Beyond Megapixels » photo contests

10 Tips for a Great Photo Walk

Tiffany Joyce — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 07:00:38 +0000

As many of you are probably already aware, Scott Kelby’s (free!) Fourth Annual World Wide Photo Walk is taking place on October 1st and 2nd 2011 (the first year that the event is being held on two days). The purpose of the Photo Walk is to bring together photographers of all skill levels, in locations all over the world. Participants walk around their city or chosen location, photographing their environment and sharing their experiences with fellow walkers, and they can also participate in various contests hosted by the Kelby gang. The groups generally conclude their day by sharing a meal or a beverage, comparing the results of their walk and growing their network of friends. The event really supports the feeling of creativity and comradeship within the photographic community.

Whether you’ve participated every year in this event, you are joining in for the the first time this year, or you’re planning on hosting your own photo walk in the future, keep these tips in mind to make the most of your day.

1. Choose a light lens. The key word in the term “photo walk” is “walk”, so keep in mind that you’re going to be lugging around anything you choose to take with you, and a heavy lens is misery to walk around with for any length of time. Choose a light zoom lens in a flexible focal range – I’m fond of my 17-55mm (Canon/Nikon), many folks choose a 24-70mm (Canon/Nikon), or go with a longer lens such as a 70-300mm (Canon/Nikon). Be brave. Take just one lens. You can do it!

2. Streamline your camera. I’m of Jay Maisel’s school of thought – take a camera, take a lens. Tuck an extra battery or two, and an extra memory card, in your pocket. Leave off the lens hood (I choose to keep the UV filter on), and take off the battery grip. You want to be nimble with your camera. You’re going to be walking around in a group of people. Streamlining your camera will minimize your footprint and reduce the occurrences of lens fencing. It’s very liberating to leave off all of the accouterments we tend to collect.

3. Leave it in the car. Now, to completely oppose what I mentioned in #1 and #2, bring other options with you and leave them in your car. You may find the lens that you chose completely unacceptable for your surroundings. The bright sunlight may be causing wicked lens flare which would be helped by a lens hood. You may have mistakenly grabbed the batteries with no juice. Having some backup gear will give you some peace of mind. Now, don’t bring everything you own. Be thoughtful in your selection. Just don’t plan on carrying it around all day. And lock it in your trunk, don’t leave it in plain view on your back seat.

4. Dress for the weather and for the activity. Comfortable shoes are a must, and non-confining clothing is recommended. Pick pants or a jacket with plenty of pockets! Layer if you need to, to accommodate changing temperatures throughout the day.

5. Be open, and be polite. We’re all grown-ups. Be open to the opinions, advice, and feedback of the other photographers with you. Use common courtesy and manners. Reject obnoxious behavior – your own and others. It is always a good reminder for everyone to just mind their manners and play nice. So, be aware that while you’re trying to get “the” shot, so are all of the other folks in your group. Be mindful of where other folks are framing their pictures, so you don’t accidentally commit a photobomb. Be a good photo walk citizen.

6. Share. If you see a really cool angle or unique perspective, point it out. If some action is going on down the street that no one else has seen yet, let folks know. Keep your head on a swivel and hone your observational skills, but don’t “hog” the shot just because you want to be the only one cool enough to have spotted it.

7. Shoot in burst mode, or bracket your shots. For busy surroundings or areas with a lot of action, shooting in burst mode helps ensure that you capture the moment before it’s gone. If you’re unsure of the required exposure, bracket your shots to guarantee you get the right one.

8. Stand in one spot and look in EVERY direction. A photo walk implies that you will automatically keep moving along. Pause for a few moments every now and then. “Stand in the place where you are.” Let the group move ahead of you a bit so you can have an unfettered view of your surroundings. Look up, look down, turn 360 degrees to absorb every vantage available to you. Stand on something to give yourself an elevated view. Kneel and get your eyes level to the ground. Photograph the people as well as the place.

9. Keep mental notes for a second trip. There may be shots that would benefit all the more for being shot at another time of day than the one you found yourself in during your walk. Maybe some traffic trails on a specific corner would be especially cool. Perhaps some upcoming festival or celebration would provide a unique opportunity for inspired street photography. A photo walk is often a great opportunity to become familiar with a place, so that you can go back there and know exactly what you’d like to shoot.

