It’s time to get creative, people! This is one of those challenges that demand creativity and storytelling. The intent is not to simply document a vehicle and submit.

What modes of transportation inspire you? What are some of the non-obvious modes of transportation? What creative angle could you capture your story? How can you think outside of the box?

You could take your shot from inside a vehicle. Under a vehicle. It doesn’t even have to be a vehicle, it could be a horse! Try light-painting an abandoned car at night. Try panning a fast moving vehicle (like the photo above). Take a photo about transportation, without showing any mode of transportation! How about a first-person view of a bobsled driver? Don’t just take a photo of a bus or car and submit, craft your story, flex your unique voice,  and create something special.

Shooting fast-moving action? Remember to use a fast shutter speed (like 1/1000 or faster). Getting the detail of a cracked leather seat? Perhaps slap on a macro lens, or use the flower setting on your phone. If you are going after the “extra challenge” this week of panning, I advise a 1/20 shutter speed to start, tuck in your elbows tight to your body, and pivot 180 degrees from your waist up. Then spray and pray.

Wingardium Leviosa! With a flick and a swish (and a little Harry Potter), you might be able to convince us things are floating this week!

First of all, Levitation photography is NOT as difficult as it may seem! This fun technique opens up endless possibilities and storytelling opportunities. (We love telling stories without words!) Imagine a book floating above a reader’s hands, a dancer suspended in mid-jump, or everyday objects defying gravity. This challenge allows you to blend reality with fantasy, creating mesmerizing and surreal images. And you don’t need fancy editing software to achieve some wonderful photos!

To achieve the levitation effect, you can use various techniques:

• Jump Shots: Capture your subject in mid-jump to create the illusion of levitation. (recommended shutter speed: 1/1000th or faster)
• Props and Supports: Use invisible strings, clear supports, or edit out props in post-processing.
• Composite Photography: Combine multiple images using layer masks in your photo-editing software to achieve a seamless levitation effect.

Planning and creativity are key to a successful levitation shot. Think about your concept and how to make the levitation look realistic and magical. Pay attention to lighting, shadows, and perspective to enhance the illusion.

For an Extra Challenge (EC), we encourage you to utilize Layer Masks in your post-processing. Layer Masks are a powerful tool that can help you create more precise and realistic levitation effects by allowing you to blend different images seamlessly. If you’ve been wanting to learn to use your software program, this is a great time to (extra) challenge yourself!

Just the Facts:  Photograph (yourself) a beautiful view during the seven days of the challenge and submit before the deadline. 

“Just look at that view, it’s so beautiful!” If those are words you’ve uttered before, you have a headstart on this week’s  challenge theme. Always, we’re encouraging you to find that Creative Framer within and let them loose with your camera. 

Maybe it’s the garden with the harvest coming in, a field of flowers, or a snowy mountain. Whatever your beautiful view, we’re excited to have you share the story with us!

For the Extra Challenge, we’re asking you to engage us with the foreground of that Beautiful View. This could be a person, an object, or a natural feature like a flower, rock formation, or tree. The addition of a foreground element adds depth and context, transforming a simple view into a compelling story.

A mating pair of Cardinals decided to build a nest in my grape vines outside my front door – giving me a great opportunity to capture both pairs and the new one (it is rather ugly!).