Lessons learned: Photo walk edition

So much fun and so many wonderful things came of the photo walk on Saturday.
The time spent getting to know and learning from some amazing women
was well worth dealing with the heat, the rubbing shoes, and the craziest metro ride ever!

So here are a few lessons learned...

No matter how many times you've looked at the same pointy monument, 

no matter how many pictures that you and the rest of the world have taken of that pointy monument,

there's always the possibility of finding a different angle with which to see it. 

Lesson learned....

Don't apologize for your vision.  

When the picture popped into my mind,

I looked around and said to the person nearest me, 

"Don't laugh... sometimes I like to take stupid pictures."

Turns out, it was one of my favorite shots of the day.

Lesson learned...

In a world full of giant buildings and over-sized monuments, find the details.

Lesson learned...

Don't be afraid to lay on the ground, climb a tree, hang upside down, whatever...

to get the shot that you want. 

No one will think you are weird, more likely they'll just be curious to see what you are seeing.

(I did not live by this rule this weekend, I was too timid and shy while surrounded by all those wonderful and non-judgmental women and I regret it. )

Lesson learned...

Totally take advantage of someone else's photo shoot 

especially if they are wearing an incredibly awesome hat!

 (Can't come up with a lesson for this one.  shrug.)

Lesson learned...

Living, moving creatures totally trump marble statues.

and duck butts are far more photogenic than people butts.

(Well.... I guess that depends on the person.)

So many lessons to be learned here... 

I just love this spot

and it was the one picture that I had planned in advance to take while I was there.

So maybe the photography lesson learned is to plan ahead, but go with the flow.

For the next few pics,  I believe that my lesson learned...

was to be a bit bolder,  wait until the shot is right 

and don't be so nervous that you move the camera too soon after you release the shutter.

But be quick with the camera so you can catch the unexpected.

And finally...

when all else fails,

edit the heck out of the picture!

I have to pick my three favorites from the walk to put into the I heart faces site.

Which three would you choose?

Everybody has a camera

"So," my sister asks, "how will you know who's in your photo walk?"

"I don't know." I say.  "I guess I'll look for the group of people with big old camera bags."

Uhhhh.... yeah.

The problem there?

In DC, everybody has a camera.

I exited the metro station and saw a small group of ladies sitting along a wall.  

There was nothing that made them stand out as photo walk people other than the fact that they all seemed to be waiting for something or someone.  

I looked closer and saw the camera bags and ventured the question, "Are you with the photo walk?"

Sure enough, I had found my group.

But after walking around DC for a bit, I realized how unremarkable a group of people with big old camera bags and cameras was.
There were cameras everywhere.
Pretty much one for every person.

So I started to take pictures of the people.
Now that's a big step for me.
I feel highly uncomfortable taking pictures of people that I don't know.
Shoot... I feel weird taking pictures of people I do know.
I even felt awkward taking pictures of the model that came along with our group.
So, my people pictures weren't my best shots of the day.
I was afraid to get in close and wait for a good shot.

***Here's a secret....a look into how my brain works...***
I try to hide all my crappy pictures inside of collages with the hopes that you won't notice that they kind of suck. 
If I really hate them, they've already been deleted. 
So you'll never get to see the really awful ones.
If the picture is big and bold, then that's kind of how I feel about them.  
Or, at least I find some redeeming quality to the picture.

When I got home from the walk I saw that a package from Amazon had arrived with a new Jack Johnson CD.
(We're going to see him in July and I wanted to hear his new music beforehand.)
I popped it in the car and had to rewind it a bit to listen to this song.
The lyrics pretty much described the goings on at the photo walk. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pictures of people taking

Pictures of people taking 

Pictures of people taking pictures.

I pictured us at the end of time

Holding up a camera to our eyes

I took a picture of you took a picture of me

In the background of the picture

Was water running to the sea

~Jack Johnson