As most of you know, for the last few years here on 365, we’ve been following the 52 Week Challenge created by Dale Foshe and the community at Dogwood Photography. This year, the Dogwood Challenge has been replaced by the Capture52 challenge, and the reins have been taken over by Justine Solomano, and Alison Crea, who have been admins for the previous Dogwood challenges.
I’ve contacted them and they’ve very kindly given us their blessing to continue following their challenge here at 365 😊
Scroll down for the full list of themes for 2020 – all instructions and descriptions have been taken directly from the list at Tattered Edges here and the list is also available as a PDF download on the Capture52 Facebook group
And finally, a big thanks to Dale for all his hard work in creating and hosting the challenge for the last four years, and to Justine and Alison for welcoming us on board for their new challenge.
If you’re new to 365, or just looking for something different to keep you inspired this year – join in! There will be a new theme each week, designed to help you improve your photography and get your imagination working, and you’re under no obligation to complete each and every theme. It’s not a competition and there won’t be any judging at the end of each week.
Each weekend, I will continue to post the coming week’s theme for those who are not on Facebook, or who prefer to only post their images here on 365. If you’re not already being notified and you’d like to be reminded of the upcoming themes, comment below and I’ll tag you when the prompts are being posted.
Week 1 (28 Dec - 3 Jan)
New Year’s Resolution: New Year, New Challenge, New decade, New resolutions. Use this as your inspiration for your very first capture!
Week 2 (4 Jan - 10 Jan)
Landscape: Landscape is one of the most popular genres of photography. Capture a landscape (including cityscapes) image using your skills and techniques to make the best image you can.
Week 3 (11 Jan - 17 Jan)
Architecture: Your job this week is to get out and photograph buildings, man-made structures. Use whichever manner you choose either proper corrected lines, or twisted, curved, tilted and converging lines. Go for wide shots, or put on a long lens and shoot details – it’s totally your call.
Week 4 (18 Jan - 24 Jan)
The colour GREEN: Take a photo where Green is the dominant colour in your capture this week.
Week 5 (25 Jan - 31 Jan)
Portrait: All photos to be taken/converted to monochrome. Focus on the tone of your capture.
Week 6 (1 Feb - 7 Feb)
Texture: Texture refers to the visual quality of the surface of an object. Texture brings life and vibrancy to images that would otherwise appear flat and uninspiring. Think about light.
Week 7 (8 Feb - 14 Feb)
Love: Share the Love for Valentine’s Day and use it as your prompt this week.
Week 8 (15 Feb - 21 Feb)
Bucket List: Do something from your photography Bucket List, something you’ve always wanted to try. It could be a technique, a location, a style...anything.
Week 9 (22 Feb - 28 Feb)
Pets: Capture a photo of your pet. If you don’t have one, borrow your friends, mothers, neighbours, sisters, brothers etc etc.
Week 10 (29 Feb - 6 Mar)
Eggs: ...and that’s it! The only requirement is that your image includes a bird’s egg...get creative and give us some eggcellent captures!
Week 11 (7 Mar - 13 Mar)
NQR: We all want to post our very best images but we all take ones that are Not Quite Right. Your challenge this week is to post one that’s not quite there...
Week 12 (14 Mar - 20 Mar)
Macro: Your choice of subject...if you have the means to do so, try focus stacking.
Week 13 (21 Mar - 27 Mar)
Your Best Shot: Go out and take oodles of images and post the best one you took this week.
Week 14 (28 Mar - 3 April)
Industrial: Industrial is quite a broad topic and can consist of industrial landscapes through to close-ups of industrial equipment. Capture something Industrial this week.
Week 15 (4 April - 10 April)
Tell a story: A picture is worth a thousand words...capture an image that tells us the story.
Week 16 (11 April – 17 April)
Easter: Capture anything related to Easter.
Week 17 (18 April – 24 April)
Red: Red is a powerful colour in photography. Find something red and create a composition around it.
Week 18 (25 April- 1 May)
Femininity: This week is about all things feminine. From clothes to cosmetics, from colours to jewellery, show us anything that is usually identified with women.
