While the quilt judging is taking place, so is the photographing of the all the entries. These photographs are what are used in the official Road DVD, on the web site, and for blog posts.
Set up for the photographing takes place the Sunday before Road. It includes hooking up computers, a backdrop, rods to hang the quilts, and all the camera equipment. And just like the judging, photographing all quilt entries takes two days.
Photographing of the quilts is overseen by members of the Reese family. Carolyn’s son David and his wife Susan have been involved with this aspect of the show for the past 14 years. This year, they were assisted by David’s daughter, Erika, who was operating the camera.
Again, as with the judging, quilts are photographed by category. White-gloved volunteers hang two quilts at a time from a particular category on rods against a dark backdrop.
After Erika took the pictures, they were sent to the computers where David and Susan reviewed every photograph, making sure each quilt was shown in the best possible way. They also verified the quilt’s name and entry number as well as background information that was submitted with the entry. This documentation, along with the photo, is what goes on the DVD’s. 
David says the biggest challenge is, “Photographing quilts with cut-outs and embellishments. They are more difficult to capture the dimensions on film.”
Once all the pictures are taken and the awards have been given, David works furiously to make sure the DVD is ready for distribution by the first day of the show. The cost of the annual DVD is $12.99. After the show, they are available on the web site. Currently, DVD’s are available to purchase from 2004 to 2014. The earlier DVD’s only have pictures of the award winning quilts on them and cost just $10.00. Recent DVD’s are more detailed. They are a great keepsake of the show, whether or not you attended.
What do you like best about this year’s DVD?
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