Set Days, Best Days

The human condition...fighting change! Im sure we all want set days because we hate the changing days. I wanted to judge by posts made and also by the poll on the sidebar but it isnt quite steady to get an accurate idea of best days. So for now lets pick Thursday and Sunday nights to close challenges until we get a good consensus.

As always comment here, email m24photos@gmail.com, post on facebook for me or m24 page whatever! Give me the two best days for you, even if you think you can only post one, give me the two days you are most likely to post. As always any other word suggestions or any ideas on how you want m24 to function are MOST WELCOMED!

We'll keep this format till we figure out best days and then change. Sure hope that is cool with y'all! Look for new challenge later!

Quick Items

Some quick things!

1) participation - Thanks for the increase lately! It is pretty good. We can get a few more of you to post still. Come on people prove me wrong that you wont post! A challenge within a challenge! oh snap! Dont make me spam you on email/facebook mmhkayy! ;o)

2) Challenge Ideas - go ahead and send me your ideas cus frankly mine havent been a hit historically so help me out :o)

3) new poll on the sidebar.

4) M24 on Facebook become a fan to get reminders! click the sidebar to go to the page

5) Winners Looks like 6 entries ao I used a dice and rolled it three times to get three winners. If one winner was #2 and i rolled it again the second time I just re-rolled till I got a different number. Per the dice winners were Melinda, Kristine, Candace, and Mindy! I will also message the winners now! Thanks again for submitting photos!

Mission 24 Challenge Give Away!!!!!

Alright M24ers I'm going to utter the world wide webs most exciting words. These phrase is right next to Sale, Free, Discount or % off!

GIVEAWAY!!!!!

Yes thats right you heard me GIVEAWAY! Im giving away 4 (FOUR) FREE month long subscriptions to NETFLIX! Yes lets say that again NETFLIXXXXXXXXX!!! So you can enjoy the pleasure of watching movies that are new and old and even TV shows that are new and old online for FREE!

Heres the short and the long! Post a photo for this weeks challenge before deadline (Monday Night). The topic is Family. Copy and paste this link on your facebook or blog and then email the like to m24photos@gmail.com post on the M24 facebook page, my page or in comments here.

Monday night after the duration is over I will contact the winners with the code to enter on netflix website.

LETS GET CRACKIN!

*ps Netflix will probably require to put a debit/credit card on file which isnt charged unless you go over the month long deal. If you want to continue you can. Basically refer to netflix terms and conditions. M24 and I cannot and will not be responsible for any charges from nextflix outside of the free month!

Reminder Broadway Challenge

I'll give another holla for the Broadway challenge. I know that it is fall tv premier time and I know that most of us will be watching can submit a photo during the commerical breaks.

Wait what? who watches commericals anymore...TIVO and DVR killed the commerical stars!

How about just watch one or two commerical breaks and you can get your photo in! mmmkay! Sweet Im looking forward to it all!

Challenge: Broadway Reminder

It's about half way through the time set for the challenge for "Broadway". I think this challenge could go a variety of ways and could potentially be quite easy. Picture with a quick message one or two sentences shouldnt take more than 5 minutes to put on. You guys can do it!

Show me what you got!

Poll Posted

Given that the last challenge was given a week and we have a significant more than the last challenge and more than previous challenges I just want to get an idea of what time frame is best for everyone.

It is obvious to me that it is M24, but it is also obvious that time frame doesnt provide people with enough time to post. So please make your vote on the top right hand side poll! You dont need to comment here unless you feel the need. You can also keep your comment private and email to m24photos@gmail.com

Remember this is your challenge blog so make it your vote known. If it comes out we all like the week time to post better maybe we can work out a name change or something to Mission Weekly or something like that. Though M24 is so so catchy!

Homework...

Hey everyone. I have been thinking about some ways to liven things up again after our lull of summer. :) (I know, I know...you are probably all so sick of me THINKING)

I had this idea last night and figured we would give it a shot.

