Tag Archives: The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons: September 2017

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September is here and brought autumn with her. This is the third consecutive year that I cover September in this challenge and after this (as you probably already know) there’s only 3 months left of the year.

Oslo Opera, Bjørvika.

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The Changing Seasons: August 2017

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August – late summer/early autumn. The days are shorter, it’s getting darker and colder, but despite of some warm and sunny days: the summer is getting cornered.

Såpeboble

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The Changing Seasons: July 2017

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In July I did some trekking at the famous Romsdalseggen in magnificent Norway.

View from Romsdalseggen

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The Changing Seasons: June 2017

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All phone photos for «The Changing Seasons» this month. The past month I’ve only shot portraits, which isn’t really suitable for this challenge… There’s still some days to go, but my schedule is packed till the end of the month.

A phone photo, but not a phone photo.

 

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The Changing Seasons: May 2017

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On the 17th of May Norway celebrated its constitution day – a cultural, national heritage. I documented some of it in my May post of «The Changing Seasons».

17th of May

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The Changing Seasons: April 2017

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One Norwegian poet once said: «Jeg velger meg April (I choose April).» Well, April is here and so is «The Changing Seasons».

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The Changing Seasons: March 2017

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«The Changing Seasons» is back once again…

Fuck Up Point in Oslo – my V2 this month

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The Changing Seasons: January 2017

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The Changing Seasons is here again. Like they say: “new year, new possibilities”, or perhaps you’re one of those people who don’t want to get out of your comfort zone? In that case: “New year, same, same”. Either way you’re welcome to join this challenge that will run throughout the year.

Havnelageret, Langkaia 1, Oslo.

Havnelageret, Langkaia 1, Oslo.

How you interpret “the changing seasons” is all up to you: a painting or perhaps a digital manipulation? One photo, a gallery with plenty of photos? Photos of the same place each month or different spots? A recipe (with an illustration photo that you’ve shot), your aging face, your declining health? Street, flash or portrait photography?
Be creative or don’t.

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The Changing Seasons: November 2016

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We had winter for a week or so, but it’s back to grey & wet again. Blah, blah, blah. November.

October was colorful, November is twig season and December is holiday season. November was a good month and it had a few slightly magic moments: the highlight was my trip to Marseille, but Oslo also had its moments. Here’s my November gallery:
(P.S. last month I did a minor change in the info about this challenge, as usual you can read it after the gallery)

November: Noseless Franklin D Roosevelt
November: Frankie will get his nose back.
Akershus Fortress
Akershus Fortress
Aker Brygge seen from Akershus Fortress
Aker Brygge seen from Akershus Fortress
Akershus Fortress
Akershus Fortress
Akershus Fortress
Aker Brygge
Aker Brygge
Moose, Aker Brygge
Moose, Aker Brygge
Aker Brygge
Aker Brygge
Skatepark at Aker Brygge
Aker Brygge
Aker Brygge
Aker Brygge
Aker Brygge
November: The Royal Palace
The Royal Palace park.
Hegdehaugsveien
Some berries. Probably not edible ones..
Cityscape / night photo
Cityscape / night photo
Noi Siamese III. He’s from Thailand, but runs a tattoo studio in Oslo.

What’s this «Changing Seasons» blogging challenge?

«The Changing Seasons 2016» is a blogging challenge with two versions: the original (V1) which is purely photographic and the new version (V2) where you can allow yourself to be more artistic and post a painting, a recipe, a digital manipulation, or simply just one photo that you think represents the month. Anyone with a blog can join this challenge and it’ll run throughout 2017.
It doesn’t matter if you couldn’t join the first month(s), late-comers are welcomed.
These are the rules, but they’re not written in stone – you can always improvise, mix & match to suit your own liking:

These are the rules for Version 1 (The Changing Seasons V1):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery.
  • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.

These are the rules for Version 2 (The Changing Seasons V2):

    • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
    • Each month, post one photo (recipe, painting, drawing, whatever) that represents your interpretation of the month.
    • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!

