2010 Photo Walk in WRJ

This past Saturday I participated in my first photo walk, hosted by Lia Rothstein of the Photostop Gallery in White River Junction, Vermont as part of the Third Annual Worldwide Photo Walk. Photographers from many areas of the world were invited to get together to walk and take pictures on the same day. Handouts were given at the sign-in with directions and theme suggestions such as taking pictures of a certain color or shape.

The evening was hot and thunder storms threatened. People came with various equipment; big cameras, little cameras, tripods and extra lenses. Right off the bat, individuals drifted off as attention was grabbed. I was still debating whether to go with a theme or to just find what appealed to me. I was surprised that most didn’t stick with a group as some stopped while others moved on.

I am always intrigued by angles, lines, and windows. Oh, and there’s old buildings and things that are round… and colors… I started looking up the side of buildings and catching clouds in the window reflections. I took shots up ladders and of rows of lights. I captured roof lines and windows.

“Trains,” Gayle said. Oh, yeah, we’ve been working on a train project, so we decided to go to the station arriving in time to get photos of an incoming passenger train. One of the conductors even posed for us after all the passengers were off and as we explored inside the building, the ticket master offered to open the office for us where we oohed and aahhed while taking pictures of the old equipment.

The allotted time was running out and everyone began drifting back towards the gallery where the café next door had reserved spaces for us. It was wonderful to take time to share stories and techniques while showing the pictures taken. I also enjoyed that, like me, some people were also into other art mediums.

The food was good. I ordered a roasted Caesar salad trying to imagine what roasted lettuce would be like and my first impression was that it was “just okay,” but the more I ate, the more I liked. Finally, the association to the flavor hit me--- it reminded me of a marshmallow toasted over a campfire--- and with that memory, the salad became delicious and yes, I’d order it again.

On Sunday, I imported 124 pictures onto the computer. So far, I’ve only edited 28. I’m happy with the outcome and the photos are posted on flickr.com in the groups tab under Third Annual Worldwide Photowalk- White River Junction, Vt. Here also are postings from other participants. It’s awesome to see the differences in what attracted each of us.

The entire experience was a delight. What fun for all kinds of photographers.