52Frames Weekly Photography Challenges, My Story and Some Photos

I've been a member of 52Frames for a long time. When I joined, it wasn't simple. I had to submit a portfolio to show that I was "serious" about photography. Cameras were the expected norm, not phones. Actually 52Frames Photographers was just a Facebook group when I first heard about it. All of the announcements and weekly albums were solely on Facebook. There were just a few dozen members. I felt so nervous when applying and was sure I'd be rejected. BH amazingly they accepted me. Now it's easy to join via the site.

I didn't have a fancy camera, and I had never taken an art course in my life. Some of the weekly challenges are based on composition principles, and I had to learn an entirely new vocabulary. Members are given just a week for each challenge, and the photograph must have been taken during that week, not before. Also it's not to be a photograph of someone else's art, unless the art is part of a larger scene. One major thing I had to adjust to was that we're allowed to edit our photograph. I had grown up in the days of film photography and strongly warned by my parents that a picture, black & white in the 1950s, had to be totally perfect or I was wasting their money.

With time a few basic things changed along with eliminating the difficulty in joining. Now camera photography is accepted, neither rare nor snubbed. Also, there are many sub/special interest 52Frames facebook groups, and the main facebook group is strictly managed and only used for certain topics. I think that the newer members miss out on the friendly support that existed when I joined. I think there should be mentoring for new members. But I'm a totally different generation from most, and as I said, I don't come from an art world.

Following are a few of my most recent photos. Underneath each photo is the name of the week's challenge linked to the site.

Music

Black and White

Reflection

Humor

Leading Lines

Abstract

Negative Space

Distortion

Wabi Sabi

Just Breathe

My Photography, Some Recent 52Frames Photos

I never studied photography, nor art, nor composition, though I've been drawn to it. In recent years I've been a member of 52frames, which began as a small group of people, photographers, amateur and professional or hopefuls on Facebook. The committee decides on a weekly "challenge" plus its "extra c," which isn't required. 

When I first heard about 52frames it was hard to be accepted. Our "portfolios" had to be approved, and there were limited chances during the year for newcomers. I was terrified that I'd be rejected; also most members photographed with impressive cameras, not phones. In the beginning I had used an inexpensive camera, because affordable phones had rather primitive cameras. As phone cameras got better and it became more difficult for me to carry a camera, I retired the camera and now only photograph with my phone.

In the early years, the weekly album was posted on Facebook, and now there's a site 52Frames. 

Since I being accepted in 52frames I never missed a week. You can see that in the photo below. 

Here are some relatively recent photos, and click here for a larger collection: 

Pool Season Open

 

"Modern" Jerusalem Can "Play" With Water

The Old Shaare Tzedek Where I Became A Mother

Caught By The Slow Shutter

Jerusalem of Gold Lyrics

Walking in Jerusalem

Purim- Beer, Wine & Whiskey

Now and Then X2
Self-Portrait

What do you think? Maybe you'd like to join up.

Facebook Photo-Editing Tips

Recently, I've been having great fun with a relatively new facebook feature, Photo-Editing. This feature compensates for the fact that they haven't offered me any new post backgrounds for much too long. Actually, that's why I decided to try clicking the cute little brush I had been noticing in the lower right hand corner of pictures when being up or is it downloaded to my page.

I hope these photos make it clear. If you have questions, don't be shy. Ask me. I read and reply to comments.

Yes, besides editing, you can tag people.

As you can see, there's a very complete menu to choose from.

Choose the color you want, by clicking in the right spot. It can be changed if you don't like it. You can also choose fonts by clicking where it says Arial.

In this mode, you can move, shrink or enlarge the box that has your text..

Don't be afraid to experiment.

PS The photos illustrating this aren't very clear/sharp, because I used my old camera. The phone was charging too far away.

Where was This? "Break the Rules!" 52Frames

I used to post a lot of my 52Frames photos. Maybe I should resume. 52Frames is a group Photography project in which we are challenged weekly. It's based on a facebook page.

I've been a member for years. I haven't missed a week since I joined. My photos aren't considered among the best. I use a cheap phone rather than a fancy camera, and I doubt if I spend as much time in "planning and creating" my shots as others do. But I've still learned an awful lot about photography, composition, photo-editing etc. And I'm still learning and enjoying it.

