A walk through Annapolis

If you’ve been watching the news, you know that the weather’s been pretty miserable around here lately. Yesterday it finally improved slightly (by which I mean it was only in the mid-90s and was slightly less humid) so I finally made it down to Annapolis for a photo walk.

Although I brought my DSLR, I ended up deciding to just work with my iPhone. I’ve been looking at a lot of people-focused street photography recently, and my goal was to practice photographing the people that I came across — something I thought I could do less conspicuously with my iPhone.

Of course, my walk went nothing like I’d planned. (Spoiler alert: there are no real photos involving people in this post. Well, except for my feet — my frequent subjects whenever I’m procrastinating. I mean, they may not be particularly exciting… but they’re always there.)

First of all, Annapolis on a Tuesday afternoon, as it turns out, is an unfortunate choice for shots of people. There were very few people out and about, all of whom were dressed pretty conservatively and liked to make eye contact as you passed them. I think I need a bigger city where people ignore each other.

Second, it was hot. 95 degrees might be cooler than 115, but it’s still pretty damn uncomfortable. So I wound up cutting my walk much shorter than planned. (Of course, now I’m thinking, “Why didn’t I focus on that? Stake out water fountains? Look for packs of legs in shorts?” Lesson learned: next time I’m setting out with a plan.)

Lastly — and I didn’t realize this one until I got home — after awhile, I sort of… forgot about the people. I did what I always do when I’m exploring a new place: I got sucked into the architecture, and the history of the buildings, and the atmosphere, and started focusing on the details that caught my eye. And that wasn’t a complete loss — I got some photos that I really like. But I don’t think it gives you a complete picture of the place.

Then again, maybe that’s a tall order for one photo walk.