TheChangingSeasons_6367

Links to participants:

The Changing Seasons: October 2016

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Autumn has definitely arrived. Colorful leaves on the trees and the ground. Rainy days, cold, chilly, then suddenly a couple of “warm” and sunny days. It’s a beautiful season, but at the same time it means that winter is coming.

Here’s my gallery this month: a couple of the photos are from the last days of September, but most of them from the beginning of October.

Oslo Opera House
SALT is an art project. These constructions were placed at Sandhornøya the summer of 2015.
SALT is an art project. These constructions were placed at Sandhornøya the summer of 2015. I have some photos of them there at the beach in the North of Norway, but when I looked for them I realized that I’ve forgotten to post the photos…
Fire trucks at Rådhuskaia (City Hall Docks).
Flowers at Rådhuskaia (City Hall Docks).
October: Train tracks bathed in early morning sunlight.
Cityscape
Rådhuskaia / City Hall Docks
Akershus Festning / Akershus Fortress
October: Someone stole Franklin D Roosevelt’s nose.
A tank outside Forsvarsmuseet (Defence Museum).
Beautiful colors. Akershus Festning / Akershus Fortress.
Leaves
Leaves on a bench.
Enerhaugen
Akershus Festning / Akershus Fortress
Akershus Festning / Akershus Fortress
Plassmajor (klossmajor?)
Akershus Festning / Akershus Fortress
Akershus Festning / Akershus Fortress

V2: My Version 2 this month

In 2012 I shot a photo of Akerselva (Aker River) one early morning. Yesterday I went there again to re-shoot the area, not only that particular place, but several spots along the river. You can never fully recreate a photo and get the same result, because it’s too many random things that you have no control over, but it’s still fun to re-shoot places and compare the shots afterwards. In 2012 I was there early in the morning, yesterday in the afternoon, so obviously the light was different, but also the foliage. Different cameras and optics were used in the two shots.
I’ve added the original photo for comparison.

Re-shoot of Akerselva (2016)
Akerselva is beautiful during autumn.

All the photos from yesterday’s photo-walk is uploaded to my Flickr account, so make sure to check out the gallery there.
Here’s another one for comparison, it was taken next to Hønse Lovisas Hus:

Hønse Lovisas Hus (2016)
Akerselva, by CardinalGuzman.wordpress.com Focal length: 24 mm Exp: 20 s Aperture: f/7.1 ISO: 200

There’s a lot of Akerselva photos in the Flickr gallery, plus some videos from the opening of the local skate park.

What’s this «Changing Seasons» blogging challenge?

«The Changing Seasons 2016» is a blogging challenge with two versions: the original (V1) which is purely photographic and the new version (V2) where you can allow yourself to be more artistic and post a painting, a recipe, a digital manipulation, or simply just one photo that you think represents the month. Anyone with a blog can join this challenge and it’ll run throughout 2017.
It doesn’t matter if you couldn’t join the first month(s), late-comers are welcomed.
These are the rules, but they’re not written in stone – you can always improvise, mix & match to suit your own liking:

These are the rules for Version 1 (The Changing Seasons V1):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery.
  • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.

These are the rules for Version 2 (The Changing Seasons V2):

    • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
    • Each month, post one photo (recipe, painting, drawing, whatever) that represents your interpretation of the month.
    • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!

TheChangingSeasons_6367

Links to participants:

The Changing Seasons: September 2016

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Gamlebyen Sport & Fritid

100% boredom as usual: Last month I had the privilege to exclaim “Summer vacation is over and it was freaking awesome!”. This month I can reveal that the autumn is here and that it has been extremely average. Absolutely nothing exciting has happened in the month that has passed. You can’t win every time.

Here’s this month’s «The Changing Seasons»:

Oslo is so boring these days, that this is what they’re all hoping for…
September: War at the Opera.

What’s this «Changing Seasons» blogging challenge?

