AWAKE Photography - Special Edition (Weekly Themes)

AWAKE PHOTOGRAPHY

Speci alEdi t i on Weekl y Themes

TABLE OFCONTENTS C O V E R-D E B O R A HA T K I N S O N L I T T L ET H I N G SA R O U N DT H E F C R E A T I V EB L U R A L L I N GB A C KI NL O V E I N D E XI M A G E-B O BE G A N 3 0D A V EH A T T O R I H O U S E WI T HS N A P S H O T S 0 0 0 3L E T T E RF R O MS E B A S T I A N0 1 2-J U L I EP O WE L L ( I M A G EB O BE G A N ) R I CM A T K O WS K I 0 1 3-R O S ED ’ A Z U R E

I N S P I R E DV I E WSO F U N E X P E C T E DP L A C E S

R E D I S C O V E R I N GY O U R C A M E R A

0 0 4-A T H O LM U R R A YP H I L L I P S 0 0 5-M A R T H AB A U D E R 0 1 4-B O BE G A N C I N D YV O N D R A N 0 1 5-L I T O N Y AK N E L S E N D E B B I ED EJ U A N

R E M E M B E RN A T U R E

S I M P L I C I T Y

0 1 6-D A V I DT A Y L O R 0 1 7-J E A NH U T T E R D E A NH O H N I L O N AT O O M I N G A S

0 0 6-L A R R YB A R S H 0 0 7-R I CM A T K O WS K I M A R I EO T E R O 0 0 8-K I MCB E N S O N D O NJ O H N S O N I N N AM A L O S T O V K E R 0 0 9-D O VF U C H S M A R T H AB A U D E R J E A NH U T T E R

L O O K I N GB A C K , L O O K I N G T H R O U G H

M I N I R O A DT R I P 0 1 0-S H E R R I R E E D 0 1-J A M E SB E T H A N I S C O R I N N ED A V I S

0 1 8-C I N D YV O N D R A N 0 1 9-D E B B I ED EJ U A N 0 2 0N A N C YB R I Z E N D I N E M A R T H AB A U D E R 0 2 1 -B O BE G A N

0 3 1 -P E N N YD EJ O N G B O BE G A N K A T H L E E NK E R N D T D E B O R A HA T K I N S O N 3 2-V I V I E NB U C K L E Y B A C K L I G H T , D R A M A T I C 0 D E B O R A HA T K I N S O N L I G H T 3 3-M A R I EO T E R O 0 2 4-E V E L Y NF A N T O N E L W A N 0 M A R T H AB A U D E R 0 2 5-P E N N YD EJ O N G G A R YK E E S S 0 2 2-J U L I A N N AZ D U N I C H 0 2 3-M A R K OR A U T A V E S I D I A N AH A R O N I S

C O L O R

0 2 6-M A R I EO T E R O 0 2 7-J O H NB E L L E L D O NW A R R E N L I S AD E L P T O MP A Y N E 0 2 8-N I N AI R V I N R O NP E A R L J A N E TD O N O V A N R O NM C C L U S K Y 0 2 9-D E A NH O H N M A R T H AB A U D E R I N N AM A L O S T O V K E R

L I N E S , P A T T E R N S , S H A P E S

0 3 4-B O BE G A N 0 3 5-A T H A L I ET A Y L O R S U S A NC R O S B Y B O BE G A N

0 3 6-I M A G EB YH O W A R DG R I L L 0 3 7-C O N C L U S I O N

AwakePhotographyMagazi neSpeci alEdi ti on layoutanddesi gnmari eotero

I nt roduct i on:The Powerof Themat i cProj ect s

One oft he bestt hi ngsyou can do i fyou wi sh t oi mprove asa phot ographeri st ake on weekl y assi gnment st hatwi l lf orce you t of ocus on part i cul arsubj ect sort echni ques.

Trai ni ng yoursel ft o work wi t hi n creat i ve const rai nt sl i ke t hi swi l lwork wonders.

