Photography Outings and More

Cool Perch

I have read a number of articles about photo walks, and even commented about them in the past, but I have been thinking about them more as of late. There have been times where I have thought about starting a daily photo walk, which is a good idea, considering the dual positives of such outings. The positives of photo walks, is first of all is exercise, which one can never have too much of, and secondly, more opportunities to see things to photograph. Each time I think about doing a daily photo walk it starts to rain and I change my mind, but that may just be hurdle I need to jump over.

Does rain have to be an issue that prevents you from going on photo walks? Not really, there are many different products on the market to help protect your investment from water damage. The easiest thing to do is go to a local camera shop and pickup a rain protector for your camera and lenses (the cheapest options are $5-10). Those cheap covers are often plastic, so you do have to be careful with them, but considering the price and added flexibility that they give, you cannot go wrong. Once you have a way of keeping your gear dry, make sure you have a good coat yourself, since being wet and cold is no fun at all. You may also want to get some rain pants, just in case you need to get down on your knees for a few shots.

If you can get yourself prepared for photo walks, in terms of protection for yourself and your gear, what else could get in the way? One of the most challenging aspects of going for daily photo walks has to be motivation, because without a strong motive it is unlikely that you will make time to purposefully go out to take photos. Of course, not everyone has time to go out daily, which is not a bad thing. You also have to think about how serious you want to be about your photographic hobby. Would your photo walks just be, around the block, or would they be something more than that? Would you walk the same path every day, just to photography the different things that happen in the same location, or would you go to different locations every time?

I tend to go on planned photo outings, at least once a week, when weather allows. Right now, I do not have any rain protection for my gear, which is why I do not always get out every week, although getting some rain protection is on my list of items to purchases. I think I may purchase some rain covers very soon, as I would like to at least try to do a photo walk every day in January, just to see what it would be like. I am still in the planning phase though, so I'm not sure what I will do in terms of walking locations. I know that I will try to get out to the local bird sanctuary at least a few times during the month, but as for other locations, I'm not sure yet.