Robert Scoble posted a link to Thomas Hawk’s blog post on photowalking. The premise is simple: make your camera a part of you. I find this very difficult, because I feel like cameras offend people in most situations, annoy them in others and are just generally touristy otherwise. A camera phone on the other hand doesn’t give me quite the same feeling, though I do struggle sometimes. I need to get over this.
The principles of photowalking are simple. Hawk goes into much more detail and his post is worth reading. To summarize, the rules are as follows:
- The camera goes with you everywhere
- Take pictures everyday
- Share your work and join a community
- Be engaged in photography social networks
- Never hesitate (in taking a shot)
- Shoot in RAW and photoshop it
- Know your rights: where it’s ok to shoot and where it’s not
- Art is more important than rules
- Money spent on gear is always worth it
- Back up your photos
- Learn to shoot in manual mode
- Shoot with a group of people (it’s safer)
- Get used to using a macro lens
So now some of these are way more technical than I ever get, especially since a 2 megapixel cell phone camera is my current primary camera. Obviously not sufficient for a serious photographer. If only I had more money to devote to this hobby, it’s something I’ve always wanted to spend more time doing. Maybe after I get my Ph.D.
