On March 9, 2013, the weekly challenge was born. 4 years later, the time has come for a twist that, dear reader, will not leave you indifferent. Read carefully what I tell you below because, in addition, there is a prize involved.
The spirit of the weekly challenge had never been that nobody won anything. Like everything we do at BdF, the intention of the weekly challenge was to motivate, promote, suggest, provoke.
To stimulate.
Inspire.
Make you close your eyes, so that you open them next with an “imagined” photograph. If the ultimate goal of BdF was to teach you how to use your camera to take good photos, the weekly challenge was the culmination of that purpose. All the literature that Caro, Alexa, Iaio or I explained to you here in the articles, tutorials or eBooks that we published in BdF had to serve that final goal: to promote a moment of intimacy and conversation between you, your camera, and the world around you. surrounds. yours.
Your private world. Imagined by you, and interpreted by your camera.
During 199 weekly challenges we have seen photographs that take your breath away and steal the word. On more than one occasion a photo of a BdF reader knocked me out, perhaps because it would come to explain moments, thoughts or sensations shared between that anonymous reader and me, and that I perhaps did not know how to explain in words. I think that when a photograph is more eloquent than any combination of words you can compose, the purpose of photography as a powerful and almost supernatural means of communication is fulfilled.
On some occasions, I have even seen “side effects” that the weekly challenge caused in some people who read the blog, effects that went beyond the simple act of taking a photograph. Effects like that of some hospitalized reader who joined with all his strength and with all his enthusiasm to the challenge, leaving me stunned and thoughtful.
Proposing to create a section called “Weekly Challenge” was one of the best decisions I made at BdF. Today, after 4 years of weekly challenges, I convene the challenge number 200: the last of the weekly challenges….
Evolution
The previous paragraph was truncated. I said that this challenge, number 200, marks the end of the weekly challenges…. as we knew them until now 😛
If the objective of the weekly challenge was, dear reader, that you participate with your photographic creations and that you contribute your grain of sand actively in the blog, starting next week you will have even greater prominence.
The weekly challenge is not going away at all. It just evolves. It changes dynamics giving rise to a new format which, as bloody as I am, and as you can already imagine, I’m not going to reveal to you before next week.
I will only tell you that the new format will provide you with much more inspiration and creativity to get photos that will impress you. Get ready to start a weekly photography addiction that I hope you never get rid of 😉
Weekly Challenge 200: Personal Challenge (from 03/03/2017 to 03/09/2017)
To close this series of weekly challenges, we announce challenge number 200 with the theme “personal challenge”.
Has it ever happened to you that a certain photograph was resisting you for a long time? Any photographic idea that you have imagined or seen, and when you wanted to execute it with your camera, the idea took you a little more effort than you had initially thought?
We all have a photograph under our belt that makes us feel proud of ourselves as photographers, because of the difficulty involved in taking that photo.
Which of your photographs was a personal challenge for you?
Obviously if you are going to participate with that photo in the challenge, if that photo is already a reality, that is that you have already achieved that particular “personal challenge” of yours. For the simple fact of participating, CONGRATULATIONS.
Show me your “personal challenge” photo and maybe you will become a prize winner (more details below).
As has been the tradition in the weekly challenge, you will be able to upload your photo to the Facebook wall of BdF: In the description of the photo please mention the keyword “Personal Challenge” followed by a title of your choice.
Alternatively you will be able to upload the photo also through Flickr, accessing the Group Wall of the Photographer’s Blog and uploading the photo directly. Give your photo a title and be sure to mention “Personal Challenge” in it. If you want to participate through Twitter, you can upload the photo directly with the hashtag #RetoPersonalBdF
Note on the use of images: BdF will never own the copyright of your photography. You remain as the author and owner of the same and as the holder of rights. However, by participating in the weekly challenge you give me your permission to show your photo on the blog to other readers if it is finally chosen as a finalist, always mentioning you as the author of the photo.
Reward
As I said before, the intention with the weekly challenge is not for anyone to win or lose. It is more to encourage you to “create”. That’s why we never set out to give any award.
That said, as a climax to this series of 200 challenges I will choose a winning photograph. The author of the same will receive a scholarship for my photography course Mastering SLR Photographyplus the complete Photographer’s Blog book library, comprised of 7 titles: 365 Photography Tips, 100 Photography Exercises, Mastering Portrait Photography, How to Capture Splendid Landscapes, The Guide to Black and White Photography , Composition and Lightbook.
The photograph will also be shown on the blog next week with a mention of its author.
That’s all for now. Good luck to all, and until next week with the results of the “Personal Challenge” (on Thursday). On Friday I will be revealing the new format with a new call.
Happy photography.
Update
Few weekly challenges took me as long to close a selection as this time. The quality of the photos presented turned this selection into my particular “personal challenge”. Truth be told, the fact that this was the last of the weekly challenges didn’t help much. You can’t imagine the responsibility involved in composing a selection like this for what will be the last weekly challenge, when most of the uploaded photos had an “excellent” level at least.
With that said, here is my final pick. Believe me, not seeing your photo here means absolutely nothing. I have been forced to leave dozens of photos out because otherwise there would be too many photos, and here the idea is simply to show a small and representative selection.
Clara Betegón – Her fidelity is infinite
I’ve had a real hard time choosing a winning photograph. I have hesitated between several: the photo of the grandfather is impressive. That of the couple’s silhouette is one of the most expressive, those of the stars with the milky way show a great execution of the long exposure, and so it could continue… Objectively, any of the photos that appear in this week’s selection could very well be the winning photo. They all contain a great story inside, expressed through a magnificent photographic representation.
However, one of the most reliable methods to find out the photo that I liked the most is usually the time I spend looking at it. When I enjoy a photo I look at it for a long time, seconds and seconds going through the photo. Sometimes I am capable of being like this for minutes. That happened to me with the photo signed by Clara, entitled “His fidelity is infinite”. I’m not a big fan of pets, but I have felt completely abducted by the form and content of this photograph as I have rarely felt before looking at a photo of a dog.
The first thing I noticed was the dog’s gaze, thanks to the successful selective focus that directs your gaze directly into its eyes. Later I looked around the animal’s face for a while, going through all its details, to end up looking at the rest of its body and appreciating the softness of its fur. At the composition level, if you look closely, there is a marked oblique line that divides the frame, and that goes from the dog’s head, going through its entire back to the bottom of the frame. The time of day has helped a lot, not only to get a correct exposure of the photo or to provide a magnificent warm tone, but also for the aura that the light has provided around the figure of the animal.
As I said, few photos of animals have made me stop for so long to read the story. Clara’s and the “infinite fidelity” of the protagonist pet have enchanted me and have made her worthy of being named “winner” of this weekly challenge. Congratulations 😉
As I promised in the call, Clara will have a scholarship to access the Mastering Reflex Photography Course along with the full library of Photographer’s Blog books. In addition, the Weekly Challenge transforms into a new format that I will reveal tomorrow in a new article. Clara’s photography will have the honor of marking the path of this new format. I can’t tell you more, but tomorrow you will find out 🙂
As always, happy photography!