Anyway that’s enough of the sentimental stuff. When I got married my aunt asked what I’d like as a present and I said I’d love a new compact, which I suppose  renewed my interest in photography. This compact was later upgraded to a great Canon S90. Next, when my first child was born I wanted something Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Daft Punk anyone?) so sold the Canon to help finance my newest toy, a Pentax K-X. A lot of people ask why, or rather ask why not a Canon or Nikon? The answer, I suppose is because it got great reviews and I liked the feel of it and the interface. Nobody told me that you had to buy a Nikon or Canon. When you’re chatting to someone and both realise that you own a Pentax it’s like a little meeting someone who has the same ‘alternative’ musical taste as you (Dan Deacon anyone?) and ye feel a bit of a connection.

Most of my photos are taken from around Galway but don’t fall into any one particular category, rather like an eclectic mix- a bit of everything that catches my eye. As I’m married with two kids I don’t get out to shoot as much as I’d like (does anyone?) so maybe that’s one reason why shoot anything and everything when I get the chance.

Photowalking; what’s that most people ask? I’ve only been on two but think they’re a great idea; an excuse for a day out with the camera, visiting a new location,  chatting with and learning from other ‘like minded’ people and seeing photos from other peoples perspective.

I blog and post my favourite photos to  my webstie/photoblog which has an  easy to remember url http://www.photoblog.ie/.  I post everything  (the good, bad and ugly) to Flickr- http://www.flickr.com/photos/pacork.

You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pacork, where it’s mainly tweets linking to interesting photography sites, stories and pictures.

My favourite subjects are reflections and animals. A lot were taken while just out walking, I just had the camera with me, and I would say to any budding photographer “Take the camera and take the shot!”

Ever since I came across Photowalks just over a year ago I have been on 8-10 (organising 4 or 5 of them myself).
I would still class myself as a ‘newbie’ as I really never took my last camera (Oly e-410) out of ‘sports shot’ since I bought it

The reason I organise Photowalks is so that others can:

• Use their cameras in the safety of others
• Ask others, with that brand of camera, questions without it being in a formal situation and definitely without ridicule. (When should I use a lense hood? How do you spell ‘Lense’? )
• See an angle/shot they never would have thought of.

If you are a ‘newbie’ or unsure about your camera… come along and ask… and take some photos.

I can remember taking photos with a Box Brownie type camera with its 120 film. I used to love watching the film numbers passing by the red window as you wound it on. Trying to centre people in the viewfinder by having to move it the wrong way was always a challenge, especially as I was only about 5 years old. I only recently sold that camera on E Bay to some guy in France – I should have kept it.

I bought my first SLR back around 1980 – a Yashica of some description. That didn’t last too long as I got caught up in the whole “must upgrade to the latest” gadget scene. So I splashed out and bought a Canon AE1 Program, complete with a telephoto lens of some sort. Boy was that a camera! I went on my first “Photowalk” with the Photographic Society of Ireland, a camera club based in Parnell Square, Dublin. It was to Glendalough and was called an “outing”. That was all a long time ago, back in the early 80′s. Life moved on, I got married and moved away from Dublin. Photography took a back seat and I eventually sold the camera and bought a gun – I’ve been shooting ever since. However the bug was always there. I’ve never not had a camera of some sorts and always tried to put a little bit of effort into taking snaps. The bug eventually reared it’s ugly head a couple of years ago and I splashed out on a Canon 40D. Amazing how strong brand loyalty is even after 30 years or so.

So why photowalks?

The whole idea of going to the same place with lots of other togs to take the same photos is brilliant. Getting out and about with like minded souls is good for the soul and you can happily snap away at the most mundane things without feeling foolish. That’s not something you would normally do on your own but there is comfort in numbers. Then within a week or so, you get to see everyone elses shots, all taken around the same time as your own but all so different. It is fantastic to see other peoples take on what you have shot. It’s always a pleasant surprise to see the variation on the same subject. It makes you wonder “why didn’t I see that”?

