CrossRoad Farm: Photo Walk

One of our local camera shops holds these amazing "Photo Walk" events. Basically, a bunch of people get together at a specific location and take photos. It is open to all ages, all skill levels, any type of camera, and it is free. The staff from the store is on hand for tips and advice, and you will meet a ton of people that are willing to help you out.

Who could ask for anything better?

I have owned a decent camera for over a year now. It may be two years, but whose counting. I tend to shoot everything on AUTO!

Blah!

Boring!

I know my camera has tons of buttons and knobs that control all sorts of settings, but for the life of me, I do not understand what any of it means. It is like learning a new language. I haven't had the time to try to figure it out on my own, and I really doubt I could. These photo walks are held at different locations and at different times of the day. I have always been busy, exhausted, or if I'm being honest, intimidated! This time, I decided to be a grown up and sign up. It also helped when I found out one of our family members had signed up for the same event. I was certain she knew more about her camera than I did, but I found confidence in not being alone in the crowd.

It was so much fun!

I met a lot of people that speak camera, and were willing to help me out. I was even lucky enough to bump into a guy who owns the exact same camera I do. He had a ton of knowledge. He was willing to share. So I humbled myself for the experience.

I admitted to one of the staff members that I usually shoot about 100 pictures and feel lucky if I get one good one. He laughed, and then pointed out that I only have a 1% success rate. He was committed to helping me improve on that. He gave me some pointers and then with the help of my fellow Canon owner, I set about executing my new found knowledge.

One of the first shots I took in manual mode.

Then my new Canon friend showed me another angle to try. The illuminated snow flakes on the ground are a result of some pretty impressive lighting around the square.

Then we tried to play with the water a bit in front of the tree. I really wanted to go move that umbrella in the shot, but I refrained. Let me tell you, it was really hard not to move that umbrella.

Then we went super crazy playing with the shutter speed and focusing in or out!

Then we moved back to the front of the tree and tried it again.

Then we played around with this cute little gingerbread girl.

Then we moved to the other side of the square and played around with this water fall. You can't really see the water, but the lighting was really cool.