You’ l lenj oy even great erresul t si fyou t reateach t heme asa realproj ect , somet hi ng seri ousyou’ l lspend t he week worki ng on,asi fatt he end of t he week you were t o be asked t of ormal l y presentyourvery best phot osi n an onl i ne gal l ery f orrevi ew.

The powerofconcent rat i ng youref f ort son t hemat i cproj ect scan’ tbe overst at ed. “ Arrangi ng yourcreat i ve l i f ei n such a way t hatyou are al ways worki ng on vari ousproj ect st hatexci t e you wi l lmake everyt hi ng aboutyourcreat i ve l i f ef eelmore al i ve and i mport ant .… Thi si show you bui l d a creat i ve l i f e wi t h realwei ghtbehi nd i t ,how you make aut hent i cprogresst oward mast ery,and how you ensure yourdaysadd up and ul t i mat el y mean somet hi ng. ”(f rom my course “21 Dayst o Creat i ve Abundance”) Whatf ol l owsare t wel ve di f f erentt hemesyou can expl ore i n your phot ography.I fyou devot e a week t o each (whi ch Irecommend),t hat ’ s t hree mont hsofact i vel yi mprovi ng asa phot ographer .

Ihope you’ l lt ake up t hi schal l enge and t reateach t heme asa very del i berat e and seri ousproj ect .

See how creat i ve you can get .And see how f aryou can push yoursel ft o f i ni sh outeach week wi t h somet hi ng great .

-Sebast i an Mi chael s

I nspi red Vi ews of Unexpected Places

Let ’ sl ead of fwi t h a si mpl et heme,open t o any st yl e orappr oach you wi sh t o br i ng t oi t .

Gr ab yourcamer at hi s week and head outt o somewher e you' ve neverbeen ( or atl eastneverphot ogr aphed pr oper l y) , and see i fyou can di scovera l ocat i on you can capt ur ei n some f r esh new way.

I fyou can’ tdash of ft oal ocat i on i nher ent l y unexpect ed ori nspi r i ng,you’ l l have a bi tmor e ofa chal l enge her e of cour se.I nt hatcase,see whatyou can pul lof fr i ghtar ound yourhome ori n your nei ghbor hood.Sur el y you can f i nd somewher e “unexpect ed” i nt he sense t hati t ’ s nota set t i ng you’ d nor mal l yt hi nk t of eat ur ei n a phot ogr aph.

And once you f i nd t hat ,t ur n your at t ent i on t o capt ur i ng i ti n such a way as t oi nspi r e youraudi ence — t hr ough your f r ami ng,t he angl e you shootf r om,t he l i ght i ng,what everi tt akes — i nf usi ng t he scene wi t h an i mpor t ance ( orgr andeur ) you woul dn’ tnor mal l y expectt o di scover t her e.

I fanyt hi ng,t he mor e you ar e abl et or el y on yourwi t s her e( as opposed t o al l owi ng a spect acul arscene do mostof t he wor kf oryou) ,t he pr ouderyou wi l l f eelaboutyourachi evement .

At holMurray Phi l l i ps

Show us a l i t t l e cor nerofyourwor l d.And shar ei n youri nt er pr et at i on ofi t somet hi ng ofwhatmakes i tbeaut i f ulor f asci nat i ng.

Ci ndy Vondran

Debbi e de Juan Mart ha Bauder

Si mpli ci ty Fort hi st heme,l et ' s expl or et he not i on of “mi ni mal i sm” or“si mpl i ci t y” i n phot ogr aphy.

And t her e ar e many ways t o do so ... * You mi ghti sol at e one si mpl e subj ectwi t hl ot s ofspace ar ound i t . * You mi ghtgeti nr eal l y cl ose,so as t of i l l yourent i r ef r ame wi t h somet hi ng ver y si mpl e ( per haps gi vi ng us a di f f er entper spect i ve on somet hi ng we nor mal l yt ake f orgr ant ed because we nevergett hatcl ose our sel ves) . * You mi ghtopti nst ead t o st ep f ar t herback, wher e ourat t ent i on i si nexor abl y dr awn t o one key el ementwi t hi nt he scene.

