Please tell us about yourself.
I’m a husband, dad of two and a middle school band and music teacher in central Pennsylvania. Music’s an obvious art, but I think teaching is also, so it’s not a stretch to be inclined to enjoy creative outlets.
How did you first hear about photowalking?
Not sure where I first heard of the concept, but I spotted one in Georgetown (D.C.) hosted by Jeff Revell a few years back. Jeff’s web site has been a good resource for photowalkers, particularly earlier on before there were too many other resources.
How many photowalks did you attend before hosting your own? About how many photowalks have you hosted since then?
Just the Georgetown walk, which was a lot of fun. I actually decided to host a Gettysburg walk before I even walked in Georgetown. The town of Gettysburg was a good choice; a nice, traditional small college town that borders a battlefield and a seminary.
In addition to Gettysburg, I’ve hosted walks in Harrisburg, York and the marina area of Codorus State Park, all of which are in Pennsylvania. For the York walk, I based the route on a book that covered the history of various buildings in the downtown area, and was fortunate enough to have the author do the walk with us. I’m hoping to do another walk with him on a different book coming out later.
The Codorus event I called a “scatter” walk, since there was not a set path. Rather, participants were given a basic area (marina) and time to shoot. Really scary weather preceded the walk so we only had 23 walkers, but it worked well overall, and the weather miraculously cleared for us. I have maps and info from the walks on my event site.
I’m currently advertising a benefit “Sights, Sounds & Tastes” walk scheduled for March 6th. This has a two main indoor components. First, we’ll have a demonstration of one of the ten largest pipe organs in the world, with a behind the scenes tour of the inner workings. Participants will be able to shoot the organ as well as the church, which is quite beautiful. Afterward we’ll walk across the street to the area’s top restaurant, the Sheppard Mansion. The building has had a long, historic presence in town, and the food is amazing. We’ll have a table of desserts to shoot, followed by a sampler plate for everyone to enjoy. If the weather is nice, I’ll do an optional mini outdoor walk of the downtown area.
This is the first walk of mine that will have a fee, but it’s not for profit. $35 will cover the food prices, etc., with all remaining funds to benefit the care and restoration of the organ.
What tips do you have for someone looking to host a photowalk?
Biggest tip:
Go for it. Really. What’s the worst that can happen? You end of walking around with a bunch of nice folks for a few hours. Hard to lose.
More specifically, have a plan to let people know about the walk, and give yourself a few weeks to let the news get out. Use your own blog, ask friends to help blog about it, add it to online calendars and send it to local newspapers. I’d say that for most of my walks, about half of the participants were picked up from the photography end, and the other half were local folks that heard about the walks from local sources.
I like to have a path available beforehand, so people can print it and bring it along if they’d like. Sometimes groups will stay together, but particularly with larger numbers, you’ll have mini-groups that develop and move at different speeds. I don’t see that as a bad thing. I want people to have fun, so they should feel free to enjoy the day in a way that best suits their own style.
Finally… make the route shorter than you think it should be. Remember that it will take much longer to move through than expected, since people will be stopping to take photographs. I’ve found two miles to be about right. Much longer than that, and you’ll have people that won’t walk the entire route.
What tips do you have for someone looking to join a photowalk?
Biggest tip:
Go for it. Really. What’s the worst that can happen? You end of walking around with a bunch of nice folks for a few hours. Hard to lose.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? I think the biggest fear is from people that think they need to be a great photographer or have a great camera. Silly. We’ve had families attend with kids that use cheap disposable cameras. That’s awesome; what a great way to establish a love for creative expression. Everyone who has shared photos online after the events have had photos that have been unique and interesting. People are surprised how much they enjoy the day, and many return for future walks.
The obvious tips are bringing along extra (charged!) batteries and extra camera memory. I like to bring along the route map as well as a small pocket notebook and pen to jot down names of streets, notes about objects I photograph, etc.
And here’s a personal recommendation, which may be the exact opposite of what you’ll hear from some other folks. There will be people participating that will carry a large camera bag and will constantly be switching lenses. Two miles with a heavy bag is harder than you think. More importantly, I’d argue that it hinders your creativity.
Really early in the Georgetown walk I noticed some wakers switching lenses and sporting cameras with huge telephotos. They spent more time playing with their gear than looking for the great details in the walk. I made a quick decision to stick with a midsize lens for the rest of the walk, and I’ve done so for each walk since. Besides limiting the weight, it allows you to come up with creative thinking; what is wonderful in your current sight, and how will you photograph it?
Please share links to your photowalk group, your flickr page, photography portfolio, etc…
My photowalk site is: http://www.vrphotowalks.com
It currently features the upcoming organ/dessert walk, but also has a page about the previous walks. Let me know if you have any questions.
My photography blog is at: http://www.visualrealia.com
I post regularly; use the “themes” page if you have particular interests.