«The Changing Seasons 2016» is a blogging challenge with two versions: the original (V1) which is purely photographic and the new version (V2) where you can allow yourself to be more artistic and post a painting, a recipe, a digital manipulation, or simply just one photo that you think represents the month. Anyone with a blog can join this challenge and it’ll run throughout 2016. It doesn’t matter if you couldn’t join the first month(s), late-comers are welcomed. These are the rules, but they’re not written in stone – you can always improvise, mix & match to suit your own liking:

These are the rules for Version 1 (The Changing Seasons V1):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery.
  • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.

These are the rules for Version 2 (The Changing Seasons V2):

    • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
    • Each month, post one photo (recipe, painting, drawing, whatever) that represents your interpretation of the month.
    • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!

Links to participants:

I’ve designed some shirts. Check them out here:

kvinner-spreadshirt-1123203

Norwegian shop (NOK):
https://shop.spreadshirt.no/1123203/

English (EURO):

http://shop.spreadshirt.no/100035802

TheChangingSeasons_6367

The Changing Seasons: August 2016

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Summer vacation is over and it was freaking awesome!

Now I’m back at work and haven’t had the time to process all of the photos from this summer yet but, as you can see from my previous post, I’ve posted the ones from the Titanic International Tattoo Convention in Belfast. Still I have a bunch from the North of Norway, plus another bunch from a trip I arranged to the famous Norwegian places: Preikestolen, Kjeragbolten and Trolltunga, to process. This was the first time that I arranged such a trip, so you can say it was pretty rare. Blah, blah, blah, here’s this month’s «The Changing Seasons»:

August: Oslo seen from Ekeberg.
August 2016: Oslo cityscape.
Posh neighborhood.
Party at Waqas’ place.
Bygdøylokket
Aker Brygge
August: Aker Brygge panorama
The train tracks
Karl Johans Gate
The Mela festival truck.
The fish boat at Rådhuskaia.
Akershus Fortress / Rådhuskaia

 

V2: My Version 2 this month is (of course) tattoo related.

The name hannya (般若) is a Sino-Japanese word for prajna or wisdom.

The name hannya (般若) is a Sino-Japanese word for prajna or wisdom.

 

What’s this «Changing Seasons» blogging challenge?

«The Changing Seasons 2016» is a blogging challenge with two versions: the original (V1) which is purely photographic and the new version (V2) where you can allow yourself to be more artistic and post a painting, a recipe, a digital manipulation, or simply just one photo that you think represents the month. Anyone with a blog can join this challenge and it’ll run throughout 2016. It doesn’t matter if you couldn’t join the first month(s), late-comers are welcomed. These are the rules, but they’re not written in stone – you can always improvise, mix & match to suit your own liking:

These are the rules for Version 1 (The Changing Seasons V1):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery.
  • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.

These are the rules for Version 2 (The Changing Seasons V2):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post one photo (recipe, painting, drawing, whatever) that represents your interpretation of the month.
  • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!

Links to participants:

Also make sure to out my spreadshirt shop:

kvinner-spreadshirt-1123203

Norwegian shop (NOK):
https://shop.spreadshirt.no/1123203/

English (EURO):

http://shop.spreadshirt.no/100035802

TheChangingSeasons_6367

The Changing Seasons: July 2016

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My changing seasons post this month is a scheduled post.

I don’t have many photos from this month (yet) and the ones that I do have is basically just different takes on the same scene. I went nuts on the post-processing, but it was fun and I don’t regret it! Hehe. Hopefully, after the summer, I’ll have plenty of landscape photos and lots of portraits to share with you.

July: Cityscape and flaming sunset.

I also had time to create something artistic for the V2 (version 2) part of the challenge this month.

nude model monkey skull

This is a double exposure (post-process) of a nude model that I shot in a studio and a monkey skull I captured at a scientific museum (Yes, I’m a geek that sometimes do “boring stuff” like visiting museums).

