52-Week Photo Challenge

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

As you know, last week was the final week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge, but I promised you a nice pin-able graphic for your reference. Please feel free to pass this on, share it with friends & family, spread it far & wide!


Click to embiggen!
Also, the flickr group will remain open to any and all who wish to post their photos or questions or comments; so feel free to share there as well!

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 52

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to the FINAL week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

Can you believe we made it this far? I can't! Hooray!

By this time next Sunday, I'll try to have a list of all the challenges in a nice image format for you all to pin or share however...

So on to this week's challenge! It's NIGHT!

Wait for the sun to set and get creative with your camera! OR find another way to interpret the challenge!

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!Since I've been using my tablet, I couldn't do some of the *really* creative ideas I had, but I love how I was able to edit this and upload it right from the Nexus! The reflection of the sky on the way was so pretty; getting the flowers in the shot was the only hard part!

So how about you? How will you interpret this challenge?

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 51

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

Can you believe there is only one more week after this one!? I can't. I didn't think I'd make, but woo-hoo!

Anyway, on to this week's challenge! It's EIGHT

Make EIGHT the focal point of your photo or have EIGHT be the overall theme in your photo. A street sign, address numbers, or maybe a group of EIGHT items...?

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!Nope, neither of them turned 8, but together there were 8 candles on the cake! (Benji turned 5, and Kuromi turned 3!) And there was approximately 8 seconds too much singing for Benji! XD

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 50

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

Can you believe we're almost through? I can't believe it's been so long!

This week's challenge is COLORFUL!

Find some color around you and capture it in all it's glory!

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!Some sweet treats from my co-workers, a juicy red plum and a teeny Mounds bar. So much red in this shot!

How about you? What's colorful where you are?

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 49

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

This week's challenge is SNACK!

Capture your snacks this week in a creative way. Macro, preparation, enjoying it...

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!Popcorn is by far my favorite snack! Has been since I was little girl and my grandma would pop it in a pan on the stove and top it with real melted butter and a sprinkle of salt.

How about you? What's snacks are you eating this week? And don't forget to leave some challenge suggestions!

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 48

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

This week's challenge is: SEVEN

Take a look around you for things to represent SEVEN, a street sign, address numbers, or maybe a group of seven items...?

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!I'll admit that I spent more than just one week trying to get a photo for this challenge. It was not easy! I had resigned myself to finding a nice sign or interesting number or something similar, but when I saw the seagulls lining up along the roof yesterday, I thought they would be perfect! If only there were 7 of them!

It took a while for them to rearrange themselves enough times before there were 7 all lined up along the peak, but I am so glad I waited patiently and ignore the weird looks from passers-by. ^_^

Don't forget that I'm still looking for your suggestions for challenge topics!

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 47

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

Before we get to this week's challenge, I'd like to solicit your help with some upcoming topics! I've got ideas but I'm kind of blasé about them and I thought YOUR ideas might be better than mine... Leave a comment here or facebook or wherever you're comfortable, and let me know your ideas for photo challenges!

But hurry! There's only a few more weeks left! ^o^

On to this week's challenge! It's PURPLE

Find some purple around you - flowers, fruits, whatever you find - and capture it in a creative way.

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!
Lately I've been having fun playing around with all the preset options that my tablet's photo apps have installed, and these purple echinacea flowers were just so pretty. The bees were a bonus!

How about you? What's purple can you find? And don't forget to leave some challenge suggestions!

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 46

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

This week's challenge is: BLACK

Like with our other color challenges, look for something black and find a creative way to photograph or edit it.

I often find that when I try to capture someone wearing black, using the auto settings, that my camera over-exposes when I attempt to focus on the dark and the rest of the image is blown out. To compensate for this, I focus on the face or another lighter area, press the shutter button part way, then re-frame my image.

In case what I just wrote looked like Greek to you, check out these links for some more info & advice:

• Camera Exposure: Getting it right
• Exposure Compensation: Manual Shooting Without Being In Manual
• Fine Tune Your Exposures With Spot Metering
• Why Your Camera’s Meter gets Exposure Wrong

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!Lia wanted to do some Gothic Lolita photos, and she had planned the umbrella, so it really didn't matter that it just happened to be raining when she was ready! This was my favorite of the shoot. Click through to flickr to see a few other shots & edits and even some outtakes!

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 45

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

This week's challenge is: WATER

The earth is covered with about 75% water. Without it we can not survive. Too much causes phenomenal damage. But in just the right amounts, it is a joy. From rain showers to mud puddles, sprinklers to swimming pools, rivers to lakes to the ocean, find some water around you and capture it in a creative way!

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!
Onondaga Lake in Central NY. The view here is from Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool, not far from Syracuse. The wind was non-stop and it eventually rained, but at this moment, the sun peeked through the clouds and set the white caps to sparkling.

What water can you find? Share it with me!

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 44

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

This week's challenge is: FLAT

Take a look around you, and find some flat things. Think of some creative ways to capture it in your photos.

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!I lucked out and just happened to visit Rudy's at sunset when the lake was unbelievably calm. I love this quick shot I took with my tablet!

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 43

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

This week's challenge is: FUN!

No, really. That's the challenge. Go find some FUN and capture it with your camera!

Here's mine:


Click to embiggen!Yup, I know it's all grainy & out of focus. Yup, I know I saturated the heck out of it (and then flicker added even more, yay). But guess what.

~ I was having fun.

~ And everyone there was having fun.

~ And editing the photo was fun.

