It happened this week:

I was attending the WPPI convention in Las Vegas, a meeting of wedding and portrait photographers, when I received an e-mail from VidIQ, a YouTube analytics tool.

“Congratulations, you reached 1,000,000 views.”

Or, let’s put it this way: After five years (first episode posted 3/26/2018) of beating the drum for PhotowalksTV, my travel photography series on YouTube, the combined views now tops 1 million.

In the annals of YouTube, this number may not seem so big, but in my little world, it’s huge. It’s validation for the concept born right here in Manhattan Beach for a different type of travel show that marries our love of roaming with fascination with smartphones and getting better vacation photos. (Thank you Bill Weiner for helping to crystalize the concept!)

The series is produced in a Manhattan Beach garage (edited and archived) while the production is out on the road. However, we do the new Thursday afternoon LIVE edition from the garage, through the magic of eCamm software. 

We have traveled the world, from Paris to Portugal, from Madrid and Seville Spain to Tokyo, and from a remote British Columbia island to the old/new city of Lyon France. We have been to many states, including Washington, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, Georgia and Florida, and a whole lot in California. In the South Bay, we have covered Manhattan Beach, Hermosa, Redondo, Palos Verdes and San Pedro and been up and down the California coast, from San Diego to Mendocino. (We even did an episode on ER when it moved to its new digs.) 

The top 10:

The most viewed episodes (so far:) Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, Riverside, Palm Springs, San Pedro, Oregon Coast, Silver Lake, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Newport, Oregon and the great L.A. Deli walk.

(Check out the thank you video above—shot at one of the great L.A. delis—Art’s, where every sandwich is a work of art!)

The Big question

Along with what kind of camera to buy, should I get the new iPhone now or wait, and who makes that selfie stick you always walk around with: where’s the best place you’ve ever been to?

I can say, pretty easily, that it’s hard to top Paris, which is easily the greatest city in the world. The architecture, the history, the sights and yes, even the people. How can you not love running around with your camera in a city where every street offers a different adventure?

Best Comment

After I posted on LinkedIn about crossing 1 million views, Marci McCue wrote this: “Wow! So lucky to be a part of your journey… from graffiti walls, to small towns… watching the weather change at Manhattan beach, going on road trips across the country and even touring other countries! It’s so fun to see all these places through your lens.” That’s the best comment ever! Thank you Marci (and Mike!)

Coming up for PhotowalksTV in 2023:

We’ve got several fun things in the works. Next week I’ll take you to the garage roofs of Las Vegas (I went to more than 15 of them for research) for the best photo spots of Sin City, we’re headed back to Japan to explore Osaka and have a western summer trip that will take us to Badlands National Park and follow up in the fall with Scotland.

This week’s giveaway

Photographer Dave Williams is joining us this week on the livestream Photowalk Talks edition Thursday at 2 p.m. PT, and we’ll take your questions. We also have another great giveaway: Free admission to KelbyOne’s virtual iPhone Photography Conference 3/27-3/30, which costs over $200. To qualify, just submit an iPhone photo to our Flickr Group. The winner will be announced on Thursday’s show.

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