All posts by John Doranski

Just the Facts:  Take a photograph during the Blue Hour (just after sunset / before sunrise)  to showcase the beautiful and unique blue tone during this period and submit it during the seven days of the challenge.

This week, we invite you to embrace the enchanting yet challenging beauty of the Blue Hour! This captivating period occurs just before sunrise and shortly after sunset when the sky transforms into a stunning ink blue.  

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The Blue Hour is more than just a time of day—it’s a mood, a story waiting to be told through your lens. Picture an early morning jogger or surfer silhouetted against the ethereal blue sky, and you’ve captured a narrative in a single frame. Imagine a commuter gazing thoughtfully out a window, or a party-goer making their way home as the night fades into the mystic blue of dawn. Each scene is rich with potential stories, all set against the mesmerizing backdrop of the Blue Hour.

However, capturing this magical moment is no easy feat. The Blue Hour is fleeting, lasting only 20 to 40 minutes, and the rapidly changing light demands constant adjustments to your camera settings. It’s a test of both patience and skill, occurring at times when many are still asleep or winding down from the day.

Think ahead about WHAT you want to shoot, WHERE you want to be, and most importantly, WHEN you need to be there. The light during the Blue Hour is a gift, but it’s one that requires effort and preparation to truly harness.

This week’s challenge Extra Challenge (EC) is Complentary Light Source. We’re looking for you to capture the intriguing contrast between natural and artificial light during the Blue Hour. This could involve streetlights casting a warm glow against the twilight sky, the inviting light spilling from windows, or the sharp beams of car headlights cutting through the early evening. These orange light sources can add pop, depth, and a unique storytelling element to your photos.

Distortion can transform an ordinary scene into an abstract piece of art. This week we want you to tell your story in an unconventional way.

A slow shutter speed can help create a dreamier focus, while overexposing can offer a high-key more abstract product. Speaking of abstract, this is a great time to use ICM (intentional camera movement) to get streaks and swirls in your scene. Use a mirror, use a prism, shoot OUT of focus,  get weird here! 

Experiment! Don’t be afraid to try a technique you haven’t tried before. Distortion is all about pushing boundaries, and there are lots of ways to challenge yourself here. Check our Extra Challenge “Vaseline” for something really fun and different! Apply vaseline to your lens for a hazy look, but PLEASE use a filter or saran wrap (glad wrap / cling film) to keep your lens safe!

Think about your subject. Some subjects (architecture, nature, portraits) just lend themselves more naturally to distortion to change the perception.

Tell a story. Don’t forget about the story or the emotion you want your image to convey to the viewer. Do you want to create Chaos? Confusion? Serenity? Amazement? A picture really can be worth a thousand words when done well. 

As time progresses, I will continue to add additional photos in this section.

Two parts Hydrogen, One part Oxygen. Odorless, flavorless, and almost invisible, water is essential for life. Water is also a wonderful subject for a photographer, and this week we’re hoping your imagination is turned on and your camera is well protected in case you decide to make a splash!

There are so many ways to capture water. If you like a dreamy waterfall, slow shutter is your friend, but if you love the frozen-looking drops that go flying when you burst a water balloon, you’ll want a fast shutter speed, (and our Extra Challenge of 1/4000+ will be just the ticket!)

Life gets busy, and those plans for hiking to a waterfall have to be exchanged for something closer to home. Maybe someone splashing in a pool, if you’re in summer, or just the calm lake, if it’s a bit chilly still in your part of the world. 

Get creative! Water can be used as a prism to bend light and create fascinating reflections, or it can add to the scene of still life or food photography to add a whole new element of interest. Think outside the box of what your brain says water is. 

Please note, ice is not considered water for this challenge, so focus on capturing the liquid state in its many forms and moods. Dive in, experiment, and most importantly, have fun making a splash with your photography this week!

Balloons – a bane to my existence in that out of 60 balloon, about 30 failed to burst on first drop. I had to up the water from 200ml to 400 ml and the food coloring from 2ml to over 5ml to get any sort of color to appear in the photos. This was a challenge as water really does not like to be photographed.

Please make sure to click and open in new tab to see the full view.

Light. It’s literally what the word “photography” means. 

Throughout the history of art and photography, light has been a crucial element in defining and shaping subjects. From the dramatic chiaroscuro techniques of Caravaggio to the classic portrait lighting of early photographers, artists have long understood the power of light and shadow.

This week’s challenge focuses on intentionally using light to shape and define your subject. Experiment with different lighting techniques to create mood and drama. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Underlighting: Create a spooky or dramatic effect by lighting your subject from below.

Rembrandt Lighting: Achieve a classic, timeless look with a small triangle of light on the subject’s cheek.

Split Lighting: Give your subject an edgy and intense look by lighting one side and leaving the other in shadow.

This challenge isn’t limited to portraits. You can explore still life with dramatic lighting on fruit, or use edge lighting to highlight the contours of a product.

Natural Light Examples:

• Strong shadows during high noon
• A portrait in half shade
• A portrait with the sun illuminating one side
• Embrace studio lighting to create bold patterns and shapes. Get creative, and let the light guide your composition!
• Use simple artificial light in a dark setting, like a lamp, flashlight, or your phone!

Below are the various compositions I created and the one that was submitted. You do have to double click and open in new TAB to see the entire photo.

Week 28 saw the introduction of the subject: Spoons.

While a spoon is a typical item, the challenge was to view a spoons from various prospectives. They have a shiny surface that reflects light and the surrounding area, so one is to try different perspective to create a unique composition.

I took about 102 photos with different setups and lightening. Below are the ones adjusted and only one was submitted to 52 Frames as allowed.

In week 27, it is all about triangular composition in ones environment. This is NOT about finding triangles in the scene, or taking photos of triangles, or shooting things that are triangle-shaped. Rather, one is visualizing triangles in the scene that will shape the general composition. this may or may not include actual triangle shapes in the photo, but it comes to what is in the overall composition, not simply a triangle object in the scene. Below are the various photos taken in week 27 context. 52Frames is to encourage a photographer to actually get out and shoot something each week to enjoy an experience and begin using that expense camera gear!

These photos were taken out at the Colorado Bend State Park: south of Bend Texas – about 1.5 hours west of Killeen, TX.

August 2024 Milky Way photos taken out at the Colorado Bend State Park.