Best of the Best

Hey, don't' miss THIS flickr group showcasing the best of the best from Scott Kelby's worldwide photowalk.

What a Fantastic Day!

What a fantastic day for the first ever Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk in Rocky Mount, NC, no rain and temps hoovering around darn near perfect all morning! I arrived at the starting point early excited to meet the 29 eager participants who had signed up. Everyone had come prepared with fresh batteries, empty CF cards and tons of enthusiasm. One walker had ventured out bright and early as he had a two and a half hour drive to get to us! The walk was exciting and fun and most importantly, no one got hurt! At the end of our walk as we gathered at our final destination, Applebee's Neighborhood Bar and Grill, there were smiles all around and you could hear the ooh-ooh, ahh-ahh (chimping sounds) as everyone reviewed their images. We had such a great time that we busted out shooting our food as it arrived at the table. (An honor to Scott as he's into shooting food right now!) I want to extend a personal thanks to Scott for dreaming this event up and for all the great folks who came and made it a successful day.

These Boots Are Made Fer Walking!

Greetings Fearless Walkers!

It’s shaping up to be quite a weekend. We will be a little short of having more than the scheduled 50 walkers, (but only 50 would get the chance to win the city prize and the grand prize) but as they say, the more the merrier!

During the Walk…

Safety First! – Please be aware of your surroundings! Remember that there is real traffic on the other side of that lens and that you mustn’t get too distracted by what you are shooting and forget that. We don’t want someone ending the day at the hospital!

Be Mindful of Your Gear – A large group of photographers can attract a lot of attention – some of it, not the good kind. Please be be mindful of your gear at all times. Again, just be aware of your surroundings!

Be Prepared for Walk-ups – As I said, the enthusiasm for this event has been very high so do not be surprised if unregistered walkers arrive to join our group. We want to share this experience with everyone so please, allow unregistered walkers to join in on the fun! Just be sure they understand that, as last-minute participants, they are not eligible to submit their photos for the prize. Only walkers that pre-registered for your walk will have that access to upload photos.

Play nice – Remember folks, this is a social event - A time to meet with fellow photographers and maybe gain some new perspectives. Take the time to share your knowledge with others. If someone shows up with a disposable camera, don’t laugh. Instead, why not take them under your wing? And if police or security guards stop us from photographing a building or something (hey, it happens) just nod politely and move on. The name of this game is, “Keeping it Social.”

Remember, It’s a Photo Walk, Not a Photo Parade – A photo walk is supposed to be a social event. Participants are encouraged to move and mingle at their own pace. You do not have to stay together and move as a group! The only thing that should be done as a group is the very beginning and the very end. As long as everyone reconvenes at the final meeting place - APPLEBEE'S- at the end, our walk will be a complete success! Our reservation is for 11:45am.

What if it Rains? – This is Eastern NC, so it could be raining during all or part of the walk. So, what if it is raining? We walk on - no rain day. If it looks like it might rain, bring an umbrella, a raincoat/jacket and of course, something to cover your camera and lens in case it rains. Sometimes, an extra shirt to cover the camera or lens doesn’t hurt. I’ve seen people use plastic too to cover their cameras.

After the Walk…

Remember to Upload – All walkers must upload their photos to our group’s Flickr Page by Midnight on Tuesday, August 26 if you want to be considered for both the city and grand prizes. Please Note: They’ve placed a Flickr link on our City page to better help you with this.

… and lastly, BE SAFE! – I really cannot stress to you how important it is to impart a message of safety to all you walkers. Photo walks are meant to celebrate the spirit of photography in a fun and social setting. Nothing would dampen this notion faster than the knowledge that a fellow Photographer got more than he/she bargained for in the process. Let’s keep it fun and safe folks so we can do this again sometime.

WHAT TO BRING:

Your camera. That’s the most important thing. Don’t forget it. Don’t have an SLR? That’s okay! Just bring whatever camera you have. Make sure your batteries are charged and you have enough memory.
Lenses - Bring 1 or 2 lenses… generally a wide and a zoom lens would be good so that you can cover a lot of things. It really depends on how you usually shoot, but as much as possible, I’d advise you to travel light.
Tripod - I leave this up to you. There might be some nice scenes around sunset so it’s good to have this. Don’t forget to bring your cable release if you will bring your tripod. Just make sure your tripod is light enough so you won’t be carrying something heavy.
Water - I would recommend to bring a bottle of water during the walk.
Business Cards - Hey you never know, you might make a friend.
But remember: Above all, HAVE FUN!

