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Well, it’s in the History Books now, but this weekend’s Worldwide Photo Walk, by any measure, was a really amazing event. To have that many people (final count: 32,000+ registered walkers), all sharing a social event of this scale, and taking millions of photographs, is just a very special thing to be a part of—just ask anyone would joined one of the 900+ walks around the world on Saturday. Just….wow!

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On Sunday, I ran into one of the participants on my Ybor City, Florida walk, and he was going on and on about how much he enjoyed the walk, and how surprised he was at how much he enjoyed it. He said he had never done anything like that before, and really didn’t know what to expect. In fact, he said he really wondered what all the fuss was about, but now he knows. That spoke volumes. You can read about it. See pictures of it. But you just have to do it once, and then you “get it.” Now, he totally gets what all the fuss is about.

One of the most exciting things for me, was watching our Twitter group (hashtag SKPhoto) and Tweets from walkers around the world during their walk. I Tweeted a number of times during my local walk, posting photos and comments, but just sitting there at the restaurant afterward, and seeing posts pop-in with comments as walks were starting or ending all over, was just incredible. Almost kinda surreal as it was all happening in real time.

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My local Ybor City event was a blast. I had such a great group—just the best folks, and although it was fairly hot in the sun, we had lots of overhangs and balconies along our route, and some non-expected cool breezes that helped a lot, and really made for a pleasant walk, considering we were talking in Florida in July. (The group photo at the top of this post was taken by Erik Kuna).

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RC Concepcion came along to help me out, and he was really helpful (he did a mini-session on shooting for HDR), and he got some great shots himself, borrowing an SB-800 flash and setting up shoots along the way.

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I hardly took any shots at all—I spent most of my time visiting with walkers in my group and answering questions, and it was just as well, cause the few shots I did take were pretty lame, as is evidenced by my Lightroom grid above (click on it for a larger view. Please don’t chuckle). But it didn’t spoil my day—I had such a great time.

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Our ending spot was The Spaghetti Warehouse in Ybor Square, where we had one long table for 50 set up just for us. The restaurant really rolled out the red carpet for us—they were fantastic—very accommodating, and the service was excellent! We spent about two hours sharing stories, photos, laughs, and lots of great spaghetti!

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Anyway, it was just such a kick to think that the same thing was happening, had just happened, or was about to happen all over the world that same day, with photographers all sharing in the experience.

SPECIAL NOTE: Tomorrow I’m doing a Photo Walk Q&A for everyone who walked in, or led a Walk, with lots of info on stuff you guys want to know, so make sure you check back here tomorrow for LOTS of new details, and contest info, plus where to see lots of really amazing photos.

  • My thanks to everyone who attended my walk, and who participated in other walks around the world.
  • A big, big thanks to the volunteers who organized and led walks around the world (We couldn’t have done it without you).
  • Also, a thanks to my book Publisher Peachpit Press, for their major support of this event, and to all the sponsors who pitched in to make this something very special.

Hey, whatdasay we do this again next year! :)