Do you ever catch yourself looking at a photo covered in tragedy and think it’s beautiful. I felt guilty when I saw an exhibit on Hurricane Katrina at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City last weekend. Robert Polidori’s large chromogenic print series called, “After the Flood,” was the most artistic work I’ve seen to come out of the disaster. Usually, I’m not fond of post-disaster photos posing as art. Many times you can still see traces of death. But the exhibit of 20 near-life-size color photos taken between September 2005 and April 2006 was different for me. It was cathartic and full of symbolism.

Drawing upon his background as one of the world’s premier architectural photographers, the photos were all taken with a large-format camera and close attention was given to composition. Going address to address (each print is named after the home’s or debris’ address), Polidori used ambient light and long exposures to encapsulate the mood of heaviness in the air, paralleling the heaviness of heart felt by those affected by the disaster.

While the photographer has an accompanying 331-page book of the same name, the platform of display on the grand museum walls really highlighted the beauty found in the details of tragedy. “After the Flood” is exhibited at the Howard Gilman Gallery now through Dec. 10. The small gallery was filled to capacity the entire two hours I spent there. Onlookers seemed shocked at the bounds of destruction and sometimes stared at any one photo for minutes.

The exhibit is a journey through the leftovers of human existence in homes that have become like other planets - inhabitable ones at that. I felt a little odd looking at people’s most personal effects, without their knowledge, like a noisy neighbor. But you begin to realize that despite the obvious absence of people in every photo, the belongings help you put a face or personality with each home. The personals give the photos their true meaning and depth. When you realize this, it is moving.

A definite comment on the “fragility of life,” the exhibit is also a celebration of the resilience and immortality of human beings - of their souls and personalities through the survival of their artifacts. Belongings such as clothing, toys, religious mementos, framed photos, cereal boxes and board games were magnified on the huge prints. The enlargement of the possessions and their randomness throughout showed how each homeowner may have suffered financially, emotionally or even physically. The tumble of furniture, rotting wallboards, mud-caked upholstery, phones left off the hook and stopped clocks, seemed to tell the story of a bigger picture though - the story of the power of nature over man.

Despite the gray coating of debris on just about everything, the prints had leaps of vivacious color provided by a very strange source. The rich colors came from the existence of mold, as it climbed up the walls of bedrooms, kitchens and living rooms, in such vivid greens, pinks, yellows- it was as though artist Jackson Pollock had a hand in it. The toxic allure of the bright pathogen may symbolize the lure of New Orleans itself - and why many chose not to leave.

See the show if you can. To view photos from the exhibit, visit, http://www.metmuseum.org/special/new_orleans/images.asp

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Rising for Day 2 of the Expo was like having to eat a slice of warm homemade apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream - even with the lack of sleep. Out of my hotel window, a morning view of Times Square , with the pink hues of sunrise muting out the bright lights, was all the inspiration I needed. No cars were present, only a few people scurried to work on foot. I couldn’t wait to return to the photo utopia of PhotoPlus.

I was fresh off the previous night’s Kodak event at the Hayes Theater where pros talked about their latest projects to a crowd of about 100 feasting on Asian-inspired hors d’oeuvres. (listen to a podcast of the event soon). I stood armed with my podcasting equipment among white table linens covered with square white candles and rolls of film as centerpieces and listened to Steve McCurry, Chris Usher and John Sexton champion the use of film. And I was certain that film was not dead.

But today, I would find out that other greats were perfectly happy to completely transfer to digital and testify that the quality of their work has improved as a result. I admit I was shocked to hear famed-celebrity shooter Greg Gorman talk up digital at the Canon booth. At first, Gorman said, “I don’t think that digital makes you a good photographer,” adding that he looks for “cohesiveness” in student’s work. However, after he went through dozens of black and whites of the most famous people in the world, taken in a pre-digital age mostly with a Hasselblad, he pulled out the trick. A set of digital photos taken with the Canon M2 and 1DS. The crowd of spectators which overflowed onto the expo floor, listened carefully to his musings. I think many of us began to feel like we were parishioners ready to convert to a new digital religion. Still, Gorman himself wasn’t a convert until a few year’s ago. It was difficult to imagine that during the onset of digital in 1999, he thought the technology was “a good excuse for poor photography.”

According to Gorman, his sharp, poignant digital portraits with little or no background were able to look like that with little ambient light because of the quality of digital gear today. Reflecting on the first time he used the new Canon on a cloudy New York day, Gorman said, “I could not believe how digital saw light at such a low luminance…Film could never do that. Now I get the spontaneity of digital capture, with the quality of a 35 mm.”

Assignment Photographer Ami Vitale paralleled Gorman’s comments as she spoke about her projects around the world in the Nikon booth. She uses the Nikon D200 and D1X for her shots in war-torn countries and remote areas of the world. Vitale talked about the importance of keeping her shots organized when overseas and uses the online archiving software of Photoshelter, which exhibited at the Expo. She explained the benefits of using digital when you’re in the middle of India with one bag of gear. She only brings with her two bodies, two lenses and no tripod. At her talk, there was a question by a United Press International guy who had been in the previous day’s talk about HP’s alliance with the humanitarian organization CARE. Again, he asked the same question. Do villagers and tribal people sign releases or do they get a cut of her profits? Vitale answered, “No, I consider myself a journalist, not a commercial photographer.” The question is an interesting one though.

