Category Archives: 52 Week Challenge

Looking Up

Posted by Mike on

52-week Challenge
Week 5 – Shoot from Below

The challenge this week at 52 Frames was to Shoot from Below. Basically, change your perspective and capture an image from beneath the subject. I definitely have done this style while using my macro lens, and Daisy Time is a perfect example. But it isn’t the summer and as the week marched on I was running out of opportunities.

I had a pretty good idea for an image that I attempted this morning. I was at Bellamy Harbor and the main road into Rome utilizes a bridge over the barge canal. The concept was to incorporate one of the street lamps on the bridge with the moon in the background (with me being on the ground under the bridge). The composition was what I intended but I totally flubbed the focus (more on that later). I had other concepts to work on but they would need to wait until later in the day.

I go to Bellamy Harbor quite frequently. It is an easy location for me, roughly five minutes from my apartment, and I generally find an image worth capturing. I photograph the view down the barge canal which includes the Mill Street bridge practically every visit. What I haven’t done much of is capture the underside of the bridge. See, shoot from below…

Under Mill St.
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/6s, 24mm, f/11, ISO 100

After Bellamy Harbor I made my way over to the Mohawk River Trail. There were numerous opportunities for me for the various “challenges” I was planning on participating in this week. I also knew there were plenty of tall trees to use for my next image. I was looking for a pine tree or two.

If you went to the challenge page at 52 Frames you will notice there is an “extra challenge” that can be incorporated into your image. This weeks extra was to utilize leading lines. Leading lines are a compositional technique where human-made or natural lines lead the viewer’s eyes through a photograph to the subject or the heart of the image (borrowed from Adobe.com). I found my trees…

Into the Pines
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/40s, 24mm, f/11, ISO 100

I had one more concept I wanted to capture. I drove over to the International Sculpture Garden and walked to the water tower. Now, I have photographed the water tower numerous times. Mostly I focus on the ladder cage attached to one of the support legs. One of my latest captures can be viewed in this post Going Up?, but I didn’t want to repeat myself (completely) so I planned on a bigger view. It worked out well that the sun chased most of the clouds away today.

Attack of the Tower
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/100s, 25mm, f/11, ISO 100

Did you participate in any photo challenges this week? Let me know if you did so I can see what you created. And remember, photography isn’t always about what is in front of you, look up, look down and look all around. The images are out there…

Doors

Posted by Mike on

52-week Challenge
Week 3 – Black and White

What to do, what to do?

The week three challenge at 52 Frames is Black and White photography. Readers of my ramblings know that I am no stranger to B&W, or monochrome, photography. Hardly a week goes by (when I’m posting consistently) without you having to endure another of my monochrome images. The style works for landscape, macro, still life, etc. You can visit my home page galleries and find three dedicated to monochrome projects.

So, what should I do?

I’m supposed to be challenging myself.

I thought about this challenge most of the week. I considered doing another image for the oil can project, or maybe the game pieces project, but really wanted something different. Out of necessity, due to the frigid temperatures, I had an idea. Something I could almost achieve from the comfort of my vehicle if needed.

I have written about one of my favorite photographers, Tom McLaughlan, and his ministract photography, in a couple of posts through out the years. He created a style that is part minimal, and part abstract. I can not do it justice but I encourage you to visit his site, Ministract.

My idea for the challenge this week would be similar to the ministract style I admire. I would photograph doors and patterns. Some I was even able to do from my vehicle (non-moving of course). For the last one I braved the elements at Bellamy Harbor.

Door #1
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/100s, 45mm, f/8, ISO 100

Door #2
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/400s, 70mm, f/8, ISO 100

Door #3
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/160s, 40mm, f/8, ISO 100

Losing Battles

Posted by Mike on

52-week Challenge
Week 2 – New Technique

I struggled with this week’s challenge, use a new technique. From the beginning of this photography journey I have experimented with different techniques. I typically stick with the landscape and macro images but have tried intentional camera movement, minimalism, abstract, B&W, square format, etc.

We had a meeting this week for the photography group at work. Our goal was to get ideas for increasing the group, where we would like to go on photo walks, and what other types of “lessons” we would like to share. It was a great meeting and we came away with a plethora of ideas. We decided we needed a goal of meeting at a minimum of once a month. Out of this meeting I got it in my head to get back into my Game Pieces project. I thought maybe I could do something for this week’s challenge.

And then my mind made a left turn…

I picked up Battleship at the store. I could see numerous possibilities for the project. But would that be enough for the challenge? What did I want out of this self-imposed challenge? To push myself. As I walked around the store a concept became clear. Part of me wasn’t going to like it.

I did something way out of my comfort zone last week. How could I plus that? The title of the image was already in my head, it would be called “Losing Battles.” Another self portrait but this time with a twist. I would incorporate the Battleship game. I love a good play on words and/or double meanings.

So, I expanded on what this weekly challenge would be for me. I would follow, as best as possible, the challenges from 52frames.com but was free to challenge myself differently if I so desired. I guess in the long run, whatever keeps me moving forward with my photography is what I’ll do.

Losing Battles
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 0.8s, 53mm, f/8, ISO 100

Thoughts in Reflection

Posted by Mike on

52-week Challenge
Week 1 – Self Portrait

Way outside my comfort zone!

I do not like images of myself. Let’s make it worse, as I had to create it myself. What am I thinking?

As I mentioned in another post, I want to challenge myself this year and doing this 52-week challenge is my punishment. I refuse to sign-up in order to post the image so it will only be seen here. I am going to follow the challenge found on 52Frames. The next few challenges will definitely be more my speed. Saying that I will need to find ways to up the challenge rather than fall back into my comfort zone.

Enough babbling… show them the image.

