Going Home

On October 1 -2, 2011, the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk was held.  The first Photowalk I participated in was back in July 2009 and I signed up for the Paso Robles Group.  Last year I participated in a local Photowalk on the Downtown streets of Bakersfield.  So this year I signed up for the walk that was held in Downtown Los Angeles.  There were 1,116 Photowalk organized with over 28, 041 walkers participating.

 Growing up 20 minutes from Los Angeles, I wanted to photograph a city I visited often and also (here's the real reason) photograph some models at Los Angeles Union Station and the Walt Disney Concert Hall.  More in another post.

I coerced Brian and Rob to join me on the walk and even two photographers that I met on FLICKR.  We had to leave Bakersfield by 5:00 AM so we could make the drive and save some time to eat at my favorite "Big Bang for Your Buck" eatery, Philippes. Phillippe's is known for their Beef Dip sandwich, but they also serve breakfast.  The walk began at 8:00 AM and started down Olvera Street and since we would be doing a lot of walking, I wanted to travel light, so I brought my Olympus PEN e-PL1 with the 20mm f/1.7 lens.

 The shopkeepers were busy opening up their stands and the restaurant cooks were prepping food.  After we finished walking up and down Olvera Street, we then headed towards Union Station and boarded the Metro Link for a brieft one stop trip to China Town.  We walked through the shops and malls of China Town, but were told many times, "No Pictures".  So I basically tried shooting from the hip and did a real lousy job, but at least I've got a new challenge: "Learn To Shoot from the Hip."

The walk ended at 10:00 PM, so we hung out on Olvera Street with our two new friends,  Lynn and Sharon ( who happen to be sisters that grew up in the San Fernando Valley the same time as I did), until lunch time. We then headed back to Philippe's for Beef-dipped sandwiches with our Model in tow.

Was it a great Photowalk?  Not really, but it was definitely a change from Bakersfield and the diversity of people is always energizing to me.

What did I Learn?

• Order an extra drink at Philippe's -  because the glasses are only 8 ounces and served half full of ice.
• Get Blue Cheese with your Beef Dip - Much better than the regular sliced cheese
• Carry Cash - Philippe's only takes Cash