And that is what -- not just this prompt is about, but the whole 52-Week Photo Challenge! So let's have some fun!

Take some pictures and share *your* FUN!

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 42

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

This week's challenge is: OVAL

This week take some time to find the OVALS around you. Make an oval the focal point, the frame, or perhaps a repeating element...

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!
I've posted a few others in the comments on Flickr; feel free to comment if you like another better! I love your critiques!

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 41

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

Bet you thought I would never post this week's challenge! Well, sometimes life just takes over and there's no time for posting to the internet, but I sure did take some pics this last week!

This week's challenge is another number one; it's: SIX

Sometime during this week, take some photos centering around the number SIX. Perhaps a photo of a hexagon, or a still life of 6 fruits, or maybe the number 6 itself! Show me how *you* interpret the prompt.

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!Four years ago our family took some photos for our very first trip to the We Shine Conference and loved it so much we had a canvas printed with it for our living room wall. With this being the final year of We Shine in its current form, we decided to recreate the photo. Weather & timing weren't entirely conducive, but we got a few great shots.

This one is the one that most closely resembles our original photo, which you can see in the comments if you click through to flickr, and I've also added my favorite from the bunch there too!

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 40

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

This week's challenge is another color one! This time it's: BLUE

Sometime during this week, take some photos focusing on BLUE: the sky, a body of water, someone's eyes, or maybe a single blue flower in a field of yellow ones.

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!I am so glad the weather is finally conducive to taking walks along the shore! What can you find that's BLUE near you?

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 39

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

This week's challenge is a tasty one; it's: DESSERT

Sometime during this week, take some photos centering around dessert. Perhaps preparing it, or a nice food shot...

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!I've posted a few others in the comments on Flickr; feel free to comment if you like another better! I love your critiques!

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 38

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

This week's challenge is one I've had to delay due to a surprising lack of subject matter! (Not complaining!)

This week's challenge is: INSECT

Find some 6-legged creatures to capture with your camera. I know some folks have a fear of all-things-buggy, but some insects can be quite beautiful!

My photo is of a Painted Lady Butterfly:

Click to embiggen!
A week or so ago we got some caterpillars at work for the kids to watch turn into butterflies. I got to be the one who showed them the class -- as well as transfer their chrysalids to the butterfly tent & keep them fed for the past few days -- and the kids were fascinated by them! Sadly the weather was uncooperative on Friday when they should have been released (DOWNPOUR!); so they got to come home with me this weekend and were released in the blooming strawberry fields of my backyard this afternoon! ^_^

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 37

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

This week's challenge is: CLOUD

Turn your camera to the sky & find some interesting or pretty clouds to capture!

Here are some great articles to help & inspire your cloud photography:

• Cloudman Photography Tips
• Cloud Photography
• Cloud Photography: 14 Tips For Taking Radiant Cloud Photos
• How to Photograph Dramatic Clouds at Sunset

Here's mine:

Click to embiggen!
There was a storm moving in, and the wind was ferocious as I stood on top of the hill trying to get some good shots. I tried to get a few shots to make a panorama of the skyline, but the clouds were moving way too fast. What do you think?

So let's see yours! Feel free to leave a link here, or share it with the group on flickr.

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 36

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

I hope that Spring has finally arrived in your corner of the universe. For us, April showers seem to be refusing to yield to the May flowers! This week's topic was originally supposed to be insect, but frankly, it's been mostly too cold for us to have any insects! So stay tuned for that challenge coming in the near future!

This week your challenge is: NEGATIVE SPACE

Use NEGATIVE SPACE in your photo this week. Negative space is usually described as the space around the subject of an image, and it can really add interest and mood to your photos.

For some great articles on, and examples of, negative space, follow these links:

• Minimalism: Using Negative Space In Your Photographs
• Composition and Negative Space
• Negative Space: Weekly Photography Challenge [With 7 Examples] (includes links to more articles!)

Here is mine:


Click to embiggen!This is the cat that doesn't live here, but loves to visit. ^o^ Please click through to see the full size version; I love how it turned out!

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 35

Hello, my fellow creative photographers! Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

This week's challenge is: FIVE

Make FIVE the focal point of your photo or have FIVE be the overall theme in your photo. Or do something creative & interpret the challenge another way!

This week's challenge gave me a bit of trouble. I had expected that by this time we would have flowers in our yard, as we usually do, and that I could capture a group of 5 flowers or a flower with 5 petals, but our yard has just barely thawed and we've only got a few shoots and one tulip bud. -_-

So this morning, when our bunny friend came to visit, I created a mosaic using 5 of the quadrillion photos I took, and even played around with my camera settings a bit:


Click to embiggen!This evening I did another photo walk around the yard, and did discover some early strawberries in bloom! I've posted my favorite of those in the comments on Flickr; feel free to let me know which you like better: the bunny or the flower! I'd love your critiques!

P.S. If you're wondering if our flickr group is still open, it *is* and you are more than welcome to post your photos for the challenges there whenever you'd like! However, I have discontinued the reminder emails.

52-Week Photo Challenge: Week 34

Hello, my fellow creative photographers!

Welcome to another week in my 52-Week Photo Challenge!

We've just celebrated a beautiful Easter weekend with lots of sunshine and fun with friends & family. I hope you've had just as great a weekend yourselves!

This week's challenge is: SKY

Make the focal point of your photo of be the SKY, or do something creative & interpret the challenge another way!

Here's my favorite of the few I took:


Click to embiggen!I've posted a few others I took in the comments on Flickr; feel free to let me know which you like best! I'd love your critiques!