Photowalking.org

Come one, come all, to the first Neon Photowalk.

On October 3rd, 2008, we’ll be meeting up in downtown Sacramento, CA to shoot some sweet neon. This one will be better with more people, as we’ll be shooting after sundown.

Upcoming event

We’ll meet at 7pm, and the location will be updated shortly. For now, put it on your calendar and plan on attending.

**Edit**
I needed to add a little bit of information. First, I think we’re going to meet in front of the California State Capitol Building. This should make it easy for everyone to find us. Second, I took some good suggestions from Thomas Hawk’s blog and fabricated a basic map of some possible locations we’ll want to photograph. They’re on the map below. (Notice the green tag, that’s where we’ll be meeting.

View Larger Map

Popularity: 21% [?]

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!

Popularity: 18% [?]

On November 5th, 2007 around 20-30 photographers met in the Hilton Lobby to head out to Downtown San Francisco and North Beach at around 5PM. We started out in the Hilton Lobby and got some great shots from the 26th floor looking out toward Coit Tower.

From the Hilton all 30 of us headed toward Embarcadero buildings to shoot up at the beautiful night sky.

After shooting up at the night sky we headed to the Hyatt Regency Hotel right at Embarcadero for some shots inside this amazing architectural building. From the outside the building is cool but on the inside, it’s even cooler. I had never known you could even get inside to this massive corridor with some great shots…

and from the 12th floor…

Leaving the Hyatt we were all in hunger and we found a place that could seat all 30 of us at one long massive table at Osha on Embarcadero. As we ate the Ammmaaazzing Thai food we chatted with our new neighbors and shot away at the table side. An hour had passed and we were ready to get out and shoot again so we headed up to 2nd street to get some good architectural shots at night again.

Overall it was a great night and a chance to meet a lot of new faces. I hope to see you all at the next photowalk again.

Andrew Moore

Popularity: 10% [?]

You up for another photowalk? Well then, join us this Sunday for an afternoon & evening photowalk in downtown Ventura, CA. We’re meeting at the Mission Park, on Main Street, at 5pm. Expect to shoot until well after the sun has gone down. I’ve also set up an Upcoming event, check it out to RSVP, or just comment below.

There’s more to shoot there than I can list here, but below is a short list.

• Mission
• City Hall (historic courthouse)
• Great smalltown/downtown atmosphere
• Ventura cross on hill overlooking downtown. (good for evening/night shots)

Below is a short sample of the images you can shoot:

Popularity: 20% [?]

So, it’s been a while since we photowalked. Well, I think we should get back at it.

How about a little trip to the Santa Monica pier? I think an afternoon trip would be nice. We can hang around long enough to get some good evening shots. I’m thinking that the lights of the pier and businesses will be beautiful against a dark blue sky.

We’re planning a trip on August 4th. That’s a Saturday, and we’ll meet at 4 pm.

I also have a little secret. Someone big might be there. Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone.

Update: Upcoming link.

Popularity: 21% [?]

A couple of weeks ago, on May 31, 2005, RandyMan, VanillaGirl, and a friend (Kenneth) went out for our very first Full Moon Photowalk. Much fun was had by all!

A few weeks prior, RandyMan had scouted out a great location for us to catch the moonrise over a beautiful hillside. He had researched the approximate location for the moonrise, on the horizon, and found our location based on that. Great job RandyMan!

We set out in the early evening, before sunset to get set up. Once we arrived, we scouted out a couple of possible locations that could have worked well. We finally decided upon a nice hillside, just about a hundred yards from the roadside. At this point, we knew that we had over an hour before it started to get dark, so we hiked back down for some roadside photowalking.

For me, this event highlighted why I love group photowalking. While we were scampering up and down the highway, RandyMan was able to share great tips and wisdom for shooting. I know that Kenneth and I were each able to grow and learn in just a short time.

But what made this event even more special was watching a father share his skill with his daughter. In the midst of our shooting, VanillaGirl was able to watch as three Christian men interacted, laughed, and learned.

Continuing on, we finished up on the roadside and decided to jam up the road a bit and shoot some great looking erosion.

If we ended there, we’d still have had a great photowalk. But we were there to shoot the moon, so as the sun was setting, we headed back up the hillside. (I’m sure I lost 10 pounds hiking up and down that hillside.)

Once in position, we experimented with shooting the hillside of the alleged moonrise. In the minutes before we could see any moon light, we shot some time-lapsed car lights traversing the windy road across the canyon from us. Many of those shots received “fave” markings on Zooomr.

During Zooomr’s two weeks in the wilderness, many of the committed conversed and got to know each other over the Ustream.tv IRC. During that time, we had unprecedented access to the likes of Thomas Hawk, Kristopher Tate, and even the great Robert Scoble. Scoble offered up some tips for shooting the moon back then, and many others tossed in their wisdom. I copied those logs and sent them to by Blackberry for safekeeping.

So, when we were preparing for the moon to rise, I grabbed my Blackberry and recalled the recommendations. They worked out well. I’m so glad to have such a great community of photography fans and experts.

We shot many great shots of the moon as it rose over the hillside. RandyMan’s 300mm helped him achieve some even closer shots than I, with my 200mm. None-the-less I got some great shots that I’m proud of and glad to share with everyone.

As the evening came to a close, we all seemed to be satisfied with our work. I know I am.

Take a look at our Zooomr Photo Set.

[edit note: Zooomr will occasionally be upgrading their toolset, so if the photoset isn't working, be patient and try again another time.]

Popularity: 14% [?]

moon-1 Hosted on Zooomr

On Thursday, May 31 there’s going to be a full moon. A good friend, Randy, has suggested that we take some time in the evening to do some shooting.

So, we’re meeting at a semi-remote location in the hills above Somis, CA. You’re welcome to join us, you’ll just have to contact me first. I’ll give you a more precise location once you contact me.

We’ll be visiting a nice rock quarry, which should provide for some nice moon lit shots as well.

Popularity: 10% [?]