unusual self-assignments

[jean_hee_lee]

*This question was posted in the unarchived forum, but I am

interested in getting more responses. I've included the answers

here. I'm posting it here, by the way, because I am a Nikon

user=)...Oh, I got a somewhat strange email regarding this post.

Please don't email, just post here!*

 

When I ask people about topics for self-assignments, I usually get

the same answers over and over again: landscapes, architecture,

people, nature, etc. The other day I talked to a friend of mine who

mentioned he had an ongoing project where he makes photos of

interesting doors, whether it's the whole door or just the knocker,

or whatever.

 

So now I'm wondering, what interesting, unusual, crazy, or just weird

self-assignments have you made for yourself?

 

------------------- One Response Date: 03-19-04 13:55 From: Art

Haykin In my old neighborhood, Echo Park in L.A., there are dozens of

stairways. Some are paving stone, some concrete, some wooden, some

just packed dirt. Some are maintained, while others are decaying and

overgrown with weeds. A local photog spent nearly a year shooting

them in B&W, and I made all his prints.It was a splendid work, and

worthy of a coffeetable book. I've seen collections of spider webs,

graffiti, interesting signage, old shoes, funky yards, doorknockers,

odd tree configurations, and you name it. If done well, virtually any

subject matter can be made interesting.

 

-------------------

 

One Response Date: 03-19-04 16:14 From: Donald Qualls My current,

ongoing assignment is to try to do street photography in the little

time I have after leaving work, and before picking my wife up from

her work every afternoon. I make sure I always have a camera ready,

exposure preset and zone focused (usually my Moskva-5 6x9 folder,

which I can fold with presets ready). I keep it in hand and the

window down when sitting at traffic lights.

 

I'm getting a few shots, maybe a roll (8 frames) per week or a little

more. It's more than I've done before with street photography; the

years when I had jobs that would have let me do this well (walking

and driving downtown a lot, taking the bus to or from work) were

years I was away from photography.

 

-------------------

 

One Response Date: 03-20-04 05:15 From: Chris Waller I, too, love

photographing doors! My other fixation is derelict buildings with

plants growing out of the brickwork. I have one shot of a factory

chimney about 60 feet high with a bush growing at the top of it!

 

------------------

 

Thanks!

Jeanie

[nikos peri]

Not quite an assignment in terms of subject or style, but rather in terms of method. As a result of a new digital SLR, I got overtaken by Acute Compulsive Trigger Syndrome (ACTS): where the marginal cost of that extra shot is zero, so one just shoots like a madman, and hopes that the Law of Large Numbers will apply so that one of 3000 shots will be THE ONE. Naturally, the Law of Large Numbers does not apply to photography and it is possible to fill 3Gb with absolute trash, even in jpeg!<p>So as a result, I got a view camera that makes me slow down, and the costs make me think. As practice, I go out sometimes even with my digital with the express mission of taking ONE AND ONLY ONE photograph during the entire outing. After that, pack it up, and go home.<p>Many still end up in the bin, but it's very effective in getting you to really scan the viewfinder, really level you horizon and verticals, really double check you focus...

[bwcombs]

When I was minoring in photography in college many, many

years ago, self-assignments were the norm. And they were

somewhat unimaginable...door knobs, street poles, etc.

 

Within the last few years, I've renewed my photography hobby

again, and am enjoying it more than ever.

 

Recently, we were in the middle of a remodeling project on our

home. Inclusive of this project were two large walk-in closets.

We had each closet fitted with new large electronic ballast

flourescent lights. The walls are painted a nice bright white, and

needless to say, the light in these closets is wonderful.

 

One day, my son asked me to take a picture of him and his band

members. I dragged them into the closet, with my Canon Elph

digital in hand. The photos came out great. Lots of light, diffused

from reflecting all around. It was like being inside a soft light box.

I shot at the highest resolution for this camera. In Photoshop, I

desaturated to grayscale, and the images look terrific.

