Bermuda part of a global effort to unite photographers

Photographers will be gathering in areas the world over to share their love of photography whether it is their profession or hobby.

This Saturday the third annual Worldwide Photo Walk will take place in countries around the world including Bermuda. It is a social event for photographers to learn new tips from one another and ­explore their environment through photography.

Author and TV host Scott Kelby and president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals claims the event is the largest global social photography event in the history of ­photography.

Paul Bellstein, local photographer and videographer, whose credits include shooting for the British Broadcasting ­Corporation’s wildlife ­series Nature’s Greatest Events, Planet Earth and Blue Planet,  ­­decided to become a walk leader in Bermuda. He said: “I am a fan of Scott Kelby, so I decided to look at participating in a Photo Walk. Since Bermuda was not represented, I thought, ‘why not become a Walk Leader and host a walk in St. George's?’. 

“You don't need to be a pro photographer, or even a good photographer, you just need to enjoy getting out and taking pictures. To me, this seemed like a great ­opportunity to do just that and meet others who like to do the same.”

“In 2008, we had 241 walks,” said Scott Kelby, founder of NAPP, editor-in-chief of Photoshop User magazine and president of Kelby Media Group.

“Last year, we had over 900 walks with over 32,000 photographers participating. We did the math… your average photographer will take upwards of 300 photos during a photo walk. That means that nearly 10 ­million pictures were taken in that one single day that may never had happened otherwise. I think that’s pretty cool and we all can’t wait to see what happens this year.”

Mr. Kelby credits the ­popularity of the event to the social aspect of ­photography the world over.

“Photography is usually viewed as a solitary activity but the truth of the matter is that people love to shoot together, compare notes and just have fun with photography,” he said.

There is no fee to participate but pre-registration is required. Anyone interested should visit: http://worldwidephotowalk.com/walk/st-georges-st-georges-bermuda-st-georges-town-site/

To register, fill out the form and then show up in front of St. George's Town Hall in King's Square, at 8:45am, July 24. The walk will continue until 11am and the group will then meet at The Wahoo Grill on Water Street.

In addition to enjoying a day of photography with other like-minded individuals, participants may also be eligible to win prizes from the Worldwide Photo Walk’s sponsors if their photo is chosen as the best photo of the day by their walk leader.

Each winning walk photo is then entered into a global competition where Scott Kelby picks the single “best photo” of the event along with ten ­runners-up. n

Full details are available at: http://worldwidephotowalk.com