Themes of 2014 - Pumpkins, Harvest

For October's challenge we were given the subject of pumpkins and harvest.  I decided to go out into the forest and see what might be ready to be harvested - I didn't find the crab apples I was expecting to, but I did come back with a bag full of sweet chestnuts - delicious!
  

Themes of 2014 - Tea Coffee and Comfort

Having taken the summer months off from the challenge I decided to join in with September's theme of Tea Coffee & Comfort.  I found the brown sugar crystals in my local supermarket a long time ago but I knew I'd find a photo opportunity for them eventually!

Themes of 2014 - Flowers

The theme for May's challenge was Flowers.

I decided to capture my garden in a jar - it went along with my desire to try new ways of photographing images (new to me anyway), and of moving out of my comfort zone. 

Photographing through glass was a challenge, with reflection problems and many other little problems that I hadn't foreseen - after many 'fails' I finally had a handful of photos that I felt depicted what I wanted to capture.

Themes of 2014 - camera and memories

The subject for April's challenge was camera and memories.

I decided to try and create a faded, ethereal set of photos to represent this - a lot of my textile art work has been based around memories and I love the idea of haziness, how two people can have such differing memories of the same event, and how little details can be so elusive.

As well as the old Kodak Brownie I used a treasured 1960's postcard of Worthing from my childhood holidays and a photograph of my father's Morris Oxford car from the same era.

Themes of 2014 - shoes and movement

For March the theme we were given was shoes and movement.  It was the perfect opportunity to photograph the old pair of worn out ballet shoes I had picked up in a junk shop, for no reason other than I loved the look of them!

Our Beautiful World

While recently mooching around blog land I discovered a great looking photography challenge over at Our Beautiful World. With the word this week being 'soft', and my newly acquired seed pods collected from a local walk I did last weekend I felt I just had to join in.  The pods are so beautiful - soft grey in colour with a texture of silk velvet - just perfect!

Themes of 2014 - fruit and wellbeing

I've really been enjoying February's theme of fruit for the Themes of 2014 challenge.  

These towers of fruit were my final choice for the challenge, but I've included some of my other ideas below them - you can see how enthusiastic I've been!

Artichokes and Sari Silk

Being lazy can have it's rewards - I didn't get round to cooking this artichoke, but when I came to guiltily throw it away I found it had flowered inside - such a stunning shade of purple!  I've teamed it up with the delicate purples and greys of the sari silk.

I am linking up with Mary over at Mosaic Monday. 

Themes of 2014

January - the first month of our new challenge and the subject given was 'phones and communication'.  How tempting not to join in this month - but that's not really the point is it, giving up when the prompt isn't exactly what I would want!  So I had a go and I'm very glad I did - I found myself working outside my comfort zone - no pretty vintage, no sepia tinted textures and no subdued light.  I wanted a clean, crisp image with a no-nonsense feel to it, plus a hint of 'office' and a desire to mask as much of my very unfashionable phone as I could!

Tulips

 Two versions of the same image here - in fact there is a third version for the Focus on Life challenge over on my blog at Velvet Moth Studio. 

The image was originally much darker, taken for the subject 'silhouettes' for this weeks challenge.  I lightened the image quite considerably and added a subtle Kim Klassen texture and a very pale sepia colour wash. 

Another couple of Kim Klassen's textures and a soft brown colour wash for this one.

Colors of 2013 - the finale

I have so enjoyed taking part in Eva Ricci's Colors of 2013 this past year.  The standard of the participating photographers is extremely high and I must admit I was rather intimidated by their professionalism and photographic abilities.  However, the group have been wonderfully supportive and encouraging, and working alongside them has certainly encouraged me to push myself harder and I've definitely learnt a lot!  I have learnt to be more caring of setting up the shots and getting the details right, and I've been more experimental in lighting and angles of shots - it's been a very enjoyable creative journey.

The challenge is changing for 2014, so I thought I would post my photo collages from 2013 and say a big Thank You to Eva Ricci! 

I am also linking this post with Mary over at Mosaic Monday

June - Yellow

 July - Purple

August - Grey

September - Brown

October - Orange

November in Turquoise and December in Red and Green are shown in the two previous blog posts.