2014 Challenge, Week 1: LANDSCAPE FOCUS

First, let me welcome all the new participants to PhotoChallenge.org! With Christmas and the New Year, we tend to see an influx of new people to our little community, and this year is no different.

Welcome!

“landscape”, by Ewok Jorduman

This year’s weekly themed challenge is much like the 2013 Challenge. You’ll see a new theme each week, posted on Sunday. However, this year we’ll be writing challenges that might require a little more effort. Some weeks we’ll have a higher technical emphasis, or a more specific theme than you’re used to, or maybe something else. The point is that we’re hoping to push you just a bit further, this year.

“landscape”, by Dave McLear

As you may recall from my 2014 will be… post, we also added something special this year, a special object, chosen by you. In my examples I showed you two doll-like objects. Your object can really be anything small and portable. The catch is that I’d really like for you to decide now if you want to shoot with your object all year.

You don’t have to shoot an object. I’m not making it a requirement. It’s simply up to you. If you decide to select an object, and shoot it all year with each weekly challenge, stick with it!

“Autumn dawn”, by James Jordan

OK, let’s get on with it! Each time I write a theme you’ll find that I emphasize a landscape focus. This first week, I’d like to see you not just head out and shoot a nice landscape, but I’d like to see you compose your shot with a distinct emphasis on a tree or trees. I found a fantastic pair of articles that will help you out, if landscape photography is new for you.

That second article should really help you understand what I’m asking of you, in including a distinctive tree. It doesn’t have to be in the foreground, nor does it have to be a single tree. No matter how you shoot your landscape, I want to see a tree(s) be uniquely highlighted in the final image.

“WORLD END, Sands land of wind reached 5”, by GENSHI

**Object** Don’t forget, if you’re choosing to shoot an object all year, you’ll need to think hard and creatively about how to include your object.

“Magic! between the trees”, by Luc B

As always, sharing and interacting with our little community is what makes these challenges fruitful for us all. So, share your single submission with us all on at least one of our social media groups at Google+, Facebook, or Flickr.

As a quick reminder, I’d like to point out that our goal is for each participant to work hard to find that one single submission that you’re most proud of, and intend to share with us all. Then submit/share it. Please do the hard work of selecting just one image to submit. Also, if you get behind, please don’t submit photos from past weeks, during the given week. Each week we’d prefer to just see photos for that week submitted. If you’re behind, skip what you missed, and just shoot “this week’s theme”. (Of course you can shoot all the past themes, you just don’t need to submit them.)

Now, go shoot a landscape!