Strolling Through Downtown? Make the Most of it!

by | Apr 6, 2018 | Tips & Tricks | 3 comments

Going shopping? Finding a place to eat? Visiting a museum?

Whether you’re by yourself, vacationing with family or spending time with friends, I’m sure it’s fairly often you find yourself strolling through the busy streets of downtown! If it suits the situation, why not make the most of it?

While shooting an assignment for a client last month, I suddenly got grateful for the experience I’d developed from habitually carrying a camera around with me while strolling quaint city streets in the past. You never know how what you learn might come in handy one of these days!

 

Behind the Scenes Insights:

  • Usually, strolling through downtown in wintertime is UGLY! Dirty. Slushy. Bleak. That’s why for this assignment I chose to take my stroll in the middle of a “snowstorm”. I was wishing for more “storminess” than it actually turned out to be, but at least falling snow for part of the time helped make the area appear a little more picturesque than normal.
  • For the record, very seldom have I ever run out of battery or memory card space while spending time in town. I’m not using the camera much. But, of course, batteries have a knack for going dead at just the wrong time, right?
  • On most strolls through town, my purpose is not to just walk around to look for pretty things to take pictures of. Most the time, there’s a destination and a deadline. So, most the time, the camera is just swinging at my shoulder. However, within deadlines and en route to destinations, you never know what might happen!
  • Unfortunately, I was by myself on this stroll. Capturing unique, family memories backdropped by picturesque buildings and charming, downtown atmosphere is always more enjoyable than just shooting picturesque buildings and charming, downtown atmosphere by themselves.
  • I generally only make the effort to bring my big DSLR if I know beforehand if there is going to be something to take pictures of. Here in Winsted, I had driven through downtown enough to know that there was going to be some nice things to take pictures of.
  • For this excursion, I brought only one lens with me, the one attached to the camera. It was a 24-105mm. It’s my generic “walk-around” lens.
  • For more about street photography, here’s an 8-tip blog post.
  • And here’s a street-photography story in Peru I remember from a while back!

_180313-JAS_605200_180313-JAS_606617_180313-JAS_608900

Get each article as soon as it goes live!

Recommended Ebook

3 Comments

  1. ANA

    HI JAMES: WOW CUANTA NIEVE¡¡¡ HAN TENIDO UN LARGO INVIERNO, ME ENCANTA LA NIEVE. ¿ESTA EN EL CENTRO DE VIRGINIA DONDE USTED VIVE? ME GUSTA LAS EXCURCIONES QUE HACE LLEVANDO SU CAMARA Y MOSTRANDO FOTOGRAFIAS, HACE UN MUY BUEN TRABAJO. ¿ALGUNA VEZ PENSO EN VIAJAR A MI PAIS ARGENTINA? SE QUE ESTUVO CERCA EN OTRO PAIS, CREAME QUE HAY LUGARES MARAVILLOSOS. ANIMESE. BLESSINGS FOR ALL.

    Reply
  2. James Staddon

    Yes, it’s been a long winter here too! It’s April in northern West Virginia, and it actually snowed the other morning! That’s not normal; I almost went out to take pictures. 🙂

    I’d love to go to Argentina! God is the one who provides. I’ll wait on him for that one….it’s a little farther to Argentina than to Connecticut, USA for me. 🙂

    Reply
  3. ANA

    AMEN. DIOS ES QUIEN HABRE CAMINOS DONDE NO HAY. BLESSINGS.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Send the next blog post straight to your email inbox!

Thank you for subscribing!