by logging on to www.mgmgrand.com and clicking on the Check Rates tab at the top left corner. Enter the WPPI discount code WAP003.

WPPI is teaming up with various airlines to provide you with additional discounts on your flights to and from Las Vegas! All you need to do is log on to your preferred airline's website, choose the flight you want to take, enter the airline-specific code listed below in the discount box and you will receive an additional 2%-15% off the advertised rate!* See below for Discount Codes and check back each month for additional discounted airlines.

• Alaska Airlines (www.alaskaair.com) ECCMB0412
• Northwest Airlines (www.nwa.com) NM24H
• American Airlines (www.aa.com) A5729AG

Stay tuned to WPPI online for more information about speaker programs. You don't want to miss a minute of this show!

Check out Cherie Steinberg-Cote's blog for some haute couture-styled wedding images and telling anecdotes from a traveling professional. In a recent post, Cherie explains how to apply edge treatments to dramatize your photographs. Go to www.cheriefotoblog.com/.

Hanson Fong has just joined the already talent-filled speaker lineup and Jed Taufer will be joining the Photoshop and beer evening classes! Free lecture series registration with purchase of hands-on full access registration. Space is limited to 200. Sign up today!

The Light Pro Expo 2008 will be held on September 21-25 in Captiva Island, FL. Instructors and speakers include: Tony Hewitt, Jamie Hayes and Mary Fisk-Taylor, Tim Kelly, Carl Caylor, Kirk Voclain, Pam and Gary Box, Jen Hellinga, Vicki Taufer, Craig Kienast, and many more! For more information, visit www.lightproexpo.com or call 800-351-2158.

The results are in from the first half of the WPPI 8x10 print competition! We received over 900 entries and some stunning images. To view the winning prints in each category, go to the competition wrap-up in the newsletter or go directly to the Competitions section of wppionline.com.

First Person Arts, a non-profit organization dedicated to memoir and documentary in all its art forms, has launched its annual, national competition for memoir and documentary photographers, videographers and writers--First Person Impressions. All entries must be new works that have not previously been published, exhibited or screened in the United States. The judge for the "photography" category is Katherine Ware, the Curator of Photography for the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Top winners will be invited to present their work at the annual First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art in November. Top winners will also receive cash prizes up $500, as well as the chance to be published in the Philadelphia City Paper and other publications. There is a $10 entry fee and the deadline is August 15th. For more details about guidelines and how to submit entries, go to www.impressions.firstpersonarts.org.

Studios, seniors and marketing fill the pages of the August issue of Rangefinder. This month's issue is packed with great marketing tips from successful studios, including ways to boost business in a sluggish economy, and showcases the best of the best senior photography. See www.rangefindermag.com for more.

[Note from WPPI: If you have something you would like highlighted in the WPPI monthly newsletter, such as a blog or special studio event, let us know. Send an email to request@wppionline.com]