As you know, my beloved Thursday Morning Photo Group (Now on Fridays) means the world to me. When we gather, we generally have a lot to talk about! Personal projects, issues that have come up for us, new gear... It's all on the table. The group germinated from classes that we all took together, and one thing we missed each time we met was bringing and sharing our own photographs. I can't tell you how much it helps to have weekly or monthly projects to keep your eye sharp.

So this summer we began adding prompts to our gatherings, starting with a classic scavenger hunt. Each member of the group submitted a word, and we had the bulk of the summer to "hunt" for our photos, with all photos being due at a date late in August. Having such a long time to work on the project was a blessing and a curse, and to be honest, I think most of us finished the bulk of our photos in that last week or two before they were due. And still, I carried each of the words in my mind as I went about my life over those summer weeks.

Our words (as you see) were: stairs, shadow, texture, emotion (joy), milk, wine, alone and flower. Some shots, in typical scavenger fashion, I happened across. That's what happened with "stairs." Most of the others were constructed. I thought about how I wanted to interpret the word.

There were fits and starts with some (milk was particularly frustrating, until I decided to play off of my wine shot), and some were immediate hits, like emotion. Those wine and milk shots have me thinking I'd like to play around with a food series like that, and you may notice that flower and alone aren't pictured here. The shots I used for those words did lead to another project, one which I'm not quite ready to share.

We're still playing around in our group. Now, rather than a list, we're each putting one wod in a bowl and taking turns drawing. Last time I got tiny, and those paddle boarding photos from Tuesday's post were an attempt to play around with that prompt. I'll share the photo that won that round next week. I had some hits and misses with it, but I pushed myself for sure.

Next up on the docket? Well, tomorrow we have some self-portraits due. YIKES. I'm marginally pleased with how mine turned out, although it didn't completely match my vision. Does it ever? (And besides, I can't remember where I saw my inspiration photo, so...hmmm) . After that? I have egg. You know I'll have fun with that one.