It's the last day of May! Tomorrow a new month begins (Ok, so some of you have already started it, I know!) If you're looking for some motivation or inspiration, maybe this will do the trick. Here's how it goes:
Each day of the week has a picture category. There are no limitations on how you shoot the photograph. The only restriction is to use the designated subject matter throughout the month of June. So here they are:
Monday: It's back to work day, so take a photo relating to things that work: machinery, industrial shots, appliances, and any other work related shot that suits your imagination.
Tuesday: "Welcome to My Neighborhood" Show us around your town, your street, your county, even your country if you're on vacation.
Wednesday: You might be suffering from the mid-week blahs today, so it's time to get up and stretch your photographic muscles. Try a new technique or setting on your camera. This is the day to experiment. Get those brain cells firing! You'll be glad you did.
Thursday: If you like selfies- good for you! But today's challenge is to take a selfless selfie. Take an abstract picture that describes you. Or perhaps there is something that represents a particular part of who you are. Today's "subject" is why we call these assignments "challenges"!
Friday: Inside or Outside. Take a look around your home and share some of your favorite things about it with us.
Saturday: Ahhh! It's the weekend! Go on an adventure, get the errands run, or relax. No matter what you do, keep your eyes open. Watch for shapes in the clouds, faces in the bark of trees, and anything else that sparks your imagination or causes you to take a second look. Take a picture of it and share it with us. Don't forget to tell us why it caught your eye!
Sunday: Today's your day, a freebie, to take a shot of anything you want.
While following your daily assignments you may want to-
* Set goals to improve your compositional skills or some other aesthetic aspect of photography.
* Alternate pov, macro, wide angle, horizontal and vertical layouts, color and monochrome in your shots. Aim to use techniques or elements you haven't tried before.
* Be a visual tour guide of your world.
Since June starts on a Friday, your first shot for this challenge will be a shot taken inside or outside your home. Let the creativity begin!
WOW what a challenge - do you have to do every day of June or just a week in June? Sorry if that is a silly question - brain not in function mode today.
Sounds great - thanks. Although it might be my home from home on Friday as I leave home about 7.30 / 8am & don't get back until about 11pm when it can be a bit on the dark side - especially with settings on camera using at present.
This is a great challenge, Ann! I might have participate. I'm going on vacation the last week, but up until then it might help me come up with some more creative ideas that I have been lately! Thanks for posting it!
Well, this really sounds challenging! I might join, I'm tagging it, so I can take a look at it from time to time. Only, I didn't complete the may-challenge, so I'm not sure if I'll complete this one.
@megsy It's an every week of June challenge- but I am not a hard task master! If you only want to do one or two weeks, you have that choice. A lot of us truly feel that on 365 it's your project, your rules and that sometimes applies to the challenges as well. I will say this though- the more you do a challenge like this, the more it helps you to refine and improve your craft.
@la_photographic You can do inside or outside shots. Home away from home is fine too! @lisjam1 You are a creative person (probably one of the more creative ones here!!) so alter, adapt, or recreate if you want the week you're away. I know I'll enjoy them! @geertje That's ok Geertje! Do whatever you're comfortable with. I know that no matter what you take, it will be wonderful!!
I am going to have to take the challenge. May was just a terrible month for my project. June will be different. My camera will be my best friend again.
@cfitzgerald lol Courtney! The first time I did a challenge like this was when Alia set up the S challenge last August. I didn't think I could do a month of S shots- but I totally got hooked on the challenge of finishing the challenge! But you will find me to be a "gracious challenge master". It's fine with me as long as you have fun with the shots you take!
@alia_801 Thanks Alia! Next month it'll be your turn! @pandorasecho Thanks Dixie- now I don't know why you'd want to focus on your son's graduation!! hehe You proud Mama you! @swamppoodle Well, Patti- you did pretty well with May- I think you'll do just fine with June! @wenbow Cool! @byrdlip The tag is 30daysinjune And you can also copy your pictures into this discussion as well. @rayg86 Great! Looking forward to it Ray- but please try not to tempt me with your food shots!!
@olivetreeann I'd like to do this. I'm usually looking for some focus but haven't even done a month challenge before and will be exceptionally busy with work so it could be very challenging. However I'll give it a go. Lucky for me the shot I took today was from my garden, so it fits, kind of.
Some people have mentioned tagging this thread. How do I do that?
@tulipgirl That's a great shot Alicia! The b/w is really bringing out the veins in the leaves and highlighting the raindrops. Beautiful shot! And all of the categories are open to interpretation. It was a challenge me as I designed this to make them specific yet open-ended. This shot is a great way to interpret the Friday shot.
