The APUG Photo Challenge - May 2005 Suggestions and Discussion Thread

The APUG Photo Challenge is a monthly bash where members go and make a photograph fitting a given theme and upload the result to the (there was a url link here which no longer exists). The original idea came from APUG member (and B&WP UK editor) Ailsa who said (in part):

"I was pondering the other day that I often produce my best work when given a brief or a project, whereas when an idea is self-imposed, I tend to just float around it and not really knuckle down. So I got to thinking, how about setting up an APUG photographic challenge thread?"

"The themes can be as open or as specific as you like, within reason - obviously there wouldn't be much point in telling me to photograph a tree in Yosemite, unless the person setting the challenge was willing to pay my air fare and accommodation..."

"...it could be a great opportunity to break out of our usual styles and try something completely different."

The Challenge is currently running.

April Challenge -
Theme: Night Photography
Closing Date: April 30th

This thread is for the May Challenge (suggestions for the theme and general discussion) which will have a closing date of May 31st. In a few days I'll post another thread to poll the suggestions.

Why let other people have all the fun?! Post your suggestions here!

Question - This system's been running for a few months now. Is it giving people enough time to sort out their shots? If not, then I could run the second place suggestion as June's theme and thus extend the timescale by a month.

Whaddaya think?

All the best,

Frank

The recent "camera around the world" thread where a bunch of people take a single picture on one roll of film and we all see the result got me thinking:

What about one object that everyone has to incorporate into a picture. After thinking about this for a while, it struck me that this is essentially the "Flat Stanley" idea. For those who don't know Flat Stanley, kids send a paper doll to someone in a different location, and they get back pictures of Flat Stanley. Here is the website:
Dead Link Removed

So, what about a "Flat Stanley" challenge? We all download Flat Stanley an incoporate him into a picture?

Matt

FrankB said:

Question - This system's been running for a few months now. Is it giving people enough time to sort out their shots? If not, then I could run the second place suggestion as June's theme and thus extend the timescale by a month.

Whaddaya think?

Click to expand...

Frank-

I think that if you give me another month then I'll take another month...whereas if you don't give me the month then I won't take it and I'll get the shots I want done sooner. A little pressure (basically self-inflicted) is not necessarily a bad thing.

Just my two cents...and hardly worth that.

Be well.
Dave

Perhaps advancing the time frame by another month would just confuse things more. Personally I find the current method works just fine (your doing a great job Frank).

For May's challenge I submit Macro.

Matt - Many thanks for the suggestion. I must've been living in a small, dark hole, 'cos I'd never heard of this before!

Dave - Worth rather more than 2c... Thank you muchly, sir! All feedback gratefully received.

Rogueish - Thank you for the feedback, the suggestion and the support. Much appreciated.

As for the rest of you... erm, <bump>?! What, you don't have anything you'd like to see your fellow APUGgers have a go at?! Not a single "I've always meant to take a crack at..." subject lurking at the back of your mind? (Yes, I know some of you have lives (and a few of you even have busy ones) but there must be some of you out there nearly as sad as me!)

Fair enough, I'll chuck one in just to get your synapses firing - How about "Puns"?

I saw a shot a while ago (in Ailsa's esteemed publication, I think) of a shock-absorber in front of the Eiffel Tower. The caption was "Spring in Paris"... Now, surely we have enough smartarses around here to come up with some good alternatives!

FrankB said:

Fair enough, I'll chuck one in just to get your synapses firing - How about "Puns"?

I saw a shot a while ago (in Ailsa's esteemed publication, I think) of a shock-absorber in front of the Eiffel Tower. The caption was "Spring in Paris"... Now, surely we have enough smartarses around here to come up with some good alternatives!

Click to expand...

Got my vote .

Something that has always intrigued me is how mother nature is continuously reclaiming the earth from us. What I mean is, ever notice how a derelict parking lot gets filled with weeds, the cracks in the pavement get bigger and in a few years there are small trees growing in the cracks. After a few more years, the parking lot is barely noticable. This is just one example....

Final <bump> for May suggestions.

Another idea....maybe this one is better. Think of a child's ABC book. There are some illustrations for each letter of the alphabet. We could do something along these same lines...

Options:
1) choose one letter and everybody shoots something that represents that letter.

2) everybody choose their own letter and shoots something that represnts that letter

option #2 has the happy consequence that we could, in theory, end up with our own ABC book (perhaps for mature audiences only however).

...and the winner is - Macro!

Contrary to previous announcements this Challenge will run until June 30th at which time we will be adopting a new quarterly format.

All the best,

Frank

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed on this theme thus far!

There is still a week left on the 'Macro' theme. On the first of July the new theme of "Heat" will take over.

Thanks again,

Frank