Wow! What a turn out!

We were supposed to meet on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, at 6pm on a Friday. I wanted some of the walk to be at dusk, and the rest after it became dark. Unfortunately, I chose a meeting place that placed it smack dab in the between any convenient Metro stops. Mistake on my part. I knew that Washington DC is a “walking city”, much like New York City. Well, I could have picked a better meeting place.

The wife and I took the Metro to the Smithsonian Metro stop with 15 minutes to spare. That’s pretty much on the opposite side of the Washington Monument, from the Lincoln Memorial, 1.2 miles away. Not smart.

When I walked up, I expected to see a small group gathering to the side. Generally, a photowalking group is easy to spot; just look for the dSLRs and tripods. As I approached the steps, I saw this large group of people milling around. I initially thought, “I hope I can find our photowalkers, through all those other people.” Then, I realized, “That’s our group!”

You have no idea how excited I was to realize that so many people showed up for a photowalk, especially with Scott Kelby’s large network of photowalks the following day. From my group photo, I counted about 50 people. I know there were a few who opted out of the group photo, and several arrived after we got started. So, I’m thinking that around 60 people attended this photowalk. Sweet!

We got started right away, with a quick briefing by me and then we sat down for that group photo. The next spot we wandered to was the Korean Conflict Memorial. It was pretty cool to watch our large group slowly and quietly ebb and flow around that memorial, as we all sought our perfect shot.

Our next stop was back in front of the Lincoln Memorial, for a quick stop in front of the Reflecting Pool, then off to the Vietnam Memorial. I think we started to thin out by now, and then we spread out on the walk to the World War II Memorial. Several of us stopped for a cool sunset shot, halfway to the WWII Memorial.

Once at the WWII Memorial, most of us gathered up again to shoot the sunset sky and then the subsquent darkness with the lit fountains of the Memorial. It was here that I got my personal favorite shot of the Lincoln Memorial. I used my new Sigma 70-300mm, and captured a few varied exposure shots, for a later HDR. At home I created a very unique, but cool shot from those frames.

Our group was quickly thinning, as we crossed the street up to the Washington Monument. This was the first spot we were approached by security, informing us that we could not use our tripods on the walkways or anything that wasn’t grass. One of us, who will go unnamed, made a valient effort to discuss the validity of this policy. However, in the end we were relegated to the grassy areas for our mounted work.

Our next wandering took us to my end. As we headed down the open Mall, towards the Capitol building, I saw my end-all-be-all shot. That one shot I’ve always wanted. I stopped, captured it, and was quickly instructed by my none-photowalking-yet-patient wife that we were done. Our 1.75 mile adventure had exhausted her attention for photowalking, and it was now time to call it a “day”.

No problem, I was getting tired myself. At this point there was only a handful of the faithful left. We parted and headed back to our hotel. Honestly, I’m not sure how many photowalked to the end. Hopefully we’ll be enlightened in the comments. I want to thank Kendrick Hang, for all his work in organizing a great number of local photographers, who came out for the photowalk.

I will end with my own opinion that this was one of the most fun, and exciting photowalks! I was able to photograph some of the most beautiful and popular locations, in some great light. Satisfied, I am.

Below are a few of my favorites, so far, from the photowalk. I have this feeling that many of the photowalkers are not regular users of Flickr, so we may have a hard time organizing their work. For the few who remembered, and tagged their photos properly, I was able to view thier work. Everyone who attended is listed below as well. If you attended, and don’t use Flickr, please leave me the link in the comments. I’ll add it to the list below. Here’s the list of all the correctly tagged photos too.

• Trevor Carpenter
• Shawn Duffy
• Andy Roth
• Kendrick Hang
• Michael Wenthold
• Mark Anderson
• Marcellina

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Meet in front of George Washington Hall in front of the new tower (see picture below). Here’s a map of the campus.

The route should take us through most of the campus. We’ll pass by most of the major buildings and fountains. If you want to explore some of the side areas that’s fine too. Obviously, schools out for the summer so we’ll have the campus to ourselves. There are summer classes but normally not much foot traffic. The route is a little under two miles but that’s just a rough estimate. Cross your fingers for good (and not too hot) weather.

I mad the time later in the day for (relatively) cooler weather and better light. If this conflicts with dinner/other plans, let me know and we can adjust.

Hope you can make it.

Upcoming.org

As many of you know, my wife and I planned on celebrating our 10th anniversary on a trip to the UK and Ireland. Due to circumstances outside our control, we had to downsize our trip. So, we have set our sights on Washington DC.

