Best photo for this location
By Johnna Frantz
Walker Photos
Below are all walker photos that have been uploaded and entered in the 2011 Photo Walk photo contest.
penelope ulander
Edward Campion
Violet Restall
Mike Vore
Johnna Frantz
Giant SeaTurtle
Rebecca Coplon
barry sturgis
Joseph Tyson
Get Directions
Meet Time: 03:00pm - 05:00pm
Photo Walk Description
Annapolis is a beautiful city, filled with historic buildings, brick, stone, cobblestone, color, sailboats, texture… How could there NOT be a photo walk in this town?
I am looking to plot a walk that can offer a little of all of this, down some main thoroughfares, some side streets and maybe an alley or two. I’ll be looking to finish down by the water and looking out over the Chesapeake. If the weather is right, we’ll have some sun and sailboats on the water*. Hopefully a little bit for everyone and lot’s of fun for all.
Walk directions:
Start on Church Circle at intersection with West St. (Rt 450)
Proceed around circle to School St. and then to the State House
Around the Maryland State House to Francis St.
Walk to end of Francis St. and left onto Main St.
Walk Main St. towards the Bay, intersect Randall St and Compromise St at circle.
Proceed South on Compromise St.
Total distance: 1/2 mile
There are a few quick detours that can be made along the walk route posted above (like taking the long way around a circle or using Main St. vs the State Circle to Francis St.). I’ll leave the choice to the photographers.
The detours can easily shorten the walk for those unsure of being able to cover the distance.
Is a half mile to short for a two hour walk? I think we’ll be able to fill the time. A quick wander up Main St, down along Dock St and back, along Randall St towards the Naval Academy, etc… Even the fastest walker will find a place to wander and put the camera to their eye.
Additional (walkable) photographic points of interest along the walk (arrive early or stay late):
- United States Naval Academy (~3 blocks North of Main St. and Compromise St.)
- Spa Creek and bridge (just South on Compromise St.)
- Historic downtown Annapolis, cobblestone streets, historic houses, decorative colors and flags
- The First Sunday Arts Festival (noon to 5pm) on the first block of West and Calvert St. – www.firstsundayarts.com
- Paint Annapolis (all day) located throughout historic downtown Annapolis
- West Annapolis Oktoberfest (all day) located along Rowe Blvd by the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium (Google for details)
Fun & Caution:
- Maryland Renaissance Festival – Crownsville, MD (North/West on 97) fun, great costumes, stage set, actors and photo opportunities, a LOT of traffic around that area.
Join up soon and bring a friend. This will be a great time.
About me –
I am relatively new to the DSLR world of photography, but working hard and learning fast (reading everything I can get my hands on and trying whatever I can click the shutter at). WWPW is a great opportunity to share what I have learned, benefit from the wisdom of others who attend and make some great friends in the area who share a passion for photography.
My personal photography website is www.randomneutral.com (yea, it is a work in progress, but it is a start). You can also find me on Twitter – @RandomNeutral
Mr. Smith, you might consider moving the time of this walk (or the day to Sunday). Navy plays Air Force at home on Saturday, Oct. 1. Game time is 12:00.
Sunday would be a better Date, Less People!!!
You might consider doing it in the late afternoon & evening to capture sunset.
Hmm, good input. I’ll look into the suggestions. My internet connectivity is low-bandwidth at best for the next few days.
Suggestions to move to Sunday make sense (to avoid the Navy vs. Air Force game) and I’ll definitely look into it.
The golden hour(s) would be ideal, but I was hoping to maximize time with lot’s of light. Looks like sunset is ~6:48pm. Perhaps a later afternoon walk (say 3-5pm) would be better. Then everyone can enjoy the time during the walk with plenty of light, looking for shadows and contrast. Everyone can meet for some food and to chat and those who would like to capture the sunset will have time split off after a bit and do that (and can even scout a little during the walk).
I’ll look into any changes to the timeline and date and plan to have that finalized by mid-next week (10 Aug.)
The walk start point is relatively solid and I like the mapped route, but I plan to walk the area specifically myself, so there might be a few minor updates for the route.
I also want to talk with a restaurant about hosting us at the end of the walk and will add the specifics for that as I have it put together.
Hope to meet everyone in October,
-David
just waiting for a reviesed time / day
Hey, again, everyone. Stole away some time this morning to Google around for Annapolis Events and finalize the date, time and some walk details.
First, “Thank you,” to Vince for pointing out the Naval Academy home game. With that in mind, I am moving the walk to Sunday, 2 Oct.
