Welcome to DC

What if you reached out to some of the biggest names in photography and asked them if they would come to D.C. to speak at a photography festival that, at the time, didn’t actually exist? And what if, remarkably, they said yes? Well, for one, you’d be thrilled. At least for a few minutes. And then you might get a little dizzy, thinking about all the Joe Newman, CEO work that needed to be done to actually pull it all off. And, indeed, the past year has been a thrilling and, at times, dizzying experience. I’m not going to lie, we didn’t really know what we were getting into – and on more than one occasion, we made up things as we went along. But all of the planning, organizing and hard work has gotten us to this – the first of what we hope will be a long and successful run of photography festivals, celebrating the art of visual storytelling. We’re extremely proud of the program that we’ve created for you — not only for its star power but for the diversity of voices that you’ll see on stage this weekend. We hope you leave this weekend inspired, entertained and fired up to create your own stories.