If day 1 was the introduction, day 2 was business time. There was a lot more activity at the NIH booth and other booths as people weren’t only getting freebies and entering raffles for iPad2, kindle, vacations, etc. but collecting information packets, having conversations, and attending the in-booth presentations. Still, although things like nanotechnology, advances in vaccine R&D, and other cool medical advances were shown, the most populated presentations at NIH’s booth were funding opportunities through their SBIR and STTR programs.
While some presentations based on particular types of research only got a handful of attendees, the business stuff got approximately 30 each time, with excess people standing around. Millions if not billions of potential biotech dollars were floating around that exhibit hall, and knowing the business end of things is just as important as the science end of it. It was a little concerning to see such a disparity between the scientific presentations and the funding presentations, but I guess there is a great need for researchers to better educate themselves on how to obtain and maintain funding.
Day 2 definitely had a more business-like feel to it as visitors got the feel of the place on the first day. Even with the business, the reception at the end of the day was no slouch either. Bars, food, and entertainment again. As soon as my shift was done with NIH for the day, I partook in the amenities.
The final day of 2011 BIO International Convention was more dead than the other two days, but wasn’t without it’s surprises.
Early in the day, music came over the entire exhibit hall’s PA system loudly blasting Britney Spears. Many thought it was a disgruntled employee having his/her last “f u”, but it wasn’t. Since the next convention will be held in Boston, MA, the entire exhibit section dedicated to Boston’s biotech opportunities broke out into a choreographed dance. It was hard to tell that it was Boston’s doing because the music was over the entire PA system. Word of mouth got around as to who was the culprit of creating “Club BIO” for a few minutes.
After Boston’s publicity stunt, which I enjoyed, the convention returned to normal. It was a short day for me and I’ve got over 1200 photos to sort through. In the meantime, here are some tips for photographing a convention like BIO:
- Get clearance. Since conventions like this are paid and take place on private property, permission to photograph is pretty much needed.
- Dress appropriately. This a professional business convention. Everyone is in business attire and you should be too. So, leave the flip fops and grungy shirt at home.
- Arrive early. Getting there early can allow you to photograph the space without visitors constantly walking into your frame.
- Easy on the flash. Beating up exhibitors and visitors with your flash can get extremely annoying. Be courteous.
Photographing conventions has perks, like free giveaways, so don’t forget a little room in that camera bag for that stuff. I made off with some pens, flashdrives, and other little things.