I’ve been to a few photowalks between here on Photowalk.ie and Boards.ie. I’m also a member of Navan Camera Club and have been on various outings with them too. I’ve met some fantastic people from all walks of life and made some new friends. I also renewed my friendship with the late Danny O’Brien through photography – he was, and still is, an inspiration to me. I do intend to try and get to every photowalk, no matter where it’s on (broken ankles permitting) and I suggest you try at least one – you’ll not be disappointed.

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You can check out more of Denis’s work on his blog,  www.allseeing.me and on Pix.ie at http://pix.ie/pullandbang

Denis also Tweets at  http://twitter.com/DenisODonovan

I’ve always had a keen interest in photography and is the subject of my earliest memory. Crawling around the house at the age of three I stumbled upon what would be that years Christmas present. It was the most adorable little red and white film camera with images of bees on the front. As far as I know, this little camera is still buzzing around somewhere so I must resurrect it.

Being a veritable newbie at  SLR photography, I relished in the idea of attending my first Photowalk for many reasons. Firstly, I was going to meet some inspirational photographers whose works had utterly blown me away and secondly I was going to have the opportunity to learn a bit more about my new found obsession in a new environment. Since then i have been on countless photowalks and enjoyed every single one!

I’ve always been quite fond of taking unique pictures with my little point and shoot and am a certifiable Twitpic fiend. However when I had the opportunity to use a Canon EOS 350D, I jumped at it. Most of the pictures on my Just a little bit… or those posted on my Pix.ie profile have been taken using this camera and I’m delighted with the outcome to date.

Photoblogging, photowalking, sharing these surrounding images with others is what it’s really about. Framing a moment that may never happen again is why I love it so much and chasing these moments with others is so exhilarating and exciting.  Plus, who doesn’t love a day out!

You can follow Sarah on Twitter too at http://twitter.com/slkav

A life of cameras and photos has led me to become what I was destined to be … a photowalker!

No, really. Why photowalks you ask? Well, I had heard so much about them I had to try for myself. And after taking my first photowalk I realised for me it’s about connecting with others who have the same passion, talking “camera” for a few hours, exchanging advice and building relationships. I would definitely recommend joining a photowalk to anyone with an interest in photography.

Christina photoblogs at Brosnan Photographic and you can follow her on twitter as @BrosnanPhoto.

My first digital camera was a 1.3 pixel samsung point and shoot which I think cost me about 340 Irish pounds at the time, oh how things have moved on since. That was in 2000 and since that initial camera I have owned a Sony bridge camera and a Canon 350d until both of them were stolen. In haste I went out and bought a Nikon D70 which opened my eyes up too a whole new world, it turned out to be the best buy in years as I found the Nikon dials and controls more to my liking. Lets not go down the road of which brand is best because we all know the answer to that one.

Next came a Nikon D200 which i still have and finally My beloved D700 which i just love. The first walk I was on was one which I co organised in my home town of Drogheda were 17 fellow photographers showed up for the day which was a great success. Next came a smaller walk involving just 3 of us which became know as Living History a Military and Roman exhibit, which blew us away in the detail these people but into there hobby (and I thought we were nerds).

I’ve been lucky enough to be invited twice to Mondello race track to shoot both cars and bikes, that day was just brilliant and its one I’m sure a lot of us will remember for a long time to come. If you have never been on a Photowalk my advice is make the effort to go to one, you will learn new skills make great friends and have a great time all in a short space of time.

A brief history; My old man had a camera or two, and knew a thing or three about them. I guess I picked up on that at some stage. When I was 15, I happened upon a fantastic wee 1.3 megapixel camera in the airport coming back from Amsterdam. A few years and a few thousand photos later, I was starting a FETAC portfolio course, which had a photography module. I decided to pick myself up an incredibly overpriced 300D… and went from there…

…Another 4 years of college, a degree in Fine Art, and near 40 cameras later, along with plenty of years experience shooting just about everything and anything one could imagine for mischief, fun and profit, and here I am.

