Sandy Puc: You didn't see that.  Didn't happen.

Sandy:  Hi, my name is Sandy Puc.  I'm a photographer out of Littleton, Colorado.  I have been shooting since I was 17 years old...I'm just a little bit older than that.  I'm really excited to share with you a little bit about my world.  Now, welcome to my world of chaos.

When I was born my mom wanted a Sandy and my dad wanted a Sam, a Samantha, and so my mom named me Sandy and my dad started calling me Sam, and it stuck, so I actually was raised Sam.

My biggest fear is that I'm going to start this transfer and it's going to be a 10-hour transfer, and the show's on there, so...[laughs]...I do have it backed up somewhere else, but...

Did you really say two hours?  What time is it now, would I be like...

Man:  It's ten 'til noon.

Sandy: So we don't have two hours?  [pouts]

Alright, so we have new show, new opening show.  So, that's good...it's a lot more...  That's the new opening show, a lot more poppy.

Done, alright.

Have to make it look like a real bathroom.

You know, when I pick up a camera, honestly, as far as tools...there are lots of things, lots of bells and whistles that I have added to my collection over the years, but the truth is, I don't really think about the tools that I use.  I try to think about the moment and about capturing the moment.

One of my favorite shoots of all time was...I was actually shooting with a friend of mine down in the Keys, in Key West, and it was one of these really big weddings.  Now you have to imagine, because this event is in the Keys, and it's actually out in the water...there's a gazebo that holds about 50 people, very private, personal wedding...and so the bride comes in, the groom comes in, everything is perfect, we're shooting like crazy, the videographer is there, everything is going really well, and then the ceremony starts.  And so I realize, this is the moment, this is what we've been waiting for.  And I get my camera ready; I can see the other shooter, he's got his camera ready; the videographer is right there, and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, this is so amazing."  I could feel tears welling up in my eyes because...this mother's presenting this gift to this daughter, and how this gift is going to represent the rest of their life, and as they open this box...It still gets me emotional [laughs]...as they open this box, their love is going to go forth, and it's going to go beyond the world.  And so, of course, I'm sitting there...tears are rolling, and I think this is the most beautiful thing in the world, and the bride and the groom take the box, and they go to open it together, and as they slowly open it, all of a sudden all these beautiful butterflies just go flying out of this box.  And I'm...We're shooting like crazy...It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and not even a tenth of a second later, ten thousand seagulls come from the top of the building and just attack all these butterflies...And there are seagulls, people...it looked like something out of "The Birds"...and so people are like, "Ahh!", screaming, and butterflies are being eaten, and the ones that aren't being eaten are rolling into the ocean, and these giant fishes are coming up and eating these butterflies...The videographer is laughing so hard, literally the video is going like this [shakes arm up and down]...  We are dying, I mean we just...we're shooting the birds, we're shooting the butterflies, we're shooting the fish...It was just like, a disaster...It was like the craziest, most beautiful moment turned into the most insane disaster you could ever imagine. And we have the whole thing captured...ready to go, and we get to enjoy it for years to come.

So, when it comes to photography, my biggest passion is actually sort of split in two.  There's the photographer side of me that really loves the client, that I really love the children I work with, the babies especially, the families, watching the kids grow.  And then there's the instructor side of me that actually really loves teaching photography.  I feel like after 22 years, I've sort of gone the...sort of run the gamut on doing photography, and so it seems like now I've really shifted my mind into not only teaching and giving back, but sort of trying to find new ways to learn photography as well.

[applause]

Sandy: Hi guys.  Welcome to our world.  Alright you ready?

Male Audience Member: I'm ready.

Sandy: Alright, let's do this.  First of all, I've been at this a long time.  I started when I was 17.  This is the only job I've ever had, literally, other than Kentucky Fried Chicken, which is not a major career move...This is it.

I learned the school of hard knocks, like many of you.  I practice, practice, practice.  I worked really hard, I pushed myself, and I got to be old, and a photographer, which was cool...[laughs].

...You want to grow, if you want to be a part of this world, if you want to be effective in what you do, you have to give it back.

You know, it's funny, I've been with lots of different labs over the last few years.  I've sort of transitioned into...you know, I was in a very small lab, then I went with a really big lab, and for me it's all about relationships, so the reason I switched to BayPhoto is...it was a relationship issue.  I need to know who's on the other end of the line, I need to know that they know my company and that they care about what I'm doing, but when you meet somebody, when you communicate with people, and they get you...it made it a little easier for me, so, I started working with Bay, and haven't looked back.  The people are great, the product is great, they're cutting edge, they're out there trying to bring new things to the industry.  They're like I am,

they want to always be doing the next best thing, and so you always want to tie yourself to somebody like that.