10. Have fun. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Allow yourself to make mistakes. Relax. Enjoy the opportunity to surround yourself with fellow enthusiasts in person (says the blogger tied to her computer). Give constructive feedback to walk leaders or the Kelby gang so that they can help improve upon the experience for next year.

Are you planning on joining the World Wide Photo Walk? Have you ever participated in a photo walk, Kelby’s otherwise? Do you have some great advice to share? Feel free to speak up in the comments, or head on over to our Facebook page!

Photo credits (in order of appearance):
- Photo Walk Penang by Ishak J. on Flickr Creative Commons.
- Windmills @ Worldwide Photo Walk 2009 by Jiaren Lau on Flickr Creative Commons.

Finding A Photography Mentor Redux

Steve Russell — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:00:50 +0000

A couple of months ago Tiffany posted an article entitled Six Tips for Finding a Photography Mentor. From my perspective there is one other way to find a mentor that she could have included that would have given her seven tips. Another great way to find a mentor is through a local camera club. Some of them, like the one in Orlando, FL, even have a formal mentoring program.

What’s a camera club and how do I find one?

A camera club is exactly what the name implies – a club made up of individuals with interests in photography. Their mission is typically to provide its members with educational opportunities and a means to increase their skills related to photography. In most clubs the members’ skill levels range from beginner to serious amateur to professional.

To find a camera club near you a good place to start is with the Photographic Society of America (PSA) website. At the bottom of their home page is a link to their listing of the PSA member camera clubs in the United States and Canada. There is also a link to a listing of clubs outside North America. Not all camera clubs are members of PSA and for whatever reason, not all clubs that are members of PSA are included in the listing but it’s a good place to start.

While this is probably very obvious you can also do an internet search for “camera clubs your location.” For example, a search for camera club Orlando returns this link to the Orlando Camera Club.

If I join how do I get a mentor?

If you belong to a club that has a formal mentoring program like the Orlando Camera Club, then all that is necessary is to contact the person that coordinates the program for the club and let them know you would like to be paired up with a mentor. The coordinator will select an appropriately qualified volunteer member that has similar interests as yours and is at a skill level that will allow them to provide you with guidance and assistance in your photographic endeavors.

Don’t worry if the club doesn’t have a formal mentoring program. Photographers are an interesting group of people. Many of them like to talk about photography a lot and many of them want to teach and help others whether it’s how to operate the camera or compose that great shot. Once you join the club you can talk with one of the officers about your interest in finding a mentor or you can find one on your own. Be social. Don’t sit in the corner at every meeting. Get to know the other members. You’ll make friends and you may find yourself with a mentor before you know it.

As with anything else, a little common sense also goes a long way. If your interest is in studio photography don’t expect someone who does nature photography exclusively to be of a lot of help with studio lighting. A wedding photographer isn’t going to be what you’re probably looking for in a mentor if your interest is in gritty street photography.

The first camera club I joined was a nature photography camera club. On my first field trip with the club I connected with one of the other members who became my mentor until I relocated half way across the U.S. three or four years later.

I thought camera clubs were for competition.

Most, if not all camera clubs hold photographic competitions. In any club you’ll find people that are really intense about competition all the way down to those that never participate in that particular activity. The competition is there if you want to enter but you don’t have to.

If you don’t belong to a camera club, I recommend that you search for one close to you and at least visit once to see what it has to offer. In fact, most clubs charge very nominal annual dues and joining for a year may prove invaluable to you and your photography. The clubs also have regularly scheduled meeting, sometimes monthly and sometimes more frequently.

Not only have I learned a lot as a member of camera clubs, I’ve had the opportunity to go on a number of club sponsored photography trips and made a number of friends. In fact, I have a very good friend of 25 years that I met at a camera club I belonged to in the 1980′s.

I should add that the connection between the photos used in this article is that they were all taken on various camera club sponsored field trips. In some cases we had access at times that would not be generally available to an individual.

Photo Credits: All Steve Russell

Competition: Postcards! Now Closed.

Tiffany Joyce — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:17:33 +0000

The guys over at Uprinting have decided to run another small competition especially for BeyondMegapixels. These guys do some cool postcard printing so I look forward to seeing the lucky winner’s postcards.

