Yesterday, the 24th of July, was the third annual Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk. A photowalk is a group of people getting together to wander about somewhere, cameras in hand, and shooting photos. Scott Kelby (his blog is linked in my blogroll on the right) organized an event in which folks all over the planet gather in their various locations all on the same day.
This is the second year I’ve participated. Rochester had its own walk for the first time last year. Then, we did the shoot downtown at night. It was fun, and I don’t do much urban (can we call Rochester urban?) photography, and the night shoot was also a nice challenge.
This year, we tried something vastly different, shooting during a festival in the tiny town of West Concord, MN. One of their attractions was a vintage car show. From a photographer’s point of view, this wasn’t ideal – shooting in the mid-day sun, on a very sunny afternoon. We prefer early morning and late evening light, but sometimes you have to shoot with what you have. Much like a wedding.
Personally, I enjoy trying new things and working in less than ideal conditions. In a way, anyone can shoot a nice sunset, but it takes more thnking when the light is working against you. Like trying to light up the shadow side of a dark blue car so that its reflection looks proper. I like that. I have another shot of the headlight on the other side of this car, with the reflection of the sun-lit side of the car over there. It might be a better photo, but I like this one better because it took more planning, more skill to achieve. On the other hand, to a casual viewer, the other shot might look better. Such is art.
We wandered through town, looking for the Heritage museum, and we passed this old church. Both this and another, better maintained church, have what looks to be some very nice stained glass. It would have been nice to see them from inside. This church has character in spite of, or maybe because of, its worn siding and flaking paint. Photos of churches aren’t really a big draw for me, but there’s something I liked about this shot. Perhaps the angles up toward the heavens produced by a somewhat wide angle focal length. Perhaps its the clouds and very blue sky. Anyway, I liked it enough to upload here!
The heritage museum occupies an old school house. They have many classrooms decorated in various ways. A fun one is the 50s and 60s room with an old sofa and big console B/W TV on display. This room was decorated in its more familiar attire. I was shooting the old chalk board then turned around and saw this. I just had to find the right angle, and I knew when I took it I would be doing a sepia treatment. It’s always nice when you see in your mind’s eye the shot as you’re taking it, then produce that shot in the digital darkroom.
Others on the walk were not as lucky in this room and had other visitors looking around and, well, getting in the way! I’ll take luck when I can get it.
Sometimes, all you need is a little push, a little reason to pick up the camera and shoot. There’s no better way to learn and to hone the craft. And there’s always – always – more to learn. Here’s a new situation, here’s the lighting you have, here’s the subject: make it art. A photowalk is just such an opportunity and well worth doing regardless of skill level. For me, it was a Saturday afternoon well spent.
sound like a fun way to spend an afternoon!
Comment by Jeanne Sheehy — July 29, 2010 @ 9:15 pm