I use this blog to share my thoughts, opinions and journey. I try to be honest, I try to be balanced and I try as much as possible to be positive and upbeat. However just occasionally there is also the need to share accounts of things that are perhaps less perfect, in the sincere hope that we can learn from the mistakes and improve.

Yesterday I participated in the 2010 Annual Scott Kelby Photowalk – which as usual was a tremendous success worldwide. For those of you not familiar with the event Photographers sign up to participate with other photographers in their home town and walk a route together, taking images as they go, before ending up in a restaurant or bar to share photos and memories of the day. It brings together photographers of different standards, from different walks of life with a common aim: To spend a few hours together shooting pictures and afterwards shooting the breeze. Of course there is also the opportunity to enter your best images and win some amazing prizes.

I attended one of two such photo walks this year that were taking place in my hometown, Cairo, Egypt. I had high expectations. The previous year I had met and made many new friends, one of whom Ramy Salem is an extraordinary studio photographer that I am now helping to support and mentor through Cairo Photo Studio, as we wandered through the old Islamic quarter of Cairo

This year though, it was, I am sad to report, a bit of a damp squib. On the one I attended over 60 people had signed up and there was a waiting list of 10. Such was the interest that for the first time a second walk had been organized too. Yet on the day though, on our walk at least, only 10 of us showed up – and 8 of those were half an hour late.

I got the impression that little consideration or organization had been done by the leader this year. Sadly he was not even around himself as he was away traveling, and although the last minute replacement Shady Khorshid was charming, helpful and a great person, he of course had had no hand in the organization or coordination of the day and tried his best to make the event memorable. Thank you Shady for stepping in and giving your all.

Sadly the route chosen was not really that suitable. Well potentially it was suitable in that it has one of Cairo’s greatest architectural treasures, the Ibn Tolon Mosque in the middle and the Sultan Hassan and Al Rafaiqi Mosques at the end. However in between theses Mosques, streets were dangerous (even by Cairo’s standards) and lacking in subjects – most were having their weekend nap.

Perhaps the route might have worked if we had chosen a different time of day. The late start meant that most of the Mosques’ Minarets or Museums such as the Gayer-Anderson museum had closed by the time we reached them or we had only 20-30 minutes before they did close. The pictures that accompany this post are of the Ibn Tolon Mosques that I shot in the short time we had available. In addition the intense afternoon sun made it difficult to meter, there was little shade and any subjects that were around were inside sheltering from the heat.

What a shame. I love the photo walk, the way it brings people together. I love meeting new people this time around too. But I guess my learning from yesterday was this:

• If you are going to lead a walk, not only do you have a responsibility to those on the walk but it needs careful planning.
• The event needs to start on time, and the meeting point needs to be clear.
• The time of day selected needs to reflect the local conditions and the light.
• This is a social day. Make the event fun, explain about the potential prizes on offer, and finish on a high with dinner or drinks together.
• As a leader make sure you watch and follow the guidelines that Scott and his team put out or a successful photo walk. They’re there to ensure that walks like the one I attended yesterday don’t happen, but that a framework, and recipe for success is implemented worldwide.

Perhaps next year, I’ll put myself down to lead and take some accountability for participating in such a fantastic worldwide event rather than criticize from the sidelines. But I am passionate about making the most of these types of opportunities, and of sharing my love of photography with others. Events such as these have such power to help and to stimulate peoples interest in photography that it saddens me when, through lack of local planning or thought, the event does not deliver its full potential – especially to those new to photography or the photo walk opportunity.

To Scott Kelby and the team though – THANK YOU. You continue to inspire, to innovate, to educate and to motivate.