JANUARY CHALLENGE – MULTIPLE EXPOSURE PHOTOGRAPHY
The first time I tried multiple exposure photography was over 20 years ago, when I’d taken an elective in photography at University (I was studying Fine Art, majoring in Paining!). This was back before digital cameras existed and it was actually easier to do multiple exposure in camera as you could take your first shot, then you just didn’t wind the camera on to the next shot, instead taking your second shot over the top of the same frame on the negative roll. I loved the unknown of it. The mystery of what would turn out, especially as you then had to wait to develop the negatives and print in the dark room too! I also loved that you could literally create layers of interest and meaning in one image. So when I was thinking about a challenge for January, this technique popped in to my head as a pertinent way of talking about a particular date in January. Read on for the brief…
THE CHALLENGE BRIEF
Apart from January 1st, which for most people disappears in the blink of an eye as they recover from the night before, the 26th is the date that stands out in January. This date – formally known as Australia Day – means many things to many people. BBQ’s with mates. Getting a day off work. Triple J’s Hottest 100. Officially, Australia day is the national day of Australia. It marks the arrival of the first fleet in 1788. This is where it gets difficult, because the arrival of the first fleet wasn’t great for everyone, especially not Australia’s Indigenous people, some of whom instead call January 26 Survival Day, for good reason. Your challenge is to pick up your camera and create a multiple exposure photograph that shows what Australia means to you. The image we’ve created in this challenge is our attempt to pay respect to Aboriginal people and the land they cared for, for thousands of years prior to Australia Day.
When I started creating “photography challenges with heart” it was because I didn’t want to just create another photography challenge. There’s millions of them out there, where you can be challenged to capture the best bird photo, or the best photo showing contrast. That’s great for improving skills, but I wanted our challenges to be more than just skill based. I wanted to encourage everyone who picks up their camera, to not only continue learning (and learning cool new techniques), but to open their hearts, reflect, realise the power an image can have in starting a conversation and really consciously create. Thanks for joining the challenge!
Don’t forget to share them on social media and use the hashtag #withcamerainhand and #wcihchallenge and we’ll celebrate you by sharing them too!
Special thanks to Alison Shirley for her help to create this challenge.
