In these busy times, it’s difficult to find time for essential exercise. If you’re a crafter, it may even be worse. But how about combining the two? If you’re a keen photographer, it’s a piece of cake.

The Quay, Exeter, England

I’ve noticed that a number of people are scheduling lengthy walks for taking photos of their town or city. It’s called “Photowalking”, on the principle maybe that everything should have a name.

A new generation of small, but powerful, digital cameras makes the whole process a pleasure rather than a chore.

I’ve been Photowalking — combining taking pictures with my morning five-mile walk — ever since I bought a digital camera last year. It’s a great way to add value to mere exercise. My project is to photograph the region I live in through this summer, trying to capture the faces and atmosphere of it when it’s at its best. You can see the results so far by clicking the Flickr logo at the top of the sidebar.

It’s really a great extension to walking for exercise because it keeps the interest up on what might be dreary rambles across familiar ground. As I walk, I find myself noticing things, large and small, that might otherwise have passed unseen. I also take many detours I’ve never explored before — maybe an 18th-century street straight out of a Dickens novel. The fact is, Photowalking insists you walk farther, if not faster, than you otherwise would.

As someone who used to run marathons, I know that interest is crucual to exercise. Photowalking beats even personal ambition as a spur to distance travelled. It also drags in different parts of the brain. If exercise utilizes the left-brain — all those time calculations and forecasts along the way — then Photowalking adds curiosity, perspective, artistic appreciation of views and architecture, and delving into historical information. Classic right-brain stuff.

As with any good idea, lots of folk are climbing aboard. Take a look at photowalking.org, where you’ll find lots of ideas for Photowalking around the world, but especially in the U.S.

There’s also an informative post on setting up a Photowalking group. The article covers :

* Accept right away that it is going to take some time.
* Evaluate your available options.
* Find a method to communicate with all participants, current and new.
* How to keep them coming back.

Photowalking is such a simple idea that many people seem to have thought it up simultaneously. The original idea, though, was probably from pro shooter, Thomas Hawk, who has a few videos on the ScobleShow.

Check it out for some real professional advice.

Craftlinks is a search engine for crafts of all kinds in Britain. If you’re looking for something special or specific, or seeking ideas for your own crafting, give it a try.

You can also take the “grand tour” which shows snatches of information about the many sites listed.

Craftlinks says of itself :

CraftLinks.co.uk has become one of the largest sources of information in the UK for handmade goods, crafts materials, groups and courses. The Directory currently features 47 crafts (e.g. Scrapbooking) represented in 5 categories (e.g Suppliers). There are over 2000 UK craft websites listed with new sites being listed daily.

This is a very interesting portal approach to aggregating lots of sites dedicated to crafting.

Continuing my photographic tour of the city of Exeter, I’ve been looking at craftshops — there are quite a few here. Incidentally, we’ve received a lot emails from people making photo albums of where they live this summer (or winter in the southern hemisphere). Keep up the good work and let us see some of your shots — Flickr is a great place to share them, and a basic account is free.

You can view all of our pictures in this set by clicking on the Flickr logo at the top of the sidebar.

Back to craftshops, and I have noticed that many of them are better presented than other varieties of retail outlet. Perhaps that’s not surprising as crafters are probably more aware of the appearance of things.

However, here’s a pic of the scruffiest craft workshop I’ve seen for quite a while :

Craftshop at The Quay, Exeter, England

Oddly, this is situated on one of the most expensive and upmarket strips in Exeter, the Quay, where, in Elizabethan times, woollen goods and garments were loaded onto boats headed to all points of the compass.

I’m now looking for the best turned out craftshop of all. Any ideas?

Folk Square is a useful online resource for anyone interested in a wide range of crafts.

It’s described as, “An online primitive magazine released monthly. We showcase talented artists from all over while featuring dolls, patterns, folk art, primitives, raggedies, stitcheries and so much more.”

They have a Craft Fair from June 1 to June 15, so check in if you want to participate or take space for your own crafts.

Crafting is a major niche topic on the internet and this site has links to a large variety of subjects and features. Worth a browse.

Check it out.