Woke Up This Morning With the Photography Blues? Be Inspired With a Photo Challenge for 2024

Woke Up This Morning With the Photography Blues? Be Inspired With a Photo Challenge for 2024

There is always the risk of getting the photographer’s equivalent of writer’s block. You might discover that your photos are the same as what you shot before and you need a change. Here are some ways to inspire and motivate you including a photography challenge to get your creativity flowing.

Most of the time we get excited by photography. If we didn't we wouldn't be photographers, would we? I’ve certainly taken my camera for a walk and ended up with too many photos to process.

However, there have been times when I have been stuck in a rut and not inspired at all. I’ve even headed out before dawn – my favorite time of day – composed the shot I had planned and then not bothered pressing the shutter. At other times, I’ve got home and just deleted everything.

So, how can we get around waking up with the photography blues? The secret is to do photography that is out of the ordinary. For me, this means planning ahead and then setting off with a plan. But for that planning, I must have a purpose and that requires sources of inspiration.

Recently, I have been inspired by the amazing wildlife where I live.

Always Take the Weather With You

One such source of inspiration for me is the weather. Glorious sunrises, thunderstorms and torrential downpours, thick fog, cloud inversions, snow, sandstorms, and strong winds can all help to make photos more interesting.

There is a plethora of weather apps online, but for accuracy, I particularly like the UK’s Met Office app as it’s accurate. It also gives sunrise and sunset times and it’s great for planning a shoot.

Don’t Be Afraid to Be Different

I also try something different to spark enthusiasm. Here are a few things I do.

Every year, through my work, I get to handle dozens of different cameras. Some intrigue me because of novel features or clever design, while others I find bland and uninspiring as they are so similar to many other models on the market. Nevertheless, handling any equipment that’s different or new to me usually gets me wanting to use it. It’s one of the reasons I like writing gear reviews.

Experimenting with wildlife photography.

I’m not suggesting you must sell and change everything for a different make, although I see lots of people doing that. Top-of-the-range cameras that are just a few years old are a fraction of the price of when they were released. So, adding to your gear list doesn't have to be unaffordable. Furthermore, lower-end cameras, even old ones, can produce fabulous results.

Taken with a bridge camera when I lived in East Africa back in 2004. Although new, high-end cameras can do things and achieve results that old cameras couldn't, you can still get good shots with older, lower-end gear.

Currently, I'm in the process of moving home, and the place we are hoping to buy has space for a darkroom. I'm going to be dabbling with film. It's something I've neglected for a long time because setting up a darkroom where I currently live is a hassle. Even if you don't have a darkroom, it's still possible to send reels of film off to be developed but that didn't appeal to me. I have a collection of old film cameras crying out to be used.

Talking of old cameras, adaptors to fit analog lenses onto new cameras are widely available and affordable, as are some of the old lenses. The results can be intriguing.

Shot with an old Olympus 50mm f/1.4 analog lens.

I also play with different genres. I have recently started to take wildlife photography more seriously and it’s fascinating. I’ve also recently bought a macro lens, although it’s barely been out of the box, so that will be on the agenda for next year.

Getting Better All the Time

One really popular way of keeping inspired is to do a photography challenge. That is taking one photo a day, or once a week to a prescribed list. I've done a few in the past and they helped me hone my skills. I've also put a few together.

You may have noticed that the subtitles of this article are either song titles or lyrics. Below are two lists of song titles that can inspire you to take photos. I put this together ten years ago for a photography forum that has long since disappeared and have swapped some of the songs for others. The idea is to take a weekly or daily photo that is inspired by the title or lyrics of the song.

The photo can either be a literal or metaphorical interpretation, and some are harder to achieve than others. Starting January 1st, 2024, why not give it a go?

You don't necessarily have to do them in the same order as shown below. If Winter Wonderland is better suited to June than December where you live, then it's okay to shuffle them around. Also, If you live somewhere arid and "Gone Fishing" is impossible to shoot, slot an alternative song in there.

Feel free to post your challenge photos in the Fstoppers Gallery, or put your images in the comments here so I will get a notification. Alternatively, post them on Instagram, and please tag me (@ivortog); it will be great to see them.

