Januaryfest - here's a suggestion

[dubaiphil]

Here's a suggestion for a thread in January. Anyone willing to participate could do the following:

Start up a new thread in the General Photography Discussion section of the Forum (or anywhere else a moderator would decide), calling it - Januaryfest, forum name

Then before January starts you'd have to quote your preferred camera and one lens which you would prefer to use.

Then come January 1st 2013, you post a shot a day with that 1 lens in your personal thread. Keeping it fresh you could try to shoot different things in different ways but the idea is mainly to contribute 1 shot a day, taken on that day, throughout the month (getting feedback from other members and participants throughout)

Any thoughts....?

[Bobobird]

That could work. 1 designated camera + 1 designated lens. Only 31 days so easier then a 52 or 365.

[Geoff F]

Doing a photo a day for a month is tough, even with a variety of lenses.

We had a PAD project about 18 months ago. I finished the course but there were many who didn't. But I'm retired so have a little more flexibility in my workload. Even so, I was often scratching around for interesting subjects on a few wet and windy days.

And January is a difficult month for photography in northern latitudes. Last time, I think it was in October which was a good compromise for both north and south members.

Is the Project 52 challenge going to continue next year? If not we probably do need something to replace it.

I will certainly continue with Project 52 - 2013 on my P base site.

But let's see what other members have to say.

ps. Checking back, I see the last PAD challenge was over 2 years ago. Here are my submissions for that project

https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/fo...hp?albumid=429

[Donald]

All for it, if folks want to give it a go.

Personally, however, I'd struggle. Yesterday was the first time I'd managed to get the camera out of the bag for about 3 weeks.

[pnodrog]

Gosh my 28-300mm will come in useful or will there be a penalty imposed for every 2x of zoom range used? I think 2 photographs a week maybe closer to the pace I could handle but I support the concept.

[Mike Buckley]

This event isn't my kind of thing, but I have seen variations of this theme work very successfully in another forum. Alternatives that were used there included:

1) People who have an obligation to use another camera or lens that month, such as for a professional shoot or a family event, can declare that need in advance and still participate in the project.
2) People using a prime lens who don't want to be limited to using one focal length for a month can choose two lenses.
3) People who don't want to be obligated to make a photo every day can opt for contributing at least once each week.

Best of luck to everyone and have a great time in January!

[Plumcrak]

what if you only have ONE camera with ONE lens? Can I still play along??

[allenlennon]

I would do it but with work and personnel things i wont be able to do one a day, as i dare say goes with alot of people. Perhaps one or two a week through out january. And that would be pushing it for me personally. I would like to have the camera out everyday or atleast one or 2 a week, but like donald, i sometimes go a month with out the camera in hand.

[rpcrowe]

IMO, this type of thread is a good idea in that it may stimulate photographers to shoot. However, when I feel obligated to shoot a specific number of images over a specific period of time. I begin to feel constrained and obligated. This takes away a lot of the joy of shooting...

[Andrew76]

Phil, I think that's a great idea. I'm definitely interested! Seeing the comments in previous posts though, I wonder if I could throw this out there: There are 5 Wednesdays in January, how about a shot a week, to be posted on Wednesday, to break up the week, like a 'hump-day' type deal?

I realize posting on a weekly basis is very similar to the Project 52, but it keeps with your New Year - Januaryfest theme, and it may give people who are either not involved in Project 52, or started it, and sheepishly dropped out () a chance to get involved.

Well there's my idea, just a thought. If you don't like it, that's fine too!

[Mito]

A good idea Andrew. The Wednesday workout? At least for the finger.

[allenlennon]

Im with Andrew. Its a good idea, once a week will perhaps be better, and like Richard said where you are obliged to do this it may/may not take the fun out of it. But at the same time it will encourage people such as me who dont often take photos to get out there more and perhaps help to see and think creatively. I do like the aspect of one camera and one lens for a period of time, and thats assuming that everyone who wants to partake has more than one lens, i myself only have two but i use my 18-55mm lens more than i do with my 75-250mm lens, so if i do this i'll probably go with the 75-250mm lens.

Also another idea after this one is done we could do a month of a fun themed thing like We're Here! group on Flickr. It seems fun, where it could help people with creativity and fun. Just an idea.

[FootLoose]

I think hump day sounds good. People could take their photos over the w/e and then have a couple of days to play with processing or decide which photo they prefer to post. Having said that, January is mid-summer here and not my favourite time to venture outdoors. I may have to post photos of the cricket on tv

[pskteja]

Im with Andrew. Once a week sounds good and doable to me. Extending his idea a bit, people who can click more than once a week could have their photos posted. So the idea could be once-a-week for all and for those who can do more, more-than-once a week( upto 7 max per week, ofcourse). My $0.02

I recently bought a 50mm f1.8 prime. Would love to try it out more. I'll probably go with it for this.

[dubaiphil]

That sounds good to me - 5 Wednesdays.

JanuWednesfest it is...!

A lot of people have only one lens, or a compact, or a superzoom though. My idea being to limit yourself to one focal length or small range and work on it to find what you can do with it.

[Mike Buckley]

I would be inclined to join everyone if the spirit of the thread allows me to post an image each Wednesday using my declared lens and camera if I can use other lenses and cameras for other purposes at other times of the month. Is that allowed?

[Andrew76]

I don't see why not Mike!

[Pagie]

Hi guys,

Fairly new to this, but playing the devil's advocate here. From what I've read in this thread it seems a lot of people are struggling with day to day living and finding time to fit in photography.
I know myself, during the day-to-day act of just "living", I tend not to take the camera anywhere with me because it takes time to get out of the bag and setup and unless I'm looking for a specific shot, or have spotted something on a previous day, it can mostly seem like a big hassle.

I'm thinking the idea of a project like this should be to try and broaden our horizons by trying to be creative in an environment that otherwise doesn't inspire us.

Given all the waffle I've just written above, maybe an idea for a project like this would be to use a compact digital. Am I being too presumptuous in thinking that most of us would have a camera like this around the house?

Not only does this overcome the hassle of carrying around our preferred instruments, it opens up a myriad of photo opportunities that exist in our daily lives and gets the creative juices flowing.

Just my 2 cents.