I loved having the tutorials, but I found it was hard to get people lined up to do it on a regular basis. HOWEVER, being a photography blog, I think everyone has something to offer and contribute regardless of their experience level.

SO--I thought it would be fun to put a general topic up to study up on for 1 week. As you learn something, even one little tip or part that stands out to you, leave a comment under that topic. That way as we are ALL learning little things, we can have places to put our knowledge that we can keep at our fingertips for either looking back to refresh our knowledge or helping others learn what we have.

FOR EXAMPLE:

in a post titled COMPOSURE

Comments would say things like:

RACHEL H:

Before you snap the picture, imagine your picture area divided into thirds both horizontally and vertically. The intersections of these imaginary lines suggest four options for placing the center of interest for good composition. The option you select depends upon the subject and how you would like that subject to be presented.

ELAINE:

You should always consider the path of moving subjects and, generally, leave space in front of them into which they can move. So don't put a runner in positiong to run right off the picture. JOHN: Just as it's usually best to place horizons off center, it's also best to place verticals off center. MARY: I found a great article on this! http://photoinf.com/General/KODAK/guidelines_for_better_photographic_composition_rule_of_thirds.html

That way we can have goals and focus, and everyone will hopefully take part and be able to learn little tidbits about photography themselves--regardless of the camera you have. :)

What do you say?

Hi--it's me. :) New rules...

Hey everyone.

I am back. Hopefully back for good now.

I am sorry it's been a rough summer. I could excuse my life away, but it doesn't take away from the fact that things have been really down here..and down out there too with many of you. I am aware. And it breaks my heart. I wish things could be better for everyone...in an instant.

But, we're here to talk about this blog. So let's all take a deep breath and start over fresh, deal?

Over the past few weeks I have been trying and trying to figure out how to make this blog good for everyone. I have listened to suggestions (some that I found quite hurtful), reworked things, shuffled here and there...and still, no matter what I did, there was STILL someone who wasn't happy.

I have come to the conclusion that ultimately, this is my blog. This is my baby...you know? And if I can't make everyone happy, I should at least make myself happy.

SO, FROM NOW ON...NEW RULES.

Yes, new rules.

We're going back to the roots of this challenge.

24 HOURS. You take the picture. You post. You leave comments for people. You encourage and help each other to be better photographers. You inspire...you feel inspired.

That's what this blog was supposed to be about.

And busy or not, I feel like we need to stay true to the integrity of this blog. Get your mission, submit your picture by the next day.

Period.

Another change?

We are going to stop voting.

I know this will probably ruffle a lot of feathers...I understand that. It is something I have debated over for months now. And ultimately I think that it will be good to put it to rest.

WHY???? I know you are probably dying to know the answer to that one.

Here's my logic.

I have seen a pattern lately where comments on pictures are so scarce, and then all of a sudden when it comes to voting, people pop in and leave their opinions. I am always so surprised because it seems to me that those thoughts and comments would be really helpful if applied to their actual post. I cannot tell you how many people have said how much they WANTED to receive HELP with their photography...CC... ya know? But yet they often hear nothing from anyone.

And that's where I think we need to get back to.

--HELPING each other improve

--ENCOURAGING through words and comments

--GETTING TO KNOW each other by making others posts matter to US.

That's it. That's how I see it. And that's how I think it should be right now.

I am SO glad to have so many wonderful people be a part of this blog. I really hope I can refocus my attentions to meeting each of you and learning something from you. I know, no matter what our level of photography, that we each do have something to share.

Be ready for a new challenge...it's coming tomorrow...just a heads up. :)

CHALLENGE:Inspiration

Before we do this challenge, I have a tidbit of news.

After lots and lots of pondering and debating, I have decided it would probably be best to ease up the content of this blog through the summer months. It seems like so many people are just so busy right now...me being one of them! :) It has been a struggle to have follow through with the tutorials and I only have 2-3 more feature photographers to highlight...