What’s this «Changing Seasons» blogging challenge?

«The Changing Seasons 2016» is a blogging challenge with two versions: the original (V1) which is purely photographic and the new version (V2) where you can allow yourself to be more artistic and post a painting, a recipe, a digital manipulation, or simply just one photo that you think represents the month. Anyone with a blog can join this challenge and it’ll run throughout 2016. It doesn’t matter if you couldn’t join the first month(s), late-comers are welcomed. These are the rules, but they’re not written in stone – you can always improvise, mix & match to suit your own liking:

These are the rules for Version 1 (The Changing Seasons V1):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery.
  • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.

These are the rules for Version 2 (The Changing Seasons V2):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post one photo (recipe, painting, drawing, whatever) that represents your interpretation of the month.
  • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!

Links to participants:

Also make sure to out my spreadshirt shop:

kvinner-spreadshirt-1123203

Norwegian shop (NOK):
https://shop.spreadshirt.no/1123203/

English (EURO):

http://shop.spreadshirt.no/100035802

TheChangingSeasons_6367

The Changing Seasons: June 2016

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The summer has finally arrived. Here’s this month’s «The Changing Seasons».

I’ve been busy lately and still haven’t visited all your posts from last month. Basically it’s been a mix between a lot of work and a whole lot of nothing. Doing nothing in particular also takes a lot of time. The latest news is that a few days ago I got the following message in my inbox on Instagram: @cguzmanofficial

«Hi Cardinal!
We freaked out with your Instagram feed 🙂
Most probably you already know it, but let us tell you how fantastic is your sense of art. We see hundreds of accounts each month, and yours is something apart.
We can’t believe that you are not followed by thousands, but that’s one of the mysteries of social media…
Anyhow, we are here to back you :D. Honestly, we don’t follow many people, but we think you really deserve it»

Needless to say, but that was an awesome message to find in the inbox.
Anyway, enough blah, blah, blah. Here’s my V1 gallery for «The Changing Seasons». I might, or I might not, post V2 later…

June: the Barcode area.
Downhill in the Barcode
June 2016: Construction area
Sørengautstikkeren
Sørengautstikkeren, with Ekebergåsen in the background.
Sørenga – The city beach
Sørenga – The city beach
Sørengkaia – the city beach.
Sørenga with the Opera House in the background
Floating bridge between the Opera and Sørenga
Sukkerbiten
A crooked HDR panorama
Train tracks, Gamlebyen.
What are you up to tonight? Nothing, just hugging a huge penis.
June: Handheld night photo.
June: Night photo from Ekebergåsen
Ekeberg Restaurant
Water is like a magnet to kids.

 

What’s this «Changing Seasons» blogging challenge?

«The Changing Seasons 2016» is a blogging challenge with two versions: the original (V1) which is purely photographic and the new version (V2) where you can allow yourself to be more artistic and post a painting, a recipe, a digital manipulation, or simply just one photo that you think represents the month. Anyone with a blog can join this challenge and it’ll run throughout 2016. It doesn’t matter if you couldn’t join the first month(s), late-comers are welcomed. These are the rules, but they’re not written in stone – you can always improvise, mix & match to suit your own liking:

These are the rules for Version 1 (The Changing Seasons V1):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery.
  • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.

These are the rules for Version 2 (The Changing Seasons V2):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post one photo (recipe, painting, drawing, whatever) that represents your interpretation of the month.
  • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!

Links to participants:

 

  • I’ll add links to your posts here until the end of the month.

Also make sure to out my spreadshirt shop:

kvinner-spreadshirt-1123203

Norwegian shop (NOK):
https://shop.spreadshirt.no/1123203/

English (EURO):

http://shop.spreadshirt.no/100035802

TheChangingSeasons_6367

The Changing Seasons: April 2016

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“The Changing Seasons” is a little bit late this month. I messed up the dates, got busy writing on a long post and suddenly the 20th of April had passed already… Oops!