Thoughts in Reflection
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 0.4s, 47mm, f/4, ISO 400

The mirror seemed like the best option for me. The fun part was setting it up (not the best lighting but options are limited) and executing the exposure. Luckily I could connect my phone to the camera through the Nikon SnapBridge app and see what I was doing. I could ensure I was positioned in the mirror properly and set the focus point. Then it was simply clicking the shutter button on the phone.

Nope! Still don’t like images of myself.

This one is in the done pile. On to the next challenge…

Technical

Posted by Mike on

52 Week Photography Challenge
Week 2 – Technical: SOOC

Woo hoo! Look at me! I made it to week two of my 2017 challenge.

I know that might not seem like much but the way the weather and work have been going I seriously doubt my ability to go exploring to grab images. And not only for this goal I placed in front of myself but for my sanity. Getting out and capturing images is my escape. It is definitely my me time. Not to mention the cruel trick Mother Nature is playing on me… I mean, come on, right after I buy the snowshoes we have a streak of 50 degree weather and rain. That is downright mean! LOL

But I digress. The challenge this week is to capture a compelling image and post it straight out of the camera. No processing. No helping yourself improve an ‘almost image’ by tweaking it. Plan your shot. Nail your composition. Set your exposure and click!

 

MLCreations Photography: 52 Week Project &emdash; Arches - SOOC

 

On Wednesday this week there was a big meeting with a customer starting after lunch. It was a post award conference with lots of customer representatives. To calm any jitters I typically get I jumped out during lunch and escaped to the Old Erie Canal Park nearby. Even if I didn’t capture any compelling images, the act of crawling around the canal puts me in a better place. I had a good time! And, I was able to capture a cool view of the aqueduct over Butternut Creek.

I really liked the play of light in this image. The light on the inside of the arches contrasting with the dark walls and water. The pattern (only two) of the shape for the arches with the line of each bringing your attention down to the creek and the white, frothy ‘rapids’. Definitely not an award winner but there is potential, and for this challenge I think I ended up fairly well with an image right out of the camera.

 

MLCreations Photography: Monochrome &emdash; Arches

 

Technically (pun intended!) we are suppose to save the original for processing later in the challenge but I couldn’t let this one sit. I knew how I was going to process this image as I was capturing it. This was always going to be a monochrome image. I needed to crop slightly to remove the one strand of errant grass in the lower left corner. I also thought the balance would be better with the image ratio changed to 4×5. Although I liked the pattern in the image changing the ratio removed the perfectly same sized arches and added a little visual tension. After that it was a few minor adjustments in Lightroom and a trip into my black & white plugin from Topaz Labs.

Let me know how I did for this week’s challenge. I always welcome your thoughts and comments.

A New Challenge

Posted by Mike on

52 Week Photography Challenge
Week 1 – Story: Rule of Thirds

A new year is suppose to bring a new set of goals. That is the thought behind New Year’s resolutions, right? I have been pretty good at listing resolutions, I have been terrible at following through on them. This year I did not list any. Why put myself through the guilt when I do not achieve or sustain what I thought I would do this year. But, I did want to try something to push myself creatively this year.

I remember when I was doing the weekly themes with some friends I had met on one of my Disney trips. We would pick a theme for a week and share three images that we created and comment on each other’s work. It wasn’t a competition, it was a way for us to keep in touch and learn. I had a lot of fun when we were doing those themes. Some weeks I would plan specific images and other weeks I would wander around seeing what jumped out at me that would fit the current theme. It helped me when I worked either way… if I had an image in my head I would plan everything out and then go execute. If I allowed myself to wander around it was teaching me to see differently or expand how I looked at my surroundings.

To get me back into that mode of operation I decided I would work on a 52 Week photography project. Rather than rely on myself selecting a theme and working on an image I found a project/challenge online that I am hoping will keep me focused. Dogwood Photography is doing a second challenge after what looked like a successful one last year. Reading through the challenge list it appeared to have themes that I could contribute to as well as push me along my goal of increasing my creativity. You can view the weekly challenges here.

If you are looking for something to help jump start your own photography I encourage you to participate in this challenge. I had tried a 365 Project once but only made it through 25% before I gave up. The challenge of creating an image every day eventually wore me out. I think the guilt when I missed a day was the worse and was what truly forced me to stop. I thought with a weekly challenge I will have more opportunities to create the image I want and not feel stressed out about it.

Week 1 – Story: Rule of Thirds

The challenge for the first week is to tell a story using the rule of thirds. This is probably the first “rule” of photography everyone hears about or learns. Digital Photography School has a nice article about this technique if you are interested. Basically the technique involves dividing your image into thirds both horizontally and vertically. To create the most compelling image you would want to have your subject near one of the dividing lines or even better is to have your point of focus at one of the intersections.

The challenge this week though is more about telling a story by incorporating this rule of thirds. I had an idea about what I wanted to do and last night was my first opportunity to execute. The image I created is of the Bed & Breakfast next door. My neighbor had turned his house into a B&B quite a few years ago to capture some of the travelers looking for a place to stay near the miles of snowmobile trails in my area. One trail crosses the road about a quarter mile from my house.

I will admit this is not one of my best images technically. I should have bracketed my exposures to give me more detail in the highlights. I chose not to as I thought it contributed to the story. You will notice if you can visualize the image split into thirds that the truck on one of the dividing lines. I also played with the concept of the rule of thirds a little by creating three zones in this image. There is the snow zone which has the driveway and tracks leading to the truck. The middle zone is the house and then the last zone is the night sky.

 

MLCreations Photography: 52 Week Project &emdash; Night at the B&B

 

Not a great start to the challenge but I did start! I keep the list on my desk so as not to lose focus. I welcome any comments and if you do decide to participate, let me know so I can follow along with your progress.