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A Message From The Walk Leader

Welcome to the Dryden Ontario group for Scott Kelby’s 2nd Annual Worldwide Photowalk which will be held on July 18th, 2009.

The date is confirmed, the times and location are being worked on, yet we are a go for heading out on a fun filled couple of hours taking photographs of our home community.

Here is a brief run down of what the Photowalk is about:

Who is Scott Kelby?

Editor and Publisher of Photoshop User Magazine, Editor-in-Chief of Layers Magazine; training director and instructor for the Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour, President National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), CEO of Kelby Media Group, author of a string of bestselling technology books. Conference Technical Chair for the Photoshop World Conference & Expo, author of numerous Photoshop training DVDs and online courses, and co-host of PhotoshopTV.

Last year Scott and his group organized the first Worldwide Photowalk with:

• 8.324 photographers register for local walks
• 47 Countries had participating cities
• 44 States in the US had Photo Walks
• We had a total of 236 cities worldwide
• More than 1,017,125 photos were taken on walks that day

So, what exactly is a photo walk?

You take yourself and a camera to a designated meeting place to meet up with other photographers, then venture out into an area and snap away! Walk around taking pictures for a couple of hours, then gather at a restaurant, bar, or other eatery/drinkery, and compare, share, discuss, and have a good time. Then, if you want, submit your favorite photos from the day to the leader of your photo walk to be put in the running for the GRAND PRIZE! What’s the grand prize? Watch the video in the home page of the site to find out.

What are the benefits of going on a photo walk? If it’s an area that you’re already familiar with, being there with a group of creative people can help you see things in ways you hadn’t noticed before. Or if it’s an area you’re unfamiliar with, you can get to know the area with other people who may have lived there all their lives! But the best part (I think) is that you get to meet fellow photographers, make new friends, and have fun!

What do you need to bring? Yourself and a camera. Doesn’t matter what kind. If you want to come with a cell phone, go for it. If you want to show up with a top-of-the-line camera and an assortment of lenses and accessories, great. Just remember that it is a photo walk, so what you bring with you, you’ll be carrying the entire time. Personally, I would recommend bringing fairly minimal gear that’s versatile so you don’t have to change lenses every five minutes. As David duChemin says, “Gear is good. Vision is better.” Oh, and money for food and/or drink at the end of the photo walk. Wouldn’t want you to starve.

Q. How long does it last?

A. Two hours, from start to finish.

Q. How should I dress?

A. Casual, and wear comfortable shoes because you’ll be walking (Hey, it’s a photo “walk,” right?)

Q. Do we have to stick together as one big group?

A. Nope. Once the walk starts, you kind of move at your own pace, and we try to make the routes short enough so you have plenty of time for shooting and exploring along the way, and still get to the ending point on time.

Q. What do we do with our photos once we’re done with the Photo Walk?

A. The website (and your Photo Walk leader) will have all of the details. Also, you’ll be able to come to the website and watch a mini-Lightroom online training course by Matt Kloskowski on how to best sort and prepare your photos for submission. The course will include:

Lesson 1: Importing your photos after the Photo Walk
Lesson 2: Picking your keepers and finding them quickly
Lesson 3: Taking your photos from good to great
Lesson 4: Integrating Lightroom with Photoshop for the finishing touches
Lesson 5: Saving your photos to submit online
Lesson 6: Printing your photos

Q. Do I have to enter the prize competition?

A. Absolutely not. This is a totally separate part of the experience, and if you don’t want to enter your images, you absolutely don’t have to (it’s just to make the experience more fun). Some people freaked out last year thinking they were required to enter, but just know—you absolutely don’t have to enter your image—you can go and shoot for the day, and never let anyone see your photos. Ever. They can be your private “secret” photos.

So someone mentioned Prizes?

Yes… not sure on what all is up for grabs for the grand prize yet as the page is being updated… but there are prizes to be won.  For the local group though, after the shoot is completed the person picked with the best photo of the day in Dryden will be entered in the Grand Prize competition and will recieve a copy of Scott Kelby’s soon to be released book called “The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3″.

Want more information on the Worldwide Photowalk?

Check out worldwidephotowalk.com/ to keep updated on what is happening and for more information as well as the “Terms of Use” whick can be found at the bottom of each page.

Please feel free to pass this site around to anyone you know whom might be interested in coming out and joining us.  It does not matter what type of camera you have, you do not have to enter the photos into the competition, it is just a day for us to get out and see and show off our community in a unique way.

To see a few of the photos taken last year from around the world and the variety of such, please check out the link on the homepage called “Explore Photos From Last Year“.  Take into consideration that there were only about three communities in Canada being represented (so far this year there are less than two dozen communities here in Canada).

Want to chat with other members in Dryden about the Photowalk…

Join us on the Flickr group called “Worldwide Photowalk 2009 - Dryden Ontario” or send me a note via the form on here if you have any questions.  I’ll update the page as information becomes available and look forward to any suggestions or comments you have.

More details to follow…