PHOTOGRAPHY
The 52-Week February Edition
The 2024 Full Frame Photography Project Challenge
Starting each month with a photograph of my favorite mountains I see every day is like saying hello to you all, and “kali mina” (have a nice month) as they say in Crete.
The cover photograph now becomes my monthly routine to open this challenge.
I was really excited in January while discovering the interpretation made by the community of photographers for January’s prompts of Full Frame’s challenge.
I’m much more curious this month and can’t wait to see what others have interpreted!
My inspiration for February’s prompts made me first look back at my previous travels as I was organizing my old pictures. However, I wanted to take new ones as well, because this is what I enjoy about this challenge.
The advice of Rodrigo S-C and the words Michele Maize wrote in her January Challenge made me concentrate on taking new pictures to get better at photography.
After all, it is the aim of this challenge, isn’t it?
To me, yes. Even if I don’t reach the goal, I still need to.
#6: Letter Late Than Never
Get typographical.
Letter Late Than Never.
But letters are everywhere. What a choice!
And what a headache to choose the photo!
Having changed the photo four times, I had to rewrite the text four times. Fortunately, I get satisfaction with one picture. I’m glad about it because we are far from the end of the month, and I can’t imagine how many other candidate photos and their associated texts there will be!
And this way, I’m not late.
Letter Late Than Never.
In street art, newspapers, books, and magazines, when you dare take a pen, when you find a typewriter in a junk shop, and in signs.
When I saw this prompt, I immediately thought of a picture of illuminated signs taken one evening on a Dubai street eleven years ago. I don’t have a great memory, I even have a lot of memory lapses, but when it comes to the photos I’ve taken, my memory works wonders!
However, I wanted to work on these prompts during the month while taking photographs. So, I put it aside.
Then, I took a picture of local newspapers (I’m living in Greece) because of the Greek letters I fell in love with. But the result didn’t convince me.
Next, I thought of the books I had taken for our move to tell about my choice. I didn’t find it easy to photograph books because I didn’t find it creative. Taking the spines of stacked books didn’t excite me for a penny. And since a beautiful photo is one taken with love, I put this one aside too.
Letter Late Than Never.
I thought I would finally come back to my very first choice. I was disappointed not to be able to take a photograph here for this so-inspiring prompt.
It wasn’t until we went to Chania that I could relax a bit in a bar while our children were playing in the playground (what an ingenious invention to give parents some moments of freedom!).
The painted wall of the bar caught my eye with its colors and the sunbeams in the background. Of course, I had my camera and, of course, I took a picture.
Back home, I thought:
“You’ve got it!”
Fourth writing. A bunch of letters. But not late!
Letter Late Than Never.
PS: sorry for the length, and congratulations to those who could read it to the end!
#7: Tangled up in blue
Like Bob Dylan, or not.
Tangled up in blue
Trying to capture something blue was my first idea for this prompt. Then, I listened to the song again and again.
The Blue…
Not only the color but the mood.
It reminded me of the blue monochrome of Musandam Fjords and the experience we had there, contrasting to the mood I was at that time — hard times. Once home and back to work, I was totally lost, crying for months and hoping to go and live there.
The shock of returning to my reality.
Tangled up in blue
It reminded me of the blue monochrome of the Nothern Gulf of Evia while watching the waves calming me down in Rovies. A peaceful place whose picture I’ve kept as a helpful reference in my head and heart.
A deep wish to live abroad. Greece’s appeal.
Tangled up in blue
Now that all is behind, watching the deep blue of the sea does not anymore have the same powerful meaning as before. Living in Greece has been my way to find peace. But thinking back to that time, I found it a wink to capture the blue of the sea, what I find blue in life in both interpretations.
And this woman in the picture seemed tangled up in blue. What do you think?
Lord knows I’ve paid some dues gettin’ through, Tangled up in blue.
Let’s breathe now!
#8: I Call It Art
Like The Kills, or not.
I call it Art.
The question of defining art is philosophical and instantly brings to mind Marcel Duchamp’s artwork: “The Fountain”.
So, why not try to shoot my toilets??
I call it Art.
While trying to make a nice picture, I had never spent so much time in front of a subject, and never so much time in the toilets (or maybe when very sick!). Fortunately, my children weren’t there to ask me what the hell I was doing there!
But I wasn’t satisfied with the result. Even though the choice of a close-up gave nice pictures, none expressed what I wanted.
It is not easy because, for me, art is everywhere.
Hmm… Yes, of course! Everywhere!
I thought back to a philosophical workshop dealing with art. A woman asked if a sunset could be considered an artwork, and was surprised to hear:
“Yes, could be!”
She replied:
“An artwork comes from an artist, so I don’t agree with you”.
But could there be an artist up there?
I call it Art. Yes, I do.
#9: Blank Space
Go ahead Swiftie.
Blank Space
When we packed up before moving to Greece for a year, the things to take were meticulously studied, given the limited space in the car. I had a lot of photographic films but took only three: one KODAK film for color slides, ISO 200, 35 mm, and two black and white ILFORD HP5 PLUS films, ISO 400.
They expired five years ago. Nevertheless, I prefer the results with expired films because of the “defaults” created on the photographs that make them look older.
But since we moved here, I have not used any film.
Blank Space
It was the opportunity to take out one from the fridge, and put it in my NIKON F65 a friend gave me when I told her my regrets of my very first silver NIKON now broken.
I am now starting from a blank page, or rather a blank roll of film.
Let’s go ahead!
Let’s get inspired.
And let’s join us in this exciting challenge!