Walkography: How Photographers Get Great Legs

• It's exercise! While it won't replace a date with the gym, walkogging can give you the 60 minutes of aerobic activity you need to keep fit. I recommend doing stretches before you go out and when you come back!



• It's fun! My biggest problem with traditional indoor aerobic exercise is that I get really bored staring at the gym wall or a TV. With walkogging you spend your time thinking about photography, not walking! Your exercise environment varies as much as you want it to, and there's always something new to surprise you during your trip.



• It sharpens your senses. No, you won't become Superman by walkogging, but you will become more attentive to what you see, hear, touch, and smell. Your new talent for investigation can be applied to other scenarios, such as navigating traffic or finding errors in a manuscript.



• It introduces you to the beauty of nature. Walkogging isn't all about birds and flowers; you might even find that animals you thought were frightening are actually very elegant and unique. Watching a snake swim gracefully through the water or zooming in on a moth's mottled wings reminds you that wildlife varies wildly, and it's not just the colorful or fuzzy animals that deserve your attention.

Like many Americans, I grew up in a neighborhood with no sidewalks or pedestrian-friendly areas. Bicycling or jogging meant keeping a watchful eye out for oncoming cars. I was bored and frustrated with indoor exercises, but as a car-less adolescent I didn't really have anywhere to walk.

Luckily, my father (a professional photographer) taught me early on about the value of owning and using a camera. He emphasized patience, awareness, and imagination. Anything and anyone could be a potential subject for the camera. Together we've caught on film a massive number of Central New York's attractions, yet we've barely used up the region's potential.

So how does walkography fit in? Well, starting in high school I would borrow one of the family cars and drive over to Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville, NY. This was the closest natural park setting for me. Once there, I'd pick a trail and start shooting. Most of these trips would spend a couple hours on a quarter-mile of trail, leaving me with tons of photos to process but no real exercise.

Soon enough I got my own car and headed to college. The campus at SUNY Fredonia is decent-sized and very photogenic, with a rural setting and architecture by the famous I.M. Pei. While I was at Fredonia I also started walking around the outer fringes of the campus, which was pretty uneventful until I thought to take out my camera. Thus the foundation of my own walkogging saga was born. I now walkogg at parks, zoos, fairs, and more, including a daily trip along the Lake Loop Trail at Beaver Lake.

Start your walkogg saga locally. Find your county, state, and national parks, and figure out which one is nearest to your location. If you're lucky you may have a huge national park right nearby! But if you're like me and most other people, you'll have at least one perfectly good county park.

Remember: walkogging is not the same as hiking-- you don't have to look for adventurous terrain or try to strain yourself out in a marsh if you don't want to. In fact if you're just getting into walkogging I would strongly recommend against anything strenuous: it will just discourage you to return to your car sore and exhausted. You don't have to go anywhere special to find interesting subjects to shoot!

How do you find your local parks? Well, try Googling "your state+parks" or "your country+parks" if you aren't in the U.S. Most park networks will have a website that at the very minimum will give you directions and hours. Another method is to buy a travel guide for your state. Remember, you're only looking for a 30-minute to 1-hour trail.

You don't always have to go to a park to walkogg. Try your local zoo, a carnival, or even around your town! For more information about walkogging at the zoo, click here for my experiences and tips.

This is a simple list of what you will need to walkogg. For an in-depth look into what equipment I use and recommendations on what will work for beginners, visit my Walkography Equipment lens!

For Your Trip

• Digital camera


• Lens wipes


• Memory chip(s)


• Camera batteries


• Camera bag


• Water (1 to 2 bottles for every 30 minutes


• Small cooler (don't worry, you can keep it in the car)


• Weather-conscious clothing


• Money for admission or a park membership


• Park map [optional] - Good if you're new to the park.


• Bugspray [optional] - It's better to just wear bug-resistant clothing or avoid humid areas on warm days.


• MP3 player [optional] - Remember, if you're listening to music you can't hear animals nearby.


• Walkogging buddy [optional] - Having someone there to encourage you can really help with any exercise plan.


• Cell phone [optional] - Good for emergencies if you can get reception in the park.

After You've Finished

• Computer - Needs a USB port for your camera's USB cable or a chip drive so you can put your memory chip in directly.