I’ll also shift it to later in the day to accommodate schedules and make things easier for those who wish to take in the sunset. We’ll go with 3-5pm, this should afford time for everyone to meet up afterwards before those who want sunset shots need to leave (sunset is at 6:48pm).
Additionally, I have an inquiry in to Pusser’s Restaurant for a meet up after the walk. They have good food, reasonable prices and a great view of the water from their outside, dock seating. Hopefully they can be accommodating to our group.
That is it for now, I will continue to post as I have more information.
I look forward to meeting everyone on 2 Oct.
-David
Hi, are we meeting all together at a specific spot or just starting at Church Circle at intersection with West St. (Rt 450)? I am not familiar with the area I’m here working in MD for a few months but I’m from FL.
Please let us know if we are to meet at a specific spot On Oct 2 at 3pm.
Violet
Sounds like a great opportunity to meet new friends.
All -
Just signed up for the Annapolis photowalk. Look forward to meeting everyone.
Ed
Greetings! Just signed up, I think, but hard to tell if it worked. Can’t wait to come out and play!
I put together a PhotoWalk page on my personal website with some additional details for the walk.
http://www.randomneutral.com/Site/World_Wide_PhotoWalk.html
Please take a look and let me know if there are questions.
Look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday!
-David
ps. don’t forget to charge your batteries!
Okay, I just realized that most of the text I have on my website could easily be posted here…
So here is the text off the page:
If you do visit my page, you’ll be treated to a semi-posed photo of my dog, Bear, hanging out at the start point. So that should be reason enough to visit the page.
I wanted to put this page together in order to share some extra details that I couldn’t easily add on the Walk’s main page.
Example: The photo to the left is of my boy, Bear, chilling at the entrance to St. Anne’s Parish on the western edge of Church Circle (where West St. intersects. Let’s plan to meet there a little before 3:00pm for the start of the walk.
–note- Bear will not be joining us on Sunday, but he had a great stroll along the route that day.
Walk directions:
Start – Church Circle @ West St. proceed either direction to School St.
Proceed on School St. to State Circle
Continue either direction around State Circle to Francis St.
Walk South-East on Francis St. to Main St.
Turn LEFT on Main St. walk to Randall St./Green St./Fish Market *
Walk along the NorthEast side of Eagle Alley (water way) toward the dock cruises and view of the Chesapeake Bay
Return and walk Compromise St. to Annapolis Marriott Waterfront Inn and Pusser’s Carribean Grill (downstairs). **
Finish
*Alternate/Additional – Turn RIGHT on Main St. and walk back to Church Circle, return down Main St. and continue above.
** Alternate/Additional 2 – Proceed South on Green St. and turn LEFT on Duke of Gloucester St.
Turn LEFT on Newman St. OR St Mary’s St. proceed to Compromise St. The Marriott/Pusser’s Grill will be across the street.
The primary walk is just over 1/2 mile. At a normal walking pace, this is around 20 minutes. I am anticipating a lot of picture taking along the way and have the additional detours that easily fit in to suit the groups tastes.
For those not familiar with Annapolis, Main St. is a ‘historic’ shopping area with lot’s of small shops, bars and restaurants. There will be lot’s of people, colors, shapes and textures to explore with a camera. The Green St/Duke of Gloucester St is an additional 2-3 blocks of historic residential area with lot’s of old trees and buildings.
Pusser’s Carribean Grill occupies the back of the ground floor in the Annapolis Marriott Waterfront. I am hoping to arrange for our group to use the outdoor/dockside area of the restaurant which provides great views out of the water and marinas around the Annapolis waterfront.
Parking: There are numerous garages in close proximity to the walk. If you drive into the area via West St. keep an eye out for signs advertising public parking, I can’t recommend anyplace specific, if someone does have a recommendation please post a comment on the main walk page. On street and metered parking is available on many streets as well BUT I would anticipate that the time limit for the metered parking will not cover the duration of the walk, so I recommend a paid lot/garage. The Marriott does have a parking garage and there are several pay lots to either side of the Marriott as well. I’ll probably park there.
Weather, Attire and Camera Gear:
-Sunday’s weather is looking like it might get into the low 60’s and overcast.
- For the walk, I’ll be dressing comfy. Likely jeans, the WWPW T-shirt and a jacket. The forecast seems to indicate that Fall has arrived. I’ve always got a hat with me in case the sun makes an appearance. Comfortable walking shoes are an obvious one.
