On The Road Again... and Episode 68 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

Implicit in the notion of a road, is the idea that it will take you somewhere (ignoring the fact I've had Talking Heads' "Road to Nowhere" in my head for the past 3 days).

Travel, destinations, journeys, adventure, and returning home, all take place in and around roads.

The end of the road, or even part way along the road, we find ourselves in a different place to where we started. Time and distance has passed, even if it is only to buy a pint of milk from the corner store.

From songs to books to movies, the road has always featured in our stories and tales. It's not just where we will end up, it is what happens along the way – from the people we meet, to the barriers we encounter, to the changes that occur within us because of the experience.

How can we capture some of these ideas then, with our photography?

This week's challenge for the Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres live video podcast is to photograph a road.

Straight, curved or zig-zagging; dry, wet or icy; with or without vehicles, buildings and/or people; quiet or busy; urban or rural; close up or at a distance; open or closed.

What is the road like immediately outside where you live? Or just around the corner? Or are there favourite stretches of road you love to travel along?

This isn't just about the technical challenge of creating an image containing a road, this is more about storytelling. What do you want the viewer to feel when they look at your photo?

See how you get on – I'm really looking forward to seeing what people are going to produce! But if you find you're struggling, then you can still submit a photo you're having difficulty with - just explain the problem and I can include suggestions and ideas in the podcast too.

Place your photo (just the one please) either into this event page in the Discussion section:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1032375187501360/

or into the Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

or if you don't have a Facebook account and are an avid watcher via this blog or YouTube, then email me the image.

Try and get it in before the end of the weekend, or by Monday (26th July) at the latest. Anything that arrives on Tuesday runs the risk of not being included in the podcast.

You can use a phone, tablet, point-and-shoot or DSLR (or mirrorless).

And then, make sure you tune in on Tuesday 27th July at 7.30pm (UK time) where I'll go through the photos, and give comments and feedback, and hopefully we will all become inspired by some of the submissions to go and try out new things with our photography.

Meanwhile, enjoy episode 68 below, where I talk more in-depth about roads in photography and give lots of visual examples...

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0:00 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
06:40 - Understanding Roads in photography - journeys, destinations, stories along the way
29:24 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
1:47:20 - Coming up next week - the ROAD Photo Challenge
1:50:35 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to be notified of new podcasts and behind-the-scenes videos.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/