Day 1 of my 5 day challenge

Harbour Exchange sign on Millwall Inner Dock, East London

Yesterday I wrote about my 5 day challenge, which I started yesterday afternoon. I’m going to go out walking between 4 and 6pm every day this week and take some twilight or nighttime photos. My main worry really was being warm enough because the weather was looking really murky.

Woolly hat - tick!

Waterproof jacket - tick!

Several layers - tick!

Fingerless gloves - tick!

That preparation worked really well because even with standing around for a while, I was still cosy by the time I arrived home. I found myself really craving bright lights and colour though and that was a bit harder to find. I found a couple of views I liked but there was nowhere convenient to set up the tripod. To get good night photos without grain or noise, a tripod, or something steady to lay the camera on, is essential. I might see the best view ever but if the spot I’m standing on is a pavement then it’s no good.

Eventually I decided on a sign on Millwall Inner Dock. It certainly had enough colour - and as a bonus - reflections in the water! Best of all I found a great spot to place the tripod, well out of everyone’s way so that I could take some long exposures. You can see the result here.

It was funny to feel the pressure on myself. I was really giving myself a pep talk to say “Come on! It’s only day 1, you have to find something and surely you can find something colourful!”

That’s why I only made this a 5 day challenge. I’ve heard so many other people say that they’ve enthusiastically taken on a 30 day, 100 day or even 365 day challenge and they just became completely fed up after a while. I’m normally very protective of my enjoyment of photography that I would never do anything to kill my enthusiasm. So, if last night is anything to go by, 5 days will be just enough!

I hope you find enough mini challenges to keep you happy this week!