Photography Scavenger Hunt Meetups

The Scavenger Hunt has always been about Community, and would not exist without the great members over the years. There are around 1200 of us now, and still growing. Prior to the pandemic, we had been having a Great Scavenger Meetup  (GSMU) about every two years. We also have had a rich history of MiniMeetups – some small and impromptu and some bigger and more organized.

 

Online Meetups

While we had to pause the in person Events, like everyone else we moved online to monthly hangouts. Some of the Zoom Hangouts have been informal, just Scavengers chatting about life, photography, and whatever comes up. But we have also interspersed them with interviews with Judges, Scavengers, Hunt winners, and more! We do record those and you can watch them on our YouTube playlist if you’ve missed any.

They have become a great way for Scavengers  to stay connected – and to give new Scavengers a taste of what we’re all about. We do not see a reason to stop them even when Covid is a distant memory.

Photography Scavenger Hunt #3 in Orlando Florida

In Person Meetups

In the beginning there were two basic kinds of Meetups. The Great Scavenger Meetup – spearheaded by those running the Hunt – and MiniMeetups which were the smaller more casual Meetups. As we’ve grown, we realized a third kind of Meetup would be a wonderful addition.

Introducing Regional Meetups

We celebrate that the Scavenger Hunt has participants from around the world. Most participants are in North America, but we also have a sizable European community, a group in Australia and New Zealand, and players across Africa and Asia. We don’t want to dilute the fun and specialness of the Great Scavenger Meetup (GSMU), but also recognize that “Mini” can sound misleading. There have been Mini Meetups of just two Scavengers, but there have also been ones with 30-50 or so.

Which is what led us to “Regional” for the events that are a little bigger and more more organized than a “hey let’s get together for a walk in the park tomorrow”.  Give us a bit of notice, and we’ll help spread the word to Scavengers, but the planning and responsibility is on whomever wishes to put one on. It can be an afternoon, a weekend – no limit other than it needs to be open to all Scavengers, not conflict with a GSMU, and not be a money making event. It can absolutely be open to the general public.

Are you a Scavenger and want to put on a Regional Meetup? For more information and to share your event details, fill out this form and we’ll share it with fellow Scavengers! If you have any questions please email us or contact a Host in The Scavenger Hunt Community.

Great Scavenger Meetups (GSMU)

These are the granddaddy of all Meetups!

Imagine being amongst one or two or three hundred people who share the same love and passion for photography.

Imagine 3-4 days of nonstop fun, some tours, a workshop or two, and smiling and laughing so much your mouth and sides hurt.

There might not be much sleep.

This is a GSMU in a nutshell.

Pre-Covid, the GSMU were about every two years. We hope to return to that schedule soon, and return to bouncing back and forth between West and East Coast of North America, but that doesn’t rule out something in the center either. We host the GSMU where the most Scavengers can easily attend, and currently most are in North America.

This is also why we added the Regional Meetups, as we realize not everyone can easily afford to fly around the continent or world, even with a couple of years of lead time. We hope the Hunt continues to grow globally and eventually it will make a GSMU in Europe, or the South Pacific doable.

2nd Las Vegas Great Scavenger Meetup

Are you ready for the next GSMU?

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Photo Credits

Banner Image courtesy of Sam Breach, shot in Nelson, NV

Orlando, FL group photo courtesy of Lauri Novak

“The Mob” group photo courtesy of Patt Dickson, from the 2nd GSMU In Las Vegas, NV