You can shooti n col orori n bl ack and whi t e, t ot al l y up t o you.Tr y bot h.

Justt hi nk SI MPLE,t hi nk MI NI MAL,and expl or e how you mi ghtappr oach t hat .

Exper i mentwi t h how you mi ghtbal ance t he vi sualwei ghtofobj ect s and empt i ness wi t hi n yourf r ame.

Above al l ,see i fyou can make t hatone bi tof t he wor l d you show us car r y al lt he mor e wei ght because ofi t si sol at i on and t he at t ent i on you' ve gi ven t oi t .

See i fyou can show us somet hi ng we mi ghtf eel we al r eady know,butt hr ough yourt r eat mentof i tshow i tt o us i n a whol e new way.

Larry Barsh

Ri c Mat kowski

Mari e Ot ero

Don Johnson

Ki m C Benson

I nna Mal ost ovker

Dov Fuchs

Mart ha Bauder

Jean Hut t er

Mi niRoad Tri p Why notmake some t i me t o getoutoft he house and go on a shor tr oad t r i p.( Orgr ab yourcamer a and go f ora l ong wal ki fget t i ng away by cari sn’ tr eal i st i c. ) Butdon’ thead anywher e you’ r e aptt o be ar ound a bunch ofpeopl e;r at herhead outf orsomewher e of ft he beat en pat h,wher e you' l l most l y be l ef tal one t o enj oy a ni ce wal k.

And whi l e you' r e out ,capt ur e some phot os ofyour advent ur e.Notj ustdur i ng t he wal ki t sel f ,butofpr epar i ng t o depar t ,oft he r oad t r i p i t sel f ,ofwhat everyou encount erdur i ng your mor ni ng oraf t er noon al one.

Above al l ,t r yt ot r eatt he expedi t i on al mostas an act ofmedi t at i on.Pack somet hi ng t o eatand t ake i tal ong as a pi cni c.Li st en t o some musi c on t he r oad.Enj oy some f r esh ai rand sunshi ne.

SherriReed

And t hr ough i tal l ,camer ai n hand … j ustl ook f orwhati si nt er est i ng orbeaut i f ul .Somet hi ng you wantt o shar e.Somet hi ng you don' teverwant t of or get .

Make i ta day you' l lr emember— maybe notf oranyt hi ng wi l d and exci t i ng t hathappened,butf ort he peace and gr at i t ude you can br i ng t oi t .You mi ghteven see i fyou can capt ur e a bi toft hati n one oft he phot os you make al ong t he way.

James Bet hani s

Cori nne Davi s

Li ttle Thi ngs Around The House Fort hi s one,I ' dl i ke you t or ummage ar ound yourhouse and f i nd some i t ems you t hi nk pr et t y you coul d setup as a st i l ll i f e.Ori fyou pr ef er ,ski p pr et t y and go i nst ead f orar t sy-cr af t y,i nt er est i ng and unexpect ed, even humor ous.

I n st agi ng yourst i l ll i f e,concent r at e on: A. ) Whatyou i ncl ude ( and whatmeani ng t hat mi ghtcar r y) , B. ) Wher e you seti tup and how i t ' s ar r anged, C. ) The angl e you shootf r om ( and dept h of f i el d) ,and D. ) The l i ght i ng.

You mi ghtal so wantt o exper i mentwi t h var i ous camer at echni ques.Fori nst ance f ast shut t erspeeds al l owi ng you t o capt ur e somet hi ng i n mot i on wi t hi nt he scene.Or l ong exposur es f r om a t r i pod i n a dar k r oom,“pai nt i ng� l i ghtoveryourst i l ll i f e wi t h a smal lf l ashl i ght .

Jul i e Powel l

I magi nat i on ear ns you bonus poi nt s.

I fyou can i mbue yourst i l ll i f e wi t h meani ng ( ort he sense t hatt her e' sa st or yt ucked away i nt her e) al lt he bet t er .

