
I’ve recently become a keen listener of the Photography Daily podcast https://www.photographydaily.show Hosted by Neale James, it’s a twice weekly podcast that I find inspiring and informative. The Friday episode is a long form photo walk episode featuring listener letters, photographer interviews and snippets of advice or ah ha moments from Neale and past guests. Neale has an incredible hosting style, making the listening experience an intimate one, as though it’s Neale and I taking a photo walk together.

The Monday episode is a short photo assignment episode where a different guest each week shares an assignment designed to get listeners taking out their camera and making images. I’ve given a couple of the assignments a go; the photos here are a result of listening to episode 317. The assignment, from photographer Kevin Mullins, is a photo an hour challenge. The idea being to take a photo as soon as you wake up, and then take one every hour following that you’re awake.


I decided to use the same lens all day, my Fuji 35mm f1.4. It was not always the best choice to have made, but I stuck to it. Yes, I have photos that aren’t as sharp as they could be, because the lighting at the time wasn’t great, but not needing to change lenses as well as having a light weight camera and lens combination was exactly what I needed. My camera didn’t get in the way. Rather it was simply a tool that allowed me to capture what was in front of me.

I allowed myself to take more than one photo of needed, although I never took more than a few each hour. I wasn’t concerned about taking the perfect image, instead I looked at what was there, thought about how I could make it interesting in some way and then took the photo. I liked how the challenge made me feel throughout the day. I noticed I was looking at the light in my surroundings, slowing down my thoughts and being more present in the moment than usual.


Looking at the photos I realise that they’re more than a snapshot of my day; they’re a window into my life as it is right now. Photos of Cadel. Photos of plants. Photos of my nephews. Three loves of my life.

There’s also random things; my cars steering wheel and the top of my bread machine, taken as it made pizza dough. And my feet. They were in front of me at the time, so the parameters of the challenge were being met.

I enjoyed the project a lot and I think I might repeat it, perhaps every few months. I imagine it will create a kind of record of my life, but I also think it’s the kind of project that will easily to fit into my life, which is the best kind of project for me. I don’t like over complicating things, I’d rather grab my camera and take photos and be happy with the process.





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