@tulipgirl I have Firefox as a browser and a long time ago Paul made an plug-in for this site, all information can be found here: Firefox-extension
Hope this helps!
@olivetreeann You're too nice! I feel I'm desperately lacking creativity in year two, but I really want to take my photography skills to the next level. There's still so much to learn so maybe having some guidelines will force me to get back on the horse so to speak.
@lisjam1 One of the things that I find sparks my creativity is to actually limit myself. For example- last year there was a day I didn't know what to shoot. I was bored and feeling uninspired. So, I told myself, "You have 30 seconds to walk into the kitchen and shoot whatever you see in black and white." And no matter what I took I'd have to choose a shot from those 30 seconds to post that day. It really made me look closely at different things in my kitchen that I usually didn't pay much attention to. It turned out to be really fun and it was just enough to get my head back into it (so to speak). I'm not sure if that's the kind of guidelines you're looking for or if you are looking for more technical advice. For me, I'd like to try and shoot with the Nikon that someone gave me again, but I really don't understand why the camera keeps messing around with the focus- even on manual. So, that'll be a goal for me on Wednesdays. Otherwise, I'd say you're being really tough on yourself as far as the creativity goes. I've seen some people have a photography bucket list here. Maybe you could give yourself some specific shots (like a water crown for example) to use as an assignment for some of the skills you want to improve. As for me, since I can't really go crazy with technical improvement, I'm looking for a chance to work on composition with some of the shots in this challenge. And of course, with such a lofty goal in mind, the first shot I'm posting is a silly one, but it's where my house is at right now. So hopefully, I'll rise above the mundane tomorrow. I don't know if any of that helps. Oh my! I've written a novel! Sorry!!!
After seeing that several of my friends are doing this challenge, I decided to give it a whirl. I'm not sure how far I'll get, but I started today, so that's the first step. :o)
June 1,2012~Feels like Home~ right outside my front door of the R.V, in P.A. all of my new bird houses and feeders are hanging from this tree..I sit and watch them come and go all day! The BlueJay is our Hometown Mascott! thats is why i enjoy photographing the Bluejay so much ! It is a definit Challenge! :)
@olivetreeann Thanks! I only wish this was my street, it's from my general area. Should I change the picture? I took the "inside or outside" part and missed the "your home" thing.
Gosh, I didn't see this before. Do you mind if I just miss Friday? I will try to do as much of the challenge as I can. I definitely need to try new things in the photography world and start thinking!
@pandorasecho You gave a good challenge Dixie! We have a book called "Take Another Look" by Tana Hoban. Although it is not about seeing pictures In things like clouds, it is about paying more attention to what you see- which is how I'm approaching the Saturday shots.
@smithak Looks like someone is going to have some great salads this summer! @vposey Good job! Lots of people double up the challenges. And Ace is an excellent way to go. It helps to support the site and really gives you a lot of freedom when it comes to posting shots.
@swamppoodle@olivetreeann Thank you very much! Sunday's shot was luck of the draw, a friend sent me a text to say the moon was rising and I just grab camera, ran outside and snapped a few shots!
I found the challenge! Thanks! I am not sure I am up to doing it, because I have some "I need to try this type shot before my year is over" going on but I may do some of it!
@catbehaviors Nice shots- I love the barn! @espyetta Those "need to try" shots can be posted on Wednesday (Try something new day) or Sunday (Freebie). So come and join us!! @boogie Very pretty! I never call them weeds- just wildflowers because many are so pretty. Sadly they have landed where someone doesn't want them! Nice shot Mags!
@salza Yes it is! Seeing them both together though, I like the second one best because there is more color in the field and the horses are closer. The clouds in the top one are more impressive because you can see more, but there is more interest in the overall shot when the horses stand out against the green of the grass. mho (o:
Here's my neighborhood! I was hoping to go get some better shots, but it started thundering and I had to get home. I've enjoying seeing everyone else's neighborhood!
@olivetreeann I was just wondering what you meant by techniques on Wednesday. I know I used a different setting on my camera yesterday but when I prefer manual and the other settings on my camera are more automatic I don't want to be using them. Do you mean things like Panorama or HDR?
@la_photographic It's really open to what you want to experiment with Laura. I think when I wrote technique I was thinking of it in a broad sense which could include a new style, a new format, processing in a different way, a new "trick" or a subject you don't normally shoot- pretty much anything you want to try out. So if you haven't tried either of those yet and it seems like something fun to experiment with, go for it. I'm hoping to try the panorama setting on something next week. I've never tried that before.
