Have you ever set yourself a specific project or challenge to improve your photography? If not, let me tell you that not only is it an excellent way of developing a specific skill, but it also encourages you to learn about a genre in which you may have had very little interest.
Since we as artists all enjoy exercising our creative abilities and sharing our imagery with a wider audience, Mathieu and I at Mirrorlessons in association with Tyson Robichaud Photography Blog have decided to embark on a monthly Flickr photography challenge, and we invite all of you to join us for the ride!
Each month there will be a theme posted in a Theme Thread on our respective Flickr pages. In the thread, participants will be invited to share the photo (medium sized) they’ve created for the challenge along with the gear used, setups, lighting and settings so that we may learn new techniques from each other through this collaborative process.
At the end of the month, Tyson, Mathieu and I will each pick our favourite entry (three images in total), post them on our respective blogs, and open them up for a vote in the comments section. The winner will be invited to choose the theme for the next round.
Last month’s winner Nuno Quina (Twitter/Flickr) has chosen the theme “NATURE” for the month of June.
The theme is quite appropriate as spring is in full force and summer is only a stone’s throw away. To inspire you, Mathieu and I have included a couple of images of our own that we feel best represent the theme. As always, we are looking for powerful images with unique compositions. With such a broad theme as NATURE, coming up with something truly creative can be tough, but that’s what these monthly challenges are all about – pushing our boundaries and improving our imagery! We wish you the best of luck!
As always, make sure to link your image in TRP’S FLICKR THREAD (coming soon) or the MIRRORLESSONS FLICKR THREAD to submit it. You have time until June 30th 2014 to submit your image. On July 1st, voting will commence and on July 5th, the winner will be announced.
Mathieu says
It is a very good exercise. Thanks for sharing the links 😉
Alpha Whiskey Photography says
My friends and I sometimes set ourselves the challenge of using just one focal length to shoot, and only for a maximum of say 30 images. This forces us to think more carefully about our composition and choice of subject before pressing the shutter. Hopefully, it ensures that we have a better, if smaller, batch of images at the end of the shoot.
Examples here:
http://alphawhiskey.slickpic.com/photoblog/post/PhotoChallengeWithJena
and here: (non-mirrorless)
http://alphawhiskey.slickpic.com/photoblog/post/PhotoChallengeInLondon