Monthly Competitions

There is something magical about exploring and photographing old, derelict, forlorn, and abandoned buildings and other objects. So put that inspiration to work in capturing the essence of age or decay and the emotion of abandonment. Think about what characterizes something being left behind. Broken windows? Dilapidated furniture? Long forgotten dolls and other toys? Consider focusing on textures, particularly those created by light striking a subject at an angle. New things tend to be shiny and smooth; older things are often weathered and worn, with mottled surfaces. Another way is to use juxtaposition. If you contrast the new with the old, you heighten the sense of age.

Capturing winter scenes to include snow, frost, frozen ponds or streams, or people and animals outside experiencing the cold is a good way to pursue this theme. Beautiful landscapes in winter are always a worthwhile goal. But so are photos of damage and suffering from the elements. Both happiness (kids in a snowball fight?) or sadness (a homeless person on a bench?) would work for this theme. Whichever way you go, try to make your viewer feel the cold.

As the subject of your photo, choose something that you see every day. Then, rather than framing and photographing it as you usually see it, experiment with shooting from several different positions and with several different lenses. You should find that when you get above, below, or closer to the level of your subject, rather than simply shooting it straight on or from a standing position, you can create interesting photos from a perspective most don’t regularly experience. Using lenses of different focal lengths can also help you create something fresh.

Minimalism is a style or technique characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity and involves composing a photo with a minimal number of components. It embodies the idea of “less is more.” The goal is to convey a concept or an idea to provoke an emotional response or provide a unique visual experience. This ensures that all the attention is focused on the photo’s subject without elements in the photo that would distract from the subject.

This theme encourages you to use a compositional technique rather than to capture a specific subject. Fences, roads, bridges, and shorelines are commonly used to lead a viewer’s eye through a photo and toward the prime subject. But don’t forget the leading lines to be discovered in more intimate scenes—even on a macro scale. One key suggestion: Be sure your leading lines lead to something worth looking at! 

Bees and butterflies are beautiful in addition to being important pollinators. Dragonflies are also very colorful and are predators of mosquitoes, flies, and other small insects. The easiest places to photograph bees and butterflies are in flower gardens or open meadows of wildflowers. Dragonflies are often found perched on vegetation around ponds or streams—but are you able to capture a sharp photo of one in flight? You will need a lot of patience and perhaps a fast shutter speed to capture sharp images of any of these beautiful insects. Early morning or late afternoon are usually the best times to find and photograph them. And, on a cool morning, you may even find a subject completely still and covered with dew.

Frames can be any number of things that seem to wrap around or partially enclose your subject.  Doorways, windows, low hanging branches, building arches, and fences are just a few objects that can create natural frames, all of which can be used effectively to emphasize your subject. They can add depth, contrast, structure, and even a sense of mystery to your photos. Indoors and out, frames can add impact to your photos.

Our species and our ancestors have long depended on tools for our survival. Today, everyone uses tools in many ways every day, often without even being aware of it. Your challenge, then, is to make a compelling photo of someone using a tool, any tool—from a tooth pick to a tennis racket to a spectrophotometer. Your emphasis should be on the use of the tool rather than the tool itself. And if your photo can tell a story of some sort, all the better

Busy, distracting backgrounds can ruin a photo, no matter how strong the subject. And one good way to avoid this pitfall is to create an out-of-focus (“soft”) background. This is easily achieved by using a large lens aperture (for shallow depth of focus), a long focal length (telephoto rather than wide-angle), and keeping some distance between your subject and the background. Your challenge, then, is to photograph a tack-sharp subject against a completely out-of-focus background. Portraits of people and animals are especially beautiful in this format, but what else can you imagine? A close-up shot with just a tiny part of a flower sharp and the rest of the flower blurred, perhaps?

Our ongoing theme of “found” abstracts or creating works of art with our cameras and software.  See full description of this theme on our website.

Aim for a scene where a small portion is lit by a splash of light and the rest is in shadow. Seek out a deep forest or a darkened room for a compelling composition. The beginning or end of a sunny day, when the sun is close to the horizon and is casting long shadows, may offer good opportunities. Nighttime is also a great time to find shadows and bits of light waiting for you to compose into a photo. You may also be able to manipulate your own lighting to create a beautiful photo, either outdoors or indoors. Look at light and shadow as the main subject, and use your imagination to do something special with them.