So, I think we will mainly stick to challenges and voting...and once the summer is coming to an end, we will pick back up with our everyday schedule.

IN THE MEANTIME, If you would LIKE to be highlighted as a feature photographer and have not yet received the questionaire, please leave a comment for me and I will email it to you. Also, if ANYONE learns something cool that you want to share for a tutorial, or you have a word you want to submit for a challenge, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PREPOST IT. We have been using the date of 09/09/09 or you can save it as a draft. Either way. I will go in and get them scheduled once you do so.

I am hoping this will ease the burden for many of you who have been helping out with the blog--and also hoping that many of you will be able to contribute little tips and tricks throughout the rest of the summer--it doesn't matter what level of photographer you are. We want to hear from YOU!

If anyone else has any ideas for how things can go more smoothly throughout the summer, I would love to hear them. I apologize that this has taken a backseat to life right now. It's been a really busy summer...which is good...but at the same time I sure do miss the friendships I found here and all the inspiration that I loved coming back to day after day. You are a great group of people...and I feel so honored to know each of you!

Please let me know your thoughts and ideas. I would love to hear how we can change and make things work for everyone so that we can keep the INSPIRATION going around here...

And that, my friends is your challenge...INSPIRATION.

Pictures in tomorrow night, by midnight.
GO!

Mission 24 business -- WACKY WEEK

So, I had so much fun coming up with this challenge idea that I decided we would keep with the theme of mixing things up a little...

One of the things I hear often is that certain days don't always work for challenges...people work that day or are busy...and quite frankly, sometimes I find myself in a rut of hoping I get to go out and leave my house on challenge dates...so I can get a great shot. And I find I am DISCOURAGED when it doesn't happen.

SO...EVERYONE be on your toes. This week will be full of shakin' things up and mixing them all over the place.

We will contunue with a post each day...

BUT, You don't know when the challenges will be or what they will entail....when the feature photographer will pop up, and when the Tutorial will be presented. SO, be checking. I will make sure that each day we have the post done in the morning...

KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED AND BE ON YOUR TOES!

And PLEASE, after the winners are announced, go in and change your submission to say your name so we can all figure out who did what! :) THANKS EVERYONE FOR PLAYING ALONG!

MISSION 24 BUSINESS--all over the place! :)

Is everyone out there pulling their hair out? :) I know, I know...I completely dropped the ball today. I have no idea what day it is! :)

So, a few idea have come in on how we can make this run smooth.

It's called delegation! :)

---Mindy has offered to take on the sidebar area--arrange for the tutorials, etc.

---I know Janelle has been tallying the votes, but I would really like if someone could take over posting the voting post. Janelle, are you up for it? Or someone else? I am open...really.

--I will continue to pop in here and do the Mission 24 business, and add people to the blog.

---A few people have suggested that, just like the feature photographer preposting, we should do the same with words. That way if you think of one, you can just go in and prepost an entry for that word and we will randomly select one to post on Challenge Days. I think that is going to be the best thing. I HAVE EXPLAINED THE PREPOSTING BEFORE...SO IF YOU DON'T KNOW, PLEASE email me and I will explain! hollowayfam@yahoo.com

FOR THE CHALLENGES, please prepost using the date of 10/10/2010. I will then go in and change your prepost day to fill in the schedule and make sure it posts at 6 a.m. so the Eastern time zone can get theirs early enough in the day. Sound good?

-----I would love some ideas you guys have on how we can shake things up a little around here. I am feeling ready for some kind of change...whether that be for a week, or permanent. Something different...any thoughts?

OH, and IF YOU DIDN'T GET THE FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHER QUESTIONAIRE, PLEASE leave a comment or email me so I can get it sent to you! :)

THANKS EVERYONE for hanging in their during my big vacation...glad to be back! :)

Mission 24 business for the day

This will be quick as I am getting ready to head to Utah today.

