Photowalking.org

Well, because of an unscheduled trip to the west coast, I’m late writing up this recap of the December photowalk by the IndyFlickr group, on December 9.

The weather forecast was for rain and freezing temperatures, but that didn’t keep a small group of us from showing up on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis about 6 p.m. I showed up just in time to catch pjern taking shots for an HDR image of the Christmas tree on the Monument. I’m glad one of us thought of the possibilities of taking HDR shots, the fog made for some very dramatic shots.

After a few more minutes, the rest of us showed up, many with kids in tow. After all, this time of year Monument Circle downtown is a Christmas fairyland for little children, with the Indiana Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument decked out as a Christmas tree with almost 5000 lights, as well as 7 foot tall toy soldiers, candy canes and horse drawn carriages.

Many of us started out in the South Bend Chocolate Factory. After all, it was cold, foggy and drizzly, and they have probably the best hot chocolate in town. After warming up with hot chocolate, we headed back outside to start taking pictures. Paul was experimenting with creating custom bokeh patterns, the kids were running amuck playing tag with each other, and everyone had a pretty laid back time.

Despite the weather, a good time was had by everyone. If you’re interested in coming out for next month’s photowalk, we’d love to have you. As always, check out the IndyFlickr group for details, updates, and all the rest of the photos taken by this great bunch of people. Happy Holidays!

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The IndyFlickr group is getting together this coming Sunday, Dec 9 at 6:00 pm on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. This is a good opportunity to dust off your tripod and get some good shots of the Christmas lights and shopping around the downtown area.

The plan is to meet in front of the South Bend Chocolate Factory at 20 N Meridian St. It’s just to the right of this photo I took a couple of months ago looking south from the Monument.

So come on out, get some hot chocolate or coffee at the Chocolate Factory, drop your spouse off for some Christmas shopping (a hint: Roberts Camera is just a few blocks away) and spend some time photowalking with us.

As always, check out the IndyFlickr group discussion for any last minute changes.

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Last Saturday morning, Nov 3 about 10 of us from the IndyFlickr group got together at Holliday Park. I was worried that I’d be late because I stopped on the way to the park to take some photos of the sunrise. It was breathtaking.

As it turned out, I was the first to get to the park, just before 9 a.m. As people slowly started showing up, we hung out in the parking lot chatting, introducing ourselves to a couple of new people who braved the morning cold, and taking pictures of each other. Once we started walking around, we also had an impromptu crime scene re-enactment. Finally, I’m not the only one who crawls around on my belly to get a shot. I think this is a new rule with this group… if you assume a potentially embarrassing posture taking a photo, you’ll get multiple people taking your photo.

Once the sun came out, the weather was gorgeous. Again, it was really interesting to see the different perspectives that everyone brought to their photos.

Finally, thanks to Mike (Big Whiskey) for organizing these things. They’re great fun. If you’re interested in seeing more shots from our walk, or if you’re interested in coming out to our next one, check out the IndyFlickr group.

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Following up on our photowalk through Crown Hill Cemetery, we’re going for some more nature on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Holliday Park in Indianapolis.

Holliday Park is one of the the oldest Parks in Indianapolis, and is located along the banks of the White River on the north side of town. With 95 acres, Holliday Park includes a nature center, rock garden, several miles of wooded trails, and a wide variety of trees, shrubs, wildflowers, birds and other assorted small furry wildlife.

The current plan is to meet about 9 a.m. in the south parking lot and we’ll go from there. The park is located at 6363 Spring Mill Road, you can find a map to the park here, and a map of the park here [PDF].

I’ve been to the park once, a couple of years ago, and unfortunately didn’t take any pictures that I can find. The paths can be a bit hilly (quite surprising for Indianapolis), so if you come, make sure you wear comfortable shoes for walking on the trails.

As always, check out the IndyFlickr group for any updates on the meeting. Hope to see a good turnout.

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