WEEK 4 Story: Mirror

Tell a story using a mirror.

Ahhh, story time again. Are you all sitting comfortably, then I shall begin.

Right, this one was cool. As I have said before 'story telling' within my photos is by far my weakest discipline in regards to this challenge. I decided to go head first into this one. Also, as previously mentioned I wanted to document this year personally throughout this challenge. I am fortunate enough to work in the entertainments industry, specifically theatre and so I managed to convince some of the cast that I work with to act as models for this shoot.

I had two ideas in mind. The first one was to show the calmness that happens backstage whilst chaos is going on around. I think that I achieved this in my first photo. The second shot progressed whilst I was in photoshop. Originally I wanted to take a picture in a mirror and then make it look like there was no camera. I think I did this too. Whilst I was in photoshop I was playing around with the filters and realised that you can 'brush' on different filters. So I turned the mirror into black and white. I am not too sure what kind of story this portrays and I suppose you can put your own spin on it. I was debating weather to make the mirror colour and the edge B&W and  I still am not 100% sure if I have made the right call. Leave me comments if you want. Please tell me how you want this blog to go, do you want to hear more stories of the shoots? How I photoshop? etc etc any feedback is much appreciated.

As for equipment for this shoot I am not sure exactly what lens length I used. Camera was the trusty Nikon d40 (If anyone wants to pay for a upgrade for me, that would be WONDERFUL!) and the lens was my 18mm-55mm kit lens.

This was really fun to plan the shoot and I already have plans for next week. 

Until then,

T
X

WEEK 3 Artistic: Land

Your inspiration this week is land. This could be a landscape, or an image inspired by the land in some way.

So, here we are again. I do love landscapes, one of my favourite things to shoot. 

This image was actually taken a week ago, but I have just edited it today. The reason I wanted to use this one was because like I said before I wanted to use images that tell the story of my year. This week I have been back at work after a short holiday and so when I was back home in South Wales I wanted to take a picture over looking the town where I live when I am not galavanting around the country. I managed to get to the top of the 'mountain' just for sunrise. Quite an achievement as I set out from North West London at 6 that morning. It was just after we had snow and I wanted to catch the snow on the hills around the town.

I don't currently possess a decent wide angle lens and so this image comes from about 12 50mm image stitched together. Instead of the usual 'chucking them all at photoshop and letting the magic happen' I edited the sky, mid-ground and foreground separately then stitched them together. I did this because photoshop wanted to use a washed out sky instead of the pretty clouds that I showed it. After that was done I added a ND filter effect and bob's your uncle (actually Ray & Adrian are) and there we have it!

Enjoy,

Camera : Nikon D40
Lens : 50.0 mm f/1.8
Focal Length : 50.0 mm
Exposure : Various - stitched image

Week 2 Technical: SOOC Straight out of the Camera.

No Photoshop. Shoot a compelling image and post it without edits. No cheating! (Be sure and save the image file for the end of the challenge!)

Hmm, well as a person who uses Photoshop a fair bit this was another challenging one for me. I suppose this is the 52 week CHALLENGE so I mustn't complain too much. 

I have also decided that this is the perfect opportunity to use as many of these photos to document my year. That way when it comes to the end of the year I can look back with fondest memories.

This photo was taken on Tuesday. I was so full up of cold and me and the girl went into London to meet up with a couple of friends. After lunch we were walking back to the tube station from a shopping center in Stratford and I just caught this composition out of the corner of my eye. I didn't have the trusty d40 with me so the iPhone 6 plus came out. They do say that the best camera is the one you have with you and in this case it's true.

Camera : iPhone 6 Plus
Lens : 4.15mm f/2.2
Focal Length : n/a
Exposure: 1/50 sec;   f/2.2;   ISO 32

Week 1 Story: Rule Of Thirds

The rule of thirds is the first compositional rule most photographers learn; but most don't know why they learn it. The rule of thirds is amazing for telling a story. Tell a story using rule of thirds.

This one was a strange one. After agreeing to myself to do this challenge I felt I was stuck on the first week. I am never much of a 'story-teller' when it comes to my photography but I suppose that this is what this challenge is for. As I headed out with my camera around where I lived I wanted to get the feeling of the cold. It really is a nippy day here in deep dark middle England. Hopefully that is what conveyed. 

I ran it through photoshop but didn't go to town with it as I felt it wasn't needed.