See how cr eat i ve you can getand how f aryou can push your sel fas you wor kt o cr af tnotj ustone oft hese,but one st i l ll i f e perday acr oss t he week ahead.

Ri c Mat kowski

Rose D’ Azure

Rediscovering Your Camera Do you know how t o use al lt he cr eat i ve f unct i ons on yourcamer a?

Have you pl ayed l ong enough wi t ht hatLensbaby you boughta yearago and has been si t t i ng i n your camer a bag unt ouched f ort he pastsi x mont hs?

How aboutt hose t r i ck phot ogr aphy i deas you l i ked butneverqui t e gotar ound t ot r yi ng your sel f ?

Thi s week Iwantyou t o pi ck somet hi ng t hathas been on yourphot ogr aphy t o-do l i stf orqui t ea whi l e and Iwantyou t or eal l y pr act i ce wi t hi tunt i li t becomes a comf or t abl e par tofyourwor ki ng ar senal .

Maybe f oryou i t ' s. . .

• Thatcr yst alspher e you' ve been want i ng t o exper i mentshoot i ng t hr ough.

• The 6-st op ND f i l t eryou' ve been want i ng t o empl oy whi l e yourcamer ai s on a t r i pod t o capt ur e r eal l yl ong exposur es.

• Yourcamer a' s bui l t -i n doubl e-exposur e f eat ur e.

• Thatwonky " Toy Camer a" shoot i ng mode you al ways ski p pastbutkeep wonder i ng about .

• The t echni que ofwor ki ng wi t h shut t erspeeds of1/8t h ofa second whi l e panni ng yourcamer at o f ol l ow a movi ng subj ect .

Coul d be anyt hi ng t hatyou' ve been want i ng t ot r y butj usthaven' tyetf orwhat everr eason.

Make i tyourgoalt hi s week t o become comf or t abl e wi t h somet hi ng as yetunexpl or ed and see how cr eat i ve you can getwi t hi t !

Li t onya Knel sen

Rememberi ng Nature Thi s week l et ' s getback t o nat ur e!

Even i ff oryou t hatonl y means r evi si t i ng nat ur e phot os you' ve t aken i nt he past .Pul l some oft hose outand see whatyou can do wi t ht hem.

Buti fyou can getout door s,even f ora shor t wal k,gr ab yourcamer a and go.Make i tyour goalt o br i ng back some phot os t hatcel ebr at e even t he smal l estand si mpl estdel i ght s of nat ur e — a bi r d,a f l ower ,a t r ee,a squi r r el ,a spi der web.

I fyou f i nd somet hi ng especi al l yf i ne t o capt ur e and i t ’ s notaptt of l y of forr un away, spend a l i t t l e ext r at i me t her e exper i ment i ng wi t h di f f er entways off r ami ng t he i mage.Move i n cl oser ,getdown l ower...orst ep back some,cl i mb a t r ee.

And agai n,i fyou can' tr eal l y getoutt o see much ofnat ur er i ghtnow,and you can' t capt ur e anyt hi ng f r om a conveni entwi ndow ( t ake outa scr een and see! ) ,maybe di ve i nt o yourphot ol i br ar y and di gf ort r easur es you coul dr evi si t .

Buti fi ti s atal lpossi bl e,getout door s ever y day t hi s week and see whatyou can f i nd.And i fyou can,var yt he t i mes ofday you make yourexcur si ons,so you can expl or e notonl y di f f er entqual i t i es ofl i ght ,butt he dai l y cycl es ofnat ur ei t sel f .

Davi d Tayl or

Dean Hohn

Jean Hut t er

I l ona Toomi ngas

Looki ng Back, Looki ng Through Wi t ht he way t he worl di sf oreverchangi ng,It hi nk i tmakes sense t o spend a l i t t l et i me l ooki ng back (mi rrors) and l ooki ng f orward (t hrough wi ndows).