How to Enter: Leave a comment at the end of this blog post, describing what you would use the free postcards for. Winners randomly selected.
Prize: 250 post card prints (2 winner’s total)

Note: Winners in the United States and Canada qualify for free shipping. Shipping fees will apply to winners outside these areas.

Competition: Postcards!

Tiffany Joyce — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:52:02 +0000

How to Enter: Leave a comment at the end of this blog post, describing what you would use the free postcards for. For this particular competition I will be giving 250 post cards to someone who can benefit a local charity of some sort. The second winner will be randomly picked.

Prize: 250 post card prints (2 winner’s total)

Note: Rules Winners in the United States and Canada qualify for free shipping. Shipping fees will apply to winners outside these areas.

fotoflōt winner is…. drum roll please

Tiffany Joyce — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:21:08 +0000

The winner of the $70 gift certificate from fotoflōt is Johan. Congratulations and let us know how much you enjoy your fotoflōt prize. A few questions came in since the post and I thought I should address them here.

Question the First: Do you like how they look in your home?
Answer the First: I would love them, I’m sure. Unfortunately, my husband saw them and claimed them alla screaming “DIBS” and promptly took them off the table where I had been admiring them and placed them in his car so they could go “live in his office – you know, where they belong”.

Question the Second: Will you buy these again?
Answer the Second: A resounding Yes. I’m also showing the two samples I was sent around to some offices that have been talking about buying prints.

Question the Third: Can you interchange desk mount for wall mount?
Answer the Third: Not all sizes have desk stands, but all that do have the desk stand option can also be displayed on the wall with a wall bracket. Sizes that have the desk stand option are listed on fotoflot.com, under Sizes & Prices.

Question the Fourth: Can you buy a desk mount AND a wall mount?
Answer the Fourth: You can. You’ll need to make a note on your order that you’re interested in this and they will give you a price quote. I think this is an excellent idea. On my future orders I plan on buying a desk mount and a wall mount (when I can) for each photo that way I can move them all around. I’ll be like Meg Ryan carrying around the daisy’s from room to room in You’ve Got Mail.

Book Review: BetterPhoto Guide to Digital Photography

Tiffany Joyce — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:33:28 +0000

As mentioned earlier I am reviewing the BetterPhoto book series and I started off with the first book The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Photography. Overall I would say that this book was a good read and at under $17.00 it’s a great introductory look into Digital Photography.

The book is full of glossy photographs which helps me get through any book. The descriptions of the settings and functions on your standard SLR are technically sound and Miotke (the author) provides great metaphors to help understand the mechanics behind how the camera works.

The tips provided in the book would be helpful for someone going from a Point & Shoot camera to an SLR for the first time but you’ll need to read it with your camera manual as he doesn’t get into the specifics of how to modify your settings. Overall I really enjoyed the book and thought the information was ready for consumption for a newbie photographer. A weakness of the book (again, this is just my opinion) is the step-by-step lessons. It’s noted as the first bullet on the cover of the book so I had great expectations of challenges and engaging lessons and I didn’t find that in this book. I’m hopeful that the next two books in the series get into more of that as they are more specialized.

In short if you’re brand new to this wonderful world of digital photography and you want to learn what it means to take your camera out of the AUTO mode this would be a great book for you. If you’re already shooting outside of AUTO and you have a basic understanding of the different settings and functions of your camera than I would say save yourself for another upcoming book review.

As promised I’ll be giving this book (very gently read) away to one of our readers. Please leave a comment on this post if you’d like to win it. The winner will be announced on Monday – and for those of you that commented on the first post where I gave a “freebie” copy of this book away, you’ll get two entries.

Photo Challenges and Flickr

Tiffany Joyce — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:12:27 +0000

After my last post about Leading Lines I received a lot of e-mails about my list of photo challenges and about our Flickr Group so lets answer some questions:

1. How many items are on your list? It grows every single day and I have 243 items on the list now. It started out with just seeing great shots and saying “I’d like to shoot something like that one day.” I was committed to making sure that “one day” actually happened so I made a list. Now when I find myself without my camera and I see a moment or a view that I wish I could capture I add it to the list. I also add technicques or photo elements that I want to capture. It’s a long list.

2. Do you list everything? Yes. Yes, I do. Be thankful for this because otherwise I’d be the person in front of you at the grocery store slowing you down.

