I don’t know what the weather has been like where you are, but here in South Dakota, we’ve been pretty chilly for the past few months. We’ve had a few stretches of blue skies since Christmas, but even when the sun comes out, it’s been pretty dang cold. We had a decent snowstorm back in mid-December and now, just about two months later, most of the snow from that “weather event” has finally melted off…just in time for another significant snowstorm to loom on the horizon for later this week!

Now, you might be tempted to check the weather forecast and look for a day when it’s supposed to rain or snow so you can snap a quick shot as it falls. But be forewarned, this can be harder than you might think. Your brain is a lot better at “seeing” precipitation than your camera. Most cameras will struggle to show even a torrential downpour, because an individual raindrop or snowflake is too fast-moving, too small, and too insubstantial for the camera’s sensor to capture. Besides, what are you going to do if doesn’t rain or snow? It’s pretty hard to take a picture of sunlight, right?

Of course, cold & wet aren’t the only kinds of weather! You might get lucky this week and be somewhere with bright sun, warm temperatures, and just the right about of breeze for spending an afternoon in a hammock!

So the questions for you now are: a.) What’s in your 7-day weather forecast? and b.) How do you plan to capture & convey that weather?

This week kicks off with a little story…

So one Tuesday afternoon, a frog walks into the local bank to take out a loan. He walks up to the bank teller, Ms. Patricia Whack.

The frog sees her nametag and says, “Good afternoon, Ms. Whack. I would like to take out a loan today.”

Understandably, Ms. Whack is thrown off because, you know, usually humans are the ones who take out loans, not frogs. So she says, “Umm…This is peculiar, but, you know what, you’re a talking frog, so let’s see what we can do. But please, call me ‘Patty,’ everyone else here does. Now, if you want a loan, you must really be something. So, tell me about yourself. What’s your name? What’s your background?”

The frog responds, “Well, Patty, my name is Jerry and actually, you probably won’t believe this, but my father is Mick Jagger.”

And Ms. Whack says, “Oh! Well I guess he’s kind of got a froggy face, so it makes sense that would, like, carry over to you. Maybe he’s a frog himself.”

The frog interrupts her and says, “Oh no. Please don’t say that about my dad. That’s not a nice thing to say about him.”

And then Ms. Whack says, ‘I’m so sorry. Well, let’s see. Do you have some form of collateral for this loan?”

So Jerry takes out a little shiny pink porcelain elephant, and he says, “Hey, you know, this is kind of ironic. Elephants are usually larger than frogs, but here I am with like a really tiny elephant in my flippers.”

Ms. Whack examines the miniature elephant for a moment and says, “Well, this isn’t exactly what we normally look for as collateral…but let me take it and speak with my manager in the back.” So she goes to the bank office and she says to the manager, “You know, I’ve got this frog up front who says he’s Mick Jagger’s son, and he wants to take out a loan. But all he has for collateral is this little pink porcelain elephant. Do you know anything about this thing? Is it valuable at all?”

And the manager says to her, “Why, that’s a knick-knack, Patty Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man is a Rolling Stone.”

Ba-dum, tss!

Okay, if you’re still reading after all that, we should probably turn this to photography. Chances are, like Jerry Jagger, you’ve probably got at least a couple silly little trinkets or tchotchkes sitting on a shelf somewhere around the house. So this week I want you to create an image of a knick-knack.

But don’t just pull out your phone and snap a quick pic of your knick-knack. Spend a little time considering the shapes, colors and textures that define your knick-knack. Is there something there that might make for a more interesting image if you emphasize a certain aspect of the item? What about taking your knick-knack down from its usual perch and staging it elsewhere in the house?

So your challenge this week is to produce a creative, engaging, or dramatic photo of a knick-knack, an otherwise normal object you see every day.

We’ve spent the past few weeks looking at some of the core controls and adjustments you can make with your camera to affect your images. For the next several weeks, we’ll examine somewhat more artistic ideas, starting this week with creating a black & white photo.

At first, this might seem like a very simple task. After all, most cameras today have an option to shoot in black & white, and if yours doesn’t, there’s no shortage of editing/filter apps that will convert any photo from color to black & white.

But there’s so much more to black & white photography than just clicking a filter & calling it done!

Whether you choose to shoot in black & white or convert with a “post-processing” editing approach, your final image is almost guaranteed to turn out at least 2.76 times better if you think about your subject in black & white from the beginning.

Because black & white images lack color information, concepts like light, shadow, and contrast become very important, and can elevate your images from Before you click the shutter button, consider some of the following questions:

So now that you’re thinking in black and white, your challenge this week, should you choose to accept it, is to get out there and create not just an accidental, but a very intentional black & white image.

Welcome to a new year of weekly photography challenges!

With each new year comes a new chance to reflect, to re-focus, to set new goals, and to explore new directions—both personally and as a photographer. “New year, new you,” as they say. I hope you’re taking some time these days to reflect on what you hope to accomplish in 2022.

The image above also aligns to one of my photography goals for the year, that being to focus very intentionally on black & white photography by creating at least one portfolio-quality black & white image per week for the next 52 weeks. (I’m going to cut myself a little slack on this one and add “on average” to that, so I don’t lock myself into anything too crazy & rigorous!)

So what are your resolutions for the new year? Your assignment this week, should you choose to accept it, is to create an image that captures the essence or tells the story of one of your new year’s resolutions.

Your assignment this week, should you choose to accept it, is to create an image based on the word “joy.”

Christmas comes at a difficult time of year for many people. While we celebrate “the holidays” with parties, get-togethers, fancy dinners, and more baked goods than any of us care to admit, there are also reminders of fractured families, separated friends, and the people we’ve lost. For many, the approach of the new year is anything but a joyous time.

But as a photographer, you have the opportunity to remind the people around you of the possibility of joy, in the dark of winter as much as other times.

Your assignment this week, should you choose to accept it, is to create an image based on the word “hope.”

We are in the third week of December, and for many people this time of year marks the season of Advent, a time of preparation, expectancy, and hope. People of other faiths don’t necessarily observe Advent or even Christmas, but as the days grow darker and colder, thoughts of the new year and the hope that it may bring something new, something better, seem to grow for all.

So that’s why this week’s challenge is to create an image of hope. Think about what kind of image you could create that might inspire hope for your viewers, or for yourself.

Of course, not everyone is filled with thoughts of hope and happiness this time of year. If you’re among this group, please know that’s okay. You don’t need to force an image of hopefulness if you’re just not feeling it. But please, if you’re feeling this way, do reach out to someone—a family member, friend, clergy, or even me—to talk about it. Know that you’re not alone, and the days will get brighter eventually.