By Paul Birkhead

Rowan Public Library

Have you heard about Rowan Public Library’s photowalks?

A few times a year, the library hosts a photowalk, where a group of people gather at a specific location and walk around taking photos together. Images can be shot with digital cameras or smartphones.

Rowan Public Library has hosted photowalks in many locations, including Salisbury’s historic neighborhoods, the North Carolina Transportation Museum, Dan Nicholas Park, Gold Hill and Patterson Farms.

The next photowalk will be on Saturday, Nov. 2, on the beautiful grounds of Catawba College. We will gather in the lobby of the Hedrick Administration Building at 10:30 a.m. and start our walk, which typically lasts about 90 minutes. This is a free program, however, registration is requested. Please visit bit.ly/Photowalk-Catawba to register. Note: In the event of inclement weather, the walk will be canceled.

The library always has some fabulous books on photography available for checkout. If you’ve never joined the library on a photowalk, perhaps one of these titles might inspire you to do so.

“InstaStyle: Curate Your Life, Create Stunning Photos, and Elevate Your Instagram Influence,” by Tezza (a.k.a. Tessa Barton), is a fun book to look through. The photos are stunning and the information given about Instagram and how to use filters can be very helpful to a beginner.

“Art with an iPhone,” by Kat Sloma, is another title for those who like to shoot their photos with a smartphone. If you’ve never considered how beautiful photos taken with a phone can be, just leaf through the pages of this book. Traditionalists may scoff, but the lenses on modern phones can really produce some fantastic images. The main advantage smartphones have over digital cameras is that everyone typically has a phone with them.

“Street Photography: A History in 100 Iconic Images,” by David Gibson, highlights some great shots from those who practice the art of taking photos of random encounters in a public place. Street photography has a way of drawing you in, especially if you never tire of what interesting interaction might be discovered next.

Photography is not even limited to this planet. Some outstanding images of outer space taken by Scott Kelly are featured in his book, “Infinite Wonder: An Astronaut’s Photographs from a Year in Space.” While shots of everyday life on the International Space Station impress, perhaps nothing is more beautiful or inspiring than those taken of planet Earth. It definitely drives home the fact that, compared to the vastness of space, all of humanity shares a very small world.

Photography does not know many limits. From the instrument you use, to what subject matter you focus on, there are always a lot of variables. That is especially evident when a group of people can walk the same path and come up with so many different shots.

If you’d like to see how different photos can be, taken on the same walk, browse some of our past photowalk albums at this link: bit.ly/RPL-Photowalk-Album.

Friends of Rowan Public Library Annual Book Sale: Preview night, Friday, 6-8 p.m. Sale Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, 1-4 p.m.; Monday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Headquarters.

Scavenger Hunt: Catch the Monster, Headquarters, South, through Oct. 30. Search the children’s room to see if you can find all of the monster pictures hidden there. For more information, call 704-216-8234.

Scavenger Hunt: Corny Candy, East, through Oct. 30. Enjoy corny candy riddles. For more information, call 704-216-7842.

2019 Bookmark Contest: Through Nov. 9. Children 4 to 11 may design a themed bookmark and win a cash prize. The contest, sponsored by Friends of Rowan Public library, will award first, second and third-place prizes in three, age-based categories: 4 to 6, 7 to 9, and 10 to 11. Full submission guidelines, rules and entry forms available online or at any RPL location. For more information, call 704-216-8234.

Adventures with Mr. Robert: Spooktacular, headquarters, Oct. 26, 11 a.m. Experience not-so-scary stories and books with Mr. Robert in the Children’s Room. A responsible caretaker (age 16+) must accompany children 8 and under. For more information, call 704-216-8234.

Cards for a Cause: Through Dec. 18, headquarters, East and South. Create holiday cards that will be delivered to active service members in the U.S. armed forces and to veterans at the Hefner VAMC in Salisbury. Patrons can specify  their card(s) be delivered to a certain branch or to the VA. Cards submitted for a branch of the armed forces have a Nov. 6 deadline for cards distributed internationally; Dec. 6 for cards distributed stateside. Cards submitted Dec. 7-18 will only be delivered to the VA. For more information, contact Tammie at 704-216-7842.

Chapter Chats: Sensory storytime, East, Oct. 30, 10 a.m. Designed for those with autism and/or sensory challenges; coordinated in collaboration with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College’s Skills, Opportunity, Awareness, Readiness (SOAR) program and Rowan County’s Therapeutic Recreation Division. To learn more about how to participate in this program series, call Tammie at 704-216-7842.

Sensory Storytime: Friday, 10:30 a.m., headquarters. Attendees will experience storytime through tactile stimulation as they touch, see, smell and hear different interactive elements. This 30-minute storytime involves books, songs and movement and is designed for those with autism and/or sensory challenges. All ages and those of all abilities are welcome. A responsible caretaker (age 16+) must accompany children 8 and under. For questions or to make accessibility arrangements, call 704-216-8234.

PJ Storytime: Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m., headquarters. Children ages 12 and under may bring their favorite stuffed animal and listen to bedtime stories with Ms. Char. A responsible caretaker (age 16+) must accompany children 8 and under. Questions? Call 704-216-8234.

Char’s Stars: Kaleidoscopes, Nov. 2, 11 a.m., headquarters. Children 12 and under may design and make their own kaleidoscopes. Light refreshments will be served. A responsible caretaker (age 16+) must accompany children 8 and under. For more details, call 704-216-8234.

Retro Horror Escape Room: Oct. 28, 4 p.m., South; Oct. 29, 4 p.m., headquarters; Oct. 31, 4 p.m., East. Solve puzzles and clues to escape the worst haunted house ever – the creepiest characters from classic scary movies and novels are in there with you! Designed for rising sixth- through 12th-graders. For more information, contact Sydney at 704-216-8229.

Book Bites Book Club: Oct. 29, 6 p.m., South. Refreshments served; new members are welcome. This month’s selection is “Galileo’s Daughter” by Dave Sobel.  Contact Paulette at 704-216-7731 or at Paulette.Stiles@rowancountync.gov for details. Book Bites will be on hiatus until Jan. 28, 2020.

Photowalk: Catawba College Campus, Nov. 2, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Take a walk on the campus of Catawba College. Bring your digital camera/phone to take photos together. The group will meet on campus; location TBA. Questions? Contact Paul at 704-216-7737 or Paul.Birkhead@rowancountync.gov.

Gardening Party Saturdays: Nov. 2 11 a.m., South. Meet monthly with plant, garden and pollinator enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels. This month, learn about Sustainable Principles for Gardening and Farming. Light refreshments will be provided. For more details, call 704-216-7731. Garden Party Saturdays will be on hiatus until Jan. 4, 2020.

Displays: Headquarters, Purple Shoe display in observance of Domestic Violence Awareness, presented by Family Crisis Council; East, original artwork by Beth Denton; South, miniature doll houses by Donna Deal and Terri Correll.

Literacy: Call the Rowan County Literacy Council at 704-216-8266 for more information on teaching or receiving literacy tutoring for English speakers or for those for whom English is a second language.