 

In the weeks that followed, I made it a point to get each of our

visitors and even the craftsmen working on our remodeling

project, into the closet for a quick photo session.

 

The results are some very candid, warm shots of people.

Couples, singles, friends and strangers. They all came together.

 

It was fun, gave me some great experience with the lighting and

shooting people, and a nice group of photos in the guestroom

that always creates a buzz of questions from visiting guests and

family members.<div></div>

[ichavel]

I like photographing the local estate/garden and greenhouse in the winter, with just a little snow on the ground. I like the abandoned look in what is usually rich and colorful, looking forward to the arrival of spring.

 

Nicola: You should look at a book by Jim Brandenburg, "Chasing the Light" or "Chased by the Light" --- I forget. He is a National Geographic Photographer and usually exposes hundreds of rolls on an assignment, afraid to miss THE shot. For a cure --- he knew something was definitely wrong with this method --- he went 90 days on Michigan's northern peninsula and limited himself to precisely one shot per day. The book is the result. Check it out.

[nikos peri]

Do you think he'll pay me royaltees for my idea??? Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look him up... always interested in a good role model. Thanks

[muellerworld]

At a recent photographic society meeting, two interesting self-assignments were mentioned:

<ul>

<li>Refridgerator. Open up your 'fridge and spend as much time as needed to shoot 36 images.

<li>Bathroom. Go into the bathroom and don't come out until you've shot 36 images. An instructor said that in her classes most people stop at about 10 or so, and few finish all 36 exposures.

</ul>

<p>

These aren't long-term self-assignments, but I found that they really forced me to shoot outside of my normal style, they REALLY forced me to think and be creative and only took an hour or so each...

[r.m.w]

<p>Since you mentioned doors. . . a favorite subject of mine, I remembered this shot from college photography class (the basic one).

I hated B/W film as I could not get myself to see things in B/W, always had color techniques there in my mind and it was ruining my shots. I had yet to come up with anything even close to decent. I was bound and determined to get at least one shot I wasnt ashamed of, so I set out with a mission; One lens, one 24 exposure roll of film.

<p>While I dont even consider this to be a great shot, it is one I was proud of then and maybe one of the better BW shots I have ever taken. I am, of course, very amateur, so I am not asking for any critique on this shot, am just sharing.

<center><a href="http://www.nettally.com/mwalden/eBay/ominous doorway.jpg" target=_new>Ominous Doorway</a></center>

[lex_jenkins]

I'm in the process of completing a series on the decline and death of my grandmother. Her funeral this week will complete the series.

 

I don't really care whether anyone else sees these photos or what they think of them. It helped me to cope with her gradual demise despite my best efforts to get her the best possible medical care.

 

Not all of it was done with Nikon gear. For close work I used a Canonet for its quiet leaf shutter. When I was able to stand far enough away to use my 105/2.5 Nikkor I used an FM2N.

 

None of the health care workers or anyone in my family objected and my grandmother had long since become accustomed to being photographed.

[._._z]

From Mike Dixon, a couple of weeks ago: <p>

 

<b> <i> For personal work, I generally shoot whatever suits my mood rather than making

a conscious effort to explore certain themes. However, my moods aren't random, so

themes evolve over time even with a relatively undisciplined manner of subject selection. A

larger, coherent vision or theme is typically built through the editing process. </b> </i>

<p>

 

I agree with that. Too much that's too interesting exists wherever I look for me to settle on

specific assignments that last more than a day or (a roll or two). Themes appear over time,

unbidden.

[beepy]

Hmmmm... I just finished a weekend photo essay on Pittsburgh using a pinhole lens I

created attached to the front of my Canon EOS 1Ds.

<blockquote>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=386295">Pittsburgh

essay</a>

</blockquote>

It was interesting - new to Pittsburgh, new to pinhole, new to digital selenium toning.

The whole thing was quite fun.