A friend and I decided to do a Photo-A-Day challenge for one month. For each day, we have to post one photograph that we have taken on that specific day. It’s just a fun activity to exercise our photographic skills. We can shoot with cameras or cell phones and can use photo editing tools to enhance or alter the photos in any way we see fit.
Late on Tuesday, November 28, 2017, I realized that I had not yet posted a photo for the day. After a quick brainstorm and survey of the objects available to me, I decided to create a nature inspired quick-pic of “Sticks and Stones.”
I set the objects on a white background and took several cell phone pictures from different angles, aiming for a shallow depth of field. When I captured a few images I liked, I used the Snapseed app on my phone to enhance the image. The result was a pretty decent image, in my opinion. But the response from my Facebook friends was better than expected.
I laugh to think that sometimes the images that I spend a lot of time composing and perfecting don’t always become a crowd favorite, while quick-pics or snapshots that I think are “decent” end up being the most favored among my peers. It’s kind of like when I put a lot of effort into fixing my hairstyle for the day and no one says anything. And then contrast that with waking up late, splashing a bit of water on my head and quickly finger-styling my hair just so I can leave the house on time. It’s the quick, messy, no-thought look that seems to win out more times than not. And why is that?
Sticks and stones look good on phones, and messy hair becomes me.