@olivetreeann Although I have done some HDR it was not great so another attempt at it and some processing as I don't really use Photoshop much. Thanks for this.
@olivetreeann Ha, thanks for teaching me a new word! Had to Google "trinklet". The little angel is a gift my son got for his christening. And I love your family history - why no one writes that beautifully nowadays?
@sinikka That's a good question and I think the answer is that we've become more technological in our correspondence. Between emails and texting there really is no reason for a lot of people to write. You can even send ecards on birthdays etc. Which makes it all the more special when you receive a hand-written note.
@shanne Beautiful portrait Shanne- someone special to you, I assume? The b/w is a lovely choice. Fun portrait too! I think I recognize the pair in the lower right!
@olivetreeann the portrait is of someone I know quite well and respect a great deal - but she's not that close, I just liked her face and how she looked
And yes, those boots really are a fair way of representing myself, I do wear them a lot, and when I went to the London meet I told them to look down
@salza Very cute- always choose the indoor option when Winter is hitting full force!! @smithak You are welcome Smitha- glad you joined in! Yum yum on today's picture!
@catbehaviors The rainy day shot has a great feeling to it- that damp soggy feeling that kind of day brings. And I think I see the ant peeking out from behind the strawberry. I don't recognize the object in the selfless selfie, so I'm at a loss to recommend what to do with it. It might just be that my brain is slow this morning, but perhaps to put that within its context would help the overall shot. I'm not sure why it's sitting on the porch railing. Again, it might just be me, so If it is, take this with a grain of salt! It would be like a knitter taking a picture only of the end of a knitting needle on the hood of a car. You wouldn't quite be able to tell what that was or why it was on the car. But if they were to poke it through a ball of yarn, then you'd think, "Oh that person knits". Sort of like that. Is this making sense? I hope so! In spite of all that- it's a very curious item! And I love the smoothness of it against the peeling paint!
@catbehaviors I don't think you always (underline) have to do that. Sometimes it actually helps to put a subject outside of its context. But in this case with such a unique subject, it might have helped. A powder horn! Wow- it looks like an antique. Do you do Civil War reenactments (or something to the effect)? Now that I know what it is, I could see the gun propped up in a corner with this beside, maybe a ruffled hunting jacket on a wood floor in sepia tone. BUT! It's your thing and your shot! lol
@salza Maybe not inspired but a very creative way to compensate!! I think this is pretty good for you zero level of inspiration! I like the angle with which you shot it-it looks an illustration of an atom!
@olivetreeann Thanks for your nice comments Ann! I love how you can see the reflection of the ceiling in your pool shot! It's very interesting. About to post my photo in a sec.
@catbehaviors I like the big sky full of clouds in this shot. This building reminds me of some of the manufacturing plants we pass as we head out to visit our family that lives in western NY. Now I want to go visit them!!
@smithak I bet this was so loud! I love the little races and monster truck shows we get around here, but that is just beyond the scale of any I've been to.
I realized an advantage to this challenge is that when you go to your calendar page that the themes being tied to a weekday gives you a nice view of each theme lined up once the month is completed.
Thank you so much! Can you imagine, the sunset shot is taken from our living room window. The advantages of living on the 5th floor. @pandorasecho@olivetreeann
@catbehaviors I did not see the person in the picture until I looked at the big one. I feel a bit stupefied.
I'm also thinking of tomorrow's selfless selfie and realizing a lot of the other days are that too, my home, my work, my neighborhood and my imagination. June could be know thyself month
@pandorasecho Know thyself and then introduce yourself to others! You found me out- I was really thinking it would be fun to get to know people through photos of their lives without being obvious! Glad you're enjoying it Dixie. I'll be puzzling on tomorrow's selfless selfie all night!
Looking through these and seeing so many wonderful books included as selfless and homes makes me realize how many of us are readers too. if we do a theme a weekday in another month, it would be cool to have one day be scenes we set up from books we loved
@pandorasecho Tell you what Dixie- I'll do mine on the next selfless selfie day for you! I think I'm passing the torch for the next challenge back to Alia (that's how we met on 365- as challenge buddies and we've been doing them together ever since!).
Haven't been on here for a whole week... :( But don't worry, I haven't forgotten to take my photos! I've just been lackadaisical with posting them. I'll try to get them all on today!
Take another look- Day 16 Using a tree trunk for a frame.
