photowalking

saturday i participated in my first photowalk by joining the scott kelby worldwide photowalk. i was pretty excited and a bit nervous. i had high hopes of meeting some new/local people with a passion for picture taking, yet i can be shy and a little introverted. i got there about 10 minutes late so i missed the initial meet-up spot (i thought i was signed up for a different locale, so ended up leaving my house too late. not to mention waking up late since i got only about 3 hours of sleep because bea was up all night).
so, i entered oakland cemetery alone and stayed that way the entire walk. i noticed there were other people who were loners, too, so that made me feel a little better. it's a beautiful place and the morning was gorgeous! almost no humidity, just amazing. and the bluest sky. after strolling through the cemetery i made my way to cabbagetown. i was a little disappointed in this area. it reminded me a little of downtown savannah (a former home of mine), but wasn't as eclectic or busy with pedestrians. since i didn't know the area too well i was a little timid to wander too far from the group. it was similar to savannah in that there were newly renovated homes right next door to boarded up condemned ones. people with (what i consider)money & young artists sharing space with the homeless and crazies. most everyone was friendly and said hi (mainly the young ones and the crazies) and seemed willing to have their photos taken, though i didn't take any of them.
after that i headed back to the final meet-up spot, a pub called six feet under. yes. it is right across from the cemetery. and the food was good. i had the blackened shrimp tacos with fried leeks and a cucumber wasabi sauce with a yuengling. very good. here i finally met some people, the three who sat with me at my table. though to be honest we didn't exchange names. and we didn't really talk about the walk or photography. it was a little awkward to be honest-but again, they were nice people. i did get one of the guys to talk about the software he uses, but since i don't really use any or have any knowledge of it that was a short lived conversation. we didn't share our photos with one another, but this was fine with me. i felt really out of my element in these two locations and wasn't happy with most of my shots. i learned that i need to challenge myself more. i am more comfortable taking pictures of my family and my immediate surroundings and need to branch out more. that was the best thing that came from the walk. i know i want to do more and get out more with my camera.

no one flickred that i met and that was disappointing. i would love to know someone (in 'real' life) who gets flickr. i really was hoping to connect with someone that shared this interest with me but this walk just wasn't the time or place. i'm sure it will happen and i do look forward to next years walk. if you'd like to see some of the shots i took you can go here.