The dates of the 5th Annual Scott Kelby World Wide Photo Walk 2012 (that is a mouthful!!) have not been announced but I’m waiting to hear!! I missed last year’s walk which took place in October. Winners images are posted on the Worldwide Photowalk site from last October. On two days last fall there were 27,924 people of all skill levels… with all kinds of cameras… walking in 1118 different groups and capturing the world they found where ever they were. It’s a GREAT experience to meet other people interested in Photography and walk a common route that is planned by a group leader and then see that experience through everyone’s eyes. It’s amazing how different the captures are. Leaders select a representative image from what the group captures and submits it to the Photo Walk headquarters where winners are selected for prizes. Of course, the real prize is going on the walk to begin with.

On one of the WWPW I’ve participated in, the walk was through an old mill town along the Merrimack River in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts. The site of the mills and factories along the rivers and canals that supplied the power almost 2 centuries ago was a mixture of sad at the results of the ravages of time… and delight at the rediscovery of the marvelously large spaces that are being renovated and turned into living and working spaces in the heart of the cities. These images are from that walk among the red brick buildings where you could imagine the giant machines turning out shoes by the millions and fabrics to support the garment industry for a westward expanding nation… and thousands of young women coming from the farms of the northeast to take jobs in the hundreds of factories along the Merrimack.