I had to hurry up and get this post ready this morning and here is the gallery for April:

Big hill for a small guy.
My son modelling for my spreadshirt shop (see link at the bottom of this post).
Things are tuning blue and green.
Good morning Oslo.
April: blooming “Russeblåstjerne”. Scilla siberica (Siberian squill or wood squill) in English.
Good afternoon Oslo.
Slivovice
We celebrated my son’s birthday.

I’ve been playing a lot of guitar this month. Both alone and with other people. There was a jam-session with some couchsurfers earlier this month (you can check it out in one of my previous posts) and I’ve been jamming with an ukulele playing friend of mine. That’s why this guitar is my V2 photo this month.

One of my guitars.

One of my guitars.

What’s this «Changing Seasons» blogging challenge?

«The Changing Seasons 2016» is a blogging challenge with two versions: the original (V1) which is purely photographic and the new version (V2) where you can allow yourself to be more artistic and post a painting, a recipe, a digital manipulation, or simply just one photo that you think represents the month. Anyone with a blog can join this challenge and it’ll run throughout 2016. It doesn’t matter if you couldn’t join the first month(s), late-comers are welcomed. These are the rules, but they’re not written in stone – you can always improvise, mix & match to suit your own liking:

These are the rules for Version 1 (The Changing Seasons V1):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery.
  • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.

These are the rules for Version 2 (The Changing Seasons V2):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post one photo (recipe, painting, drawing, whatever) that represents your interpretation of the month.
  • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!

Links to participants: 

Also make sure to out my spreadshirt shop:

kvinner-spreadshirt-1123203

Norwegian shop (NOK):
https://shop.spreadshirt.no/1123203/

English (EURO):

http://shop.spreadshirt.no/100035802

The Changing Seasons: March 2016

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Time for another “Changing Seasons” post. If you don’t know this challenge, you can read more about it at the bottom of this post or in the introduction post. Those of you who follow the news and such, are probably aware that it’s March by now. This means brighter & warmer days here in this part of the world.

I haven’t taken a lot of photos in March – I’m still in this kind of hibernating winter mode, but I did manage to get enough photos for a gallery. No exceptional photos, but acceptable results from a photographer that’s been busy hibernating.
P1030985

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The Changing Seasons: January 2016

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Welcome to this challenge that’s called «The Changing Seasons 2016». As most of you already know, there are two versions to choose from this year; the original (V1) which is purely photographic and the new version (V2) where you can allow yourself to be more artistic and post a painting, a recipe, a digital manipulation, or simply just one photo that you think represents the month. Anyone with a blog can join this challenge and it’ll run throughout 2016.

The bikes in Bjørvika

The bikes in Bjørvika

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The Changing Seasons Recap 2015

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This is the last post in The Changing Seasons 2015. Michelle just posted her photos from December as well, and as we were writing back and forth in her comment section, I realized that I also had a few photos from December 2015 to share with you.

Oslo, December 2015.
Oslo, December 2015.
Oslo, December 2015.
Oslo, December 2015.
Oslo, December 2015.
Santa, dog and a model.
Santa, dog and a model.
Oslo, December 2015.
Oslo, December 2015.
Oslo, December 2015.

My December photos were taken when I went out for a shoot with model Thea and her dog Kilo.

In the beginning of this challenge (in January 2015) we had 27 participants (not including me). When February and March came along, we’d reached around 32, but when summer arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, the amount of participants dropped drastically. Now that it’s December 2015 we’re counting 11 participants (still not including me). For various and unknown reasons (time, inspiration, health, shit hit the brain fan, etc, etc,) a lot of people left during the year, but if they want to, they’ll have a chance to do a comeback in 2016 when this challenge continues. If you read the introduction to the 2016 version of the challenge, you’ll notice that there’s two versions & the rules have changed slightly.

