Welcome to Weekly Challenge #339 - 2015 (or: Who I Was)
I threw my hat in the ring without any real idea of what I would do as my theme. So when I was tapped, I decided to hop onto the Facebook Pentaxians group and pick a theme based on the first photo I saw. The first photo I saw was from Wolf, and you probably know his subjects (excellent as his work is). Well, I didn't want to land in hot water with anyone, so I scrolled on to use the next photo as my theme idea. The next photo was from Lee Bodson. You probably see where this is going. So I scrolled on again. The next shot was from Bruce Walker. At that point, I gave up. Three shots in a row of women, clearly, the theme had to be shots of women. It was a sign. The theme this week is supposed to be Girls Girls Girls! And it almost was. But I decided instead to do a more introspective theme.
We are different people at the end of each pass around the sun than we were when it began. True, this is a running fact and each day it's possible to look at that day the previous year and see someone else, someone perhaps unrecognizable, staring back through the mirror of the past. We mark calendar ends differently in different cultures, but the Gregorian is the most common. And with that calendar having lapsed, many people use this month as a period to look backwards and reflect. This challenge seeks the same.
So I want you to pick a photo you took in 2015, make it one of your best (if not your best) shots, and give me a couple sentences (or more, I'll read as much as your write) about what the photo meant to you or how it represented your 2015. I'll be picking 50% on the photo and 50% on the narrative (I won't be grading on grammar or writing, but content and thoughtfulness, so write as you feel comfortable.) You can write something factual, or an artistic vignette, or even fiction (I won't know.)
Here are some samples to get your brain going (these are my top five photos):
Interestingly, this was going to be a sample photo under my original idea, too. This is my friend's daughter. She's a good kid, and makes summer softball games a good deal more enjoyable through her energy and general happiness. It's been interesting to watch her and her brother grow each summer over the past five years. And for a long time seeing how well she and her brother have turned out as they turn into older kids made me think that I could be a parent. And then I looked at my bank account and thought better of it.
Back in September I interviewed Eric Hedrickson for a forthcoming Pentax Forums article. (I know, I know, and I've seen each question about when it's going to be published.) Anyway, the day after the interview I had to grab an afternoon flight, so I took the morning to explore a random Knoxville attraction. I picked Old Gray Cemetery. I picked up my MX from Eric during the interview and used that and my LX, which took this photo, to capture the weathered marble statuary in the cemetery. I wanted films that captured the mood of the setting, so I used Red Dragon redscale (among others). I came away from the cemetery with a greater appreciation of how devastating the civil war was on the psyche of the South and this country as a whole, and my hope is that I captured it in a manner that reflected well on the lives of those buried there.
As I've been writing the astrophotography series for Pentax Forums (I know, I know, I've seen each question about when the next installment is coming), I've been taking astrophotos and pushing my own technical and creative boundaries. This was an early shot but my first intentional shot. I wanted an image of this water wheel with the big dipper in the background. It took some Photoshop work (I'll discuss how I made this image in the astrophotography series' sixth installment, if you're curious), but the end result was pleasing.
Walnut Creek's valley, under an inversion layer, traps smog and smoke like a cat with a wounded mouse. It holds it down, plays with it, lets it almost escape and then slowly draws it back into the valley. Only when the valley is ready and the winds change just so does the air clear and the dusty coughing ease. Night, after the sunsets behind the mountains and casts a red glow into the sky with a long, blue shadow stretching, like a bear before hybernation, does the valley reveal the depth and layers within the air.
Dumb luck. That's it. I couldn't see the greenness of the sky at the site. All I wanted was a shot of the pier, Vega, and smooth water with lots of reflections. From this shot I learned how much color night skies have when the shutter is open long enough, and learned to appreciate the value of an empty beach after dark.
Those are some examples from which you can draw inspiration, specifically to help get your brain rolling on ideas. My goal with each was to provide a different idea on what to write: a piece about context, one about a setting and how it affected me, one about how an image was taken, a vignette meant to capture the mood of the image, and a reflective piece.
The fine print:
Every week, a new theme is picked and judged by the winner of the previous week.
The Challenge will run until midnight January 29, 2016, whichever time zone you are in.
Rules
1. Post ONE photo (max 1024x1024).
2. The photo must portray an interpretation of the theme.
3. Post your single picture in this thread and explain what motivated you to take the picture and/or how you feel it represents the weekly theme (especially if it's not obvious).
4. The challenge is interactive. Any response is welcome.
5. The judge will pick the WINNERS and choose one of them to be the judge for the next week.
6. This challenge runs for 7 days plus an additional day for the judge to choose the winners.
7. Any Pentax (or Samsung DSLR) camera (film or digital) can be used.
8. Pictures can be from any time frame, not just within the week of the current theme.
9. In case the winner of a challenge is unable to become the judge for the next challenge, they will PM the #2 winner for that person to be the judge.
Post #5 by charliezap
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