• Photo processing software - Most digital cameras come with some basic software.


• Printer - So you can get some copies of your work!


• Photo Paper - Very glossy; gives your work a professional presentation.


• Admirers - People to show off your photos to. Can be friends, family, unsuspecting neighbors, etc. :)

When you arrive at your park of choice, check your car clock or a watch for the time. Keep that start time in mind: you'll want to know how long you were out for.

Put on your camera bag first, then slip your camera's neckstrap on over that. Yes, you might look a little silly; don't worry, there are no fashion police on nature trails. Grab one of your bottles of water from the cooler and take a drink before you head out.

Once on the trail, try to keep to your 60 minute time limit. This means you keep moving, and stop only briefly to take photos. The maximum amount of time you should spend at any one shoot is 5 minutes, but yes I've spent longer. Try to disperse your shooting sessions so you get some walking done in-between, but always be on the lookout for surprise opportunities!

If you feel short of breath or if you get a cramp, it's okay to stop! Wait it out while trying to get some shots of the local flora. Try out your camera's macro setting for a whole new world of picture-taking!

Make sure you drink fluids as needed. If your mouth is completely dried out, you're already too thirsty. Try to take a drink when you first get the notion that you need water.

Don't try to take photos as you're walking. It's okay to stop, and accelerating from a standstill multiple times may actually help out your heart more than having it continuously pump blood at the same rate.

1. Respect wildlife. Don't go around provoking animals just to get a shot, and definitely don't step on plants or squash bugs just for fun! Remember, every organism in your
walkogging environment is dependent on many others.
You're the guest, be polite!

2. Be friendly toward others. Nothing bothers me as much as people walking by on the trail without so much as lifting their head or saying hello. Don't be shy: say "hi!" If you just saw a deer and someone is going in that direction, let them know! Don't worry, most trailgoers don't bite.

3. Bring enough batteries for your camera. Many cameras can eat through a set of lithium batteries in only a couple hours of shooting. Either get a rechargeable battery and make sure it's ready to go, or stock up before you plan on walkogging. It's annoying to have to stop at the store on the way.

4. Check the weather. Don't get caught in a downpour or really hot/cold weather. If you're stuck on the trail when a thunderstorm hits, get back to your car! Don't take shelter under trees.

5. Brought some drinks? Good, now bring more! One of the biggest mistakes a beginning walkogger can make is not bringing enough fluids. Get a small cooler and pack 3 to 4 bottles of water for a 1-hour trip. Bring 2 bottles with you (put them securely in your camera bag or in another container) and leave 2 in the car. I recommend filtering your own tap water instead of buying bottled water, which is associated with numerous environmental and health concerns.

6. Wear appropriate clothing. No, I don't mean business suits and ties. But if you're walking out onto a humid trail in the middle of the Summer, wear "breathable" long sleeve shirts or invest in some running gear-- your strapless tanktop might look great, but the bugs will eat you alive. If you're not sure whether or not you will need your jacket, bring it with you and tie the sleeves around your waist if it gets too hot.

7. Get a county or state park membership. As a walkogger you will be visiting preserves and parks a lot; why not sign up for a membership? Typically you pay a flat fee that covers your admission for an entire year (at a greatly reduced price-- think of it as "buying in bulk") and helps fund your local parks. It's a responsible and economical way to feed your new hobby.

8. Diversify. Try out a new park. Go walkogging at the same spot in different seasons and document what's changed. My local park at Beaver Lake has canoe rentals in the Summer season: canogging anyone? How about snowshogging in the Winter? Photography can be incorporated into a lot of outdoor activities and you'll get a great work-out at the same time.

9. Stay alert. Your senses can tell you a lot about your environment, including where to get your next great shot. If you hear a bird calling in the bushes, investigate! If the wind is blowing fast, check the local plantlife to see if anything has been stirred up. If you smell something nasty ahead...try not to step in it!

10. Don't force others to go with you on a walkogging trip. Not everyone will want to share your hobby at first. The worst thing you can do is tell someone to meet you for a "walking" trip down the local trails only to bring your camera and stop every 5 minutes to take a shot. It's rude and will turn your companion off any future invitations.