Ever since I’ve been working with Lowepro, they’ve lived on the second story of a lovely office building located in Sebastopol, CA, about an hour north of San Francisco. It’s an area I know well. I live about 20 minutes away in Santa Rosa, and have had jobs in Sebastopol for the last 10 years. But December will be our last month in the “Gravenstein Apple” town. As of Jan. 2, 2011, our headquarters will reside down the road south in Petaluma, about 20 minutes closer to the Golden Gate Bridge.

I drive to HQ a couple times a week for meetings and to catch up with my coworkers. Last Thursday will most likely have been my last visit there. Around every corner boxes were stacked high as we prepare to relocate. Anyone who has ever made a big move knows the challenges involved.

Boxes are stacked high as we prepare to relocate our headquarters.

We’re moving because, quite honestly, we’ve outgrown our current location. As we look at the roadmap for what lies ahead, we’re going to need more room and the best talent we can find to continue to innovate, communicate, and fulfill the needs of our customers… you. I’m very excited about 2011. This is a company that always wants to do better. During our final “lowdown” meeting with everyone in attendance, Gil, our CEO, talked about how hard we can be on ourselves, adding “that’s OK, just keep your perspective.” In other words, yes, never be satisfied, but remember that it also takes patience (with yourself and others) as you strive to move forward.

Our new address, as of Jan. 2, 2011, will be: Lowepro, 1435 N. McDowell, Suite 200, Petaluma, CA 94954. It seems appropriate that we start this exciting New Year in a new location. I can’t tell you how much I look forward to working with you in 2011. I think together, we’re going to achieve great things.

Derrick Story is the Photography Evangelist for Lowepro.

Lowepro has teamed up with Nik software to give away a South African Photo Safari Experience of a lifetime.

Led by famed photographer John Paul Caponigro beginning in September 2011, this private photo safari will take you on a wide-ranging exploration of South Africa. The safari will focus on photographing wildlife in the world-famous Sabi Sand Game Reserve and the many landscapes of the Cape Town region.

Sponsored by Artsy Coutre, Blurb, Datacolor, Graphic Authority, Lowepro, Nik Software, and Professional Photographers of America (PPA) and organized by renowned tour operator Eyes on Africa, you’ll experience some of Africa’s finest wildlife photography opportunities, great accommodations, and expert guiding. These two locations have been selected to create a private safari geared specifically toward serious wildlife, landscape and scenic photography.

Enter the sweepstakes, and read more about the partners and the photo safari at www.safarisweepstakes.com

With video becoming more and more mainstream with today’s DSLRs have you found yourself wanting to learn more? I know I have. Lowepro sponsored videographer and photographer Michael Coleman will be featured at B&H’s Event Space on October 26th from 1:00-3:00pm. He will be letting you in on his shooting secrets, telling you how he got to where is is today as well as  how the new S&F series works for videographers.

Make sure to register here as space is very limited!

Michael Coleman started Colemanfilm Media Group shortly after graduating from Northern Californiaʼs arts college, Exʼpression College for Digital Arts, in March 2003. Michael continued his studies after graduation with legendary Producer/Composer Jack Douglas.

We are super excited to be a sponsor of Michael and be sure to stop by our booth at PPE where he will also be giving a few talks!

With PPE coming up extremely fast, we wanted to give you a sneak peak at some of the happenings that will be going on at the Lowepro booth.

If you are going to be in NYC Oct. 28th-30th, this is something you don’t want to miss! In addition to seeing our awesome new products first hand, we are going to be having numerous pro photographers speaking at the booth, giving you first hand experiences with our gear. We have already announced the very talented Michael Coleman will be on hand (he’s also speaking at B&H’s event space) and there are many more announcements to come. We are also going to be doing impromptu interviews in the booth as well as holding exciting contests where you, our fans, get to win great prizes. I recommend you follow us on Facebook( if you don’t already) to assure you hear about all the juicy details. We are also sponsoring NYCFotoWorks Portfolio Review & Workshops that will be going on during this time, so be sure to check them out.

There will be a lot more exciting information coming out as we get closer to the show… see you at the Lowepro booth!

Here at Lowepro we are always looking at how we can expand our partnerships with not only photographers, but like minded companies as well. In the U.S., we have just partnered with Pictage. Pictage is a great solution for serious pro photographers who want to keep their business moving forward (want to focus more on shooting, and less on those pesky business details….).

You will be seeing some exciting news and offerings from this partnership in the near future. If you are one of those serious pro’s, you may want to check them out. On a personal note, well before my time here at Lowepro, my wedding photographer used Pictage’s service and from a customers perspective, we were really pleased with the results! This is just one of the many partnerships that we are working on so stay tuned. How many of you use or have used Pictage’s service? We would love to hear from you.

Here at Lowepro we love our pro photographers. A few moths ago, we struck up a new partnership with an extremely talented pro photographer. His name is Andrew Jorgensen and he has shot his fair share of  rockstars. He’s also a big fan of Lowepro gear.  He likes the size and ruggedness of the Vertex 200 for trekking around to different festivals, and capturing that perfect moment. He sent me this shot turning the Vertex 200 into a glorified rockstar.

Which Lowepro product is a Rockstar for you?

Please share in the comments!

-Frank

Hello Lowepro fans! My name is Frank and I’m the U.S. Marketing Manager here at Lowepro. I’m super excited about this blog (yes, we know this should have been done a long time ago) and look forward to giving you inside access to everything that’s going on here in the U.S..

Some of you may be followers on our Facebook and Twitter pages or new fans altogether. Regardless of how long you’ve been following us, there is a ton happening inside Lowepro. Bookmark this page and visit often, because if it’s breaking Lowepro news, it will be here first.

A little bit about myself, I love photography. I dabbled a bit in photography here or there in the past, but once I joined Lowepro I jumped in head first. I can’t get enough of it and look forward to our monthly employee photography classes (taught by our very own Derrick Story). Derrick converted me to a Canon fan and you can’t tear the T2i out of my hands. My wife and I have a toddler at home so snapping shots of the family is a must. Here is one of my favorite shots….

I’ll be bringing you insight into all our exciting activities happening here in the U.S., our shows, our great dealers, sales events, partners workshops, sponsorships and more.

We are listening. The people at Lowepro that can make things happen are watching this space too, so feel free to speak up!

-Frank