I was planning to create a participants gallery with photos from throughout the year, but it turned out to be too time-consuming – that’s why I’ll stick to showing you how the different parts of the world looked like from the participants point of view in January 2015. Not all the participants are included, because some bloggers had deleted their posts and some joined later during the year.

angleandviews.wordpress.com
belgianstreets.wordpress.com
bethloft.co.uk / woolgathering.org.uk
ceceliafutch.wordpress.com
collinesblog.wordpress.com
debrabooks.wordpress.com
debs-world.com
eastsheenliving.wordpress.com
empireoflights.wordpress.com
lessywannagohome.blogspot.be
luciledegodoy.wordpress.com
michellelunatophotography.wordpress.com
musingsofafrequentflyingscientist.wordpress.com
mylifelivedfull.wordpress.com
smallbluegreenwords.wordpress.com
teepee12.wordpress.com
terriwebsterschrandt.wordpress.com
thebeespeak.wordpress.com
thestorytellersabode.wordpress.com
viaja2.wordpress.com

 

 

Here’s some of the randomness that I have captured for this challenge:

Early morning winter light.
A panoramic shot of Bjørvika (shot in portrait position).
The bikes in Bjørvika
Some street art
We never made it to the beach, because on our way there we got busy with this activity…
The Barcode and some ducks
Frognerbekken
Barcode Bikers Crew
Night photography: Vannspeilet.

At times, I found it diificult to post something every month, but since I was running this challenge I had to stick to the schedule. Some months I felt that didn’t have enough, or not good enough photos, and one month I nearly forgot all about it (I remebered the evening before). Anyway, that’s what I’ve learned from this challenge: it was more difficult than what I initially thought it would be. The best thing about it is that it kept me going: I had to produce something and I’ve also heard from another participant that this challenge was the only thing that kept her blogging throughout the year. For me that was pretty cool to hear (thanks!).

Anyway, thanks to everyone for participating (also to those that didn’t complete the full year – it was still interesting to get a glimpse from your parts of the world!).

If you want to join this challenge next year, you can read the full introduction here: https://cardinalguzman.wordpress.com/2015/12/14/changing-seasons-introducing-2016/ In short, these are the rules for 2016 and my first post will be live somewhere between the 20-30th of January:

The Changing Seasons V1 (version 1 – the same that we’ve been doing in 2015):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  •     Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery.
  • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.

The Changing Seasons V2 (a new twist):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post one photo (a digital maniulation, a recipe with a photo, a painting, a drawing, or something similar) that represents your interpretation of the month.
  • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!

You can also mix or combine the two versions as you please. Do V1 this month, V2 that month, do them both, V2 with 17 photos, V1 with one photo. It’s all up to you.

Bangkok, November 2015

Bangkok, November 2015

Happy new year to all my readers!

 

 

Blog Events @ Dailypost

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The Changing Seasons is now on WordPress’ list of events (Thank you Mr. Huberman!). Hopefully this will attract new bloggers to join us in 2016. Please read yesterday’s post for the full introduction.

dps-events-cguzman

Over at dailypost.wordpress.com, you’ll find The Changing Seasons, plus all the other events:

Yesterday I posted the introduction to The Changing Seasons 2016:
https://cardinalguzman.wordpress.com/2015/12/14/changing-seasons-introducing-2016/

My friend Paula, is also running a blog event. It’s called Thursday’s Special (because Thursday’s are special, almost being the weekend and all…). She has different themes each week and today her theme is backlit.

Changing Seasons Introducing 2016

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This post was meant to be a recap of the Changing Seasons 2015 and a presentation of the challenge «The Changing Seasons» that will run throughout 2016.

EDIT (21.11.2016): I will also host this challenge in 2017.

After I wrote this, I realized that it’s too many words to add a recap as well, so the recap of 2015 will come later. As most of you are already aware of – either because you are a regular visitor of this blog, or because you’ve been participating in this challenge throughout 2015 – I’ve been hosting The Changing Seasons. My original thought was to keep the challenge going for one year, but a couple of bloggers mentioned that they’d like to keep it up and then Lucile gave me that final push that I needed to make up my mind and keep it going. (Thanks Lucile!).

