I attended the Sony “Be Alpha” event back in February 2019. It was my second time attending one these events, so I knew what to expect: panel discussions, free food and drinks, some cool shooting stations and the opportunity to try out lots of Sony cameras and lenses.

I learned two important things from the first Sony event I attended:

The loaner gear goes quickly, so get there early or bring your own camera.
The modeling/shooting stations are a zoo. You’ve got 40 people with cameras jockeying for elbow room, trying to get their winning shot of a model who has been posing for the past 3 hours and is in desperate need of a snack and a bathroom break.

With those points in mind, I sauntered over to the Hudson Mercantile building where this latest Be Alpha event was held. I’m generally terrible at being anywhere early, marginally better at being on time. So I had already dismissed the possibility of borrowing gear. Instead, I stepped into the place with my Minolta XE-7 and a roll of Kodak T-Max P3200 locked and loaded.

I fielded a couple dozen or so questions about my choice of gear. Some people were amused, others bemused — all were nice, though.

The shooting stations were exactly what I expected and I wasn’t in the arm wrestling mood, so I just decided to carve out my own space and see what I could come away with. It was as close to an alpha moment as I was going to have that night.