Recent Updates

Exploration #29 “Exploring Vegetables”

Session: June 19^th 7.00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Deadline: Midnight June 17^th

Many well-known photographers (and some not so well known but great), have photographed vegetables for many important reasons. They are excellent subjects for the exploration of shape, sculptural form, texture, and colour etc. - sometimes on their own and often in the form of a still life.

This exercise is both a challenge and a learning opportunity. As always you should approach this by first researching and gathering examples from a wide variety of sources that you can study for their aesthetic and technical characteristics. Then decide on an approach or example that you would like to follow in your own style, exploring through experimentation and keeping in mind the simplicity and impact that makes for a very strong image. See especially the work of Edward Weston, Irvin Penn and Charles Jones but there many examples on the internet in a wide variety of styles and formats.

Submit up to three different solutions in black and white or colour. Max size 5 MB and please put your name first in the image title. Thank you! Send to robin@imaginacorporation.com.

Photo Credits: Robin King – “Onion”

Exploration #28 “Simply Circles – with an AI twist”

Session : May 15^th 7.00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Deadline: Midnight May 13th

Circles are everywhere – in the natural and in the manmade world. The geometry of circles (and ellipses) can excite the viewer in their symmetry and simplicity. Their simple shape, colours, properties, powerful composition provide endless possibilities for photographic exploration.

So, in this exploration you should experiment with ideas that have circles or ellipses as the central compositional element and in a way that creates a simple, compelling, and powerful aesthetic. Any subject matter but carefully chosen for this task.

Option 1. Up to three images using the circle theme.

And for the first time:

Option 2. Create three images using AI image generation software.

1.     Research and try out an AI image generator you would like to use such as Mid Journey, Dall-E, Stable Diffusion, freeImage.ai, Leonardo.ai etc. many of which have a free-to-use option.  

2.     Create a digital image with the circle theme.

3.     Explore this image/theme using images created by an AI application.

4.     Have fun! Remember these images cannot be used in competition though.

Basic videos on creating these options are widely available on U Tube.

Submit up to three different solutions. Max size 5 MB and please put your name first in the image title. Thank you! Send to robin@imaginacorporation.com.

Photo Credits: Robin King - Bubbles (oil on water) and Cat of Bubbles (using MidJourney)

EXPLORATION #27 “Double Exposure +”

Event: April 17th from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Submission deadline: Midnight April 15th

Photographic double exposures also have a very long tradition. In this Exploration you are invited to try two or more new approaches to the subject and experiment with creative solutions you may not have tried before.

Double (and multiple) exposures scan be accomplished in your camera (if it has the capability), through a camera app or in post-processing software. You can use two different images or use a single image twice if the effect works well.

As always, take time to research the subject using the internet, choose solutions that test your skills and experiment. If you have created double exposure photography before and want to try a new approach, then try multiple exposures.

Submit up to three different solutions. Max size 5 MB and please put your name first in the image title. Thank you! Send to robin@imaginacorporation.com.

Exploration #26 “Light Painting”

Event: 20^th March 2023 7.00 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Deadline: midnight March 18th

Light painting has a very long photographic history – well over 120 years. It’s a technique of moving a light source during a long exposure to light an object or space, or to “paint” directly an image with a light source. This is an exploration that can be performed outside (in the dark or perhaps “blue hour”) or inside in a dark or low-light level space.

These days we a have a very wide range of light sources that we can use; light bulbs, flashlights, glow sticks, light wands, LED strips of all kinds, fibre optics, light ropes, wearable LEDs, skate lights, off-camera flash units, sparklers, burning steel wool (a little risky!), etc. Deciding what to use and what technique(s) to try is an exciting opportunity to create interesting, dynamic, colourful and unusual images.

 You should start by researching the range of tools and techniques possible and then use your imagination to experiment. Although there are expensive tools available, it is easier to buy low-cost light sources from your local dollar store or online. Choose just one or two methods to investigate for this exploration as you may need to take many to get a satisfactory result.

Submit up to three different solutions. Max size 5 MB and please put your name first in the image title. Thank you! Send to robin@imaginacorporation.com.

Photo Credit: Robin King

Exploration #24 “Experiments in Portraiture”

Monday January 16th:  7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Deadline: midnight January 14th

At this time of year, most of us will spend some time with family and friends. It’s an opportunity to take simple head and shoulder images against a black or white background.  These can be an opportunity to experiment with alternative ways to alter, revise, embellish, contextualize, re-visualize, and create new ways to interpret the people we know.

Of course, incorporating a texture is one technique you can use, but you can also find many other interesting ways to experiment with this challenge. It doesn’t have to complicated!  Interesting photographs are often simple to create - but need to be well thought out ahead of time.

Reflections in a smashed mirror, photographs torn apart and reassembled, colours manipulated, retouched, selected filters, painted faces or makeup, unusual lighting, different lens choices or camera angles, stylistic interpretations, the list can be almost endless. It’s about using imagination and playing with ideas…..time to research for inspiration!

Submit up to three different solutions. Max size 5 MB and please put your name first in the image title. Thank you! Send to robin@imaginacorporation.com.