Early in the week, I took a beginning photographer to for a sunrise shoot at the Tidal Basin, near the Jefferson Memorial.  The weather was lousy, but, the cherry blossoms don’t last forever, so we went.  Sure enough, we were shrouded by fog.  Since we drove in at 530 am, we made the best of the weather.  Many other photographers were there, apparently having made the same decision that some photographs were better than no photographs.

The fog and mist shrouded the Washington monument, too, obscuring the top.  It wasn’t the photograph we were hoping for, but it was still an interesting look.  I think the only thing my shooting partner learned was to avoid photowalks with me.

Later in the week, Mark and I took a walk in the area around our hotel.  I was concentrating on architectural details, trying to work on my abstract vision.  I struggle with abstracts, especially in architecture.  I’m much more confident finding a smile from a whiny, little kid than finding compelling lines and shapes in the building he lives in.  The only way to improve is to practice, so I kept my eyes open for some abstracts.

We came across St. Mary’s Catholic Church, established in 1864.  The light outside made the stones pop, and the window reflection caught my eye.

The caretaker saw our cameras and kindly offered to let us into church.  I wasn’t carrying a flash, so I cranked up the ISO to 6400.  I thought the swirl of the supports were pretty interesting.  It’s a little orange, but that’s the way it looked.  I played with the color balance, but went back to the original because it just looked better.

As we were walking back – my brain aching from trying to warp it into abstract mode – we came across some window washers about five stories up from the street.  These guys were swinging all over the place, putting on a show for the onlookers below.  The shooting angle was less than ideal, but I needed at least one shot of a person to finish my day.  With some manipulation in the Lens Corrections panel, I was able to get rid of some of the perspective problems.  Joe McNally would probably have climbed the building across the street from them to get it right in the camera.  Oh, well….

While I was down in San Antonio, my son and I had to check out the Alamo and the Riverwalk.  I mean, if you’re going to walk around like tourist how can you miss the Alamo?  It is the quintessential Texas tourist location.  I set my camera to “Tourist” and went to find Davy Crockett.

Wow!  The Alamo was in the middle of town, completely surrounded by tall buildings.  I couldn’t get a clean shot anywhere.  It made me wonder why Santa Anna would bring his troops so far into town.      One of the re-enactors showed us how the trapped Texans used every means possible to try to get reinforcements.

Yeah, it was a pretty disappointing stop on our trek.  I love history, so the museum is very interesting, but photographically?  I don’t want to upset any of our Texas readers, but, unless you concentrate on detail shots, you’re not going to get much.  We only had an hour, so I’d like to go back when I have more time to face the challenge.

We had better luck at the Riverwalk.  A mission and presidio were established along the San Antonio River in the early 1700s.  Flooding was a frequent problem.  Texas began serious work to control the flooding in the 1940s, and, today, there are several canals with restaurants and shops on both sides of the canals that run through the center of town.  They claim it is the number one tourist attraction in Texas, with party barges and water taxis plying the canals.

We went restaurant hopping, stopping in to sample six establishments in one night.  The weather and food were great, with seating inside and out.  Make sure you have lots of time to enjoy the experience.

The light was failing quickly when we were arrived, but make sure you take your camera if you go.  I bumped up the ISO and put the fast lenses to work between food stops.

There are roaming musicians and music from the bars to keep you in the party mood.

The Riverwalk is a colorful, scenic treat that will keep your camera happy.  There are many footbridges, so you can easily get to either side of the canal.  I’m sure they are favorite locations for weddings and portraits.

We just nibbled here and there and ended the night at an Irish Pub with a pint.  What a great night with the Captain.

We had several registered walkers withdraw, leaving only a handful of us to take the walk.  A disappointing turnout, but it was great for getting to know everyone.  Before we even started walking, there was a drawing for the highly-prized, official Worldwide Photowalk sweatshirt.  Mark is wearing his in our group shot.

Even in our small group, we had the a good mix of characters.  We had one professional photographer. There was the normal mix of Canons and Nikons and ribbing on both sides.  As usual, there was someone trying a different path – a pinhole camera setup.  Cool.  Strangely, only two of our walkers were from nearby.  Most of us were from northern Virginia, and one came from Pennsylvania.  This is one of my favorite parts of photowalks – you always have a big variety in skill levels, photographic agendas, and equipment.  Everyone is there to have fun with photography.

A modern Canon camera, with a pinhole, instead of a lens.

We left the visitor’s center and barely got started, and the crowd was drawn to a big cow.  How many photographers does it take to take a cow’s portrait?

Yeah, I know it isn’t a cow, but, I am a people photographer.  I started after a young maiden in the field, but she was in a big hurry.  She said something about needing to get to her grandmother’s house.

As soon as we turned the first corner, people began stopping and spreading out.  Not unusual.  A photowalk leader lays out a course, but people wander off to follow their own interests.  A photowalk has very few rules; creatives don’t like rules.   We had discussed the general route before we started – two miles, in two hours – but no one is restricted to any boundaries.