By the time I left the show floor to return to Washington , I began to feel that digital for professionals is here to stay. It is being used in place of traditional cameras and film by some of the best shooters in the world. But film is not dead either. The theme: we are lucky enough to be alive in a time when the medium and technology is evolving to something new. But just because we rent DVDs, doesn’t mean we stop listening to the radio.

As I walked off the floor for the last time and saw a picture-perfect view of the city’s skyline turning pink as the sun set, I thought about my first session of the day and how it changed my idea about what pictures could do. The session was “Watching the World Change: The Story of 9/11.” Photographers David Friend, John Labriola, Kelly Price and Jonathan Torgovik showed photos from that harrowing day on a theater-sized screen to a sobbing audience. As tears dripped onto my notepad, I realized I hadn’t gotten over the day, and neither had others. The photos taken by these photographers captured the last moments of many people. The speakers explained how photos offered catharsis for many of the victims’ family members.

Photographers are a special breed, they wear their hearts on their sleeves, and they enter each day like a sponge - absorbing all, whether good or bad - for the common cause of exposing life. I imagined the courage it took to hold the camera while descending the World Trade Center stairs on the morning of September 11, to photograph colleagues, firemen and employees, yet knowing that for some it would be their last picture. When you consider this, it’s not important which is better . . . film or digital. The important thing should always be the subject. (See Web site for the full story soon).

It’s been a whirlwind of a time since I hit the New York City pavement on Thursday at 9:48 a.m. , fresh off the 6:35 a.m. train out of Union Station in Washington , DC. The Jacob Javits Convention Center is crammed with the likes of all those who have an affiliation with photography, and I must say, it’s a wonderful thing.

It’s too bad this contained, imaging utopia isn’t real life though. For the place is a celebration of beauty, real life and the technology, retailers and educational institutions that get it to that level. Although it is still too early to predict the actual number of participants, I got word that management is indeed pleased with the turnout, with numbers exceeding last year.

I can attest that it is difficult to stroll on the exhibition floor as all lanes are crowded arm- to-arm with photographers, press, sales people and pr reps. Like tourists in a new city, many stroll the show with their eyes looking up, not paying attention to the road in front of them. There’s less a sense of buzz, but more a sense of intrigue with the products this year. People are eager to collect all the information that is humanly possible to stuff in the vendor-provided shopping bags.

The staff of Studio Photography and PTN magazines is here, including Editors Alice Miller and Diane Berkenfeld, who are, in their own right, queens of efficiency in the media-marinated marsh made up of hundreds of vendors.

Like peddlers pushing their wares, there’s something particularly old-fashioned about a show like this where people from all over actually get to talk to each other, without some kind of cyberspace connecting them. Participants actually get to chat and have good-ole traditional sit-downs. Ironically, all this conventional goodness takes place in the interstitial spaces within millions of dollars of cameras and technical equipment. The paradox seems to be akin to a world at peace.

A few of us had a tête-à-tête with Kostas Mallios, senior director for Microsoft’s office of the CTO and Rich Media Strategies. He explained their thrilling plans to roll out their Vista operating system by late January and IView by February. He called Vista “super stable” and added, “It took between 3 and 4,000 people working on this for five years to get it out and with good reason.” It will “blow out of the water” the concept that Microsoft is not “graphically sexy,” he said. Mallios named a number of well-known shooters, such as Steve McCurry, who have made the switch from Mac to PC with this technology.

Sinar Bron Imaging has modified its popular Sinarback 54 M to the Sinarback 54 MC model, according to the company’s Program Coordinator Jessica Conrad. Its new version, just put on the market, is actively cooled with Peltier and a fan, which prevents it from, “overheating,” she said. The fan also allows for a significant reduction in noise. Also, the Sinar Hy6, a joint venture with Franke & Heidecake and Jenoptic is set to be released in the U.S. by the early second quarter of 2007. The rolling body, medium-format camera covers the 6 x 4.5 and 6 x 6 formats.

Sony’s booth was a theater of organized chaos, with many camera samples to touch and feel. Impressive was the new Alpha series - a100 digital SLR camera. One of the highlights is a proximity focus, a lens that will focus no matter where it is placed.

A real hit was the LiveBooks booth. The company which creates editable portfolio Web sites for professional photographers had pros walk-through their sites with participants on big screens. They also offered portfolio reviews by reservation. “I can do everything with this,” photographer Colin Finlay said.

A large and colorful Adobe theater greets participants as they enter the show room floor. One course on tap Thursday was “Special Effects for Creative Professionals using Adobe Photoshop” presented by Photographer Seth Resnick. Adding to the event’s electricity, “I just arrived five minutes ago from the airport,” he said.

The sold out course sessions of the day: Light without Light and The Art of the Portrait.

Finally, the most moving part of my day: An announcement by the Hewlett-Packard (HP) Company that they have made an alliance with the humanitarian organization CARE. The group works to fight global poverty and has been working with HP in recent months to produce the “I am Powerful” exhibit. It’s a call-to-action campaign to help empower women in poverty around the world. See the full story in a future story on the new event.

Other highlights: Canon’s face-detection technology cameras that employ an algorithm to identify a face no matter what else is in the background, smaller cameras jamming in more mega pixels and GPS cameras that save the time and GPS locations of shots.