This Week's Photo Challenges

As you've probably noticed, I'm really into these weekly photo challenges that I've discovered through my bloggy networking.  I love having an excuse to show off my kids and a focus for my photography.  But since there are so many that I want to participate in, that would be a lot of posts; so I'm going to combine them all in one weekly post and add on as the week progresses.  If you're interested in seeing them, just come back here once or twice later this week to see if there's been any great additions.  If I have something that I really love, I'll make it its own post so that you surely won't miss out.  I'm sure you'd be devastated.  Or I'll just add a little button below or above a photo so you know that it's been submitted for a photo challenge.

Challenge #1 I Should Be Folding Laundry

This is the first time I've submitted a photo to You Capture, and I'm really excited about it.  It was the first photo challenge site I came across, but I was way too scared to attempt to sumbit something.  Now I feel a little more confident.  The challenge was "Emotion in Black and White."  This is Jax's happy-because-I-have-animal-crackers-and-I'm-finally-outside face!

Challenge #2 I Heart Faces

The iheartfaces challenge this week is sun flare.  That is the fabulous little spot just beyond your photo or behind something that makes a halo of light or what looks like a spotlight on your picture.  Since we're still not really in outside photo shoot modes (that involve the sun, not umbrellas), I will use one from the past.

This is in San Diego, when I was first learning to use manual settings and Adobe Lightroom.  That's why the brightness and colors are a little extreme, but I like how Jax is blocking out the sun behind him.  This moment is all "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King and I love it.

Challenge #3  Shutter Love at the Trendy Treehouse

This week's challenge is emotion.  As you know, I photograph my kids so often that I think I have captured every possible emotion that they have ever experienced.  I have joyful, sorrowful, excited, confused faces.  But my favorite faces are the badass ones.  This picture of Jax was once featured under the title "No More Mr. Nice Guy."  I think we're all about to make this face if it snows one more time!

Challenge #4 Kat Eye View

The challenge here this week was to put my photo in a square format, which isn't a problem; just requires you to look at your composition in a new way.  I had many photos I could choose from, but I chose these pictures of our friendly neighbors because I have a really hard time taking interesting pictures in winter.  The colors are so bleak and this section of our driveway is really dark because of the trees.  I wonder if any wandering photographers who happen to pop by could give me any ideas on how to make my winter wildlife photos more interesting?

Also I took these photos from my house and used the longest zoom on my 80-200mm lens.  It's a little grainy due to cropping.  Any insight would be appreciated!

Challenge #5: Simplicity



This challenge was hard because it forced me to take photos of something other than my kids.  I'm not really that great at photographing objects; I don't have creative perspectives or editing techniques.  But I was prepared to accept this challenge, especially since today was St. Patrick's Day and I knew I'd be hanging out with girlfriends at Cocktails and Crafts.  So here is my entry for the Simplicity photo challenge: to photograph a beverage.

Yum.  Guinness in a pretty champagne glass.  Bubbles courtesy of my glass, not my beer!

Don't forget to pop back here and see if any other photos have made their appearance!