A Photo A Day started awhile back, well before I had gotten engrossed in the world of visual storytelling... some seven years earlier. It was, and still is a way for photographers, young photographers especially, to share their images with other photographers in a somewhat semi private setting and get feedback and encouragement. I was definitely drawn in by this when I made my decision to first join, some years ago. For awhile I lurked. I looked at pictures, looked at other photographers comments, their advice offered, their concerns about how the poster approached the situation. Fast forward some five years forward. I attended my first GeekFest. It was actually a week ago already, but I've been letting all the feels from that weekend soak in. I haven't been to many photo workshops (being from Hawaii, and the fact that tickets from HI to anywhere there's a photo workshop is crazy prohibitive). Most of them follow a standard format. Lectures, breakout sessions, something involving some kind of shooting, short project or feature hunting, and portfolio reviews. Most of the lecturers will talk about their process, what their career route has looked like up until now, and where they think they're headed. GeekFest is something different. GeekFest is a gathering, about what is at the core of the APAD listserv: Community. A community of visual storytellers that are hanai family; Hanai meaning adopted in Hawaiian. Being adopted myself, that really resonates with me. It was a great opportunity for me to see old faces I haddnt seen in awhile, and to meet people face to face whom I had been friends with for years, friends who helped me through tough times and rough spots in my somewhat currently short career, and people I had never ever met before, but would soon become good friends with. This years GeekFest lineup included some pretty awesome people: Kainaz Amaria, Supervising Editor at NPR Visuals, Ed Kashi, VII member and all around badass, Luanne Dietz, Director of All things Good at Hipstamatic's Cause Beautiful, Holly Anders, April Saul, David Mialetti, Sara Lewkowicz and so many, many others.