Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk moved from summer to autumn this year, and it was set for two days – the first and second of October. Walk groups could choose which day to hold their walk. Our group in Rochester had the walk on Sunday the second. We walked in downtown Rochester again this year and timed the walk to cover the golden hour around sunset.
It’s always fun to gather with several other photographers and shoot. And, of course, talk about gear and photography. We started by the Mayo Civic Center where I took the shot of the bridge. I particularly liked the reflection and the golden colors against the blue sky.
I shot the group photo with us gathered by the feet of the Mayo brothers. I used a bit of on-camera flash to fill in our faces as we stood in the shadow. The sky was clear, so the sunlight behind us was pretty bright.
Then we headed off. A number of us stayed more-or-less together, but others wandered off in different directions.
I think most, if not all, of us had at least one shot of this building. The bright yellow and orange draws your eye making it tough to not notice. The low sun added to the effect and, with much of the river in shadow, the reflection was pretty awesome. So this is my take on the photo of the yellow building!
Some of us later noticed the hot air balloon as it made its way across downtown. I had opted for my main walk-around lens, my 24-105mm, and I had my 50mm in my bag. Out for a walk, why would I need anything longer than that? Hmm. As soon as I saw the balloon I was naturally wishing I had brought something with more reach. But I did what I could at 105mm. I loved the ring of light on the left side from the setting sun. It just glowed, and a longer lens would have shown it off more. But I watched as it moved closer, moved into a position near the building, so I could at least frame it, have a foreground, middle-ground, and background. A decent shot, I think, but it could have been more.
I found these berries along one of the paths. I looked at the glow from the back-light and the dark leaves behind. They made a nice subject, and I love red anyway! I like to refer to these as red poison-berries. I have no idea what they really are or if they’re poisonous, but I like how it sounds. Goofy, I know.
I saw this young lady sitting in a swing by the river. The setting sun provided a wonderful light. And I saw the river and bridge in the background. I asked if she’d mind me taking her photo, and she generously agreed. She asked if I wanted her to turn around, but no, the shot was perfect like this. It made a nice color photo, but the textures and shades told me it would be a great black and white photo.
There was a time I thought landscape photography would be what I’d mostly like to shoot. I find I’m really drawn to people photography now. Interestingly, I think I’ve enjoyed shooting people for a very long time. I just didn’t realize it until recently. Funny how the mind works!
