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Downtown Columbus Outing

During my last weekly trip to Dublin, Ohio my camera and I spent an afternoon in downtown Columbus.  I ended up spending a couple of hours at Battelle Riverfront Park on Marconi Boulevard.  This park is on the banks of the Scioto River and is a popular location for strollers, family picnics, joggers and even photographers.

The park contains pathways that were designed that you could walk from one end to the other without retracing your path. It also displays a sculpture named Freedom by Robert Tibor depicting a man releasing a dove at one of the path’s entrances.

One of the highlights of the park is the Santa Maria replica. The Santa Maria was sailed by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and landed in the Caribbean.  This replica is touted to be the most authentic replica of the Santa Maria and was built in 1991, and dedicated in 1992 during the Quincentennial Celebrations held in Columbus.

I wrapped up the day by meeting a couple of OSU students holding a photo shoot.  Matt (photographer) and Olivia (model) were taking advantage of the sunset and working on a class project for Matt.  I offered to help out by holding the reflector that kept being blown over by the wind.  Matt took some awesome shots from what I saw on the camera.  We didn’t trade last names so hopefully he’ll read this and send me a link to some of them.

Tags: Battelle Riverfront Park, Columbus, Digital Photography, photowalk, replica, santa maria, Scioto River, Travel, travel photography

Summer Photo Contest at Towner Jones Photography

Online friend and fellow Photoblogging DC contributor Rob Jones of Towner Jones Photography has announced their latest photo contest.

Open to everyone (pro and amateur) this contest comes with a twist…you get to choose your own theme for your submissions.  Once you pick your theme then you can submit 10 – 20 images over the summer.   Get the full rules here.

Prizes you ask?  Of course there’s fame and prestige but for those wanting something a little more material Rob has the goods from WHCC, onOne Software, 2BrightSparks, and  a $100 B&H Photo gift card.

So if you’re looking for a summer photography project, Towner Jones Photography has got you covered.  Head over, sign up, have fun and good luck!

Tags: 2BrightSparks, Digital Photography, onOne Software, photography contest, Rob Jones, WHCC

Our Night at the Museum Too

While perusing for activities for the weekend I noticed Don’s posting over at We Love DC about the showings of Night at the Museum 2 at the National Museum of Natural History.  Dawn Casey and her son Jonathan joined us for the evening.  We arrived about an hour before showtime and were able to wander in the musuem a bit to snap a few shots here and there.

I’ve never written a movie review and don’t plan to now.  I will say this is an extremely enjoyable movie, great for a family outing.  As you can expect its filled with the historical figures from the first movie along with the addition of many more that only the Smithsonian can provide.  Seeing this on the IMAX theater in the museum the story was based on added to the fun of the evening.

When the first movie came out attendance at the New York Museum of Natural History increased 20%.  We hope for similar results for Smithsonian.  The movie at times was almost a promo for them, showing maps and giving background on the various buildings that make up the 19 museums that are Smithsonian.  (Spoiler:  The underground archive does not exist in real life.)

My favorite character?  Has to be Rodin’s The Thinker who also provides my favorite quote from the movie: “BOOM BOOM FYAPOWA!”

I’ll wrap this up with some photos from our evening.

Tags: BOOM BOOM FYAPOWA!, IMAX, National Museum of Natural History, New York Museum of Natural History, Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum 2, Smithsonian, We Love DC

Photoblogging Video from WordCamp Mid-Atlantic

Special thanks to Courtney Engle for posting a portion of my talk about Photoblogging at WordCamp Mid-Atlantic on Vimeo.

Marc Benton speaks at WordCampMidAtl from Courtney Engle on Vimeo.

Tags: #wordcampmidatl, Photoblogging, Wordcamp Mid-Atlantic, Wordpress

Photoblogging Presentation at WordCamp Mid-Atlantic 2009

photo courtesy of Shawn Duffy

A little over a month ago Aaron Brazell and I were talking about the presentations being planned for WordCamp Mid-Atlantic 2009.  It hit us that photoblogging had become a popular blogging technique that could make for an interesting session.  I quickly stepped up to volunteer to take this one on.

In preparation I conducted a survey of Wordpress photobloggers and asked questions like why they photoblog, what themes and plugins did they utilize, and what improvements they would like to see.  I’d like to thank everyone that participated in the survey and plan to have the results published this week.

The survey results were a great asset to building my presentation.  I was able to display a number of themes and plugins along with examples of what I believe the top 5 reasons to photoblog are.  If you are interested in seeing the slides from the session you can find them here.

I do plan on breaking the presentation down into a number of blog posts over the next few weeks.  This subject will then continue on as a regular feature here with Wordpress theme and plugin recommendations, how-to’s, and answering any questions you may have.

Finally let me thank the organizers of WordCamp Mid-Atlantic, Aaron Brazell and Jimmy Gardner.  They did a great job and the day was a complete success in both my eyes and every participant I spoke to.  For a recap of the day check out Jimmy’s post about it.

WordCamp Mid-Atlantic Photoblogging with Wordpress Slide Deck (PDF)

Tags: #wordcampmidatl, Aaron Brazell, Jimmy Gardner, Photoblog, Photoblogging, WordCamp, Wordcamp Mid-Atlantic, Wordpress