Late last year, I came across a PetaPixel article with different photography exercises to help you develop creativity, see things in new ways, and challenge yourself. There's 13 of them, so I'll be doing one a month (and one extra here or there!) and blogging about them to share. I think this will help me keep shooting even in slow times, and I'm super excited for "assignments." I make time to go to the gym every week, time to make time to workout the photo mind too.
First up! The challenged is called Two Dozen. You pick a location, stand in one spot, and take at least two dozen photographs – without moving your feet. Those are the only stipulations. After a fluffy 10 inches of snow fell one weekend, my husband and I headed out for our first snowshoe of the season, to Needham's Cutler Park Reservation. We've taken the pups there many times before, but haven't snowshoed there yet, and I thought there might be some fun spots to complete this exercise.
A couple reflections:
- I prepared well in terms of gear – bringing a variety of lenses that I knew would be helpful since I couldn't move my feet.
- Having different gear is great, but it reinforces that to a certain extent, it doesn't matter if you're not seeing creatively or different, or taking chances on your own.
- I could have taken more time in the spot I chose to plan out shots more, rather than doing a brief scan before taking them until I got to 12 (I did four shots with each of the three lenses I had with me).
- I could have focused more on different aspects of composition or in looking for more out-of-the-ordinary perspectives.
- I'd love to do this one again, this time in an urban environment with different people passing by to see how that's different than nature shots and landscapes.
- I love the red branches – and kudos to my husband for pointing them out as we did our first pass through on the trail before we came back. They remind me of coral.
Stay tuned for Exercise #2 in February!