In retrospect : an invitation to look back
I was thinking that I wanted to share one photo and a mellow, calm (read: quick and easy to produce) Sunday blog post today (after the first two NaBloPoMo blog posts), but since I never had the need to share any “filler posts” before I don’t seam to know how to do that. I only blog when I’m inspired to share something that is on my mind creatively, or that I need to get out there. So a Sunday calm post meme thing might not be for me. I was actually searching for a good blog meme that I could join, or simply pick up and use, but nothing spoke to me for a Sunday post. Instead I went back to myself.
I was thinking about the blog challenges that I did join in the past and where the inspiration for that engagement came from. I am very inspired by 1) a bit of time to ponder the challenge, 2) open-ended challenges that can be interpreted in many different way (read: my own way) and 3) lists or clusters of things clumped together for a specific post. All that thinking reminded me of my own blog challenge called the “Spotted Photo Theme”, that I started back in…. 2013 or so, with a few post sprinkled throughout 2014 (very sporadically). I knew it has been a while since I visited that theme, but 10 years ago already? Where did that time fly? LOL.
Anyway, the Spotted Photo Theme was a archival photo challenge I came up with so I could share old(er) photos that I hadn’t blogged. With it you do not need to produce or snap any new photos at all. It’s about finding commonalities in the photos you take already, like a red thread going through your photo folders over the years. It’s about what we are drawn to in our creative practices or documenting life. It’s about enjoying what we created 2 months or 20 years ago. I love the retrospective aspect of it as well.
I will re-start this challenge next year and try to go for 12 months if possible. If you want to join me, I’d be delighted. I will share the announcement in January, and then create my themed post. But what themes should we do? I’ll take your suggestions in the comments below and then make a list of 12 themes for the year. These upcoming themes will 1) give us time to think, 2) be open-ended to your personal interpretations and 3) let you show of a cluster of older photos in one blog post!
I already know the first theme, for January, though…
As a photographer I’ve always been interested in how light and shadow plays of each other, especially in stark sunlight. How a shadow almost becomes an object of its own with the dark form behind or next to the object that you are photographing. I hope I am not the only one noticing these things, and that you can find that kind of photos in your own snapshots. So for January the theme will be “Shadows and Light” – interpret it as you please. The photo above is from a March sunset when I was walking home, and maybe not the best interpretation of this theme. I’d name it “dark and light” instead, or maybe “contrasts”, since the darkness of the trees are not shadows, but like I said, you could interpret the theme as darkness and light as well.
I already know several other themes I want to use, but I’ll take your suggestions before I decide.
How to participate in Spotted Photo Theme
The most time consuming part is finding old photos you know you have, if you haven’t tagged your photos. I love the search function on Flickr, where a lot of my older photos are stored, but otherwise start looking now and try to find (or snap) photos of this theme.
To participate all you have to do is pick a few of your photos on this theme and share them in January. You pick out 5-10 photos (or more) and share them as a group, link to my blog post about the theme or this blog post using the graphic button (below) and hopefully also take the time to write a bit about the where, when and how of your photos. I always appreciate and enjoy some context. That’s it.
I don’t think you need to be a professional photographer to do this challenge, not at all. It could be all phone photos and candid snapshots. As with any creative work, the most important thing is that you enjoy it and here, that you want to share it with the world.
Please, feel free to add in your suggestions for themes below in the comments, for February – December next year. What photo themes do you see in your work already – and what themes would you want to seek out more often? It could be something specific like photographing the floors you walk on or something more abstract like light and shadow. I am looking forward to seeing what you find. Portraits, landscape, selfies, books, crafts, specific colors you love or friends. And what is the thing you take most photos of? For me, I think it is WIP or finished projects (art and craft) and colors (for the blog and for inspiration).
PS: I had to redo the graphic, because the previous (light pink) spotted one was sooo small (only 200 pixels wide). I usually save the original .psd file and a large copy of all my graphics (because in retrospect I always thank myself for this practice), but I could not find this one today so I recreated a similar looking one to use in 2025. Yay for quick post rabbit holes.
This post is part of NaBloPoMo where I write 30 blog posts in November. Thanks for reading and leaving me a comment, it encourages me to keep going. To follow along subscribe to blog posts via email or RSS. I also have a sweet Substack Newsletter about art, craft and creativity that you might want to sign up for so that we can keep in touch in the future. I’d love that. On instagram I’m @ihannas and on YouTube Studio iHanna. Take care and stay creative friends.
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People are so different. My wife is in a FB/Insta group that does a daily prompt, and she has been faithful for several years. I am not a joiner like that. Whether photos (on Flickr) or blogs (on Blogger), I just want to post what I want and when I want. BTW thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.
I want to post what I want when I want to too but enjoy the occasional invitation or challenge when it is right. I think blogging is a lot about finding your people, and connecting with them.
This sounds like fun, I’ll join in, though if I can’t find 5 photos that fit a theme, I might go with 1 or two. Thanks for the inspiration!
Yay! I’ll take you up on that! Maybe I should change that to 2 or more, but if you can’t find more than that of course you are welcome to join too. And you could always go on a walk and look for interesting shadows, that’s always interesting and fun. I love little photo excursions like that in my neighborhood.
Photography has been a bit abandoned lately on my blog since I do take so many pictures for work that I just dont feel like it in my free time. Which is only partly true because I still snap away.
That said I do a photo calendar every year for my parents – probably for the past 20 years – and they all have topics.
Here are a few that might also be in inspiration to upcoming prompts: patches, red, patterns, shadow, texture, flowers, sunsets, white, water
That said January is rather easy as I have a tag called shadow. But I will comb through the archive and see if everything is really tagged correctly. I have a feeling it’s not. Which would then be a double win.
So yes, I am most definitely in. I was looking for another photo challenge after I finish this years.
Thank you Tobia for your suggestions, I’ll definitely add those to my list of possibles! I have tags like that too, on my common “themes” or subject matters! So glad I won’t be doing it alone, and now we have some time to prep for an epic photo post too, hehe.
I used to be very much into photography, also did challenges on the blog way back when… so I am highly intrigued by this. I’ll definitely keep it in mind for the new year. Thanks for sharing! :)
Maybe I “used to be” too. Not as much these days, but when I do bring a camera out I am reminded of how much I love it. I also enjoy looking back on my own photos, maybe a bit too much.
Thanks for first week of NaBloPloMo, short and sweet.
What a fun theme for a link up, and super inclusive for all kinds of blogs! I’ll start scouring the archives for my photos to post in January.
As a blogger, filler posts feel hard, but as a reader, I love them! It’s fun to get a little peek into the life outside the blog, and it adds interest in the same way filler episodes did when tv shows had 25 episodes a season. It’s a pacing tool. Looking forward to seeing you get more comfortable with filler over NaBloPoMo
So glad you think so, thanks Rachel! How fun would it be to get “shadow and light” photos just from the craft room and art materials laying around? Hehe. And I hadn’t thought of filler posts from the reader perspective… If you have any suggestions on one idea that you’d want to read from me, let me know.
This looks just up my alley. Thank-you!
Thanks Melissa, glad this idea resonated with you! Let’s look at photos from the shadows… :-)
Hanna, I didn’t get a chance to read every single one of your NaBloPoMo posts and this is quite coincidental because when I was writing my list post recently I thought back to your “spotted photo” posts as I loved joining in when I could. I would 100% be up for it next year.
I meant to get back with some possible ideas, so here are a few: Leading lines, repetition and framing/peeking through (where your subject is framed by the foreground lie through a window, door, trees etc)