This walk is approximately 1.25 miles. We anticipate that it should take about 2 hours to complete as we all look and take photos along the way. This is not a race. We will stop and deviate from the course as the participants seem motivated to do so in order to photograph area of inspiration along the route. This is a group event but please do feel required to keep up with the mass if you feel inspired to stop to photograph something…please do so.

We will start our walk fairly early in the morning because it can get pretty warm here in the central valley. We will meet at Bob Hart Square (Canal and Main St.) in the heart of downtown Merced at the clock near the center of the square at 7:30-7:45 with an expected walk no later than 8:00am. Walking along Main St. and some of the adjacent alleys we will make our way down to Martin Luther King Way then to 18th. street turning left on Canal and on to 20th. street to the historic Court House Square Park. Once there we will walk down Nst. where we will make a left on Main Street and end our walk of the downtown area at the old County Bank building which is less than a block away from our starting position at Bob Hart Square. There is ample parking available back behind the square off of Canal and 16th. Street.

This social event is an opportunity for amateurs through professional photographers alike to gather and share experiences while walking the downtown area of Merced photographing areas of inspiration. Once the Photo Walk is finished we will all gather at This walk is approximately 1.25 miles. We anticipate that it should take about 2 hours to complete as we all look and take photos along the way. This is not a race. We will stop and deviate from the course as the participants seem motivated to do so in order to photograph area of inspiration along the route. This is a group event but please do feel required to keep up with the mass if you feel inspired to stop to photograph something…please do so.

We will start our walk fairly early in the morning because it can get pretty warm here in the central valley. We will meet at Bob Hart Square (Canal and Main St.) in the heart of downtown Merced at the clock near the center of the square at 7:30-7:45 with an expected walk no later than 8:00am. Walking along Main St. and some of the adjacent alleys we will make our way down to Martin Luther King Way then to 18th. street turning left on Canal and on to 20th. street to the historic Court House Square Park. Once there we will walk down Nst. where we will make a left on Main Street and end our walk of the downtown area at the old County Bank building which is less than a block away from our starting position at Bob Hart Square. There is ample parking available back behind the square off of Canal and 16th. Street.

This social event is an opportunity for amateurs through professional photographers alike to gather and share experiences while walking the downtown area of Merced photographing areas of inspiration. Once the Photo Walk is finished we will all gather at Tonis Courtyard Cafe – 516 W. 18th. St. (209-384-2580) where everyone will have the opportunity to review their images and grab something cool to drink and relax in the courtyard. Please feel free to bring your laptop if you would like to share your images that way as well. We will all be editing images and picking our favorites from the day for a short time there. It will be an opportunity for everyone there to see each others work and help choose which ones are best from the day’s walk. A flickr group has been created for the contest for this reason and for those people who wish to enter you may upload your images from the walk within for 7 days in order to choose the best of the days images.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1450533@N21/

The chosen winner from the Downtown Merced Photo Walk will receive (your choice) of either The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers or The Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers both written by Scott Kelby the host of the event.

My role as the leader of the group is to organize and execute the event in an enjoyable way for all. I will be available via email or the blog here if you have any questions or comments before the walk. Thank you in advance for taking the time to come and walk with us and I hope that everyone gets a chance to meet some new friends and along the way we can all learn something new and create some exciting images from the day.

See you all then…
Jeff Gwartney