PhotoWalkPro

It’s that time of year again.  Time to join all of my NAPP friends for another fantastic Photoshop World and this Spring, it’s back in Orlando.  With the Winter that we’ve had here, I will be more than ready to spend a few days in Orlando.  And just as I have at the past two Spring Photoshop Worlds, I’m going to kick things off with a photowalk the day before everything gets rolling at the convention center.  The location for the photowalk will once again be the beautiful downtown area surrounding Lake Eola, just a few minutes drive from the conference location.

I don’t have all the details nailed down yet but we will probably begin sometime around 4:30 or 5:00, depending on the sunset time for the date. Which, by the way, is going to be Tuesday, March 23rd.  It’s important to note that this is not an official Photoshop World activity and is not affiliated with NAPP or Kelby Training.  It’s just a way to get out and have some fun before the conference starts.  In fact, you don’t even have to be going to the conference.  If you are in the Orlando area and just want to get out with your camera and have some fun, then this is the event for you.  So if you are traveling to Orlando for Photoshop World and want to get things kick-started, come on out and join me for an evening in Orlando.

Early Registration Discount Ending Soon -

Speaking of Photoshop World, this is the last week do get the Early Bird pricing.  If you pay for your registration by February 26th you will get $100 off the full conference price.  I’m already registered and I suggest you get yours taken care of because who can’t use an extra 100 bucks.  There are also spots left in 6 of the pre-con classes including HDR with Matt and RC, DSLR Video with Rich Harrington, Real World Concert Photography, and more.  You had better hurry though, the pre-con classes really fill up fast the month before the conference and there’s no telling how long it will be before they are all sold out.  You can find out more information on the classes, instructors, pre-cons, and registration at the official Photoshop World site.

By the way, if you are still trying to convince your boss/spouse to let you go, you have to check out the form letter that has been written for you to help with your argument.  Even if you don’t need it, it’s still worth a read.  You can find it here.

Sorry for the lack of specifics on the upcoming Photowalk but I was not sure of all of the details myself so I didn’t want to put out any information that might need changing later and risk having someone miss out on the update.  After reading many of the comments, I can see that there are quite a few folks that are attending the pre-cons who would like to participate in the walk so I am going to try and make this work for them as well.  Since I want to end the shoot with some twilight shooting across the lake, and since most of the pre-cons end at 5:00 PM, I am going to set the start time for 5:30 PM.  From what I have been told, sunset occurs about 7:30 PM so this should allow ample time to walk the whole route and end up back near the lake at our starting point in plenty of time to catch the sunset.  For those of you that are attending a pre-con, the starting point is 13 miles from the Convention Center so I am hoping that the trip can be made in 30 minutes.  As for the starting/meeting location, why don’t we meet on the corner of East Robinson St. and South Eola Dr. (the southwest corner, closest to the lake).  I have created a route map that you can access online by clicking here.  If there are any Orlando locals that are planning on attending and have more information about the area (like parking and restaurants for after the walk, or anything at all, please share it in the comments section of this post).

Here is a Google Earth Map with the route drawn out on it.

Click on map for full size version.

Also, Jean-Francois O’Kane has offered to donate a PhotoMasterTarget for a drawing that one of you lucky photowalkers can win.  We can draw a name or number or something from a hat for one of you to win this great item.  The PhotoMasterTarget is a color calibration target that you shoot and then use to color balance your images.  It is collapsable and will fit like a glove into your camera bag.  For more information, check out Jean-Francois’ website over at TheStudioCoach.  Thanks Jean-Francois for your generous donation.

And remember folks, there is no fee for the walk, or to try and win the PhotoMasterTarget, and no registration, this is just a free get together for folks that love to shoot and chat about photography (I won’t even bring up the fact that it’s healthy for you, oops, too late). So grab your camera, put on your walking shoes, and come do a little shootin with some other Photoshop World attendees (and hopefully some locals photobugs too).

This is just the preliminary walk route/schedule and is subject to change as I get more information but here is what I have planned so far.  Our walk will include two Orlando landmark areas, the first is Lake Eola.  This lake is in downtown Orlando and can provide some really nice cityscapes, especially after dusk.

Photo by Bucky Schwarz

From our starting point at the North-East corner of the lake we can head South and follow the lake around the southern rim.  We can then walk West on West Central Blvd. over to the train tracks and then turn South to the Church Street Station area.

Photo by Joel Mann

Church Street Station is located in downtown Orlando and was constructed around Orlando’s original train station. The restored station along with old-fashioned bars like Rosie O’Grady’s Good Time Emporium swelled in popularity until eventually a whole complex of restored buildings was created. The Train Depot is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places and contains numerous historical artifacts. The most impressive artifact is “Old Duke”, a steam locomotive that was in the movie “Wings of Eagles” with John Wayne. 

Once we have walked through this area, we can head East on Church St. and then turn North on Rosalind Ave. back along the eastern edge of Lake Eola.  We will then make a right on Robinson St. and head East towards our starting point.  I chose this as the start/stop location because there will be some opportunity for some nice sunset cityscapes from this corner of the lake.

The Church Street/Lake Eola location is about 13 miles North of the Orlando Convention Center,  that’s about a 20 minute drive up Interstate 4.

If you have any suggestions for alterations, additions, or anything else, please feel free to post it in a comment.  I will try and get this all nailed down by the end of this week.

This is not an official Photoshop World event.  This is a privately organized photowalk and has no association with the National Association of Photoshop Professionals or Kelby Training.:-)

I am currently considering a Photowalk in Orlando the day before Photoshop World officially kicks off. I am thinking of the Lake Eola/Church St. Station area. This would take place on the 1st of April, the same day as the Pre-Conference classes. So if you are planning on coming to Orlando for Photoshop World and are interested in a short 2 hour or so photowalk, drop me an email or comment and let me know. If I get enough interest then I will go ahead and formalize the plans. You can consider this a FREE pre-con event (you would have to provide your own transportation but it’s not too far from the convention center).