Will You Take the Five Photo Challenge?

Photo walks are often a good opportunity to capture some images but they can also prove disappointing when we come home with nothing special.

I used to believe that just going out with my camera should result in decent images every time. All I needed was to have my camera at the ready and the photographic opportunities would present themselves. But that is not the case, especially when my photo walk takes me to places with which I am very familiar and it can be difficult to know what to shoot.

One suggestion that often helps is to challenge myself to take a set number of photographs – five or ten depending on the amount of time I have – that meet certain criteria. Doing a challenge such as this can help me be more intentional about the images I take.

I can place parameters on myself such as ensuring that:

·      My images have an interesting subject

·      I pay attention to composition, framing, exposure and light.

·      I take photographs in different places rather than many in the same place

·      My images are a personal response to what I see.

If I adhere to these ground rules for myself I will hopefully return with images that are intentional and pleasing as photographs, rather than simple snapshots.

1.

This was the first of my five images on this morning walk. I took this on my way to my local park. I have passed this location many times but didn't believe it warranted stopping to take a shot. I experimented with the effect of motion in the background with a sharp foreground,

2.

Passing the river I decided to try some slow shutter photography. I experimented with a variety of shutter speeds hand held.

3a.

The light was what attracted me here. It was a rare burst of light on this morning that had been dull and grey so I was fortunate to capture a break in the clouds.

3b.

This is a close up near to where I took the previous image. I might be stretching my own parameters a bit by including two images from the same place so I'm naming it number 3b.

4.

I came to a part of the woodland that I have photographed many times only to find that one of my favourite trees had been cut down. Sadly, I took some images before all evidence of its existence has been removed. The branches resemble a dinosaur!

I took a few black and white images as an experiment so I'm including one of them.

Taking the Five Photo Challenge in a familiar location encourages me to accept my surroundings and to become more observant in an attempt to seek out the hidden or less obvious photo opportunities that are all around me. It encourages me to look more deeply rather than assume that there is nothing left to photograph.

Doing this challenge reminds me that no matter where I am, and regardless of how well I might know the location, there is always something new to photograph and many opportunities to experiment with different styles and approaches..

Will You Take the Five Photo Challenge?