Here's my latest photo. Do you know what/where I took it?

"Taking a Peek"
Need I say more?

Mystery to Me, Too

This week's theme/challenge on 52Frames was What is it??

By chance I spotted something very strange. I photographed it from a few angles, in its real color and also sepia. I chose the sepia and cropped it a bit.

Mystery to Me, Too

Can you guess what I photographed? Please post your guess in the comments. In a few days I'll tell you what I know about it.

Framing the Sky

The challenge for this week's 52Frames photo was the Sky. I take lots of sky pictures. Almost every morning I photograph the sunrise, and the sky in Israel is extraordinary. But to be honest, recently, the sky has been so clear it's almost boring.

I wasn't quite sure what to do. Then when I was walking in Jerusalem I saw this "frame," and took a few pictures. I finally decided that they were the the most interesting, and I finally, with a little help from some friends, chose this one.

"Framed"It's all in the accessories. 

It's not perfect, and I couldn't return to take more. What do you think?

DOF- Depth of Field Photography for 52Frames

The latest photographic challenge I did for 52Frames was Depth of Field, aka DOF.

"Love That Lox"
Feasting on Lox, cream cheese and salad on the Jewish Purim Holiday. We celebrate two days in Shiloh. On the second day, my husband and I had this special lunch, not an everyday menu for us.

The photo was taken with my phone, a Canon IXUS 145, which I hardly use. It's not a great camera, and in general I'm happier with the photos from my simple phone, Samsung J7. But it ended up that I couldn't get the phone to cooperate for DOF. I couldn't trick it into blurring part of the photo. Davka, I was bvle to get the camera to do it by having it set for a simple close up, which resulted in the further section being blurred.

Here are a couple of other photos I took, but decided to serve the lox.

Did I choose the right one?

Why Doesn't The Sun Look Orange?

Yesterday morning, the sunrise was stupendous and the sun a very bright orange. I took a whole bunch of pictures at all sorts of "settings," and none of the photos show a bright orange sun!  I use my phone, the Samsung J7.

I hope you believe that the sun was orange and not white...

All Lines Lead to Jerusalem

Sometimes Gd is the Stylist 

This week I took lots of Leading Lines photos for the 52Frames challenge. It was pretty easy at two very Jerusalem sites, the Chords Bridge aka Bridge of Strings and the Train Park which follows the old, unused tracks which lead to Matan where I study each week.

With a healthy choice of Leading Lines photos to choose from, and the help of a small sub-group of framers, I chose this one of the String Bridge below.  After reading and digesting their praise for it straight from my simple Samsung J7 phone, I did absolutely no editing, not even the tiniest cropping. That's why it's so clear to me that I had Gd with me as the "stylist."

"All Lines Lead to Jerusalem"
The now iconic Chords Bridge aka Bridge of Strings designed by Santiago Calatrava always catches my eye. And for me it is always new. It was built 40 years after I moved to Israel.
It definitely features leading lines.

The "Rejects"

I had more good Leading Lines photos, and here are a few of them,* None have been either cropped or edited:

Do you agree with my choice?

*I had some technical problems and will add more Gd willing when I can.

Photojournalism Exhibition

Yesterday we went on a field trip. My Thursday Senior Citizen learning program in Ofra includes a Cinema class, and the teacher took us along with her students to the Eretz Israel Museum, Ramat Aviv. They even picked me up on the way, so I only had to leave my house an hour later than usual.

The International and Israeli Photojournalism Exhibition
The largest and most important exhibition of its kind includes a selection of World Press Photo photojournalism and the best of local photojournalism - Local Testimony. Tens of photographers from Israel and abroad will participate in the exhibition, displaying a sequence of events in selected photographs taken over the past year; the photographs refer to war and peace, politics and society, art and culture, nature and the environment, sports, portraits, multimedia presentations, and more.

Curator: Vardi Kahana

Open: December 7, 2017 - January 20, 2018

We could easily see the "agenda" of the curator in the juxtaposition of the pictures as they were exhibited. And of course we learned more of what makes a good picture in terms of the composition and how it tells a story.