The Challenge

Obsessed

I am capital O obsessed with photography. It has been awhile since I felt properly obsessed. It feels good, man.

That being said I am for sure in what Ira Glass calls the gap. The gap between my taste and my skill.

I know what I like but I can't yet make my photos look like what I think is good.

That is ok, that is where the Three C's come into play: Challenges, Constraints and Contrasts.

  • Challenge: Shoot at least 5 subjects per day for 30 days
  • Constraints: One camera, one lens (fixed or prime)
  • Contrasts: Go out at different times per day

Rules

The basic rules are 5 subjects at least per day which means I can take multiple pictures of the same thing but has to be five distinct subjects and I can come back to a subject to try again but only on a different day. Can't just cheat and take 5 photos of the same exact thing. Outside of that not much else. I wanted something that I wouldn't have any trouble doing everyday.

I am using just one camera and that is the Sony a6400 with a 35mm prime lens.

Goals

There was a couple of goals for this challenge

  • Build that rhythm of shooting and editing
  • Experiment and focus on quanity
  • Get bored with my environment
  • Learn the basics of LightRoom

For forever I have only taken pictures with my iPhone. Also most my photos are of places I have traveled to and it is easier to get cool shots. They are not great pictures but it is hard to take a terrible photo of somewhere like Iceland.

This challenge for was about getting used to a new camera, new focal length and trying to take more photos. Even though what I am currently taking photos of is isn't really inspiring. Which is a part of the challenge as well, pushing past the need for inspiration.

After the first few days of feeling like I have taken every photo of my neigherhood, I realized I needed something else to keep me going. I am currently in Arlington,VA and it is a nice place but not a cultural hotspot. That being said it is a some what interesting mix of "city" and suburbia. There are a bunch of big buildings, and then a block over small single family houses. It is very walkable which is rare in the US and the main reason I moved here. I then I also tried to weave that theme of the city/suburbia contrast into it.

Side Quests

Having a theme helped with finding things to photograph, as well I did a few side quests of looking for certain objects or certain colors.

I have been living here over a year and until I started taking pictures I never noticed the fire hydrants. In Arlington they are actually kinda cool. Most of them are yellow with a blue top.

Once I noticed them, I then noticed them in various states of decay and color shift. Not the most interesting thing in the world but a good lesson on noticing or in this case the lack of.

Results

stats
  • 30 days
  • 935 total photos
  • 30 edited photos

This was fun and already have ideas for several more 30 day challenges.

Larger take aways, though I wouldn't say I have too much, outside light is important. That is obvious but it becomes clear shooting the same thing at different times a day can make the same thing go from boring to interesting. I think this time around it was really about going through the motions, using the camera, learning the controls.

The other take away that I see, is how much I want to take close in shots of things. I have been watching a lot of this Youtuber James Popsys and he has this idea about taking photos about things vs taking photos off things.

Highly recommend his videos and he talks alot about this, but the jist is, and I see it a lot in my photos, especially my instgram ones, the photos are just about a thing. If it is street art, I am just taking a picture of that and cropping out anything else. There is nothing of the environment or setting in the frame. So there is no real story there. I can see that in many of my photos now. I don't think that is always bad, especially with more abstract shots which I really like. But yeah for other things, not having the space that object lives in cuts it off in a way that does it a disservice and takes away from the subject.

Like I said, I find these photos pretty mid, but the process was super fun. I never got bored of going out and shooting. In fact the opposite, I looked forward to going out and would wake up planning where I would go that day. Also enjoy the editin process though I have no idea what I am doing. Hooray for photography and 30 day challenges.