Two months ago I saw a post on a photo management and sharing application website Flickr’s group: Photo Club of Karachi (PCK). The post stated that there was going to be a ‘photo-walk’ on the July 24, 2010, which got me curious immediately as I started browsing, looking for what this walk was all about.

The world wide Scot Kelby walk started three years ago and takes place almost everywhere in the world at the same day where a group of enthusiastic photo lovers meet up at some point and start shooting (read clicking) the area out.

A discussion on the group followed the post and within a week more than 50 people had registered for the walk, along with many others waiting to register as well. The excitement was obvious on the discussion board, which I began checking quite often. Finally on July 24, the day for the walk arrived and despite the online enthusiasm, something told me that perhaps not more than 10 people will even show up. Thankfully I was proved wrong as soon as I stepped out of the car and took a look around the venue, the main road of Bagh-e-Ibn Qasim. I saw an army of photographers with their gadgets around their backs and necks swarming on the road and inside the park.

And that’s when the excitement of being a part of such a thing really kicked in. I met with numerous different people and heard about their experiences and their passion for photography. The walk started from Shah Ghazi’s Mazaar and ended at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park.

One of the participants of the walk who belongs to Multan and is now working in Karachi said that as much as he loved the idea of the photo-walk, what he enjoyed most was meeting up with new passionate people as it was a pleasure to see the spirits of Karachites. I couldn’t agree more.

One of the photographers who had been coming to the walk since the past three years said, “It’s amazing to see the response - it gets bigger every year for the walk.”

Later I found out that this walk also takes place in Lahore and Islamabad and the initiative was not exclusive to Karachi alone. It was great to know that photo enthusiasts in different parts of the country have a common platform to unite for.

Photo by: Yousuf Khan and text by: Eefa Khalid.

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