Meetup: We will meet at 4:30 on the steps of the entrance the park that is at the river end of Warren Street, where it meets Front Street. The map on this page isn’t doing what I want it to do. The starting point this map shows is close to the meeting point, but not quite there — This google map is more accurate: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=202716085035806399962.0004ac5239bd55e413011&msa=0&ll=42.253902,-73.793997&spn=0.006623,0.016512.

Parking: There is plenty of parking near the boat house and in Riverfront Park. It turns out that the bridge that goes over the tracks is no longer open, so you have to drive past the train station (it will be on your right), and make a right on Broad Street, over the tracks toward the river. You will see plenty of parking spots in that area. It will take a few minutes to walk from there back out of the park to our starting point, so give yourself an extra 15 minutes or so.

The walk: We will split up (naturally — I am not dividing up the group) and wander through Hudson, primarily on Warren Street, up to as far as the 7th Street Park, but I recommend turning around closer to 3rd Street in order to get back to the river in time for the sunset. Walkers are welcome to explore some of the side streets too. Union and Columbia Streets and the alleys off them have many interesting buildings and gardens. We will return Riverfront Park (south of our meeting place) to catch the sun setting over the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains. The calendar I checked says the actual time of the sunset is at 6:35 that evening. (The route shown on the map on this page is not recommended — I have no idea where the map got that idea!)

After the walk: We will meet up at the Boat House (Hudson Power Boat Association) in Riverfront Park for refreshments and sharing photos. Meals will not be available (unless we know we have more than 45 people), but drinks and snacks will. The Boathouse is at the end of Ferry Street. The map above actually got the end point right!

About Hudson: Budget Travel called Hudson “one of the coolest small towns in the U.S.A.” For more information about Hudson, it’s history, it’s sights, and a street map, you can download a PDF for a walking tour here: http://gotohudson.net/walkingtours.php (below where it says “Warren Street Tour”). If you’re interested in making a day out of your trip to Hudson, browse around that site a bit for ideas.

Tips:

- I recommend that people walk in groups. Hudson is a lovely small city, but it is a city, and it will be a quiet evening.

- All are welcome, no matter what your camera (digital, film, phone…).

- All ages are welcome but I ask that younger participants be accompanied by an adult.

- you may want to bring a tripod or other camera support since we are doing this later in the day.

- pay attention to the weather. It can get quite cold in early October. In case of weather emergency, well, I’m still figuring that one out.

The walk I attended was casual. Everyone was friendly. It was a great way to meet other photographers in the area. There were plenty of people willing to answer questions, and people who had never met before teamed up to wander around and take photographs. I plan on leading this walk similarly. After we meet up, I do not expect us all to stick together. I hope most of us will choose to meet up together at the end.

A little about me: I’m just an amateur self-taught photographer. At some point in the last decade I realized that I’d rather be behind a camera than anywhere else. I participated in one of these photowalks a few years back in Albany and wanted to bring the fun to Columbia County. I shoot with a Nikon D90, and if you want to see my photos, my flickr site is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/superdewa/. I’m not an expert, but I can try to answer any questions you a have or point you in the right direction.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I will be adding more information and editing what I have written here. It’s possible I may even change the time slightly (within a half hour either way), so please keep checking the site. I just wanted to get the basics up so people could start planning!

I’m looking forward to this!