Last Saturday I had so much fun leading the i heart faces Photo Walk Across America in Columbus, OH. We had a great group of fun, enthusiastic and photo-hungry ladies and gentleman show up to participate in the event!
The night before the Photo Walk, “The Girls” and I drove down to Columbus early to celebrate my “Forever 29” birthday and to have extra time putting everything together for the walk. “The Girls” were…
-My sister, Andrea, who helped me co-lead the walk.
-My other sister, Janine, who brought her daughter down to be a model for the walk.
-My daughter, Weslea, who modeled as well.
–Lifeguard Chelsey (who has modeled for me many times in the past) tagged along with us too. It was great fun having her along!
-And we met up with my sister-in-law, Kathy, who was the real planner behind the photo walk route. Without her the walk might have been a disaster (no joke!)
Early Saturday morning we woke up to the sounds of thunder and pouring down rain. Thankfully, the rain stopped right before we got in the van to drive to German Village…but unthankfully, we then had to deal with about 99% humidity and extreme heat. It was hot, baby!
I had talked with the “models” beforehand to kind of describe what it would be like to have 40+ cameras looking at you at the same time and we had talked about how you need to make sure you rotate and make a connection with each person’s camera at some point. But honestly, nothing could prepare them for that first moment of looking out and seeing all of those people and cameras staring at them.
They eventually relaxed a bit and got into the spirit of things. I love the fact that the Photo Walks that utilized models actually used real people who volunteered to help out that day. I know in my photography business I have never photographed a true model before and probably never will. Working with real people is reality…and it teaches you a lot about how to help them relax and have fun during the shoot. A great learning experience!
Other than a few sprinkles, the day remained rain free (thank goodness!) We all had frizzy hair from the humidity and were dripping sweat all over our entire bodies, but our cameras didn’t get wet…and we all know that’s what a photographer considers to be the most important. 😉
Other than the fact that I tripped and fell (a complete crash-and-burn) in front of everyone, the day went splendidly!
We ended up walking only maybe 4-5 blocks, but found many interesting locations to shoot along the way…including this old laundromat (with a working fan!) that we invaded.
It was a blast to finally meet a bunch of photographers that I recognized from their IHF photo entries I see each week in our challenges. So many amazingly talented people right here in the Buckeye state!
We ended the walk by eating lunch together and then most everyone took off for the day.
Except for a few of us…
The few that got to use this awesome piece of machinery as an amazing prop for the afternoon…
Now I’m thinking that everyone who left after lunch is going to wish that they had stuck around for a little longer.
(More photos with the car in my next post…)
lease contact me by Saturday to claim your gift certificate. And special thanks to Heidi from Whimsy Baby Designs for sponsoring such a fantastic giveaway!
P.S. Many of the Photo Walk participants captured photos of my daughter wearing the beautiful blue flower headband that Heidi designed just for us to use with her outfit that day. Pick up one of your own here. Just beautiful!