Weekly Photography Challenge 2024

  1. Help Me Make it Through the Night
  2. Sentimental Journey
  3. My Ding-a-ling
  4. Got my Mind Set on You
  5. Bless your Beautiful Hide
  6. Oh, Pretty Woman
  7. Superstition
  8. Wooden Heart
  9. Upside Down
  10. Think Too Much
  11. Rave On
  12. High Noon
  13. Let Me Roll It
  14. Steam Heat
  15. Monster Mash
  16. If I Had a Hammer
  17. Purple Haze
  18. Hard to Handle
  19. Little Boxes
  20. Everybody's Talking
  21. Reach Out (I'll be there)
  22. So Far Away
  23. Somebody to love
  24. Half as Much
  25. Dreamer
  26. Hurt
  27. Brown Sugar
  28. Pictures of Matchstick Men
  29. Light My Fire
  30. When the Sun Goes Down
  31. Wish You Were Here
  32. What is Life?
  33. Still Crazy After all These Years
  34. High Hopes
  35. In My Life
  36. Non je ne Regrette Rien
  37. Once in a While
  38. Mad World
  39. Country Road
  40. Smooth Operator
  41. My Generation
  42. Up, Up and Away
  43. Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes.
  44. The Wanderer
  45. Us and Them
  46. Born to be Wild
  47. Games People Play
  48. Handyman
  49. Respect
  50. All Things Must Pass
  51. You’re so Square
  52. What's Up?