Camera : Nikon D40
Lens : 50.0 mm f/1.8
Focal Length : 50.0 mm
Exposure : 1/40 sec;   f/16;   ISO 200

1/40 sec;   f/16;   ISO 20

Introduction.

So, 2017. New year,  new challenge.

After the rip roaring success of the last 52 week challenge I did (I managed to make it to week 3) I thought that I would give it another go.

For those that don't know what a 52 week challenge is, well, it does exactly what it says on the tin. 52 weeks. 52 photos. All with a different theme/challenge. Hopefully (!!!) I will complete the full journey. I am not committing to assigning a certain day of the week to do the challenge by. As long at I do it in the week (Mon-Sun) then that works for me.

The challenge is split into 3 categories. Story, Technical & Artistic. I think I am going to enjoy Technical & Artistic. I am a bit apprehensive of Story.

Welcome aboard. Lets have a bit of fun with this.

T
X

The weekly challenges are as follows -

WEEK 1

Story: Rule of Thirds 

The rule of thirds is the first compositional rule most photographers learn; but most don't know why they learn it. The rule of thirds is amazing for telling a story. Tell a story using rule of thirds.

WEEK 2

Technical: SOOC

Straight out of the Camera. No Photoshop. Shoot a compelling image and post it without edits. No cheating! (Be sure and save the image file for the end of the challenge!)

WEEK 3

Artistic: Land

Your inspiration this week is land. This could be a landscape, or an image inspired by the land in some way.

WEEK 4

Story: Mirror

Tell a story using a mirror.

WEEK 5

Technical: Ten Shots

Shoot 10 shots of the same subject. Each shot should be from a different angle, distance, and focal length. Share your favorite image from the set.

WEEK 6

Artistic:

Candy A throwback to one of the favorite weeks of the original challenge. Your artistic inspiration this week is candy. Since this is the advanced challenge... you can't actually use candy in the scene.

WEEK 7

Story: Forgotten

Abandoned was a very popular week in the original challenge. For the advanced challenge tell the story of something forgotten.

WEEK 8

Technical: One Shot

Imagine that it is the last frame on a roll of film, and you have to nail it. For this challenge only take one shot. No deleting, no 2nd shot. The honor system is in play.

WEEK 9

Artistic: Still Life

Your inspiration this week is Still Life. A couple of pieces of fruit on a table won't impress in the advanced challenge though... so really be creative.

WEEK 10

Story: Perspective

Perspective for the purpose of this challenge is the relationship of objects in the scene. If you really want a challenge this is a good chance to use forced perspective.

WEEK 11

Technical: Split Tone

Split Tone is an editing technique where the shadows are toned one color, and the highlights a second color. Split toning is often used with color grading in the media to give a scene a desired look and feel.

WEEK 12

Artistic: Orange

Your inspiration this week is orange. Either the color orange or an actual orange. Or both.

WEEK 13

Story: Golden Hour

The golden hour is the hour before sunset or after sunrise when the sun casts amazing golden tones. Find a way to use the golden hour to tell a story.

WEEK 14

Technical: Panning

Use the technique of panning to capture a subject in movement. Panning is using a slower shutter speed while following the subject with the camera to create the sense of movement in an image.

WEEK 15

Artistic: Hard

Your artistic inspiration this week is hard. Hard is both an adjective and an adverb. Interpret this how you wish.

WEEK 16

Story: leading Lines

Leading Lines are a very important compositional element that every photographer needs to master. Use leading lines to tell a story. No train tracks.

WEEK 17

Technical: Loop Lighting

Loop lighting is one of the most used portrait lighting techniques. Shoot a portrait using loop lighting. If you don't have an off camera flash setup, get creative with how you light your subject.

WEEK 18

Artistic: Purple

Your inspiration this week is purple. Purple is the color of royalty, magic, and mystery.

WEEK 19

Story: Back Yard

Tell the story of your immediate surroundings. Give us a glimpse into your daily life.

WEEK 20

Technical: Sky Overlay

Sometimes the sky just doesn't cooperate. This week replace the sky in your image. If you need a sky to use in the replacement, search flickr.com for an image to use under Creative Commons Licensing.

WEEK 21

Artistic: Soft

Your artistic inspiration this week is soft. Just like hard earlier in the challenge, soft is both and adjective and an adverb. Interpret this how you will.

WEEK 22

Story: Geometric Shapes

Triangles, squares, and circles. They are all very strong compositional elements in an image. Find a way to use geometric shapes in your storytelling.