So . . .what ' s outyourwi ndow now? Make a t ourof al lt he wi ndows i n yourhouse.You probabl yi gnore mosteveryt hi ng outt here because you' ve seen i t al lso of t en you t ake i tf orgrant ed.Butwhatmi ght you di scoveri fyou l ooked more cl osel y?

Orwhatmi ghtyou see ref l ect ed on t he wi ndows at di f f erentt i mes ofday,i n di f f erentt ypes ofl i ght ?

Pl ay wi t h manualf ocus,experi mentwi t h your exposure,and you mi ghtsurpri se yoursel fwi t h what you f i nd.

I st here a way t o creat i vel y capt ure t he ref l ect i on of somet hi ng i nsi de of ft he gl ass ofa wi ndow? (I si t possi bl et ot ake t wo exposures,one f ocused on t he ref l ect i on and one t hrough t he gl ass,and combi ned t hem i n a creat i ve way as a doubl e exposure?)

Whatmi rrors mi ghtyou t urn t o youradvant age i n t he house? I st here a way t o posi t i on a mi rrorso as t o capt ure somet hi ng i nt he mi rrorand somet hi ng t hrough a wi ndow? And wi l lwe spotyou i n any oft hese,hol di ng yourcamera,maki ng us f eelwe are t he ones bei ng phot ographed?

Thi s week spend t i me each day hunt i ng down mi rrors and wi ndows.See whatst ori es you mi ght cat ch a gl i mpse ofi nt here.

Ci ndy Vondran

Debbi e De Juan

Mart ha Bauder

Nancy Bri zendi ne

FALLI NG BACK I N LOVE WI TH SNAPSHOTS Thi s week Iwantyou t o car r y yourcamer a ever ywher e:ar ound t he house atal lhour s of t he day and ni ght ,and anyt i me you l eave t he house.Have i tt ur ned on,yourmostl i kel y set t i ngs i n pl ace,a comf or t abl e aper t ur e assi gned,r eady t o shoot .

Under st and:There are wort hwhi l e moment s happeni ng al lt he t i me,al laround you — t he peopl ei n yourl i f e,yourpet s,t he way l i ght f r om a wi ndow i sf al l i ng acr oss t he t abl e besi de yourf avor i t e chai r— and you must l earn t o see t he beaut yi nt hem.

Capt ur e yourf ami l yi n al lt hei rf unny pecul i ar i t i es,i n al lt hei remot i ons.Capt ur e yourpet s doi ng t he wei r dt hi ngs t hey do.

Capt ur e st r anger s caughtup i nt hei rl i ves.

Capt ur e ever yday obj ect s and ever yday st r eet s, i ni nt er est i ng ways,f r om i nt er est i ng angl es, f r amed i n ways t hatgr ab ourat t ent i on and pul l us i nt ot hem.

Butdon' tt hi nk t oo much on any gi ven shot .

Thi s week i t ' s notaboutst agi ng scenes or get t i ng ever yt hi ng per f ect .Thi s week i t ' s about f al l i ng back i nl ove wi t ht he spont anei t y of phot ogr aphy when i t ' sr un st r ai ghtup agai nst LI FE.

Jul i anna Zduni ch

Marko Raut avesi

Di ana Haroni s

Backlight,Dramatic Light Wi t ht hi st heme,l et ' s go f orhi gh cont r astand see whatyou can pr oduce wher et he pr i mar y ef f ecti s cr eat ed t hr ough some combi nat i ons of. . .

— Backl i ght( l i kel yt hr owi ng yourmai n subj ecti n si l houet t e) .

— Ser i ous bl acks ( r eal l y cr ushi ng t he shadows) .

— Ser i ous whi t es ( seei ng how much you can al l ow some oft he l i ghtt o be bl own out ) .

Nor mal l y you mi ghtt hi nk t o expl or et hi st heme out door s wher e you have br i ghtsunl i ghtt o wor k wi t h,butsee whatyou can pul lof fi ndoor s as wel l .You can ei t herwor k wi t ht he l i ghtf r om wi ndows orexper i mentwi t hl amps i n di m ( ordar k) r ooms.