See you Saturday at 9:30am in front of Braswell Library

Photowalk Tips for Saturday

First of all, I would like to thank ALL of you who have signed-up for the walk.

Okay, down to business…I thought I’d like to share with you some tips and reminders for the walk:

• Wear comfortable clothing - we’re going to WALK, so wear something comfortable (i.e. shorts, rubber shoes, etc). Okay, I’m being redundant here…

• WHAT TO BRING:

First, your camera. That’s the most important thing. Don’t forget it. Don’t have an SLR? That’s okay! Just bring whatever camera you have. Make sure your batteries are charged and you have enough memory.

Lenses - Bring 1 or 2 lenses… generally a wide and a zoom lens would be good so that you can cover a lot of things. It really depends on how you usually shoot, but as much as possible, I’d advise you to travel light.

• Food / Snacks - You might get hungry during the walk. Just remember that we’re still doing a photo walk, you might end up eating and not shooting anything.

• Water - While I would recommend to bring a bottle of water during the walk.

• Think Safety - I can’t stress this enough, watch your gear all the time and be sure to secure your cellphones and wallets. That way, you still have some money to buy food after the walk.

• Remember to walk in pairs or in groups - This is a social event. Get to know new people. We’ll definitely see some familiar faces in the group, but it doesn’t hurt to go with someone you don’t know and get to know them.

• Help others - We’ll be having a mixture of experience during the walk. There are some experienced/professional photographers, so this might be your opportunity to learn from them. For the experienced/professional ones - it’s always good to lend a helping hand.

• Shooting Reminder: Make sure to watch other photographers. Don’t get in their way while they’re shooting.

• Finally, HAVE FUN! That’s the most important thing. Mingle with the group, get to know everyone. It’s going to be a fun day and we’ll all have a chance to share our photos after the walk.

To get to know more about Photowalking and the event on Satuday, check out the following links:

• Jeff Revell’s Guide to Photowalking
• Jeff Revell’s Blog Entry on Photowalking in Scott Kelby’s site
• Scott Kelby’s Q&A for his Worldwide PhotoWalk

What happens after the walk? We’ll all post our photos in a Flickr Group that I have setup.

See you on the 23rd!

Photowalk and begging....

from a kid shoot this weekend, and the sunset was doing some magical things so we threw the whole family in there to see what we could get

OK guys, I'd like your help. As you know Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photowalk is coming up Saturday August 23rd. Many of you are signed up and I appreciate that, but I want a full walk. That means 50 people. So I'm asking your help to get the word out! Tell anyone you can, anyone that has a camera and loves taking pictures. This thing isn't for professionals at all - as has been said on other walks, some people just show up with camera phones and join in the fun. Here's a blurb from Jeff Revell on photowalking recently posted on Scott Kelby's blog that helps explain a lot!

The other big question I get is, “Do I need a fancy DSLR to participate?” Not at all! You will find every manner of camera being used by your fellow photowalkers. Whether you have a 60 year old Graflex camera, a D3, or even a point & shoot, the most important thing is that you get out there and use it. Truth be told, I have even had people show up with nothing more than a camera phone and a lot of enthusiasm. They probably didn’t come away with the best images but they had a blast along the way. So don’t be intimidated if you don’t have a bag full of camera bling because more often than not, it’s the person behind the lens that makes the biggest difference.

I'll be posting other tips from Jeff prior to the walk, so stay tuned. The more the merrier so get out there and invite people! Also, the site seems to have a small glitch in it - it currently says there are 17 people signed up, but in reality there are 23 - that means we're practically half full!

PhotoWalk - August 23rd !!

OK - It can be announced! The Saturday August 23rd thing is a WORLDWIDE Photowalk! And we're part of it right here in Rocky Mount, NC! I've been selected to host the walk in this area and I'm pumped! Part of my responsibilities however is to promote the devil outta this thing, so sign up today as it is limited to 50 participants. And heck, IT'S FREE!!!

There are VERY NICE prizes involved and it's a great social event as well, so come join us!

If you don't know what a photowalk is, click here.

To sign up for my walk, click here.

To read about the whole worldwide event and see the prizes, click here.

Oh, and spread the word! Tell any and everyone about this! Thanks! Hope to see you there!