Photographic themes
All over the internet people are busily sharing images of their everyday. For some it becomes a habit to share a ‘photo a day’, for others it’s a chance to share the holiday of a lifetime. From the mundane to the amazing, photography is used as a visual tool to communicate all manner of messages.
Deciding on a single theme for my final project becomes very difficult, on a weekly basis I take lots of photos – most are of the everyday and some are the result of planned photographic excursions with IgersBrisbane, the Canon Collective or self-motivated photo walks.
I firmly believe that the best camera is the one in your hand but putting some thought and planning into an excursion means that I go equipped with one of my Dslrs and often a tripod. This week I’m headed out with IgersBrisbane to lead a group doing a City Cycle around Brisbane. Knowing I can’t carry much means taking just my Olympus and using my iPhone more than I usually might.
The next collection of images that suits a theme is this set from from a Canon Collective meet to shoot light trails in Brisbane CBD. It was the first time I’d been out to shoot long exposures at night in the city and I was amazed at how quickly I managed to shoot useful images.
Choosing a theme – inspiration
I’ve used the guideance within our course for choosing a theme –
- Pick a colour
- Check out an online list – this list from Icon Photography School looks interesting – so many great ideas to choose from.
- Tell a story (eg a post by a food blog)
Urban Landscapes
Looking back at my Instagram images I notice a great number of urban landscapes, photos of the city, our river and places around town that I visit. It is also something I concentrate on when away from home as it helps cement the memories of places visited. This pair of images were from a visit to Roma Street Parklands, I tried to take something different to the usual images.
Here is a collection of favourite urban images from our holiday in Italy last year –
Nature Photography
Nature photography is another theme that pops up a lot in my Instagram feed and I have excursions with the Canon Collective to thank for giving me better skills in shooting wildlife. They have also shown me that I’m not the most patient of photographers!
365 Photography Project
I’ve been part of the photo a day community since I first joined Instagram and enjoy the challenge of creating to a prompt on a regular basis. I say ‘regular’ as I’ve fallen off the wagon of daily so many times that I just don’t worry about it anymore. I share what I can, when I can and move on. Looking back, it is a great insight into my passions and the passing of time.
The prompts I use come from Chantelle Ellem at Fat Mum Slim and I find them at times challenging and interesting but occasionally a bit ‘meh’. Those are the days I pass on the prompt and move on but they are often the days I’m totally amazed at what people do with the prompt and how broadly they think beyond the meaning of the words.
I enjoyed the article by Karthika Gupta from Digital Photography School on a guide to being successful at the 365 day project. I think I will be able to apply them to the various other challenges I take part in.
Purple Salt #2 