You mi ghtal so wantt o expl or e whatyou can achi eve shoot i ng atni ghtwhen t her e ar el i t wi ndows ( orsome ot hersour ce ofl i ght ) behi nd yoursubj ect .

And f eelf r ee t o expl or et hi st heme i n bot h col or and bl ack and whi t e.Dependi ng on yoursubj ect and yourl i ght i ng,one ort he ot hermi ghtpr ove mostef f ect i ve.Exper i mentwi t h bot h.

Al l ow yourmai n subj ect( orsi l houet t e) t o del i ver t he bi ggestpunch,butal so l ook t ot he r estoft he l i ght i ng and see i fyou can make t hati nt er est i ng t oo,l endi ng t he over al lscene even gr eat erdept h.

Evel yn Fant on-El wan

See how cr eat i ve you can getwi t ht hi s and what el se you can br i ng t ot he mi xt o hei ght en t he dr ama ofyourphot os.

Penny de Jong

Color!

The l astf ew t hemes have been especi al l y sui t ed t o bl ack and whi t e.

Thi s week l et ' st ur nt hatar ound and f ocus on col or .

Butnotj ustcol orphot os as such.Rat her i mages wher ei t ' st he pr esence ofa par t i cul arcol or( orgr oup ofcol or s) t hat makes f orone oft he st r ongestcomponent si n t he i mage.

Wher e a domi nat e col ori s speci f i cal l y what gr abs us.

Gr ab yourcamer a and head outt hi s week ( orr ummage t hr ough yourhouse or gar age) and see whatyou can f i nd t hat woul dl eap of ft he scr een atus because ofi t s col or ( s) .Then wor k outt he best way t o capt ur et he i mage so as t o make t hatdomi nantcol ort he f or emostel ementoft he phot ogr aph.Real l y make i t pop.

Let ' s br i ght en up t he wor l da bi t !

Mari e Ot ero

John Bel l

El don Warren

Li sa Del p

Tom Payne

Ni na I rvi n JanetDonovan

Ron Pearl

Ron McCl uskey

Dean Hohn

Mart ha Bauder

I nna Mal ost ovker

creati ve Blur We' r e so t r ai ned t o nai lf ocus,mostbl ur r ed shot s end up di scar ded.Buti t ' s di f f er entwhen you del i ber at el y setaboutusi ng bl uras a cr eat i ve t ool .

Fori nst ance ...

• You can pan yourcamer a wi t h an obj ecti n mot i on,r ender i ng i tst i l land t he backgr ound bl ur r ed.

• You can seta sl owershut t erspeed and capt ur e somet hi ng movi ng and have t hatbe bl ur r ed.

• You can setyourcamer a on a t r i pod,t i ght en t he aper t ur e,maybe add an ND f i l t er ,and exper i ment wi t h even l ongershut t erspeeds.

• You can empl oy ot hert echni ques,such as vi ewi ng t hr ough a bl ur r y bi tofgl ass orusi ng a LensBaby,t o achi eve i nt er est i ng bl ur .

• Oryou can ei t hersi mpl y push somet hi ng outoff ocus ( of t en qui t e ef f ect i ve,dependi ng on t he subj ect ! ) orgi ve yourcamer a a qui ck l i t t l et i l torpan ort wi stand see whatki nds ofcr eat i ve ef f ect s you can achi eve t hatway.

Thi s week r eal l yt ake some t i me t o exper i mentwi t h bl ur .How much can you i nt r oduce and st i l lhave i t l ook good? How many di f f er entways can you pul li tof f ?

Mor ei mpor t ant l y,how can you use bl urt o act ual l y br i ng outyoursubj ecti n a mor ei nt er est i ng way — del i ber at el y so — wher ei tdoesn' tf eell i ke a mi st ake butseems absol ut el y per f ectand i nt ent i onal ?

You can expectt o end up del et i ng a l otoft hese ofcour se.The one gr eati mage you do capt ur e wi l l make up f oral lt he r est !