Photowalks? They’re great fun. You meet some interesting people, and get to some interesting locations, that you’d never have even thought of without the help of twenty other complete strangers from the internet. There’s a good social athmosphere, and some good chat to be had at any of these events.

The first one I attended was quite a few years ago, I’d just moved to Dublin, and didn’t really know anyone – Posting on a message forum to see if anyone else wanted to do something involving taking photos proved a success, and within about 2 weeks, I was flying down a motorway at about 130mph in the back of a strangers Ford Focus, with Queens of the Stone Age blaring out. Fantastic. I met a few of the faces that still attend the photowalks, or at least provide some of the banter in the pub afterwards.

The technical aspect of learning how a shot is composed and how to set the camera up really appealed to my inner geek. Learning that I look at everything differently now that I usually have my camera in tow really makes me smile.

The Trim Photowalk was my first, which was a fantastic day which yielded lots of photos & photo conversations. So even going around places which are very familiar to me is eye opening, stopping to look at things I walk by daily, framing a shot and then that feeling when you see all the people who comment on it on pixie and likewise, getting to see what someone else spots, who may have stood beside you on the walk, seeing how they process their shots.

I have opened up pix.ie and flickr accounts, started my own photoblog, met lots and lots of great people & in doing so, learned a whole heap along the way. I have since gone on almost one a month and seen places and chatted with people that I would not have had access to otherwise.

I look forward to this years walks and hope to see you on one, all you have to decide is how much gear to lug around, me? I bring e v e r y t h i n g !! (I’m kidding, bring a camera phone if thats what you have)

Keith has a photoblog, ihastakephoto.com and tweets as @yarrumk.

So why do I like photowalks?

Well it’s nice to meet up with people who’s eyes don’t glaze over when you mention a lens. It’s nice to be able to ask people questions about how they take photos and its also nice just to have fun chatting with new people and people I’ve met through twitter. Even though I’ve been taking pictures for a long time and I feel I’m reasonably ok at pointing in the right direction, I know I’m still rubbish when it comes to the very technical aspects of photography and I don’t use half the functions on my camera, but I’ve learned loads from my fellow photowalkers and even had a chance to try out some of their cameras. The photowalks and walkers are extremely easy and light hearted affairs. You can chat or you can walk. You can go to the pub, or not. There is no obligation but there are opportunities to go places with other photographers and have some fun.

Jennifer posts her photography on her blog at jenniferfarley.info and tweets as @Laughing_Lion.

A recent part of this revolution has been the concept of the Photowalk; meeting other photographers, often people you’ve only met online, in Real Life.  I don’t really make deep online friendships with people I have no connection with, such as those thousands of miles away – I didn’t really get in to Flickr as a social network for example, however with photowalks, the people you meet are local and the connection is there.  They’re much more likely to be people you can enjoy a bit of craic with.  Certainly Twitter has been a great way of meeting local people who share a passion for photography.

Like many people I cut my photowalking teeth on one of Scott Kelby’s photowalks, in Dublin, August 2009.  At the start I thought it was a bit weird, I was so used to taking photos alone that it took me a while to get comfortable with taking photos with 50 other people – how do you get a good shot when there is a gang of people all taking the same thing?

But you don’t really take the same thing, you still find yourself walking off on your own to get That Shot but with the additional element of being able to meet up for a pint afterwards to compare pics, and hopefully have a shot at the small prize that is often part of a photowalk.

Companies are beginning to see the potential of photowalking as a marketing tool.  Off the back of the Scott Kelby photowalk, I was lucky enough to be invited by Mondello Park to the JapFest and Mondello Masters race days for an access-all-areas day of photography and since then I’ve been invited to photowalks sponsored by Bord Gais and Vodafone Ireland.  I’m happy to go along, meet up with the crew and take some pics for them in return for a few pints, and in the case of Mondello Park, access to areas I wouldn’t be able to get near to otherwise.

Elliot is currently doing a 365 and posts the results on his blog at elliottucker.net, and can be found tweeting as @elliottucker.