Daily Photography Challenge 2024

  1. Release Me
  2. Morningtown Ride
  3. Love Me Tender
  4. The Air That I Breathe
  5. Elusive Butterfly
  6. You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
  7. As Time Goes By
  8. You Send Me
  9. All Those Years Ago
  10. Changes
  11. Mind Your Own Business
  12. Mr. Blue Sky
  13. Suddenly I See
  14. You'll Never Know
  15. Seven Wonders
  16. No Values
  17. Gone, Gone, Gone
  18. I Saw Her Again
  19. Strange Brew
  20. I'm Not Like Everybody Else
  21. The Entertainer
  22. Don’t Stop
  23. Forever Autumn
  24. The Beep Beep Song
  25. Like a Rolling Stone
  26. Black is Black
  27. The Marvelous Toy
  28. Old Man
  29. Day-O (banana Boat Song)
  30. Smoke on the Water
  31. Me and You and a Dog Named Blue
  32. Knock Three Times
  33. Those Were the Days
  34. Not Fade Away
  35. Both Sides Now
  36. Crazy
  37. Cars
  38. Your Smiling Face
  39. The Streak
  40. Handle With Care
  41. Amazing Things
  42. Time to Ring Some Changes
  43. Lazy Bones
  44. Don't it Make my Brown Eyes Blue
  45. Ashes to Ashes
  46. Beautiful Day
  47. Let the River Run
  48. Brand New Key
  49. End of the Line
  50. Fire and Rain
  51. Which Side Are You On?
  52. Alone Again, Naturally
  53. Singing In The Rain
  54. Misty
  55. Golden Brown
  56. Good Vibrations
  57. 5D (Fifth Dimension)
  58. Don't Worry, Be Happy
  59. Figure of Eight
  60. Stuck in the Middle With You
  61. Rainy Days and Mondays
  62. Reason to Believe
  63. My Favourite Things
  64. Inside Out
  65. Steamy Windows
  66. Run So Far
  67. What a Wonderful World
  68. It's Too Late
  69. Changes
  70. We Didn't Start the Fire
  71. Ol' Man River
  72. Perfect Day
  73. O' Sole Mio
  74. Ruby Tuesday
  75. I Can't Forget
  76. Telephone Line
  77. Shakin' all over
  78. Blues run the game
  79. In the still of the night
  80. Happy Birthday
  81. Crossroads
  82. Wasn't That a Party
  83. Sound and Vision
  84. Ticket to Ride
  85. Love Me Love My Dog
  86. Daydream
  87. Afternoon Delight
  88. You Got It
  89. Windy
  90. Tapestry
  91. Everybody Knows
  92. Summertime
  93. A Little Less Conversation
  94. Colors
  95. Unforgettable
  96. I Get a Kick out of You
  97. I Can See For Miles
  98. Can't Get it Out of My Head
  99. All By Myself
  100. Sunshine of Your Love
  101. Needle and the Damage Done
  102. Jet
  103. Another Day
  104. Deep Purple
  105. The Last Farewell
  106. I Feel the Earth Move
  107. Slip Sliding Away
  108. "E Lucevan le Stelle" ("When the stars were brightly shining")
  109. Stayin's Alive
  110. Three Flights Up
  111. We Have all the Time in the World
  112. Sometimes When we Touch
  113. Night Fever
  114. Take it easy
  115. The Twist
  116. What's Going On?
  117. Nature Boy
  118. Gone Fishing
  119. Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White
  120. Shelter of your Eyes
  121. This is the Life
  122. Ring of Fire
  123. Take it to the Limit
  124. Handbags and Gladrags
  125. A Taste of Honey
  126. Golden Years
  127. The Last Time
  128. Everyday Angels
  129. Catch the Wind
  130. Makin' Whoopee
  131. Sundown
  132. Come Talk to Me
  133. Play with Fire
  134. All shook up
  135. Last night
  136. Losing My Religion
  137. Sixteen Tons
  138. Down
  139. Steam
  140. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
  141. Mayhem
  142. Without You
  143. Things Go Up
  144. Wild World
  145. Two Out of Three Ain't Bad
  146. I Walk tthe Line
  147. Something in the Air
  148. Ode to Joy
  149. Walk of Life
  150. Catch a Falling Star
  151. Loving You
  152. Moon Shadow
  153. Don’t Think Twice, it's Alright
  154. Bend Me, Shape Me
  155. Ain't that a Shame
  156. You Light Up My Life
  157. Ring My Bell
  158. Dreams
  159. Well Did Ya Evah
  160. The Twelfth of Never
  161. Where Do You Go To My Lovely
  162. Do You Want to Know a Secret?
  163. Cloudy
  164. The Sound of Silence
  165. Days
  166. Why Don't Your Write Me
  167. Move it on Over
  168. Strangers in the Night
  169. I'm on Fire
  170. Living Thing
  171. Sorrow
  172. Food Glorious Food
  173. Oh My What a Shame.
  174. The Second Time
  175. I Drove All Night
  176. Summer in the City
  177. A Whiter Shade of Pale
  178. Something So Right
  179. On the 4th of July
  180. All Right Now
  181. Great Pretender
  182. Twelve Thirty
  183. You're So Vain
  184. I am a Rock
  185. Meet Me on the Corner
  186. Silence is Golden
  187. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
  188. Satisfaction
  189. Empty Chairs
  190. For all we Know
  191. Fire
  192. Nocturne
  193. Wait
  194. Mellow Yellow
  195. Too Much Heaven
  196. Torn
  197. Fame
  198. The Last Thing on my Mind
  199. Our House
  200. It's Friendship
  201. Oh Well
  202. Girl on a Bicycle
