10 Apr 2024 Photography Auburn

Photo Walk Down Auburn's College Street

This post describes a brief photo walk on College Street in Auburn, focused on capturing the vibrant azaleas.

Deborah in Auburn with the Azaleas (view full res)

The other day, I had about an hour to take a quick photo walk down College Street in Auburn. I had hoped for more time, but it didn't work out, so it ended up being a brief walk. My main goal was to capture some of the azaleas in town during this time of year, as they are always incredible.

The essence of a photo walk isn't to capture every single aspect of the place you're in, but rather to capture a snapshot of that moment and location. That's exactly what I aimed for here. What's different this time is that I finally put together a video of the photo walk, which provides a more personal explanation of where I was and what I saw at the time. While I would love to create a corresponding YouTube video for every blog post, realistically, I won't have time for that. However, I do hope to produce a few videos on my YouTube Channel to accompany some of the blog posts.

YouTube Photo Essay

For some reason, seeing and hearing the same images in a video offers a different perspective. I enjoy watching photographers on YouTube and how they present their world—their slice of ground—as they stroll through streets, towns, and trails. Sometimes, it really helps me understand what they were thinking at the time.

This Photo Walk

During this walk, I started near the Arboretum in Auburn and walked diagonally to College Street, down to around J&M Bookstore, and then back a short distance between Gay Street and College. I then crossed by the library and headed back down the path with the azaleas. On that particular day, a Friday, College Street was bustling with photographers everywhere, something I should have anticipated given the time of year. They were busy capturing senior photos, graduation photos, prom pictures, and various college-related shots.

After encountering the third or fourth photo shoot, I decided to turn back and try again another day so as not to interfere. My favorite shot of the day is the motion blur image I captured of the Auburn shuttle bus with my reflection in the window. It's something I've attempted many times before, with varying degrees of success. But on this day, it worked out perfectly. I managed to capture a clear, sharp image of myself in the window while the shuttle bus was blurred in motion. I'm thrilled with that particular shot—those kinds of shots can be quite elusive at times.