Sunday Social Photo Tour-April 13-Fell Point

When I scheduled the Sunday Social Tours, I didn't realize the the weekend of April 11 is the Fells Point Privateer Festival!  So our tour on Sunday the 13th of April was quite interesting.  There were tons of boats in the water, schooners docked along the piers and people milling around, some in their best pirate attire (read: boobs and tight pants.)




We met at the Daily Grind for a crash course to explain the basics of photography including aperture, shutter speed, white balance and focusing. 



Our first stop was again the courtyard where Schooner Lion is on display.  I love this spot; it's a great place for people to get used to all the "new" settings on their dSLRs.  Attendees practiced shifting their focus from foreground to background while shooting wide open and then increased their aperture to see the different it made in their images.  Many also played around with White Balance, to see the affect it had on the feel of their images. 







After spending some time there we moved across Thames Street to the pier where the pirate ship Fearless is docked.  This was a great place to take images with a very long depth of field. Under Armour sits directly across the water and there were lots of boats out sailing.  The lighting wasn't great for outdoor shooting, but these were just practice shots to get people ready for the Golden Hour later in the tour. 







Next, we stopped at the old Homocide: Life on the Streets HQ building We were graciously greeted by Snowdrift the deaf Pitbull and her master who were sitting on the steps.  Both were very friendly, well behaved and kind enough to allow students to take their photos. This unexpected opportunity resulted in some great photo journalistic images.   




For our mid tour break we headed to The Point in Fells for some yummy light fare, drinks and a slideshow of students images thus far. This also gave everyone time to relax and mingle. 



Once back out on the street, we worked our way down past HQ to the water taxi stop. Attendees spent some times shooting each other in front of the blossoming trees and hectic background of Fells.  We moved down to the Broadway pier just in time for the crew to be furling the top sail on Pride of Baltimore II!

As the sun started to set, the Golden Hour of photography arrived, making the water shimmer gold. We moved along from Broadway to Bond Street.  The setting sun and the natural light diminishing made it an ideal time to explain exposure bracketing.

When the sun was mostly down, we switched to shutter priority to capture some light trails and motion blur as cars drove up and down along Thames.  

See more pics from the tour below.

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Rock the Boat-Benefit Happy Hour for the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

Rock the Boat was held aboard the USS Constellation 

in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

Last Wednesday the skies cleared and the sun came out to shine just in time for Rock the Boat, an annual benefit happy hour for the National Aquarium in Baltimore's Bay Conservation efforts.  Baltimore Photo Social was happy to be a part of this fun and beneficial event.  Running 9 years strong on the USS Constellation (except for 2007 when it was too windy to board), Rock the Boat is planned by the conservation management department of the Aquarium.  100% of proceeds from the event support conservation efforts throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  Approx 100 people attended the event and enjoyed food and beverages provided by Unos and Of Love and Regret, a Canton Pub.  J3K, a local musical trio, donated their time to provide entertainment for the evening. 

As anyone who lives in Maryland knows, the Chesapeake Bay is an important part of our ecosystem that is often abused and overlooked.  In addition to being a world class education center, The National Aquarium in Baltimore plays an integral part of maintaining the health of the bay for future generations.  Tree planting, shore cleanups and habitat development are just a few of the crucial activities the staff at the Aquarium spearhead.  Additionally, the staff often rescue, rehab and release hurt and lost animals; Guiness the Seal and Rudolph the Sea Turtle owe their happy lives to the generous people of the Aquarium.

And of course, even though they host over 1.3 million visitors each year, the Aquarium practices what they preach by making thoughtful choices to conserve, reduce waste and build healthy communities.  Wonderful institutions like the National Aquarium in Baltimore are one of the reasons I am proud to call Baltimore my home.




If you weren't able to make it to Rock The Boat but would still like to donate, please go here. Or if you are more of a hands on type person, sign up as a volunteer.

To view all of our photos from the night, click here.  And don't forget to like our page!!

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