  203. Get Up and Go
  204. 5 4 3 2 1
  205. Man of the World
  206. Che Gelida Manina (Your tiny hand is frozen)
  207. King of the Road
  208. Every Breath You Take
  209. On the Road Again
  210. Wonderful Baby
  211. Yesterday
  212. Something Inside So Strong
  213. Dizzy
  214. Late in the Evening
  215. River Deep Mountain High
  216. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
  217. I Want to Break Free
  218. The Little Things We Do
  219. Help!
  220. Autumn Almanac
  221. Bad Moon Rising
  222. Go Your Own Way
  223. Woman
  224. Fields of Gold
  225. Go Where You Wanna Go
  226. Nobody Does it Better
  227. A Day in the Life
  228. Give It Up
  229. Ain't Misbehavin'
  230. You Make Me Feel Brand New
  231. Java Jive
  232. Sunny Afternoon
  233. Where Have All the Flowers Gone
  234. Hesitation Blues
  235. Dedicated to the One I Love
  236. You've Got a Friend
  237. Hit the Road, Jack
  238. It Doesn't Matter Any more
  239. I Feel Free
  240. Anything Goes
  241. If
  242. And I Love You So
  243. Make Me Smile (Come up and see me)
  244. My Eyes Adored You
  245. Kodachrome
  246. The First Cut is the Deepest
  247. I Got Stripes
  248. You Were Always on my Mind
  249. Don’t Look Back in Anger
  250. Things Can Only Get Better
  251. Oops! I Did It Again.
  252. Downtown
  253. All You Need Is Love
  254. Lying, Laughing, Loving, Crying
  255. The Race is On
  256. Won't Get Fooled Again
  257. It Ain't Me Babe
  258. Walk on the Wild Side
  259. Need Your Love so Bad
  260. Spoonfull
  261. Never Wed an Old Man
  262. Silhouettes
  263. These Boots are Made for Walkin'
  264. These are the Days of our Lives
  265. True Blue Wonders
  266. A Fool Such As I
  267. Two Hearts
  268. Parklife
  269. Oh Happy Day
  270. Home and Dry
  271. Gentle on my Mind
  272. Easy
  273. Waterfalls
  274. Memories are Made of This
  275. Largo al Factotum (I am the factotum)
  276. Bang Bang
  277. Wipe Out
  278. If You Could Read My Mind
  279. All I Really Want to Do
  280. Everyday
  281. In the Mood
  282. Till the Morning Comes
  283. Zero
  284. Ain't No Sunshine
  285. Feelin' Groovy
  286. Born at the Right Time
  287. Try a Little Tenderness
  288. Malted Milk
  289. Something in the Way She Moves
  290. Morning has Broken
  291. Something Stupid
  292. Paint it Black
  293. Homeward Bound
  294. The Frozen Man
  295. Misty
  296. Window Shopping
  297. It Takes Two
  298. Stand by Me
  299. Green, Green Grass of Home
  300. Hello Goodbye
  301. The "In" Crowd
  302. At Seventeen
  303. Wherewithall
  304. Everybody Hurts
  305. Cherry, Cherry
  306. Blowin’ in the Wind
  307. Whispering Grass
  308. Blue Moon
  309. Turn! Turn! Turn!
  310. Funkytown
  311. Castles in the Air
  312. Sit down
  313. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
  314. Four Walls
  315. Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better
  316. Rose Garden
  317. Money for Nothing
  318. In the Summertime
  319. Salt Water
  320. This Land is my Land
  321. Running of Faith
  322. Hakuna Matata
  323. Stardust
  324. Happy trails
  325. We are the Champions
  326. I Hear you Knockingg
  327. I'm a Believer
  328. Up on the Roof
  329. April, Come She Will
  330. Cool Water
  331. Blue Skies
  332. Something's Burning
  333. Another Brick in the Wall
  334. I Saw the Light
  335. A Hazy Shade of Winter
  336. Trouble
  337. I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry
  338. Que Sera Sera
  339. Time is on My Side
  340. Never
  341. Blue
  342. Hallelujah
  343. Trickle Trickle
  344. Maybe I'm Amazed
  345. Secret o' Life
  346. Line 'em Up
  347. I Fall to Pieces
  348. Under Pressure
  349. Talk to the Animals
  350. My Little Town
  351. Imagine
  352. It's a Kind of Magic
  353. You’re my Best Friend
  354. That's Alright, Mama
  355. My Travelling Star
  356. It's Raining Again
  357. Winter has Me in its Grip
  358. In Dreams
  359. Never Going Back Again
  360. Winter Wonderland
  361. Teach your Children
  362. The Long and Winding Road
  363. She's Always a Woman
  364. It Was a Very Good Year
  365. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
  366. The End
Ivor Rackham's picture

A professional photographer, website developer, and writer, Ivor lives in the North East of England. His main work is training others in photography. He has a special interest in supporting people with their mental well-being. In 2023 he accepted becoming a brand ambassador for the OM System.

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2 Comments

is 366 : The End a song title?

if it is not i would include Eva Cassidy's Time after Time

The End is the very last track of The Beatles' Abbey Road album. Yours is a good choice too. Feel free to swap.