Skip to main content

 
HomePhoto Challenge

LVPC Photo Challenge 

Welcome to the LVPC Monthly Photo Challenge

The LVPC monthly Photo Challenge is a great way for all members to get involved and share images with the club. This year, the photo challenge topics have been selected in hopes of encouraging all members to become more thoughtful photographers while increasing photographic knowledge and sparking creativity.

We've never met a photographer who didn't hope to become "better" at their craft. Our hope is that the challenges will help novice photographers advance beyond the snapshot as well as inspire more advanced artists to pick up their camera and and explore photographic possibilities with purpose.

New challenges will be introduced in a monthly email. The challenges are meant to be fun for all and noncompetitive. All members are invited to submit THREE images for each challenge. Simply upload your images to a personal album and tag the with the tag indicated in the email. The tags allow us to find your images for display. You will find the tag in the pulldown tag menu when you upload your images. Your images will be compiled at the end of the challenge and displayed in an album on this website and on the private LVPC Facebook page. Only THREE images per photographer will be displayed in each albums so show us your best work.

While submitting images from your archives is allowed, we hope that you'll take the opportunity to pick up your camera and get shooting. Consistent practice is the best path to improving as a photographer. You are also welcome to use creative techniques and processing to fully represent your photographic style.

We hope that you will find these challenges engaging and enjoyable. We look forward to seeing your images!


Current Themes

 

February Photo Challenge

Street Photography


     As a follow on to our upcoming presentation by Valerie Jardin our February challenge takes us out to the streets.

 

     Successful street photography is a exercise in observation. It is a practice of photographing a moment of the routine in everyday life that could easily go unnoticed yet tells a story. It is a challenging genre as often lighting, content and opportunity is a matter of chance. It should be approached with thoughtfulness and patience. While we most often think of it as images of people in a busy urban environment, it does not have to be on a street and does not have to involve a human. Street photography includes images taken anywhere that depict the hand of man or human or societal impact.  Images of people are unstaged and candid. Most importantly it should prompt the viewer’s imagination giving hints to the human experience and the uniqueness of everyday life. The objective is to find beauty in the ordinary witha story that will provoke an emotional response from the viewer.


Life is Beautiful

     The idea of taking candid shot in public can be initially intimidating. Here are some thoughts for getting started.

  • Settle in a location and let the image come to you. You will draw less attention to yourself if you   blend into the environment. 
  • If you are walking around, take it slow and beobservant. There are wonderful images in the most unassuming places. Look for interest and beauty in the ordinary.
  • Pretend you’re not photographing your intended subject. Look around your subject with your camera and quickly take the shot at an opportune moment. 
  • If you are challenged by the subject, smile and don’t act like you’ve done something wrong. Pleasantly explain you are a photographer shooting in the area and they added interest to the scene. You could also offer to send the the photo. If they seem uncomfortable, offer to delete the image and apologize.
  • You might start in a familiar area just looking for interesting mundane subjects. As an alternative, try a busy area popular with tourists where it’s common to see people with cameras.
  • If using a mirrorless or dslr camera, use your articulated rear monitor. It appears you’re reviewing your previous images and not compositing a photo.
  • Think about your camera as little as possible. Use gear you are familiar with and allows you mobility. You want to be able to take the shot without hesitation and fiddling with settings. Previsualize considering the light and shadow in the environment as well as the style you want to achieve. Do you want freeze action or blur? What is your intended depth of field? Set aperture or shutter priority accordingly. Consider auto ISO and along with exposure compensation as the light at the moment dictates.
  • Set your camera’s monitor to view in monochrome. If you are shooting in raw, your camera will still record in color. Viewing in monochrome can help with composition as your eye an be distracted by color and it allows you to concentrate more on what’s happening and on light and shadow. Keeping your histogram in your monitor is also helpful with correct exposure. This should leave you with a quality original for your post processing work.
  • Be observant, selective and patient. A thoughtful approach, waiting for a defining moment will result in more compelling images.

 


For more guidance and inspiration, check out these websites:

Valerie Jardin https://www.valeriejardinphotography.com/


B&H Event Space with Kenneth Hines - Let Your Feelings Guide You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhNgMP4CU4o


James Maher Photography www.jamesmaherphotography.com (this site has FREE downloadable ebooks that thoroughly discuss street photography)


To participate in this challenge, 

upload a maximum of THREE images to a personal LVPC website profile album.

Tag the image 02/25_Street.


Images will be accepted until 11:30 PM March 1, 2025






Future Themes


Upcoming Challenges

March 2025
Our Amazing Planet

How to Participate

For best viewing and for our downloading, prepare your images with 1280 pixel width for landscape and 720 pixel width for portrait, max file size 3 MB.
Upload your images (3 max) to your member album Click Challenge Instructions button below or watch a short video

Watch Short Video

Member Login, Profile, Website: Photo Albums, Open an Album (pencil), Add Photo(s).
Select the Correct Challenge TAG from the pull-down list for each image. Do NOT create your own TAG. 
You are done! Your image will be manually loaded to the Challenge Album
after the challenge concludes. (be patient).



Challenge Instructions