Photo Tips for Beginners

This year broke out of the gate like a thoroughbred at the track. So far, I’ve been in Cuba, Dallas, The Amazon Jungle, and now, in Vietnam. Been tough to put, as they say, pen to paper, physically or electronically. An exciting start to 2025 and grateful to be sure!

And very soon, I’ll land in Belfast, Northern Ireland. So anxious to go to this historic, beautiful city. The shipyards there are the stuff of legend. The Titanic was built there, and the port is still active, with numerous ferry services, making the city a wonderful jumping off point for further adventures.

Belfast is also surrounded by beautiful countryside, as we all saw and enjoyed in many an episode of Game of Thrones. I’ll be giving a talk at a wonderful venue, Belfast Exposed, on April 1^st. Really looking forward to meeting folks in the photographic community. The talk will be an account of a life involved with light, and the chasing thereof. Many stories will be shared, and after, perhaps a pint or two at a nearby establishment.

The next day is a Photo Walk in the historic Titanic Quarter of Belfast. We will adhere to Jay Maisel’s mandate: “When walking with a camera, walk slowly.” We will walk, talk and shoot our way around and about, looking for graphics, personality and gesture. (Again, from Jay, “Everything has gesture.”)

It’s our job to find beauty and distinction in nooks and crannies and pavement that thousands bypass without noticing every day. We will work with wonderful professional models from a local agency in both sessions, which is terrific. A good model who is confident and experienced can infuse a scene with personality, beauty and story, turning a wall on the street into a performance stage.

Photo Walks teach us how to think on our feet with a camera, and find photos in unexpected ways and places. These walks with a camera seem to be growing more in popularity and I’ve taught quite a lot of them over the past few years. I enjoy them, and especially enjoy the challenge of the problem-solving in real-time with a group! I get asked all the time what goes on in my head when assessing a location, especially working quickly with changing conditions. Though that is a dangerous rabbit hole to go down – revealing what’s in my head – it is helpful to share the process with photographers out in the field.

Remembering a fantastic time in Gdansk, Poland on a Photo Walk last summer for the SwiatloSila 2024 Festival sponsored by the amazing folks at Cyfrowe camera store. Thanks again to  Filip Kowalkowski for the BTS photos and such great support and enthusiasm from Tomasz Zienkiewicz and the entire team.

And what’s not to like about a Photo Walk in Las Vegas – have taught many of these over the years.

Looking forward to starting next month in Belfast!

More t/k…

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Joe McNally Photography