TheChangingSeasons_6367

This is the official emblem/logo whatever for this challenge. You can use it if you want to.

For those of you who missed it, here’s the how I originally presented this challenge in january 2015:

“I’d like you to join me on this project: Find a location near your home, take somewhere between 5-20 photos and post them in a gallery in your blog. Continue to do this every month. For my project I’ve chosen the general area “downtown Oslo”, but if you like to, you can choose a more specific area like a park or a building. It doesn’t even have to be a city. If you live on the countryside, there’s probably plenty of locations to choose from nearby: a field with some trees, a beach, a mountain, or just a simple dirt road? It can be whatever. Just keep the project going throughout the year. Try to shoot every month, so that in the end of the year, you’ll have a nice and diverse set of photos in your portfolio. The idea is to capture all the changes: the seasons, the weather, different times of the day, some night photography perhaps?
Also, the idea is to build your portfolio and train your eye.”

These were/are the rules (The Changing Seasons V1):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery.
  • Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.

Now… New year, same-ish rules, plus some minor adjustments.

The rules will basically be the same, but for The Changing Seasons 2016 there will be 3 alternatives:

  1. You can do like we all did in 2015, then you’ll follow the same rules like before (see the short presentation above).
  2. You can choose the new version if the challenge (presentation follows).
  3. You can do a mix: do both the new & the old version each month, or mix them up as you feel like: the new version in January, the old version in February & March, then the new one, etc, etc.
    It’s all up to you and your schedule.

Here are the rules for the new, updated version of The Changing Seasons (The Changing Seasons V2):

  • Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
  • Each month, post one photo (recipe, painting, drawing, whatever) that represents your interpretation of the month.
  • Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!

«OK… What do you mean with “one photo that represents your interpretation of the month”?»
This can be a photo, a painting, a drawing or a digital manipulation of what YOU think about when you try to picture the specific month: what do you associate with the months? For example, if you’re an American, April might mean Spring Break (or the fond memory of spring break). Perhaps you associate July with summer holidays on the beach. What about that friend of your that has his/hers birthday in March and always throws the best parties? January? Winter cabins in the woods perhaps? Perhaps you’re one of those lucky persons that are travelling the world in 2016? In that case the choice is easy: “It’s January and I’m in Australia. It’s February and I’m here in Azerbaijan, March is the perfect month to visit Camp Barneo (Camp Barneo (Russian: Лагерь Бaрнео) is a private Russian temporary ice base established annually since 2002 on an ice floe relatively close to the North Pole), etc, etc.”

The choice is yours and it’s all up to you: use your creativity and show us your interpretation of each single month.

So, you can either choose the original version (V1) and follow the old rules, you can do the 2016 version of the challenge (V2) and follow the new rules. Alternatively you can mix them up as you please.

friday

No, unfortunately it’s not Friday today kiddo. (Just a random photo to break up the text a little bit).

V2, the 2016 version, makes it easy for those of you who are constantly on the move: changing places because of jobs, moving to another place, travelling the world… It’s also a great option if you want to push your creativity. Think of it as creating your own calendar for the year (if you’re pleased with the result when 2016 comes to an end, you can actually print your own personal calendar and give it to your family/friends as a gift, or just make one for yourself).
Another option is to think of it as some sort of diary: “in May I spent a lot of time redecorating my kitchen (and here’s the result), in September I shot portraits (so you’ll post a portrait)”.
You’re a food blogger? No problem! January is winter and soup time. June is barbecuing with friends (just make sure to present your recipes with a photo, but you probably do that already anyway).

