You would have a hard time convincing me that there is a better way to truly experience a place than from the street level at human speed.
On Sunday October 23, 2022 I had the chance to do just that as I explored West Street in Raleigh as part of the Fall DTRaleigh Photo Walk.
Meetup
The event was planned by Leo Suarez of DTRaleigh.com and shared on his blog as well as the Meetup website. I was pleased to find a great mix of folks attending the event from various sources, some who have known each other for years, and many who were meeting for the first time.
I am continually amazed at the power and potential of community. If you have ever thought about hosting an event, do it!
When you give people an excuse to connect and gather around a common cause, they will. You don’t need a ton of resources for an event like this either. In fact I am pretty sure the budget for this event was $0. Leo posted a description of the event on Meetup.com and shared a link across his social media platforms. Everyone brought their own equipment and purchased their own beverages. The barrier to entry for hosting events like this is incredibly low and the potential upside is huge! In this case the common causes were photography and meeting new people, but you can host an event about anything. Thank you, Leo, for all that you do for our community!
Agenda
We met at Smoky Hollow with a plan to walk south on West Street and end up at Vault Craft Beer. After gathering the group, which was pretty easy to identify by the camera gear, we made introductions and started off by exploring Smoky Hollow.
Equipment
For the walk I brought my Canon Digital Single Reflex Camera (DSLR) with 10-22mm and 75-300mm lenses, the Pole-Cam, and my drone. I used mostly the Pole-Cam with a few shots on the DSLR, and never used the drone. I can’t express how much of a game changer the Pole-Cam has been for getting unique angles in the urban environment.
The Walk
On the way south we saw:
- Smoky Hollow
- The West Condos
- 301 N West Street
- 42nd Street Oyster Bar
- Link Apartments Glenwood South
- Power House
- 400H
- The 400 and 500 Blocks of West Morgan Street at West Street
- Morgan Street Food Hall
- Citrix
- RUSBUS
- The Dillon
- Raleigh Union Station
- CAM
- Raleigh Founded
- The Depot
- The Fairweather
- Sam Jones BBQ
- Vault Craft Beer
We saw a ton in the 1.2 miles that we walked. Being on foot allowed us to not only catch details that are easily missed in the car, but also allowed us to connect and share stories as we walked.
Conclusion
If you ever get the chance to attend a Meetup like this, hosted by Leo or not, I highly recommend you take the leap and go! As we sat at Vault enjoying a cold beverage I was buzzing with energy. As a bonus, a new friend from Stonewall Sports Raleigh passed out free LocoPops that they had leftover from a game!
Not only had I gotten to catch up with old friends, but I met some new ones and got to explore the city that I love!
We started at Smoky Hollow
And ended at Vault Craft Beer
