Saturday, January 05, 2013

Best of 2012: Photo Challenge Favorites

Deciphering the theme for the 2012 Photo Challenge from my Flickr gallery, one would think it had something to do with food. The majority of my photographs are still lifes of fruit and vegetables, blueberries, oranges, habanero peppers, strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, squash, brussels sprouts, basil, and more.
 
Compost #green #orange #2012photochallenge
 
The 2012 Photo Challenge was simple. Choose a color for a month and shoot it as many or as few times as you wanted. I thought this was a much more doable challenge than the previous photo challenges; there wasn't a daily or weekly commitment to a specific subject. Life doesn't always cooperate - presenting the perfect subject in the wrong light or the most amazing light and the wrong subject. After the first two months, rather than intentionally choosing a color and shooting it, I photographed color as I came across it.
 
Ingredients for Caprese Salad
 
For me, the challenge isn't about forcing myself to take a photo every day, it's about motivating myself to create. Remember this week's motto: We are what me make; don't delay create? I find that unless I'm regularly exercising the right-side of my brain, when I have to create on demand for a job, it can take a bit to get ideas flowing. Marketing isn't all creative all the time; for me, it's a lot of number crunching and model building.
 
Color for October: #orange #2012photochallenge
 
How do you exercise the right-side of your brain?
 
Looking for a creative outlet for 2013? Trevor Carpenter announced the 2013 Photo Challenge. Well, get those smartphones and cameras out. Each week, he'll share a topic; this week's theme is "Icon." (Maybe 2013 is the year I expand beyond photos of food.)
 
The IPad2 as Coaster
 
You can shoot as many photos for the theme as you want, but you should only submit one -- your best image -- to the challenge. For the first theme, we have until January 12th. Good luck!
 
Ciao Bella!
Eden
 
Credits: All layouts designed by and images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.