About a year ago I got a fancy-pants SLR camera. It’s big and black and shiny and beautiful, I am still crushing on it. There’s just a few teensy little problems: 1) It has a LOT of buttons. A lot. 2) I am afraid of the buttons. Well, not all of them, but a lot of them.
{Moss on Wall, Philadelphia, PA}
I have taken a few classes to learn some of the bells and whistles of my camera, and I try to stay away from the automatic setting as much as possible. This leads to a bit of frustration, a lot of blurry, badly lit photos, and sometimes I go weeks without picking up my camera again. Obviously, this cycle does not help learn what to do with all those scary buttons.
{Bonneville Salt Flats, Wendover, UT}
So, I decided to start a little project of weekly photography assignments. I know that traditionally this kind of project starts in January, but it’s not January anymore and I don’t want to wait another 10 months to begin to conquer the fear of the scary buttons.
{Hot Air Balloon Festival, Springville, UT}
So, I looked at a couple of similar challenges, picked the bits and pieces that I liked, and made up my own list of assignments in the format of inspiration words. Because I’m a bit on the nerdy side, my list is organized by month and has due dates every Friday to post my progress. At the end of the year I may just give myself a report card.
My first assignment is due next Friday, March 3. The assignment inspiration is “Abandoned.” I have all sorts of ideas about empty buildings or warehouses or…something. Clearly, I’m new at this. A few of the assignments are specifically technical, but most are broad enough to leave a lot open to interpretation. I’m really quite excited. If you’d like to play along join the Flickr group and upload your photos every Friday starting next week. You can download the entire challenge schedule right here:
52 Pics Weekly Photo Challenge
**Yep, I absolutely populated this post with some of my favorite pics I’ve taken over the last year or so. Think of it as inspiration…inspiration without an assignment. That’s probably the best way to start, right? Let’s hope so.
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I just want to make that picture of Yellowstone my wallpaper. I love that one!
Comment by bookslistslifeLisa 2012 February 24 @ 9:01 amGo forth and wallpaperize!
(Yes, that is totally a word. Ish.)
xox
Comment by heidikins 2012 February 27 @ 11:44 amI love that you made this list of assignments. Dedication! I started a 365 project but I’ve already missed quite a few days and feel less than inspired by it. I think a weekly assignment is a good compromise. I would suggest posting your images even bigger on your blog so you can enjoy them in all their glory. Not sure if that is possible with your platform/theme, but I’ve been studying photography and the number one mistake is posting pictures too small. The bigger the better!
Comment by Sonal 2012 February 24 @ 9:22 amIf you click on my pics they get a lot bigger, the image in the post is a smaller version of what is actually uploaded.
xox
Comment by heidikins 2012 February 24 @ 9:42 amWoo! Let’s DO THIS.
Comment by RA 2012 February 24 @ 9:42 amYay!
xox
Comment by heidikins 2012 February 27 @ 11:43 amOk, I’m going to try to follow along and do this too. My poor camera is sitting neglected because I’m scared of the buttons/frustrated with my crappy photos. Here goes nothing!
Comment by Britt 2012 February 24 @ 10:27 amYesss! So glad you’re joining me!
xox
Comment by heidikins 2012 February 27 @ 11:44 amSo Stanford (yep, THAT one) has posted their entire intro to photography class online. For free. http://graphics.stanford.edu/courses/cs178-11/
Comment by pinksuedeshoe 2012 February 24 @ 6:05 pmYou know, in case one of those buttons is giving you grief. Also, totally love this. Totally doing this. It’s on my Bucket30List.
Swoon!
xox
Comment by heidikins 2012 February 27 @ 11:40 amWhat kind of camera do you have, if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve been wanting to upgrade forever but I’m kind of stuck between wanting a SLR or a compact flash. I know if I’m going to spend the money I might as well get the SLR, but I know me, and honestly there’ll be no lugging a big ole camera around for me!
Comment by respect the shoes 2012 February 24 @ 7:34 pmI have a Canon Rebel XL. It’s too big to fit in my purse, but I have really loved having a larger, nicer camera for ocassions where I know I want some better pictures and/or more options when I shoot. I carry a small Canon point-and-shoot with me most of the time because I cannot stand taking crappy pictures with my phone.
xox
Comment by heidikins 2012 February 27 @ 11:41 amI’d say you’re off to an excellent start already!
Comment by Camels & Chocolate 2012 February 26 @ 10:57 pmThank you so much! Coming from a pro like you that is a real compliment!
xox
Comment by heidikins 2012 February 27 @ 11:44 amOoo exciting! I love this kind of thing
Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Comment by Allie 2012 February 26 @ 11:12 pmI am both terrified and thrilled about the whole idea. We’ll see how I do!
xox
Comment by heidikins 2012 February 27 @ 11:42 amI can’t promise that I will join you, but I most definitely need to. I got a DSLR myself and have NO idea how to use. But by the looks of that moss picture (which I LOVE), it looks like you got it at least somewhat figured out. Seriously, all the pictures you posted are beautiful.
Comment by Erica 2012 February 27 @ 11:22 amA quick google of F stop and ISO should answer some initial questions, once someone at the camera store explained those two concepts to me I started taking MUCH better pictures and got myself off the auto mode a bit more.
xox
Comment by heidikins 2012 February 27 @ 11:43 amSo, I suggest you pick a few of your dedicated readers and fellow art-lovers (heh-hmmm… me being one of them) to help you on the grading.
Comment by Shannon 2012 February 27 @ 12:59 pmHonestly, if I get 2 people to participate all year I’ll be thrilled. I hadn’t really thought of prizes or anything, other than a big, ole cyber high-five.
xox
Comment by heidikins 2012 February 27 @ 1:52 pm