I Attended My First Kelby Worldwide Photowalk
Yesterday it was that time of year again. The Kelby Worldwide PhotoWalk. Groups of photographers around the world joined one of the hundreds of photo walks across the globe. Year after year, walks are held in Balboa Park, the Embarcadero, Coronado - and these are all great places, no doubt. So I didn't go. I knew these places.
Well... this year my friend and excellent photographer, Sony Artisan of Imagery Spencer Pablo, organized a Kelby walk. I hadn't seen Spencer in a couple of months and I figured what better way to catch up than going on a shoot. And, he led what I think was quite a unique walk for San Diego.
Around 9am, a group of about 40 or so photographers started a meander through the alleys of the North Park neighborhood. The theme of the walk - wall murals. This was a subject well outside of my comfort zone - and that was kind of the point of the walk for me. Although, since people weren't the subject, I found it to be a more approachable subject than pure "street" photography. And there were plenty of photographers to ask questions of and exchange ideas with. Maybe I'll host a Kelby walk in the future. Who knows. Although, with me and my love for the ocean, it would probably be more like a "photo wade" ... and start a lot earlier than 9am.
What did I shoot with? I was lean. I mounted a 50mm f/1.8 prime on my A7RII, slung it over my shoulder on a Black Rapid strap, and that was it. Well... I think I had a spare battery in my pocket, too. I used the black & white creative mode in my camera to help me compose. When I think about street photography, I think in black & white. The creative mode is great because I can see the world in monochrome, but I get a RAW file when I press the shutter. As you can see, I did stay in color for some of the shots.
After the walk, Spencer and I kept on chatting. I think we'll be starting a long term project together. I'm excited about it! There's plenty of details for us to work through, yet that's all part of the fun. Stay tuned...
