What is a photo walk? Jeff Revell knows… According to Revell, master photographer and photowalker, a photo walk is:

…the act of walking around with your camera and photographing your surroundings. Recently the term has become synonymous with a group of photographers, walking in predetermined locations and then sharing their imagery. Alone or with a group, the purpose is still the same and that is to go out and shoot.

Simple. And so much fun.

Last year, Scott Kelby (of Adobe fame) initiated the first ever Worldwide Photo Walk event. He did this as part of the new Lightroom 2 release, and the event was successful — with thousands of photographers participating from around the globe.

Today, Kelby announced that the second annual Photo Walk would take place on July 18. At this moment, there are already 192 walks registered. And Downtown Knoxville is one of the places that will be holding a Photo Walk event! YESH again!

Because I received approval to lead the event just this afternoon, I’m still working on the details. But be assured, this is going to be a fun walk and social event for photogs in Knoxvegas. There will be surprises and prizes and more.

To learn more about the event, or to sign up (participation is limited to 50 photogs), click here. I’ll be posting updates on the official Downtown Knoxville Photo Walk page in the weeks leading up to the event.

You don’t have to be a pro photographer to participate. As long as you enjoy exploring and have some way to capture images (pinhole cameras accepted, too!), you’re welcome to come along. Oh, and it doesn’t cost anything to join the photo walk. Just bring some enthusiasm and curiosity.

The walk will be followed by lunch at one of the hot restaurants in Market Square (to be decided). So bring your appetite as well.

(Photos from my Flickr.)

(Photos from my Flickr.)

Brandon and I took a trip to France (with a mini-trip to Monte Carlo, Monaco) — and “Oui, oui!” — we really had a wonderful time. And of course, when the two of us travel, we pack for a photo adventure.

We first arrived in Nice. Ah, Southern France. C’est bon! We stayed in the French Riviera for several days, exploring the markets, the Mediterranean, the people and food, and more. We visited castle ruins, walked in the footsteps of some of history’s most renowned artists (Matisse, Chagall,…), ate fabulous food, and soaked in the beauty of the Cote d’Azur.

Then we took a short trip to Monte Carlo and gawked at the richness (literally) of Monaco. The cars (Lamborghini), the stores (Chanel), the people — ooh la la! The streets were paved with diamonds. Well, not really, but they could have been. We took a train ride around Monte Carlo and visited the casino, home of the real Monte Carlo games. And we even watched the changing of the guards at the palace (Prince Albert wasn’t around that day). Also, in addition to being the home of the Grand Prix, Monaco also has a cool year-round carnival by the coast with fast rides and good crepes for snacking on.

And then we jetted up north to Paris. Beautiful Paris. The City of Light. Like all tourists, we had to trek to the Eiffel Tower, eat at a sidewalk cafe, tour the Louvre (and snap a hundred pictures of the Mona Lisa), eat more crepes, find the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and wander through the Latin Quarter like Ernest Hemingway. While in Paris, we also toured the streets of Oberkampf to look at the artwork of famous Parisian street artist Jef Aerosol (whom we met through Flickr). There was really too much to do in so little time, but we managed to cover all of Paris (including a boat ride down the Seine) — we just didn’t stop walking.

We’re planning another trip back! But until then, we’ve published a coffee table book to preserve those memories of France from the fall. 

To preview the book, you can visit my Blurb bookstore. Flip through a few pages. Daydream. Bon voyage mes amis!