For photographers of all skills levels and with all types of equipment — from consumer-grade point-and-shoots to high-end professional cameras — Saturday is the fifth annual Worldwide Photo Walk, and a local walk is planned at Elizabeth A. Morton National Wildlife Refuge.
Worldwide Photo Walk is a free social photography event organized by Scott Kelby, the president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. Volunteer walk leaders guide groups of up to 50 photographers on a tour of an interesting or photogenic area.
The official cutoff date to lead a walk was Oct. 1, but there is still time to register to be a photo walker.
In 2011, there were more than 1,000 photo walks around the globe, an upwards of 28,000 participants, according to the Worldwide Photo Walk website. This year, there are already 1,334 walks scheduled and nearly 30,000 walkers registered.
Because it is a social event, the fun keeps going after the walking photo shoot. Participants meet up at a bar or restaurant afterward to share and compare their pictures.
The Morton Wildlife Refuge walk, in Noyac, is hosted by Rocky Point photographer Thèrése M. King, of The Sweet Spot Photography. It begins at 9:45 a.m. at the refuge parking lot and goes until noon, followed by a meet-up at The American Hotel in Sag Harbor, where the restaurant has designed a special lunch menu for participants.
"Starting our walk we will look for birds on the trail to the beach, perhaps take a walk to the shore, see a saltmarsh, and then back up the trail for more of nature’s flora and fauna," King writes in her photo walk description. "Please remember to wear sunscreen, and comfortable shoes."
Register for the Morton Wildlife Refuge walk at worldwidephotowalk.com.
After the walk, participants are asked to upload their best photo for a chance to win a digital copy of Kelby's book, Lightroom 4 Book for Digital Photographers. There will be global winners chosen as well, for prizes including Adobe Lightroom 4 and Nik Color Efex Pro 4.