Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk

This past Saturday (July 18th, 2009), I participated in what has become an annual event, namely the Baltimore MD group for the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk. This was my first experience with this group, but not my first photo walk. I've been participating in these types of events for a little over a year now with a couple of local groups, and find that I get a lot out of them. It's an excuse to get out and shoot, a great way to meet new photographers, and a great learning experience. My favorite part of my involvement has been the collaboration afterward. Seeing the photographs from everyone else, taken in the same place, at roughly the same time, yet they all look so different. It's amazing what some people see, and more amazing what I miss. It's a great learning opportunity.

The day started at 9:00 AM in front of the Rusty Scupper Seafood Restaurant at Inner Harbor with introductions, information, and a group shot. We then proceeded up to the top of Federal Hill, overlooking the harbor with a stop at the memorial to the Pride of Baltimore ship that sunk in 1986. The mast here provided great perspective shots while lying on my back, shooting up the length of the mast into what was a beautiful sky with modeled puffy clouds. The weather really could not have been better, and the photos show that. The sky was great, the temperate great and the humidity was tolerable.

The top of Federal Hill provides a wonderful vista overlooking the Harbor and the city. There is a statue of Major-General Samuel Smith, commander of the Baltimore defenses during the battle of Baltimore and Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. Flying close to the statue is a replica of the US Flag as it looked at this time with 15 stars. I saw this convenient positioning, threw on my 70-200mm lens, and shot the statue with the flag serving as the backdrop. The long 200mm focal length allowed me to get exactly what I wanted in the frame, and made the two items appear to be close in proximity. This turned out to be one of my top favorites from the day with everything coming together well for me.

From Federal Hill, we continued around the West side of the Harbor, where the photographic opportunities were abundant. There is an old wooden carousel that made for interesting photos, as well as a Yoga class put on by Charm City Yoga in one of the grassy areas by the Baltimore Science Center. This is the area in which I came upon the group of tourists taking a break from their activities overlooking the Harbor. The layering in this shot works very well with the people, the tree, the water, the boats, and an office building in the background thrown out of focus. Another one of my favorites from the day.

One last image I'll talk about from the day is this one of a few people out on paddle boats. In the background you can see the Constellation, Harbor Place shopping center and the Hyatt. Again, the modeled clouds in the sky add to this shot, providing for another layer of interest.

I had a wonderful time with this great group of people. I had the opportunity to get out and shoot on a wonderful day, talk to other photographers, and try some new equipment that has since made its way to my wish-list at B&H. I await next years photo walk with much anticipation. The rest of my images from the walk are available on my
Flickr page. Look at them and feel free to leave comments, either here or on Flickr.