Last night saw half a dozen intrepid explorers brave the cold cold streets of Belfast in an attempt to look knowledgeable with a camera and try to take some decent shots of parts of the city.

As a concept, the idea interested me. In reality, the idea terrified me. I was frightened people would stand around looking at each other, would expect me to know something, would get mugged and blame me. Fortunately none of these things happened and I had a great night! Reports from others suggest they feel the same.

Which is good.

The plan was very simple, we'd meet at the "Big Fish" (As you'll no doubt notice - I have no idea what half the landmarks in Belfast are actually called) around 6.30 and then let the fates pick a direction.

As it turned out we got a good mix of friends and experience, ranging from the novice - me, to the professional - Matt. We even managed to get someone who's sole job seemed to be to carry Louise's kit around (though Stuart did borrow a camera in the end...).

So, with the sun setting on the other side of Belfast (ooops!), we headed away from the fish and into the night.

Two hours later we reached the city hall (a walk of some 10 minutes normally).

Some highlights along the way...

(1.6secs, f/9, aperture priority, focal length - 28mm, ISO - 100, 24/10/07 18:52)

(0.6secs, f/4, aperture priority, focal length - 25mm, ISO - 100, 24/10/07 19:06)

(4secs, f/8, aperture priority, focal length - 31mm, ISO - 100, 24/10/07 19:30)

(1/2secs, f/8, aperture priority, focal length - 27mm, ISO - 100, 24/10/07 19:57)

Stuart (yes, the one who borrowed a camera) has set up a google album for everyone who was out to share their pictures. you can find it here (I hope!).

I'm not going to get into the drama of the lessons I learned in this post. I'll save that for later if you don't mind.

But, if you've stumbled across this and are new to cameras (hell, even if you've been around forever), I can't recommend this sort of trip enough. It was a fun, safe way to get out into a city after dark and to take some fantastic photographs (at least in my opinion and ability) and a great way to make new friends.

Next time I post, I'll talk about the lessons learned, and why you should never stand behind a man with a tripod...