I had a few ideas for a theme but in looking at past assignments I see they've all been done before. So I'm going to go a little different and suggest the theme of wabi sabi. I'm a little apprehensive about suggesting it, but let's give it a go.
For those of you who are not familiar with this Japanese concept, I'll quote Leonard Koren, who wrote Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets,& Philosophers
“Wabi-sabi is the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete, the antithesis of our classical Western notion of beauty as something perfect, enduring, and monumental.”
This is interpreted in many ways (especially in the West, where anything goes) but I've always understood it to be about the beauty of aging and/or deterioration, often of man-made items or of something that has had the hand of man influence it in some way. It could be an old farmhouse that has seen better days, a cracked vase holding a crooked branch, or cherry blossom petals floating on a slow moving river. There's often a feeling of nostalgia or melancholy associated with it, but not always. In terms of design it could be anything rough-hewn or made of natural materials, that is often asymmetrical or otherwise lacking in refinement.
I don't want to go overboard with examples, but hopefully that gives you some ideas. As I've already mentioned, it's a concept that's pretty open to interpretation so let's see what everyone comes up with!
Submissions can be OLD prints/negatives that were taken earlier in the year (or prior)
Submissions can be NEW prints/negatives taken during this month
For the updated MSA guidelines :
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...5-07-2019-07-and-2021-12.126124/#post-1667700
I think my winning image from April's theme could fit here (with the tree overtaking the temple gate), but here are a few other examples from my gallery posts (all lith prints, it's clear I like this process for these types of subjects):
For those of you who are not familiar with this Japanese concept, I'll quote Leonard Koren, who wrote Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets,& Philosophers
“Wabi-sabi is the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete, the antithesis of our classical Western notion of beauty as something perfect, enduring, and monumental.”
This is interpreted in many ways (especially in the West, where anything goes) but I've always understood it to be about the beauty of aging and/or deterioration, often of man-made items or of something that has had the hand of man influence it in some way. It could be an old farmhouse that has seen better days, a cracked vase holding a crooked branch, or cherry blossom petals floating on a slow moving river. There's often a feeling of nostalgia or melancholy associated with it, but not always. In terms of design it could be anything rough-hewn or made of natural materials, that is often asymmetrical or otherwise lacking in refinement.
I don't want to go overboard with examples, but hopefully that gives you some ideas. As I've already mentioned, it's a concept that's pretty open to interpretation so let's see what everyone comes up with!
Submissions can be OLD prints/negatives that were taken earlier in the year (or prior)
Submissions can be NEW prints/negatives taken during this month
For the updated MSA guidelines :
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...5-07-2019-07-and-2021-12.126124/#post-1667700
I think my winning image from April's theme could fit here (with the tree overtaking the temple gate), but here are a few other examples from my gallery posts (all lith prints, it's clear I like this process for these types of subjects):
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