Week 19 (2 May - 8 May)
Fire: From a candle to full scale bushfire and anything in between. Show us fire and don’t set yourself alight!
Week 20 (9 May - 15 May)
Minimalism: Less is sometimes more...make your image clean and simple with the use of minimalism. The subject can be anything you chose.
Week 21 (16 May- 22 May)
Creatures: Animals or insects, great or small. Your choice again this week.
Week 22 (23 May - 29 May)
Phobias: We all have one...relive your worst phobia and use it as your inspiration this week.
Week 23 (30 May - 5 Jun)
Opposites: You’ve all heard the cliché “opposites attract” and there’s some element of truth to it. Opposites give us visual contrast, and when two objects contrast in a big way, they give your viewer something to think about. Show us opposites this week.
Week 24 (6 Jun - 12 Jun)
Bokeh: Your job this week is to capture some bokeh images. Use a shallow DOF and throw your background out of focus to play along.
Week 25 (13 Jun - 19 Jun)
Sunrise/Sunset: Get out and photograph at the beginning of or end of light and make some magic!
Week 26 (20 Jun - 26 Jun)
Toy Story: Compose them in such a way to make them appear like they’re alive...tell a story using toys!
Week 27 (27 Jun - 3 July)
Masculinity: This week is about anything masculine. Boys toys, cars, bikes, the skies the limit. Show us anything that is usually identified with men.
Week 28 (4 July - 10 July)
Black and White: Free choice of subject (no portraits, we already did that...)
Week 29 (11 July- 17 July)
Food: Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to play with your food? This week we want you to, be creative.
Week 30 (18 July - 24 July)
Street Photography: Shoot a candid, raw, gritty street scene. No posed images.
Week 31 (25 July - 31 July)
In your Backyard: Get outside your backdoor and shoot something in your backyard. If you don’t have a backyard feel free to photograph whatever is the closest thing to a yard for you e.g. a balcony.
Week 32 (1 Aug - 7 Aug)
Moody Atmosphere: Light is the key to creating more interesting, dynamic moody images. Capture a moody image.
Week 33 (8 Aug - 14 Aug)
Abstract: Capture something in a way that it would not usually be seen. Look for the details, the patterns, the lines, the form, shape and colours that complete a subject and utilizing those key features, make an engaging image that has the viewer questioning what it is.
Week 34 (15 Aug - 21 Aug)
Mask: Take a photo inspired by the word “Mask”.
Week 35 (22 Aug - 28 Aug)
Rainbow: Your photo this week must be rainbow themed.
Week 36 (29 Aug - 4 Sept)
Break the rules: To break the "rules" of photography you must know and understand the “rules”. The rules serve as a helpful guide for photographers, to help them think about their photos and their compositions. Put the “rules” aside and create a compelling image that breaks the rules!
Week 37 (5 Sept - 11 Sept)
From Dusk to Dawn: (no sunrises or sunsets) - images should be captured from the time the sun disappears below the horizon at night to just before it reappears in the morning.
Week 38 (12 Sept - 18 Sept)
Still Life: Take a still life image that could belong in a magazine.
Week 39 (19 Sept - 25 Sept)
Rule of Thirds: This week your challenge is to utilise the most common photographic composition rule...the Rule of Thirds. Free choice of subject.
Week 40 (26 Sept - 2 Oct)
Upside Down: What is up is going to be down and what is down is going to be up...explore situations that will create upside down images such as reflections, glass balls, holding your camera upside down or flipping images in your photo editor.
Week 41 (3 Oct - 9 Oct)
Trees: Trees are a classic photography subject, from a lone tree as a central focus, to frame filled with trees. Trees lend themselves to a variety of moods and genres. Capture Trees however you like this week.
Week 42 (10 Oct - 16 Oct)
Graffiti: It’s everywhere. Graffiti provides a colourful backdrop to most urban areas. Capture it at its best or worst this week.
Week 43 (17 Oct – 23 Oct)
Silhouettes: Capture your subject in silhouette, an outline that appears dark against a light background. Lighting is key here and remember Silhouettes are not the same thing as a shadow.
Week 44 (24 Oct - 30 Oct)
Creepy: Create a creepy image for Halloween.
