As a learning-as-I-go photographer, I’ve been practicing a lot of years.  If you’re like me, you’ve been practicing, too.  You’re feeling more confident with your tools of the trade.

When you pick up your camera it feels comfortable, like a well-fitting glove.

But there are moments where the subjects you’re taking pictures of all seem to blur together and don’t stand out to you like they did in the beginning.  They seem boring in a sense…

You’re craving something new!  Something colorful!  Something out of your ordinary!

That’s when you’ve branched out into looking for a new twist on your photography skills.

Do you need to enroll in a photography class?  Maybe?

Or do you just need to challenge yourself in a different style of photography?

That’s what I think!

That’s what I’m going to do…AND I’d love you to join me for the next 31 days as I (we…you and me and anyone else that wants to join in, the more the merrier) discover the #31SRW Photography Challenge.

 

Wait…I bet you’re thinking to yourself…

“I hate to feel the pressure of having to do something every day.”

Me too!

But, if you take a moment and think back to a time in your life where you committed yourself to do something and did it every day until it became a habit, didn’t you like the outcome?

It felt kinda good, didn’t it?

But…but…but…”What if I’d prefer to pick a different topic on a different day?”

It’s your challenge – do it in whatever order you like.  There is no #31SRW Police involved.  I’m the same way, if the mood strikes me to capture a different topic because the moment presented itself, I go for it!

You should go for it, too!

Introducing what I’ll (we’ll) be doing for the next 31 days.  We’re going to go out of our comfort zones, into our own depths of creativity, draw out the little things that have been hiding in the dark recesses of our childlike desires, and let them explode in colors, in black and white, and we’ll reflect on what we’re learning as we go.

Sounds like fun, right?

Wait…”Will there be a test or a rating of our efforts?”

Only if you want to!

It might make it fun.  Let’s be kind to ourselves through the ratings in stars because we are Stars of our own challenges.

Rate Yourself with Stars*

1 * Share only a photo of the object

2 * Share a silhouette of an object

3 * Share a reflective silhouette

4 * Share a creative story along with a reflective silhouette

5 * Share all of above in color and add a photo of it in black & white

Ready for the challenge?

I would love to see your photos and read your creative words.  Please add the tag #31SRW to your post and share your blog’s link in the comments.  If you want to just go about your own efforts on your own, that’s okay too.  Just know I’ll be thinking about you!

Oh, and by the way, if you’re involved in other challenges, or daily prompts, go ahead and add those tags to the fun.  This particular post will also be shared on Cee’s Odd Ball Challenge – I’m an oddball of sorts, and I love joining in on Cee’s Challenges (her Black & White, Fun Foto, and Odd Ball ones are favorites of mine…here’s a link to all of her challenges).  I also enjoy Linda Hill’s One-Liner Wednesday and Stream of Consciousness Saturdays (here’s a link to her blog).  I’ll provide a link to the challenge when I do join in, that way you’ll know where to go, too!

And…please remember the most important rule of this challenge is to…

Have FUN!

Enough, already!

Are you ready?

I am.

Here is my take on Day 1 of the #31SRW Photography Challenge – Tower

A little back-story on the tower in the photos.  In 2009, we hosted a foreign exchange student from France for 3 weeks.  I was scared to death to open up our home to and invite someone in who I didn’t know how to communicate with us in English.  My youngest was in French in High School and she reassured me we’d have no problems, and that it would be FUN!

Talk about going out of my comfort zone.

It was uncomfortable at first, but throughout the time she was with us, we discovered language wasn’t as difficult as we had imagined, and the human connection was awesome.  She became a part of our family, just like our own daughter.  She gave us a small Eiffel Tower as a gift.

A year later, my youngest announced, “I want to go to France with my French Club and stay with Ann’s family while I’m there.”  In rolled my 2nd round of being scared to death…”My baby going to France…!

Yikes!”

She survived, we survived, and we all grew from the experience.  She bought this tower as a souvenir when she was there.  She left it behind when she moved out of our, now empty nest.  Much to her chagrin for my propensity to hang onto things.

I’ve kept it to decorate in our Tea House.

The tower reminds me fondly of how in those two years we experienced many adventures, went through some painful moments, we all grew a lot, and we came through it stronger and wiser.  The Eiffel Tower, founded in 1889, has proven its strength and has persevered over the 129 years of existence.  We humans can persevere, too.

PS – Now, it’s your turn.  If you don’t have a tower, find a tower with a silhouette.  Or build a tower with something in your house…like blocks or food containers, or whatever works!  And, if you’re not interested in participating on your own, but you’ve got an exceptional critiquing ability, please share your star rating of my photos and any words of wisdom you’d like!  I adore hearing your thoughts!