This brings the discussion my desire to photowalk everywhere. So, on August 22nd at 6pm all those who can attend should arrive at the Lincoln Memorial, on the National Mall, in Washington, DC. We’ll be catching the sunset there, and wandering on down the Mall. As the evening arrives, my hope is to capture as many of the wonderfully historical monuments and memorials in the dark night. Most of these sights are well lit in the evening, so we should have a great opportunity. I’ve constructed a nice map, shown below. This photowalk should be about 3 miles, so be prepared to walk a bit.

Important points:

• Meet on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, at 6pm.
• Be prepared to walk a few miles.
• Be prepared to shoot some low light stuff too. (tripod!)

And as usual, afterwards, we’ll hit a local pub for a drink or coffee.

Here’s the Upcoming link.

I’d love to meet any of my photowalking cohorts in the Washington DC area, so please make sure to mark this one on your calendar!

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***Edit***
Jeff Revell quickly pointed out to me that the majority of the National Mall is a part of the National Park System. This means that the sometimes ill-informed security aren’t just security guards. They’re real, genuine cops; The Park Police. I’ll go toe-to-toe with a security guard any day. A real cop though, no thanks. So, head over to Jeff’s article about getting a free permit for using a tripod in the National Park, and another one for using it on the Capital grounds.

Additional photos from others in the group can be found with with the following Flickr Tag search: Gettysburg-20080524.

The route is about 2 miles long and we will be walking downtown Gettysburg and a loop through the National Cemetery. After the walk we will meet at Spiritfield’s Irish pub for lunch and a chance to share some photos.

Here is the upcoming link: upcoming.yahoo.com/event/466081/

The editors of Celebrate Gettysburg will be writing a story about the event and photos from the walk may be used in an upcoming issue of the magazine.

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PhotoWalkPro.com is sponsoring a photowalk in the Washington DC area on March 8, 2008. The photowalk will begin at 12:00 Noon at the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan metro stop and proceed East on Calvert St. across the Rock Creek Parkway to 18th St. We will then head south down 18th through the heart of Adams-Morgan. We will then turn West on Kalorama over to Columbia Rd, Then right on Columbia back up to 18th and Calvert, back to the Metro Station. I have created a route map that you can download here. Many thanks to everyone that has emailed me or jumped in over at the Flickr Group. For more information, please feel free to join the group discussion or email me (Jeff) at jeff@photowalkpro.com

Fredericksburg, VA Photowalk
When – March 9th – 3:00 till 6:00~
Where – Downtown Fredericksburg. See here for exact route (Green).

The green route should take us through differing parts of downtown Fredericksburg, by Carl’s (mmmh custard) and by the old mill on Caroline. The route might be too long but we’ll play it by ear. If the weather is bad we’ll just hang out at Hyperion. Meet there at 3.

Upcoming link.

Hope you can make it.

The photowalk started at the plaza level of the Bethesda Metro stop and we walked a 2 mile loop around the city. After the walk a small group had dinner at the Daily Grill to swap stories.

Here is a selection of photos from some of the group. Additional photos can be found with with the following Flickr Tag searches. Flickr1, Flickr2

Thanks to all that were able to attend. Here is the list of participants, please let me know if I’m missing anyone or if you want some links updated.

• Gene Han (from New York) – Flickr
• Jeff Pai
• Dan Miller – Flickr, Website
• Katie Staines
• Sara Staines
• Tim George
• Tom Statas – Website
• Barbara Statas
• Carol Gregoire – Flickr
• Rob Allegar – Flickr
• Geoff Green – Flickr
• Shawn Duffy – Flickr, Website
• Saule Allen
• Raoul Pop – Flickr, Website
• Ligia Pop
• Russel Williard
• Marcelina – Flickr
• Adan I
• Adan II – Flickr
• Scott Sherman – Host of the Digital Photography Show podcast, Flickr
• Jenna Duffy – Flickr, Website
• Gyuri Grell – Flickr
• James Vasak – Flickr
• Mark Anderson – Flickr, Website
• Emma Anderson – Flickr, Website
• Michele Anderson

The route is about 2 miles long. The road along Woodmont offers back ally shooting (in a safe environment) and also some older buildings and store fronts. Wisconsin road is your typical restaurant row with newer modern store fronts that can give you chances for street shooting and neon/light trails in the evening.

Additional information can be found at the following links:
Upcoming
Flickr Discussion

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• Italy
• Montreal, Quebec

• Southern California
  
• San Francisco Bay area
• Denver, Colorado
• Salt Lake City, Utah
• West Houston, Texas
• Little Rock, Arkansas
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Detroit, Michigan
• Atlanta, Georgia
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Morris County, New Jersey
• Washington, District of Columbia
• Northeastern Vermont
• Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Are you photowalking in another area? Then, add yourself in the comments. If you’re game, I can even help you organize and grow your events. Just let me know.