All of a sudden it is nearing mid-November! The year is just flying by with only a handful of weeks before the big guy arrives with a ho-ho-ho! I am trying to catch up on my blogging content whilst still handling a couple of busy workloads for ShotKit.com and the other writing job I do. I was talking to my daughter today about how fortunate I am to be able to work from home, not have to travel on transport for hours a day, be here for my kids, etc. This new stage in my work life enables me to be creative and pursue the things that make me happy.

One of those things that makes me happy is being a part of a photographic community. I have been involved with the folks over at Fuji X Aus for quite a while now and as many of you may know I am one of the admins there. I gotta say, of all the forums and online groups that I have been a part of, this group is by the far the most supportive, generous and well behaved I have ever come across. The admins and the reps that govern the group don’t stand for any trolling, bullying or disrespectful behaviour. We warn once and then send people to be successful elsewhere.

I have written many times about my meetups with the group in various situations. We meet up for the Queen Victoria Night Markets, festivals and all kinds of events around Melbourne. If we have a group member visit from another state then will organise a meet up just to hang out with that member. But our favourite events, or at least mine anyway, are just a good old street walk around Melbourne. Melbourne has so many interesting public spaces and at the other end of the spectrum, so many dark fascinating alleyways connecting the city streets.

Back in October, we organised a street walk for a couple of guys from our group who were travelling to Melbourne for the weekend. I organised the event with a fellow admin and we decided to kick things off around Federation Square and stay in that general area until our friends arrived from the airport. As it turned out, their transport kept being delayed and so they were only able to join us at the very end of the walk. Regardless we explored all the areas around Federation Square including the Yarra River. It was a perfect night for golden-hour light and lots of people out and about.

By the time the guys from Sydney arrived the light had left us. Regardless, we spent the rest of the evening in the burger and beer bar at Federation Square. I love this part of the event as we get to sit with like-minded people and talk all things photography. We share our joys, our challenges and support one another with our exploits. And finishing off a night in good company having a beer and a meal is ideal. These meetups form a key part of my social life and I look forward to them each and every time. Happy Shooting.