3. Will I share my list with you? Yes, that is something I’d love to do. But I’m not going to just e-mail out this list. I think it would be overwhelming and not very fun for me! Instead I’m going to pick out items from the list randomly and challenge you to post your photos to our Flickr Group.

4. Why should you post to the Flickr Group? I understand incentives so we will be offering some. More details on this to come (if you have something that you’d like to offer as a prize feel free to e-mail me at cassjustcurious at gmail dot com).

5. Do I have to have a Flickr Account? Yes, you do but you don’t need a Flickr Pro Account – just the regular free account will work.

6. Where do you list? One word: Moleskine

Join the Fall Photography Contest at Photography Bay

Tiffany Joyce — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:38:00 +0000

CC Photo by Per Ola Wilberg
Remember our post on 5 Ways to Shoot Autumn Leaves? If you went out there and took some fall pictures, you might want to join the ongoing photo contest over at Photography Bay.

Photography Bay and Seagate invite you to bring your best fall photo for a chance to win 1 of 3 Seagate FreeAgent Go drives – a 500GB, 320GB and 250GB model for first, second and third place, respectively.

If you don’t have a backup drive yet, dude, you need one. If you do, well, one more shouldn’t hurt. To learn more about file management and safety of your digital images, we’ve written two articles on it: Back Up Your Files Regularly, and Back Up Your Work on the Road. There’s also an excellent series over at Epic Edits Weblog on backing up – Photo Backup: An Intro to Data Security.

Back to the contest -

How To Enter

1. Take your best “Fall” themed photograph.
2. Upload it to your Flickr account. (Don’t have one? Sign up. It’s free.)
3. Tag your photo “seagate” and “fall”.
4. Add your photo to the Photography Bay Group Pool.
5. That’s it. You’re entered.
6. You may only enter once for this contest. Any more than one entry will result in disqualification. You may submit as many photos to the Photography Bay Group Pool as you wish; however, you should only tag your entry photo as “seagate” and “fall”. You may tag other photos as “fall” – just don’t add the “seagate” tag and the photo will not count as an entry.

Deadline for Entries

You have until November 24, 2008 at 11:59p.m. Eastern Time to submit your photo for the contest.

For more information on the contest, read the official announcement.

We’ll count as one of the judges, along with Rich Legg of LeggNet’s Digital Capture, Brian Auer of Epic Edits Weblog, and Darren Rowse of Digital Photography School. Hope to see you there!

Weekly Linkies, 08/13/08

Tiffany Joyce — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:11:00 +0000

Hi, folks. This is Lisa again with our not-so-weekly weekly linkies. This week we’ve got contests galore on our usual haunts that you might want to join. The prizes are pretty cool. But before we get to that, I’d just like to share that we recently got featured on my.yahoo.com.

To the new susbcribers, hello! Welcome to Beyond Megapixels. We hope you enjoy your stay. If there’s anything we can help you with, just holler. Or leave a comment. Either works.

With that out of the way, here are the things around the web you should be reading this week:

PHOTO PROJECT: The $50 Film Camera
Epic Edits Weblog
Brian Auer has an awesome photo project. The project is fun enough as it is, but he’s also managed to score some amazing sponsors. There’s $300 worth of prizes to be divided between just three contest winners, so get to it!

Portrait Professional 8 Giveaway
DIYPhotography.net
Udi is giving away 3 copies of Portrait Professional 8 as prizes for another photo contest. Such good, free love going around the Internets these days.

Where to Rent a Lens Online
Digital Photography School
Peter Carey guest posts on DPS and shares with you where to rent lenses online. For those contemplating a lens purchase and still unsure, you can rent one and test it out for a week and see if you want to commit to it. Or if you’re in need of a really expensive lens for a shoot that you can’t shell out for just yet, well, here you go.

Print something. Print it BIG.
Photodoto
It’s true. Us digital photographers don’t print that often. And we print big less often. After I read this, I had some of my photos printed at 10×15 and felt the “magic” again. You’re robbing yourself if you don’t print your pictures this big. Next week, I’m going to print one at 20×24 for the living room.

Finding Your Photographic Niche
Pro Photo Life
Part 1 of an interesting series for pros and aspiring pros about finding your niche or specialty.

Not-so-Weekly Linkies: Photography Must-Reads, Part III

Tiffany Joyce — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:51:00 +0000

Things to read over the weekend:

Have a great one!