52 Frames is an online photography community of photography enthusiasts from all walks of life (ranging from novices to experts). Together we strive to improve as photographers by participating in weekly photo challenges.
I joined this on a whim at the beginning of 2026. I thought maybe it would
be the kick I needed to shoot on a more regular basis.
be the kick I needed to shoot on a more regular basis.
Find out more at 52Frames.com
Week 1 - Self Portrait
It's been a full year since I made a self portrait, so it's a good opportunity to shake off the cobwebs.
This was taken with window light only. I originally tried a lighting setup but it wasn't going as I wanted and the space I was in was a mess. My big beautiful window to the rescue!
Slight retouching for some stray hairs, besides that just a white balance adjustment
This was taken with window light only. I originally tried a lighting setup but it wasn't going as I wanted and the space I was in was a mess. My big beautiful window to the rescue!
Slight retouching for some stray hairs, besides that just a white balance adjustment
Week 2 - Rule of Thirds
January in rural Ontario. This day was actually unusually warm and the sunlight had a beautiful diffused quality.
Some basic edits for colour and contrast and removal of a few distracting elements.
Some basic edits for colour and contrast and removal of a few distracting elements.
Week 3 - Get Low
Faster than a lazer pointer, more powerful than a mouse trap, able to leap small tables in a single bound; it's.... just Oliver, showing off his iconic Superman pose
Got low with the 70-200 from a distance because while he may be a SuperCat... he's also a ScaredyCat when it comes to the camera
Got low with the 70-200 from a distance because while he may be a SuperCat... he's also a ScaredyCat when it comes to the camera
Week 4 - Get High
We went out for a drive this past week to enjoy the scenic snow views from the warmth of the Jeep. We stopped at a favourite spot in Apsley to see the river, still rushing through the rapids but with snow and ice along the banks. I took this shot from the bridge looking down. I always like the contrast of dark rushing water to white still snow and ice. Black and white treatment accentuates the abstract nature
Week 5 - Chair
A cell phone shot for this week's challenge. My daughter and her fiance have a mid century modern vibe, and this chair fit in perfectly. I gave it a simple black and white edit.
I wish the curtains had been fully closed, and there's an annoying distraction on the carpet, but removing it gave it an "AI generated" tag, so I left it.
I wish the curtains had been fully closed, and there's an annoying distraction on the carpet, but removing it gave it an "AI generated" tag, so I left it.
Week 6 - Complementary Colours
This was the first week so far that I was very intentional about what I was going to do, as opposed to looking for the right opportunity. The added challenge what that I am spending the week away from home, so I'm out of my normal shooting environment. Luckily I had a big north facing window to shoot in, because I forgot my lights at home 😂
Natural light, nothing crazy in the edit besides denoise in Topaz, added clarity and curves adjustment in Photoshop
Natural light, nothing crazy in the edit besides denoise in Topaz, added clarity and curves adjustment in Photoshop
Week 7 - Unexplored
After a bit of struggle to figure out what I was going to do with this, I realized that there were functions in my camera that were largely unexplored. So after some thought, I set on multiple exposure, specifically with what's known as the Pep Ventosa Technique.
The maximum number of frames I could use was 10, so It's not as soft as I would have liked, but I'm happy with the result. I was reminded that it pays to look into the tools in your hand to see if there's a new way to use them.
The resulting image created in camera is a jpg file, so there was not a lot of data to work with. I removed some distracting elements in the background, increased clarity and cropped to 8x10 because I wasn't as happy with my original composition as it had too much negative space.
The maximum number of frames I could use was 10, so It's not as soft as I would have liked, but I'm happy with the result. I was reminded that it pays to look into the tools in your hand to see if there's a new way to use them.
The resulting image created in camera is a jpg file, so there was not a lot of data to work with. I removed some distracting elements in the background, increased clarity and cropped to 8x10 because I wasn't as happy with my original composition as it had too much negative space.
Week 8 - Shallow Depth of Field
While attempting to shoot with the 50mm f1/4 for the extra challenge, I was out and about and found this remarkable tree in the woods. But how to shoot with shallow dof? Shooting a single image to fit the whole tree would lose the out of focus element that makes f1.4 so appealing. I thought I would try this technique (whose name escapes me) where one shoots several images wide open and then stitches them to create a wide angle shallow dof image. I wasn't very organized about how I was shooting which is why I had a very random 23 frames.
I've never had success with this in the past but I'm super pleased with how this turned out.
I've never had success with this in the past but I'm super pleased with how this turned out.
Week 9 - Window Light
This window is my favourite in my home, because just look at the light 😍. I knew that I would use it for this challenge. I had a bouquet of tulips from a few weeks ago that have been slowly dying. Today they were perfect to be paired with the gorgeous late winter afternoon light.
Week 10 - Chaos
Chaos is not as simple as it first seems. The idea of being intentional about a scene of chaos is actually quite challenging. Several ideas fell flat, and so, running out of time for the challenge, I resorted to the utter chaos that is the garage. It's never been "my" realm, and so this is the state of it. I chose a black and white conversion to give it "some" cohesion, but not so much that it falls outside of the goal.