I know I somehow missed posting everything from the 13th on, but I've think I've put enough up here! As mentioned before, you do not need to comment on these!
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
@vposey
@wenbow
@salza
@pandorasecho
@la_photographic
Here's what I came up with- hope you like it! I tried to incorporate the two suggestions I received. I hope I did them justice!
@lisjam1 You are a creative person (probably one of the more creative ones here!!) so alter, adapt, or recreate if you want the week you're away. I know I'll enjoy them!
@geertje That's ok Geertje! Do whatever you're comfortable with. I know that no matter what you take, it will be wonderful!!
@pandorasecho Thanks Dixie- now I don't know why you'd want to focus on your son's graduation!! hehe You proud Mama you!
@swamppoodle Well, Patti- you did pretty well with May- I think you'll do just fine with June!
@wenbow Cool!
@byrdlip The tag is 30daysinjune And you can also copy your pictures into this discussion as well.
@rayg86 Great! Looking forward to it Ray- but please try not to tempt me with your food shots!!
Some people have mentioned tagging this thread. How do I do that?
Hope this helps!
June 1,2012~Feels like Home~ right outside my front door of the R.V, in P.A. all of my new bird houses and feeders are hanging from this tree..I sit and watch them come and go all day! The BlueJay is our Hometown Mascott! thats is why i enjoy photographing the Bluejay so much ! It is a definit Challenge! :)
My june 1st picture
http://echo-echosvoice.blogspot.com/2011/07/looks-like.html
But the real challenge for me is deliberately finding a new one each week. I love that you set it up as an adventure, it mass me smile, Ann
Dixie
And it's never too late to join in on any challenge! We'll look forward to seeing what you come up with.
I see a bird. What do you see?
I just need to put up yesterday's photo. I saw a lot of interesting things!
June 2nd Saturday..Red caught my eye!!
My freebie for the day. Will do what I can with this challenge since I'm doing two for the month. I may need to hurry and ace up lol :-)
@vposey Good job! Lots of people double up the challenges. And Ace is an excellent way to go. It helps to support the site and really gives you a lot of freedom when it comes to posting shots.
My freebie for Sunday june 3rd..
@smithak Very pretty!
Saturday
Sunday's shot
Friday - something inside that I'd really have preferred wasn't
Saturday - flower bed outside the library was buzzing
Sunday - something I like?
Monday - the most work I'm going to find today
This is my freebie from yesterday
Here's my work related shot. The ant was working really hard.
My home office.
My work essentials..
Something interesting that caught my eye around town.
Since Sunday is "free day", I just posted one of my day's photos.
And here is my working photo.
@espyetta Those "need to try" shots can be posted on Wednesday (Try something new day) or Sunday (Freebie). So come and join us!!
@boogie Very pretty! I never call them weeds- just wildflowers because many are so pretty. Sadly they have landed where someone doesn't want them! Nice shot Mags!
My street..My Neighbourhood..
Something new attempted today.. low light super exposed shot
Thanks.
@salza love the interpretation
Here's my selfie
My selfless selfie.. Abstraction of my painting..
Thursday - my abstract / selfless selfie
And yes, those boots really are a fair way of representing myself, I do wear them a lot, and when I went to the London meet I told them to look down
@smithak You are welcome Smitha- glad you joined in! Yum yum on today's picture!
I am seriously unhappy with my selfless selfie. :/
And here is my shot for today. Try to find the ant!
It's a powder horn. I will try to put my subjects more "in their element" next time!
And here's my shot for Saturday!
Indy Car racing!! every car made me turn back and look at it. Photo for saturday 9th.
My freebie for sunday!!
@pandorasecho Looks nice and rural- a country lane. Pretty!!
This is my photo for today-
I took it at a local playground. Best viewed large.
@catbehaviors I did not see the person in the picture until I looked at the big one. I feel a bit stupefied.
My selfless selfie for this week. sorry, has been a crazy week and missed some days. hoping to get back soon.
This picture got me my first second looks..and not very apprexciate ones :) . my saturday picture.
My sunday freebie..Painted my first birdhouse today!!
This is from a friends house.
My imagination got a boost from a silver sharpie this time
I know I somehow missed posting everything from the 13th on, but I've think I've put enough up here! As mentioned before, you do not need to comment on these!
Monday- This always goes together for breakfast. :-)
Sunday- Freebie- It's a red themed week for me. :-)
Thanks to everyone who participated in the 30 Days in June Challenge- you folks are Awesome!!