Dave Hat t ori

Penny de Jong

Bob Egan

Kat hl een Kerndt

Deborah At ki nson

Vi vi en Buckl ey

Deborah At ki nson

Mari e Ot ero

Mart ha Bauder

Gary Keess

Li nes,Patterns,Shapes Somet i mes a greatsubj ectf or a phot ograph mi ghtbe si t t i ng ri ghti nf rontofyou,butyou f ai lt o see i tbecause you j ustweren’ t l ooki ng.Ormaybe because you j ust weren’ tl ooki ng wi t h a cl eari nt ent .

Thi si s one oft he reasons worki ng wi t h part i cul art hemes can be so hel pf ul .I t hel ps di rectyourat t ent i on.

So t hi s week t ry t o be very del i berat ei n your pursui tofj ustt hese t hree t hi ngs:st rong l i nes, i nt erest i ng pat t erns,and at t ract i ve shapes.

Whatyou’ l lf i nd i s ...atf i rst ,t here are none . ..butt hen,t hey’ re everywhere!

Frami ng i s essent i alhere ofcourse.So pl an on movi ng around,posi t i oni ng yoursel fhi gheror l ower,l i ni ng up everyt hi ng j ustri ghti nt he f rame bef ore you t ake t he shot .

You mi ghtneed t o geti n real l y cl ose — reveal i ng somet hi ng coolwe normal l y don’ tf ocus on.Oryou mi ghtspotgreatpat t erns f rom af ar— reveal i ng somet hi ng we rarel y not i ce because we’ re caught up i ni toursel ves.

Butwhet hercapt ured up cl ose orf rom af ar,t he i mport antt hi ng i st ot reateach i mage as a composi t i on based on emphasi zi ng t he st rengt h of t he l i nes,pat t erns,orshapes you are capt uri ng.

At hal i e Tayl or

Susan Crosby

W hatNext ?. . .

Howard Gri l l

Here i swhere you are goi ng t ot ake al l oft hi st o a whol e new l evel .

Because goi ng f orward,we’ re goi ng t o redef i ne whatwe mean by “proj ect . ” Up unt i lnow,we’ ve been expl ori ng each t heme broadl y.

Al lt he at t ent i on has been on t he t heme i t sel f ,l eavi ng your choi ce ofsubj ectcompl et el y open.

Thi s meantyou coul d spend a week expl ori ng at heme and bri ng i tt o bearon anyt hi ng you happened upon t hatf i tt he bi l l .

From here on out ,we’ re goi ng t o i ncrease t he st akes: Iwantyou t o choose a subj ectt hat meanssomet hi ng t o you and f i nd a t heme you can wrap around i t .

Or ,i f you pref er ,t ake a phot ographi ct heme and see how creat i ve you can be i n appl yi ng i tt o one speci f i csubj ect .

Fori nst ance,you mi ghtdeci de t o spend a mont h droppi ng i n regul arl y att he f i re depart mentwhere yournephew i sa f i re f i ght er ,and you’ l lconst rai n your approach t o capt uri ng t hatworl di n hi ghcont rastbl ack and whi t e.

Orperhapsyou’ l lt ake t he t heme of worki ng wi t h ref l ect i onsi n wi ndows,and spend a week wal ki ng around yourci t y capt uri ng phot osofpeopl e ut t erl yl osti n t hei rphone screens.

Ort ot ake an even more seri oussubj ect , you mi ghtchoose t o expl ore t he t heme of creat i ve bl ur...and spend a mont h seei ng how you can appl yt hati nt el l i ng t he st ory ofyourgrandmot herasshe st ruggl eswi t h Al zhei mer’ s.

The possi bi l i t i esare endl ess.

Thi si snotonl y how you work t hrough chal l engesand come back bet t eratyour craf t ,buthow you creat e an aut hent i c body ofwork you can be proud of .

-Sebast i an Mi chael s

“Photographytakesani nstantoutofti me, alteri ngli febyholdi ngi tsti ll.�

DorotheaLange

AwakePhotographyMagazi neSpeci alEdi ti onWeeklyThemes