I split off from the group for a while and went after some of the actors in the reconstructed stores and shops where the craftsmen demonstrate how things were made back in the 1700s.  These folks are always in character, telling the history of their little piece of Williamsburg.  I really like the cabinetmaker’s shop.  The items they make with period-correct tools show top-notch craftsmanship.  The cabinetmaker/actor was waiting in the front room to explain all aspects of his world.

I went out to Duke of Gloucester Street to catch up with the group and ran across a painter with watercolors, capturing his view.  I’ve always wanted to paint, but he spent all day capturing his one image.  I’ll keep the camera.

We walked along the street, taking in all the sights.  We had a nice, leisurely walk.  The weather was cool and cloudy, with a couple minutes of drizzle.  We stopped into the general store, but there were no Cokes in the 1700s, so I was out of luck.  The proprietor tried to sell me some of his colonial candy.  I was more interested in a portrait of him with his wares.

Colonial Williamsburg, as we’ve told you before, is loaded with photo opportunities.  If you get the chance to stop by, make sure you have your camera with you.  Several of us stopped into a nice restaurant at the end of the walk.  We did some chimping and solved many of the world’s problems while we dined on some fine modern food.  You should plan to come with us next year.  It’s always a fun time.

We had the opportunity to meet the oxen on the farm.

Olly, olly, oxen free

They seemed to be enjoying their day off, but that cud (sic) just be my imagination.  We cobbled together a full day of sightseeing.  Photographically, I tried to exclude the evidence of this century from the pictures. The cooler temps helped keep the crowds down, which made the framing of the shots much easier. One of the neat things the visitor center now provides is the opportunity to rent period costumes for the day.  This little girl seemed right at home. The town crier was happily announcing a merchandise sale on the green, while the apothecary worked away in her shop.  Each of the craftsmen and women really get into the details of preserving the skills of their trades.  The wheelwright was ironing out some of his issues, while we watched.  At the end of the day we visited the Governor’s palace.  I can remember visiting here and being duly impressed when I was 6.  It still impresses today.   All I will show of the photowalk is the picture we took of the photographer shooting our group portrait.  Tough to shoot when you are laughing.  

Well, here it is on the Tuesday before the World-Wide Photowalk Weekend and I am beginning to get excited about the walk already.  As of today there are over 1100 walks with more than 25,000 walkers. There is still time to sign up; wherever you are, there is a site nearby. 

Hmmm, what should I do to get ready to go?

Prepare your camera.  Before the walk it is a good idea to go through a few things which will make your day much better.

1. Make sure all your batteries are fully charged.  Almost nothing is worse than taking out your system and turning it on only to find it is dead.   It is smart to keep an extra set with you.

2. Clean out your memory cards.  I try and reformat my cards after I have safely downloaded them and backed them up.  Reformatting helps prevent corruption errors caused by old data.  Be sure and have lots of memory with you.  I’m planning on carrying 2 16GB cards and will have another 20 GB or so with me in the camera bag. You want to shoot LOTS of pictures.

3. Try and pick out your lenses before you go.  You don’t want to haul a giant TEMBA backpack with every gadget in the known universe inside.  My recommendation is to select one or two and stick with them.  I plan on taking my 105mm 2.8 Macro lens and my big lens as well.  Williamsburg has lots of neat details and that is what I really like to shoot. 

4. Now that you have the lenses picked out, CLEAN THEM.  Yep, use your lens brush or soft lens cloth and ensure those lenses are as clean as you can make them. If your camera has an image sensor cleaning mode, clean that as well.  Please do not try and put anything on the sensor, unless you really know what you are doing.

5. If you haven’t done it in a while, take out the manual for your camera and look it over.  Just refreshing your memory on what all of those buttons and dials are supposed to do can stimulate you to try something new.  What does that Auto Focus lock button really do?

6. Pick out some comfortable clothes and shoes, and take a hat.  You will be walking a couple of miles-hopefully- and you want nice loose-fitting stuff so you can bend down and get that perfect shot.  If you need it, take sunscreen. 

7. Take a bottle or two of water; it is important to stay hydrated.

8.  Part of the fun is sitting around in some local watering hole or ice cream shop at the end of the walk and “chimping” with your fellow shooters as you share the images taken along the way. You’ll need a few dollars in your pocket for those snacks so you can hang around and chat.  Half the fun is meeting others who share your passion.  OBTW, it is called chimping because photogs always go “Ooooh, oooh, ooooh” when they see a good picture.

9. Lastly, but most importantly—Have fun!  Talk to the people, share tips.  Ask about their equipment and be engaged when people ask about your toys as well.  There will always be someone there with more expensive equipment.  So what?  It is the vision behind the camera that counts.  The 12-year old kid with the point-and-shoot might just get the best pic of the day!