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Moonlight over the Potomac

Sherri and I went to see Avatar in 3-d at an IMAX theater in Alexandria only to find that it was sold out until Monday.  We ended up in Old Town playing dominos at Starbucks.  Before we left we braved the frigid temps to take a peek at the waterfront.  This moonlight was coming from this year’s Blue Moon.

This was taken hand held with a 50mm 1.4 lens.  Processed on my new ASUS Eee netbook in Lightroom.  I do not have all my plugins and add-ons loaded yet so there was no noise reduction ran against this image.

Tags: Alexandria, blue moon, boats, moonlight, night, Potomac River, Virginia, water

Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk – Old Town Alexandria – Update 1

We’re less than two weeks before our big Worldwide Photowalk. Time for me to get busy and give some updates.

- First off thank you to everyone that has signed up to attend our event in Alexandria on July 18th as part of the Scott Kelby WorldWide Photowalk. The number of walkers across the globe has just surpassed 20,000 on over 1,000 walks.  I’m really looking forward to spending time with old friends and meeting a number of new local photographers. Plus seeing the images you capture on our route is a bennie.

- Our event has filled up the 50 available slots. If you’d like to be added to the waiting list then please let me know. In case no room becomes available there are a number of other walks in the DC area that can be found on the Worldwide Photowalk map.

- Speaking of the route, I walked it a couple of weeks ago to check it out and I think we have a good one.  Not too long or too short with plenty of interesting subjects along the way.  You can get a preview of it here (not too many spoilers, just a teaser).

- While the joy of meeting new photographers, taking and sharing photos with them, and getting some exercise in is enough for most of us, there is the added bonus of prizes.  I get the dubious honor of selecting one photo from our group to represent us in the final judging by Scott and his crew.  Each walk winner will receive a copy of Scott’s upcoming The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3.  The big winner’s list of prizes can be found here.  Once I get some insight into the judging criteria that Scott will use I’ll let you know as I’ll try to use the same.

- Scott and crew are working on the process of uploading our images after the walk.  While the final process has not been published there is a short video on being prepared when the time comes.

In case you can’t watch or do not have audio here’s the major points:
– Photos will be uploaded to the Worldwide Photowalk page instead of a Flickr group like last year.
– There will be a Lightroom export plugin available for uploading.  If you do not have Lightroom a link to the trial version can be found on the Worldwide Photowalk homepage.
– You will also have the option to upload directly on the site using your login.
– IMPORTANT – Before the big day make sure you have your correct login and password.  If you have any problem remembering your login please let me know by sending me the email address you registered with.  For forgotten passwords there is a link you can use on the login page.
– Our city id for the photowalk is “alexandria-va-usa”.  Remember this as it’s use will be explained in an upcoming video.

- Don’t forget to order your Official Worldwide PhotoWalk T-Shirt, which supports the Springs of Hope Kenya Orphanage.  I’ve ordered and received mine. They look great.

- If you’re feeling social, feel free to connect with me on Twitter at @marcbenton, on Facebook, and Flickr.  BTW, the official Twitter Hashtag is #SKphoto. Please use this tag when tweeting about our Photo Walk.

- Lastly, please let me know if you cannot make the walk.  We have a few people on the waiting list that can fill in any open slots.  On the other hand, even though the photowalk contest is only open to registered walkers, feel free to bring others with you such as children or a friend or two.  I would ask that you let me know if you plan to bring more so that we can be prepared. If you would like to be placed on the waiting list then please let me know.

Tags: #SKphoto, Alexandria, Digital Photography, Hope Kenya Orphanage, Old Town Alexandria, Scott Kelby, Virginia, Worldwide Photowalk

Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk – Old Town Alexandria

On July 18th photographers around the globe will grab their cameras, put on their walking shoes, and join together as part of Scott Kelby’s 2nd Annual Worldwide Photowalk.  As of a couple of days ago from this writing there were over 17,000 people signed up for over 1,000 walks around the world with the numbers still growing.

Scott and crew have done this right.  A walk leader has to apply and show previous experience leading photowalks or organizing similar photography events.  This vetting process helps to ensure everyone participating has a good experience.  Leaders also applied for the city/location they wanted to walk in.  This cut down on duplicate competing walks.  If a location was taken then a second walk would only be approved once the first one filled up.  Speaking of filling up, each walk is limited to 50 people.  The last of the guidelines is that each walk should be two hours in length but could be any time during the day or night.  Other than that its up to the leader and group to fill in the rest.

When I applied there were already two walks scheduled in DC so I had to look elsewhere.  I was really thinking about Great Falls on the Maryland side but being from Virginia I wanted to stay in-state (though look for a Great Falls walk announcement soon).  My wife and I have always enjoyed Old Town Alexandria so I checked the site and it was open.  So on July 18th from 10:00 to 12:00 in the morning we’ll be photowalking Old Town Alexandria.

I’m happy to announce that our walk has filled up but drop me a line if you’re interested in getting on a waiting list.  I’ll be contacting all the signups the week before the walk to ensure they are still planning to attend.  If any slots open I’ll announce it here.

We’ll be gathering at the Alexandria Farmer’s Market on the corner of King and Fairfax.  From there we’ll stroll down the cobblestones of Prince Street to the River along Waterfront Park and the Torpedo Factory, then up Cameron Street to Christ Church.  Afterwards we’ll meet at Gadsby’s Tavern to share our photos and stories.  Here’s a Google map of the route and some of the highlights of it:

View Old Town Alexandria Photowalk in a larger map

I’ve made a preliminary run of the route to ensure the time would be appropriate.  While there I took a few shots to give you an idea of what will be available for subject material.

Tags: Alexandria, Cameron Street, Christ Church, Old Town Alexandria, Prince Street, Scott Kelby, Torpedo Factory, Virginia, Waterfront Park, Worldwide Photowalk