Week 45 (31 Oct - 6 Nov)
Square Crop: Rethink your composition. Take a photo this week to crop square.
Week 46 (7 Nov - 13 Nov)
Birds Eye: Shoot an interesting image from above looking directly down on your subject or scene. Your choice of subject.
Week 47 (14 Nov - 20 Nov)
Combination: Combine any 2 (or more!) prompts from this year’s list for your capture this week.
Week 48 (21 Nov - 27 Nov)
Multiple Exposure: Your capture this week is to combine multiple images into one. Stitched panorama, double exposure, focus stacking, HDR, the options are endless.
Week 49 (28 Nov - 4 Dec)
Glass: How do you photograph something that is transparent or see through like glass? Try to be creative and minimise reflections.
Week 50 (5 Dec - 11 Dec)
Kitchen Close ups: Your capture this week is to get close to your subject in the kitchen.
Week 51 (12 Dec - 18 Dec)
Frozen: Ice adds interest and turns the mundane into something fascinating. Capture something frozen this week but watch out for frostbite.
Week 52 (19 Dec - 31 Dec)
Christmas: ‘Tis the season… Anything Christmas related
yay! so pleased to see this will keep going... thank you for continuing to be the intermediary between facebook and 365!
i just checked out the tattered edges page... insanely good is right! i noticed that there's no reference to tags... do you know what tags they are using on FB? i don't post there, but i do post on insta, and there were quite a few of us doing the dogwood thing there and i think using the same tags (which were different from 365 tags)...
tx again for all your work in keeping us on track with this!
@m2016 Mel, thank you so much for all your work on this! I can't imagine the time it takes! I may try to stick with it this year. We'll see. Thanks again! :)
Thank you Mel, the prompts look brilliant so I may doing all again, so please keep my name on your notifications list!!! That website is phenomenal, wonder if I'll ever be that good??!
@phil_sandford and @carole_sandford I really recommenc doing this over the coming year. This year's list (2020) looks more fun, and less technical, that the one I've just completed. No competition- except with yourself and your camera, no choosing shortlists. Do come play and ask mel to add you to the mailing list!! J
@phil_sandford Hi Phil, you can post as many photos for each week's theme as you like here on 365 - I'm not sure about Facebook though, I 'll check it out.
Thank you for the update Mel. The list this year looks a little more "feet on the ground" than last year. It makes it very tempting to have another go. :)
Phil - regarding your earlier question about posting more than one image - I checked the Facebook group, and as everyone's images are posted to specific albums for each week there rather than onto the wall, you can add additional images in the comments on your first image. Full info and FAQ's are available to anyone who joins the Facebook group so I won't go into it too much here.
Here on 365, you can post as many as you like into your own album because it works a bit differently. Hope that makes sense!
Thank you so much Mel. I enjoy this challenge a great deal. Now I need to come up with weekly title instead of Dog 1 etc. I am often stuck for a title. I will work on it, maybe Cap 1, nice and short for my brain to remember. Not sure about joining the Facebook group, I'm not a fan of that platform/demension so I hope our 365 community keeps this.
Please add me to the list - I'm hoping to do 365 days this year - starting Jan 1st. My word for the year is Purposeful - and I'm aiming to be purposeful in my photography - learning, practicing and improving this year!!!
Hi, is the idea to take a photo with the theme every day for the week, or just one photo in the week to be with that theme? Interested in joining in and want to make sure I'm doing it correctly!
Tweets ahoy!
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i just checked out the tattered edges page... insanely good is right! i noticed that there's no reference to tags... do you know what tags they are using on FB? i don't post there, but i do post on insta, and there were quite a few of us doing the dogwood thing there and i think using the same tags (which were different from 365 tags)...
tx again for all your work in keeping us on track with this!
Thank you.
Phil - regarding your earlier question about posting more than one image - I checked the Facebook group, and as everyone's images are posted to specific albums for each week there rather than onto the wall, you can add additional images in the comments on your first image. Full info and FAQ's are available to anyone who joins the Facebook group so I won't go into it too much here.
Here on 365, you can post as many as you like into your own album because it works a bit differently. Hope that makes sense!
I really appreciate it and maybe this year ....