- For my gear, I expect to go lite and fun. Unfortunately, I did not rent a lens… I know I said I would, but I ran out of time and couldn’t make a decision. I’ll probably just put a 35mm prime on and go for broke (APS-C sensor). I plan to bring my tripod as well and really put it to use as best I can. I’ve been having a lot of fun with textures in HDR of late and want to use Sunday as a chance to focus on a few personal projects. I also anticipate spending a lot of time talking and getting to know all of you. Likely, my external flash will get toted along should there be an urgent need for more light. (I will probably have a bunch of additional lenses strategically located in my car, should I need it…).
-I plan to have trash bags with me (CLEAN/new trash bags) just in case of rain. Always good to have with you. Oh, and you should also bring a towel.
If I think of more, I’ll be sure to post it on the main page and e-mail it out.
I look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday!
It is looking like we are going to have a great time on Sunday. I’ll list two quick reasons:
1. I think Annapolis is a ripe spot for great photos.
2. We have some good people signed up. One such person (Ed Campion) put together directions and parking recommendations near the walk and e-mailed it over to me. Thanks very much, Ed.
“Annapolis Directions/Parking:
From Interstate Route 50, take exit #23 for MD 450 West Street.
At the end of the exit ramp, be sure to be on one of the far left lanes.
Make left onto 450 West Street, heading towards downtown Annapolis
Road will narrow down ton one lane each way
At traffic circle, go halfway around and continue on West Street
To park near start of photo walk:
* Go past Lafayette Ave and City Green Lane streets on your right
* You will come to a traffic light intersection with Calvert to left and Cathedral to right.
* Turn left onto Calvert. Public garage will be on right. Note: The entrance comes up quickly and there is an alley right next to the garage entrance so be careful to turn into the garage entrance.
* Come out of garage, turn left on West Street and walk down to Church Circle.
To park near end of photo walk
* Take West Street all the way to Church Circle
* Go little less than halfway around.
* Use double right turn lane onto Duke of Gloucester Street
* Go past Charles Street and Conduit Street on your right.
* Look for public parking garage entrance on your left.
* Exit garage via Duke of Gloucester or Main Street and walk up to Church Circle
If you want, you can take Duke of Gloucester Street all the way to the end and turn left which will take you into downtown harbor area of Annapolis. There is on-street meter parking in downtown but on a nice Sunday afternoon, the opportunities may be limited.”
- I was originally going to point to the weather as reason #1 for having great time, but it looks like there is a chance of rain and high’s in the 50′s. Definitely nothing that will stop me from being there, but everyone should make sure to dress appropriately (good shoes, warms clothes, rain jacket, hat and rain protection for you camera when you are shooting with it).
Check out Scott Kelby’s blog post today for some more suggestions and links to some other good info. The post is at:
http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2011/archives/21929
I’ll post and e-mail more information as we get closer to Sunday. Look forward to seeing everyone.
-David
I have a quick update on my website at:
http://www.randomneutral.com/Site/World_Wide_PhotoWalk.html
Toward the bottom of the page, you will find a picture that links to a 2 page .pdf document with lot’s of details for the walk. I plan to have some black&white printouts to give out at the walk, but it is available in color for those who want it on a smartphone or iPad with them during the walk.
The direct link to the .pdf is here:
http://www.randomneutral.com/Site/World_Wide_PhotoWalk_files/Annapolis_WWPW_2011.pdf
See everyone tomorrow!
-David
Hey Everyone! We made it!
For all the great folks who made the walk, thank you for making it a success. I definitely had a great time, got some photographs with real potential and had a chance to meet a lot of great people and even talk with a few of you.
With the help of Giant Sea Turtle (John), I’ve got a little more information on the Flickr group. The direct link to the page is here:
. Use the Flickr group to share all the photos from the walk that you want.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1753496@N24/
From there, you should be able to request to join the group and that will send me an e-mail to approve (don’t worry, you are all on the good list
At the top of this page (the Annapolis Photo Walk page) is (or will be soon) the link and information for posting your photo (might be up to 3) for the competition. I’ll try to get more information to share out to everyone tomorrow.
Thanks again for walking, it was great to meet everyone!
-David
David, I sent you email as well. I’m not sure how to confirm that my files uploaded correctly, and want to be sure they made it in. Can you tell? Thanks!
Thanks, also, for organizing a great walk. Great location, interesting people — it was a really good time. Thanks for making that happen! -Rebecca
Pay no attention — I figured it out! -Rebecca