JUST A REMINDER that we are having the Mission 24 get together tomorrow in Utah---
(Bountiful area). I sent an email out with the address. IF YOU DID NOT GET THAT and want to come, please let me know. Kids are welcome and we hope to have a great time. The Idaho one was a blast, and it made me super excited to meet all of you in Utah!

Also, we started the feature photographer a while back, but I completely dropped the ball posting them while on vacation. I want to start that back up this week, but only have a few people who preposted their with their pictures. So, a reminder for that is that even though most of you emailed me your responses, I realized it would take FOREVER for me to post everyone's pictures. So, I need each of you to go on and post them yourself. It's really easy to prepost.

Just copy and paste your questionairre into a new post. Add your self portrait and your 3 favorite pictures (like you post your pictures for challenges) and then prepost it. To do that, click on POST OPTIONS--it will be just under the your text box on the left hand side.

It will drop down an area that talks about comments and backlinks--don't worry about that stuff. On the right hand side you will see POST DATE AND TIME. PLEASE put in the date 9/9/09. I will then change the date when it's your turn to post. But at least it will be on the computer and ready to post.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS about that, please let me know. A lot of you haven't done it yet...and i would love to be able to introduce everyone.

Leave a comment or shoot me an email if you didn't get the email about the mission 24 get together and want to come. My address is on the sidebar.

HAVE A GREAT MONDAY!

Unscheduled business. :)

Hey everyone!

Just popping in to say hello and leave a couple notes of business. I know it's not Monday, our normal day for business, but I needed to just mention a few things.

1. I understand things get busy and sometimes it's hard to post by midnight at the end of a challenge. I get that. I do! :) HOWEVER, from here on out ONCE THE VOTING POST GOES UP, we will consider that challenge closed. Any pictures posted AFTER the voting post will be taken down. We need to keep things cleaned up that way so it's not one jumbled mess. I hope you all understand.

2. PLEASE don't post past pictures. I LOVE seeing everyone's talent...I think we all do. HOWEVER, this is not a blog just to display such works. This is to challenge ourselves to go out and CREATE a new piece of art based on the word we are given in the challenge. I know several of you have pieces that you want to show others, and you have a right!!! Maybe we will have a day coming up that we can do a showcase of some past work. But for our normal challenges, let's keep it new. :)

3. ALSO--if you have joined this blog but not posted in a while, PLEASE DO. We asked that everyone post at least once a month, which should be super easy. I mean, it's ONE time out of a minimum of 8 times. We are going to start clearing off the list. PLEASE CONSIDER THIS YOUR LAST WARNING. I have given LOTS Of time for people to have another chance at posting. I WILL give the Saturday challenge as the last chance for those who haven't posted in a long time. If you know you can't post for a while due to life circumstances, let me know. I totally know how that goes. :) But we really want people to be involved with this blog who WANT to be. :)

4. Along the lines of not being able to post, I am taking a break from taking charge over the blog. Many of you probably know I am 2,000 miles from home right now and visiting lots of family and friends. I feel like I have really dropped the ball with making sure everything is done on time with this blog, and I apologize for that. I feel like I can't give full attention to this blog and to my family that I rarely get to see. So, Mindy is taking over for me for the next few weeks. Hopefully having her take over that part will let me take part in the challenges again. :) Her email is on the sidebar if you have any questions. If you want to submit a word for Wednesday Challenges, shoot her an email and she can get that scheduled. She will be doing Saturday posts in my place. And I know she will do a great job with it. I hope you all understand!!

Okay, is anyone still with me?

I know this was long, just wanted to clean things up around here and get back on track. :) I hope you are all having a wonderful spring/summer....this is such a great time of year!!

See you at tomorrow's challenge!

Mission 24 get together--Eastern Idaho

OKAY EVERYONE! I know this is in the middle of a challenge, but I just couldn't wait to post pictures from our get together.

How did it go, you ask?
Well....check out this choco-choco cake courtesy of Katy ...

How could a get together centered on that delicious beauty not be totally amazing?? And then add the other goodies in the mix?? WOW. This was DEFINITELY a good one!


