Light Stalking had become one of the most popular photography sites in the world, and for good reason. In any given week, multiple articles are published, weekly contests are held and our active community of photographers post many great photos and topics of discussion in the forum. When you factor in all of this activity, along with the fact that nearly a million people visit Light Stalking each month, it only makes sense that some important content is going to be missed. So, we have decided to sum it all up for you. Here's what happened on Light Stalking this week.
Photo of the Week
Congratulations to Toad Hollow Photography for this perfectly vintage photo of the week, ‘Antique Baby Carriage’! Toad Hollow Photography can also be found on his website, blog, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. You can comment on this photo here.
The Most Popular Stories from the Last 7 Days
•How to Challenge Yourself to Be a Better Photographer – It seems to be human nature to want things to be easy and effortless. However, there is an often overlooked benefit to challenging yourself. Sometimes, these challenges show up whether we want them to or not and sometimes we have to create them. If you are up for creating a challenge for yourself photographically, and growing in skill as a result, following the advice in this article is an excellent way to start this process. Ultimately, doing things that you find hard over and over will eventually make them easy. This applies to any photographer, no matter what your skill level, since there will always be something new to master if you are looking for it.
•How to Organize a Successful Photo Walk – While nothing new, photowalks are growing in popularity. Well known current photographers, such as Trey Ratcliff, Scott Kelby and Thomas Hawk are active promoters of photowalks around the world. Killing two birds with one stone, namely the social instinct and the photo instinct, can be accomplished by participating in or organizing a photowalk, if you can't find one that interests you in your area. The tips in this article illustrate both the benefits of the experience as well as how to prepare yourself for success. Wherever you choose to go on your photowalk, get into the habit of looking at what you usually consider to be mundane with different eyes. You might be surprised at the beauty you find around you.
•How to Recreate These 3 Popular Photographic Filters in Photoshop – While we can still use good old-fashioned filters over our lenses, we do have the option to recreate these looks in Photoshop. Perhaps you realized that the scene in front of you would look amazing with a certain filter, only to remember that you left it at home. Perhaps you don't generally carry filters with you but want to enhance your photos in post. Either way, these three tutorials will show you some useful techniques for accomplishing traditional filter results in Photoshop.
•Serious Fun: 7 Toy Cameras Worth Your Consideration – High end cameras, chock full of features like magnesium alloy frames and state of the art sensors, are easy to find these days. This is even true for many point and shoot varieties of cameras. However, there is something to be said for the analog and rather unpredictable results that can be produced with toy cameras. Rife with all kinds of optical aberrations such as light leaks, vignetting and blur these cameras add an element of surprise and fun. Some of us even sorta miss the good old days of tinkering with gadgets in a more manual way. While some toy cameras were indeed originally meant to be toys, they are still real cameras that hold a certain appeal for many amateurs and pros alike. The examples in this article prove that you don't need expensive gear to take a great photo. After all, a great photographer can take a great photo with any camera. So, consider treating yourself to a little bit of fun!
What You Missed in the Light Stalking Community
Submit your photo to this week’s photography challenge – The Great Outdoors! This subject is very open to just about anything…as long as it's shot outdoors. Surely you have a photo or two taken outside and we hope you will share them with us.
We have had some great responses to our last few photography challenges on the forum. Last week’s photography challenge was Harmony!– Harmony can be a result of the subject or from the way the elements in a photo come together. This is a good subject to practice with since it requires some thoughtfulness. We hope you will share your interpretation of harmony with us.
Also, check out the Indoors! challenge from the week before. Do you have any photos to share with that were taken indoors? With all of the good weather most of us have been having, minus a few rainy days in the mix, it might be hard to stay indoors and take photos. Still, do you have any photos taken indoors that you can share with us?
We’d love to chat with you! Add your opinions here:
•How Could I Make This Better?
•First Attempt at Macro With an Animate Object
What Are Our Members Up To?
We have some amazing members here at Light Stalking that run the gamut from career professional photographers through to beginner enthusiast. Here’s what a few of them are up to in photography.
Great Shots Uploaded to the Light Stalking Community
Photo by Julie.
Photo by cytoskeletal.
Photo by Walter Johannesen.
Photo by Yvonne. Yvonne can also be found on Flickr.
If you’re not already part of the Light Stalking community then come and join the fun. We promise not to bite!
