Renowned author, photographer, and all around Photoshop guru Scott Kelby is promoting his second annual Worldwide Photo Walk this weekend, July 18th to be exact.  Checking the locations on their website, it looks like two people have signed up to host walks on the island of Maui that are surely worth checking out.

I remember coming across the first worldwide photo walk this passed winter when I was reading one of Kelby’s photography books (which are pretty good). The idea of walking along part of the beautiful island of Maui with fellow photographers and taking pictures to share on a global stage like this sounds pretty sweet. Of course, I really wish I was on Maui this Saturday, even if it wasn’t for this photo walk, but that’s not going happen.  Instead, Cindy and I will be here, which is still pretty cool if you like that sort of thing.

The Locations
I strongly urge you to checkout the links below for all the details, but here’s a short recap of what’s been posted so far.

• Paia Photo Walk – Led by Ray Mains. Looks like the walk details are protected (?), so you have to click Join this Walk to get more info.
• Huelo Photo Walk – Led by Randy Hufford. Meet up starts at 2:30pm at Hookipa Point and a leaving for the Bamboo Forrest in Huelo at 3pm. Back by 6pm and a restaurant get together at 6:30pm to talk story about the walk.

No matter how you slice it, Maui is a great place to take photos, so both are undoubtedly going to be memorable.

Interested?
If you’re interested in signing up, or are already attending one of these, let us know so I can live vicariously through you.   I’m trying to find any Hawaii photos from last year, but in lieu of those, I’d love to hear from someone how it went and see some of the great photos to come out of it.

As always, you can find me on Twitter as @webnelly or on Flickr if that seems more appropriate in this case. Either way, show off your best!

Mahalo,
– Kris

Related Posts

• Calling All Maui Photography Fans
• New Daily Maui Photo Feed
• Maui First Maui Photo
• My Newest Maui Site: Maui by Photo

I’ve been following the news on the 1st Annual Maui Photo Festival and Workshops at the Hyatt Regency Maui since last February, and each time I read an update about it, I get more and more excited about going.

I just recently noticed that the folks putting this event together has updated their website with a list of the initial classes and sessions they’re putting together. The list is expected to grow as September approaches and as more professionals and instructors are added to the bill. But even looking at this starting list as it is today, it looks like it’s going to be a really great opportunity for me and other aspiring photographers out there. Here are some of the sessions I personally am thinking of attending.

General Sessions

• Creative Synergy in Your Work and Vision
• Creating Your Own Style
• Awaken the Artist Within
• The Traveling Photographer

Classroom Sessions

• Getting Close
• Comprehensive Workflow
• Image Processing Techniques and Predictable Printing
• What’s New in Adobe Photoshop CS4
• Confessions of a Fine-Art Photographer
• Photo Book Publishing

Afternoon Extended Sessions

• Zen and the Art of Photographic Seeing
• Fix It in Photoshop
• Portfolio Review – Classroom Style
• The Creative Composite

Pre-Conference Sessions

• Around the World with a Digital Camera
• Sweet Light Photo Safari

Phew, that’s a lot to be packed into just 4 days, and that’s only about half of what’s available so far! Be sure to visit their website and click on CLASSES at the top to see more details on these and the rest of the classes planned. Obviously I won’t be able to attend all of these in just four days, so I’ll be forced to make some tough choices. Regardless, I still think I’ll be leaving the workshops with more new knowledge in 4 days than I could have learned on my own in 2 years of practice.

The Digital Cafe
The festival organizers are also planning to have a Digital Cafe setup on the grounds of the Hyatt (where the event is being hosted) where you can have your personal portfolio critiqued by one of the professionals at the festivals and get one-on-one advice and direction. That sounds pretty sweet, considering I’ve just started to put together my own print portfolio. So far I’ve only made 14 prints (via my SmugMug account) and those are only from our first 2 trips. I need to get it in gear if I want to have a more complete portfolio to show up with in September since I’d like to think my photos have been getting better and better each trip to Maui.

As a side note, if you ever see a photo here that you’d like to have a print of, just checkout that SmugMug link above or send me a note if the photo is not featured there yet.

Trip Planning Update
I mentioned in a post earlier this month that I signed up for this festival and was 95% sure we’re be able to make it out for our second trip this year. Well, that number hasn’t changed, but with some of the budgeting we’re doing to accommodate this trip, it is looking like we’ll be able to pull it off and hope to have everything else booked and ready to go by the end of July. Once we get that finalized, we’ll know for sure what extra dates we’ll have for enjoying the island on our free time and, of course, meeting up with all our Maui friends.

Talk Story
As with the previous posts regarding this event, if you’re planning on attending or maybe volunteering, let me know. I’d love to trade notes and thoughts about this festival, and certainly meet up in real life while we’re in Maui. Also, if you know of anyone that might be interested in these workshops, please spread the word by sharing either these posts or the official festival website at www.mauiphotofestival.com. The more people that attend this event, the more successful it will be and the better chance it will become an annual event. Also, the folks at the Maui Visitors Bureau and the Hawaii Tourism Authority wouldn’t mind the extra visitors, either.

Mahalo,
- Kris

Related Posts:

• Event: Maui Photo Festival – Sept. 16-20, 2009
• Calling All Maui Photography Fans

Calling out to all Maui photography fans that haven’t heard of the Maui Photo Festival & Workshops or might not have registered yet. The organizers have recently extended the previous Early Bird Registration discount of $100 through May 15th with the use of promotional code MauiPFKP09 at the time of registration. The festival and workshops are being held at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa from Sept. 16-20, and it’s looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun and a great chance to learn from the pros.

I picked up this little tidbit by subscribing to their newsletter, and it’s not listed on their site currently. So, if you visit their site and maybe aren’t sure about registering just quite yet (and have an extra $100 burn), at least hit up the newsletter so you can stay informed about the cool new excursions and hands-on lessons that are in the works. The February newsletter announced an open-doors helicopter excursion with a former Air Force aerial combat photographer. I mean, come on, how often are you gonna have a opportunity like that?!?!

See You There
I was totally excited about this festival and workshops when I first noticed it back in February. I’m still pretty psyched about it, and signed up shortly before the original Early Bird registration ended. At this point, we’re 95% sure we’re going in September, but haven’t booked the room at the Hyatt yet and we’re still watching out for airfare deals.

The Hyatt festival rate is a really great deal, so that’s not holding us up. The festival organizers mention it’s too low to publisher on their site (it’s in the newsletter, though) and it’s over a $100 lower than the Hyatt’s starting rate. Plus, you can extend it up to 3 days before and 3 days after the festival, so you can make a full trip out of it (although we’ll probably only be able to add 1 extra day).

Even though we still aren’t 100% sure we can make it this year, the cancellation policy on the registration site was a key selling point for me. It says that if you do have to cancel within 30 days of the event, you can transfer it to another person, or you can carry over that registration for next year’s festival. More than 30 days prior to the event is a full refund less $50.

Why Not Help Out?
The festival organizers are still looking for volunteers, and if you live on Maui or will be visiting and want to help out, they ask you contact them via their website and to sign up for their newsletter for details of their first volunteer meeting.

Talk Story
If you’re already registered or still thinking of attending, drop me a note here or on Twitter (@webnelly) so we can compare notes on the different workshops and excursions we’re interested in. Also, Cindy and I are trying to add an extra day or two open for another Maui Tweetup that week, so even if you’re on Maui and aren’t interested with the festival, keep an eye open for a little get together.

Mahalo,
- Kris