WEEK 23

Technical: F/8 Portrait

Shoot a portrait using an aperture setting of F/8. Since this is the advanced challenge, be sure to find a way to isolate your subject other than shallow depth of field.

WEEK 24

Artistic: Green

Your inspiration this week is green. Green is the color of life, nature, and hope.

WEEK 25

Story: Toy Story

Not the movie! Tell a story with toys or about toys. (Kind of like the movie...)

WEEK 26

Technical: Light Painting

Put your camera on a tripod at night, open the shutter for 30 seconds, and paint your subject with light. Flashlights, LED strips, and even laser pointers work great.

WEEK 27

Artistic: Communication

Your inspiration this week is communication. We live in the age of endless communication, so there is inspiration everywhere.

WEEK 28

Story: Portrait as Landscape

Shoot a portrait that is posing as a landscape. Tell a story of the subject using the landscape around them. Fool the viewer.

WEEK 29

Technical: Water Drop

Photographing a water drop is a mix of lighting, macro, and patience. There are plenty of ways to pull this off, enjoy figuring it out!

WEEK 30

Artistic: Family

In the last challenge you shot a family portrait. This time use family as your inspiration. Since this is the advanced challenge no people can be in the image.

WEEK 31

Story: Frame Within a Frame

Another classic compositional tool is to frame the subject within the frame of the image. Use this technique this week to tell your story.

WEEK 32

Technical: HDR

HDR is the technique of combining several photos of the same scene but shot at different exposures to create an image with a High Dynamic Range.

WEEK 33

Artistic: High Key

High Key was one of the most interesting during the last challenge. Last time it was a portrait; this time it is back as inspiration.

WEEK 34

Story: Stranger

Tell the story of a stranger. Try using their environment to really inform the viewer of their story.

WEEK 35

Technical: Stitched Panorama

A stitched panorama is an image made up of several smaller images stitched together during editing. For an added challenge try using the Brenizer Method.

WEEK 36

Artistic: Low Key

Low Key is the opposite of High Key. Shoot an image where most of the tonal range is on left side of the histogram.

WEEK 37

Story: Balance

Balance is the compositional technique of giving each area in a scene equal visual weight. You can achieve balance using color, tone, or juxtaposed subjects.

WEEK 38

Technical: 50mm

Learn to sneaker zoom! Shoot an image using only the 50mm Focal Length. Either use a fixed 50mm lens or set your zoom lens to 50mm. Since this is the advanced challenge make sure the image is compelling.

WEEK 39

Art: Water

Your inspiration this week is water. Interpret this how you will.

WEEK 40

Story: Colorful B & W

Tell the story of a colorful scene. Because this is the advanced challenge, no flowers. Do it in Black and White.

WEEK 41

Technical: Levitation

Levitation is part camera trick and part photoshop. Create an interesting levitation image this week.

WEEK 42

Artistic: Music

Your inspiration this week is music. This is wide open so have fun with it.

WEEK 43

Story: Movement

Capturing and creating movement in a still photo is a challenge for every photographer. Use movement this week to tell a story.

WEEK 44

Technical: Magic ND Filter

Use an ND filter combined with a shutter speed of 30 seconds or even longer to create your image. Try a waterscape or even a busy landmark to see the magic happen.

WEEK 45

Artistic: Cold

Your inspiration this week is cold. Interpret this how you want.

WEEK 46

Story: Landscape Foreground

Many stories are based around portraits, but landscapes can have stories also. Tell the story of a landscape by using the foreground as the subject and the background as the scene.

WEEK 47

Technical: Shaped Bokeh

Bokeh was one of people's favorite weeks. This year take it a step further and create a scene using shaped bokeh.

WEEK 48

Artistic: Bodyscape

The human form has been the study of art since art was first inspired. Your inspiration this week is the human body.

WEEK 49

Story:Blue Hour

The Blue Hour is the hour after sunset or the hour before sunrise when the sky is dominated by amazing blue and purple hues. Use this to tell your story this week.

WEEK 50

Technical: Full Edit

Use the SOOC shot from the beginning of the challenge and re-edit it to it's full glory. If that shot isn't available feel free to re-edit any of your past work.

WEEK 51

Artistic: Fear

Fear is your inspiration this week. Find a way to show fear in a way that your viewer feels it.

WEEK 52

Story: Your Story

Tell your story.