Fall Photo Assignment
I can’t believe we’re already in a new year. It feels like it was autumn just last week. How can it be half way through winter already? Well, if you’re like me and still stuck in another season, this post is for you.
Back in September 2025, I came across a post on a photography site about what to photograph when you’re out of ideas or you just want to push yourself artistically and technically. The assignment was to chose one place, like a park, your yard, or even a room in your house, and with one lens, take pictures for an hour. Beginner photographers were to take at least 10 photos, intermediates were to take 50 photos, and pros were expected to be able to take 100 photos. The assignment gave ideas like trying different angles and techniques like backlighting or bokeh.
So, I grabbed my camera and the 28 mm – 70 mm kit lens and headed to Patterson Garden. Why I decided to make things extra difficult for myself by going in the harshly lit afternoon with my hyper little dog attached to my hip is something I keep asking myself but that’s what I did. It was definitely a difficult job. To add to my difficulties, there were also workers there cleaning up for the coming winter so I didn’t have as much of the grounds as I wanted but I still had loads to photograph.
In the end, I did reach that 100 photo goal (114, I think) but once I got into Lightroom, that number went down dramatically to just 35 photos. Not great even with all the extra challenges I inadvertently gave myself but that’s the point of these kind of assignments. We need to push ourselves and step out of our comfort zones a little to discover what we really know and what we need to learn.
I’m hoping to try a winter assignment soon. Where do you think I should go?