ONE A DAY CHALLENGE – Every Day Throughout September

I'm sure many of you reading this will feel the same way, massively passionate about photography but juggling many other 'life responsibilities' work, families, friends etc. and finding the time to shoot as often as possible becoming increasingly difficult. Even if a small window opens and a little time becomes free, finding even the energy once the responsibilities of the day have been taken care of can still be tough.

All that said, for the month of September I'm going to try to shoot and post/upload an image a day. I'm going to do my very best not to post anything substandard and never miss a day but we'll see how this plays out... this may just be an unrealistic target. 

Photography, like any other skill requires practice, it's like learning an instrument, you can't just occasionally pick up a guitar and expect to play face-melting riffs, likewise, you can't expect to occasionally pick up your camera and take fantastic photos, no matter what level you're at, practice is key and September is my month of intense practice sessions. I'm hoping the resulting images will be interesting and worth looking at but I'm also hoping that I'll show some improvement and learn something new every day too. 

I just liked how this crusty and original Series 1 Land Rover looked (plus it has the same SRH license initials as my marginally more recent Land Rover!) Not the best photo ever, taken more for my fondness of Land Rover's but an ok start to my September challenge.

Boatyard Decay

I went for a wander at the weekend to test a new lens and stumbled into a local boatyard. It suddenly became apparent that owning a boat of any kind is basically a constant and losing battle against the elements and particularly, against water.

It seemed a cruel irony that the very environment for which each craft was intended, is also it's most destructive enemy. Every vessel, rusted, rotting and slowly being taken back by the sea. As I walked through, it struck me that the resultant rust colours were really lovely, even the once brightly coloured storage frames, props and equipment were being eaten away too, once small paint scrapes, now a red/brown cancer, spreading over every surface.

Other random detritus lay around the yard, from mattresses to office equipment, these too having reached their final destination, the end of their usefulness. Even 'dry' land was no escape for the once proud boats, the rough tarmac of the yard almost mocking them as each puddle reflected their decaying state.

I may be reading too much into the whole thing and you'll find these images simply boring 'ruin porn' but maybe you'll see the beauty and sadness too.