One of the best things about travel is meeting up with online friends! I was excited to connect with several friends from the San Francisco area during our Spring Break visit.
On this trip I was able to meet Cindy (La Princepessa Errante), Kim (Mosey Along) and Gina (Here and Now). People always ask me if it’s weird to meet up with people you don’t know like this, and my answer is absolutely not. I do know these women, even if we’ve never met in person. It’s like meeting old friends. You already know you have things in common, it’s just a matter of linking a real, 3D person to the 2D online persona.
Gina is one of my oldest online friends, we connected through Creative Every Day and found we had much in common between our photography and love of Italy. I was so excited to meet her in person! We were the early birds and I recognized her right away. She is the nicest person ever, just as you would think from reading her blog. Here she is, capturing a statue in the courtyard of the Hills Bros. Coffee Building.
Kim and I were muses together at Mortal Muses, and formed a strong connection early on. We both love the combination of photographs and words. It was lovely to meet her in person, and to “mosey along” with her for a while.
We both took photos of this warehouse and it will be fun to see how they are different! Me, of course, with my “straight on” view, while Kim goes for the angle.
And we were lucky to be joined by Cindy, a wealth of information on the art and architecture of San Francisco! I loved hearing her stories. She knows much of the history of the buildings and took us to some fantastic places as we walked around, like the Rincon Center.
I think we talked more than we photographed anything. That’s pretty normal with a meetup like this, in my experience. I joke we should call it a “photo talk” instead of a “photo walk.” Our love of photography brings us together but the connections always go beyond taking photographs.
We ended with a lovely lunch and then headed back to the Ferry Building where we parted ways. The weather was kind and held off with the rain until we were finishing up.
It is lovely to bring online friendships into the “real” world. Meeting Gina, Cindy and Kim was no exception. I am lucky to have so many wonderful online friends, made through blogging and classes. I hope to meet more of you in person some day!
It’s always fun to see the perspectives of different photographers. There is nothing like a meetup like this to show you that each photographer has a unique point of view. You can read about Gina’s experience here and Cindy’s experience here. Kim’s off on Spring Break so we’ll have to catch up with her experience later.
I loved our photo walk and talk! It was such a treat to meet you and the others in person. Hope you are feeling better!
This looks like such fun, Kat! I wish I had been able to join in your meetup! x
Love that gritty warehouse shot. It was all just too much fun!
Looks like such a fun time!! You’ve captured some wonderful images of this special day! I really like the last one!
So great that you got to connect with your friends in person & what a fun place to do it!!
Kat, I loved this post. I’m so glad you got to meet up with Gina, Kim, and Cindy. It looks like a good time was had by all – and some good photography happened, too, along with all that talk. 🙂
How lovely to all join up like that. It looks and sounds like you all had such fun! I have yet to meet a fellow photographer who lives in the same country as me, let alone in the same area!
I love all your happy shots and especially the reflection in that window and in the courtyard of the Hill Bros.