(oh, and Alynn's dishes were to die for! Dang, I am jealous!)



Alynn has got the GREATEST kids who were so willing to share their toys with my kids. Dress up, trucks, barbie horses...they were in heaven! And her house?? HOLY MOLY! That girl has got some serious organizational skills. She moved in 2 WEEKS ago and it looks SO put together and beautiful!

After lots of chatting and laughing and chatting some more, AprilF (for Fabulous) pulled out her external flash and things got a little crazy! :) I was like a kid in a candy store...drooling over her beautiful toy. And DANG, I was shocked at how much difference a flash makes!!!!

Alynn helped me demonstrate the extreme change...(sorry Alynn, this was just way too funny to NOT post)

BEFORE FLASH:

And WITH FLASH:

I mean seriously--I was practically running out the door to buy one....except that I realized I didn't have that kind of dough. Crushing, really.

Jenny and Travis brought their new baby who wasn't even 2 weeks old! Jenny=amazing! And that cute little baby was the center of photographic attention.

And Katy seems to have run into some major steroids lately...first her new MEGA point and shoot and now her glasses... :) HAHAHAHHA....JK. SOOOOOO hot Katy!

The mob of photographers...

And here's the whole crew! Left to right is: Katy, me, Jenny, AprilF (for Fabulous), and Alynn.

(sorry ladies...can't figure out the liquify tool...hahaha)

Seriously ladies, I laughed SOOOOO hard and had the BEST time ever! I am jealous you all live in the same town and can totally get together any time you want.

VOTING: ROUGH

Okay everyone, let's vote.

I think we will try to just vote for your favorite again--and then we will have a 1st and 2nd place.

I am going to combine mission 24 business with this post, since there is not very much to say.

IF YOU HAVE NOT GOTTEN AN EMAIL FROM ME YET, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT. I have added everyone who told me, so if you aren't getting one I want to make sure I have the address right or that it's not going to your junk mail box.

The big news this week is planning our mission 24 get together. I have been arranging much of that through email because I didn't want to put where we were meeting for safety reasons. But I think we will plan on MAY 20TH at 4:00 p.m. for the EASTERN IDAHO meeting. Feel free to bring kids, family, etc. and we will just play and have a good time together--anyone wanting to stick around to take pictures is welcome to--April has some reflectors and flash equipment she will bring to help make the harsh daylight work better so we can all make it at that time.

CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR LOCATION DETAILS!!!

And I will get details all worked out for the Utah get together. IF YOU ARE IN UTAH, can you please comment if you are coming. I have only heard back from 2-3 people and I want to make sure that's all there is to accomodate for there.

HAPPY SNAPPING everyone! Be ready for a super fun challenge on Wednesday--I have something up my sleeve. And for now, LET'S VOTE!

POPPING IN!

Hey everyone!

I am sorry I haven't been around for a few days. We were on the road and didn't have internet access--but we are finally in Idaho! hooray!

I am sorry some weird things have been going on! :) I notices the preposting didn't work so well, and that we dont' have winners announced, and that we haven't posted the feature photographer yet. I have a lot to get on top of for sure! So, I apologize for being out of the loop.

Anyway, I will be back again tomorrow with a challenge...and will get the feature photographer posted today.

I loved all your photos! WOW! What a great last challenge!! Am bummed I missed it!

Oh, one more thing. I did some thinking about the voting and wondered something. I really want everyone to feel included, and like they are progressing! I know a lot of you have felt like you won't ever make the cut and win a challenge. I wish there were some perfect way to make it all good for everyone. I know we started out with the best overall and best take, and that seemed to just get the best 2 overall pictures...so we changed it and picked a selected random category and best overall...which I still felt ended up being lopsided sometimes.

I guess I wasn't really sure what to do this time, so I just went for the best overall...

I am pretty sure this voting thing is going to drive me crazy until i figure out a great way to make it good for everyone...

sigh...
:)

Anyway, happy Friday!