Not too long ago, I bought a mirrorless Canon R10, but I haven’t been too diligent about making friends with her. I do like how light and compact she is, but just haven’t felt compelled to take her out for spins. Back in November, when I saw a photo walk held by Unique Photo, my favorite independent Philadelphia photo shop, I knew it was for me.
The event featured the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, which is over 100 years old. the organization is a non-profit that works to preserve the legacy of Urban Black Cowboys. They also build community and support local youth through horsemanship.
I had a great, albeit chilly, time. The horses were late, and there was a lot of excited anticipation as we all looked down the road, waiting for the horses and riders to arrive.
When they finally came clip-clopping down the street in front of Unique, there was something really thrilling about hearing the horses’ hooves on the asphalt and seeing the group in their urban cowboy regalia. It felt so nice to be out shooting again, and I was happy to be using my R10.
There was a surprising number of people there, so once the horses arrived, I had to quickly figure out the groove of the event in order to get close enough to shoot anything good. I noticed that a lot of people brought long lenses, but I didn’t, and besides, I’d rather get up close.
I haven’t been on an event like this with Unique, so I wasn’t sure of the protocols; I noticed that some were getting up close, so I decided to do the same. It also just made sense because it was easier to chat with the subjects and to help make them comfortable, especially since several in the group were youth who seemed a little nervous.
Interestingly, this is the first time that I have decided to create a blog post for a photo shoot. It’s also the first time that I used the iPad for photo editing instead of Photoshop. I’m actually not unhappy with the results.
Thanks so much to Unique Photo and the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club!