If you choose to do the original version of the challenge, it can also be nice with a break now and then. Because, let’s face it, even if it’s just once per month, it can actually be difficult to go out and take photos of the same place for a whole bunch of reasons: you’re tired of the area, you have personal things happening in your life, it’s cold outside and you prefer staying inside when the temperatures are acting silly…

As you can see, V2 has a lot of benefits, but so has V1! V1 is very good for consistency (shooting the same place, forcing you to see the same place ‘with new eyes’), it gives you a nice portfolio, it also gives you the option to try new photographic techniques that you might not be so familiar with: night photos/long-exposures, etc. Also, like I’ve learned (and I know that a several of the participants in 2015 felt the same way); looking for photo opportunities in your own area, makes you discover new things about it. I’ve walked some new streets (new to me) and I’ve seen a couple of new places that I probably wouldn’t have if it weren’t for this challenge.

Why do I have to tag my posts with the tags #TheChangingSeasons and #MonthlyPhotoChallenge?
That’s because it makes it very easy for the other participants to find your post (if you’re running your blog on the WordPress platform). Here you can read about “creating a list and follow tags in the WordPress reader”:
https://cardinalguzman.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/create-a-list-and-follow-tags-in-the-wordpress-reader/

Join the challenge and spread the word.

I hope that this challenge sounds interesting to you and that you’ll choose to join us in 2016. I always appreciate a link back to my blog and a comment with a link to your post, but that’s optional and not one of the official rules. Even the official rules aren’t really rules, but more like guidelines. In 2015, several of the other bloggers (myself included) posted way more photos than the official guidelines on 5-20 photos (for example in July I shot a wild amount of photos).

During 2015 my posts were up on the 7th each month, while the other participant could choose to post whenever they wanted to. For me that was a bit strict and on my November post (the one I posted on December the 7th) I realized on the evening of the 6th that I had to write-up the post and publish it before I went to bed. It also felt wrong to publish everything with a one month lag: January stuff in February, February in March etc.
That’s why, in 2016, I’ll give my self some of the same freedom that the other participants had and I’ll publish my posts in the end of the month (January in the end of January, February in the end of, well, you probably get the point already). Sometime between the 20th – 30th/31st, my monthly posts will be published. I hope that you’ll publish your posts within that same period, but you’re free to do as you please.

In 2016 I’ll do V2, but if I’ve been around with my camera and have photos from downtown Oslo that I want to share, I might throw in a gallery in the same post (yes, you can do that too if you want to. Who’s gonna stop you?).

Join in, tell your fellow bloggers to join. Use WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telefax, whatever your platform and social media might be.

Hoping to see your first entry in this challenge (or your continuation from 2015) towards the end of January 2016!

(If you want to see my previous posts, just follow this tag: #TheChangingSeasons (see how easy it is with just a simple tag).

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Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons 09

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Autumn is here already, but I still have late summer photos to show you for «The Changing Seasons». All the photos in this gallery were shot in August.

August means the end of summer and back to work, so it hasn’t been nearly as great as July was, but I met up with fellow blogger Joanne Sisco and I’ve had a few Couchsurfers visiting, attended a couple of events, plus I went for a trip to Italy (of course I’ll post photos from this later and I still have more photos to share from my trip to Sandhornøya in the North of Norway).

The Opera

The Opera

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Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons 08

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Time for another post in my series «The Changing Seasons». All the photos in this gallery were shot in July.

July has been a fantastic month! Three weeks of vacation and plenty of things to do: I’ve had a lot of Couchsurfers staying with me, from different places such as: Israel, Poland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Russia. Whenever I have Couchsurfers visiting, I try my best to show them the city and to socialize. This has also been a great opportunity to take plenty of photos: photographically speaking, July has been an extremely productive month – considering the number of photos taken (creatively speaking, perhaps not so much since most of the photos are just quick snaps). I’ve also taken my son on trips to both Dovre and to the North of the country (more posts will come from Sandhornøya shortly, I’ve already posted two). If you want to see mountain photos from Dovre, you should check out my Musk Ox Safari posts. (You’ll find links to all these posts in the end of this one).

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You have probably forgotten about this, but throwing stones in the water is a lot of fun.

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