Photowalk Challenge: 12 months of more creativity and mindful photography
Hi there,
As January is setting in calmly and people are talking about their goals, new beginnings, New Year’s resolutions and being motivated to be consistent and get things done, as usual I’m feeling stuck. I wrote down my goals for 2026 on the 31st of December after watching hours worth of youtube videos on how to really and effectively set goals, work on them consistently and how to be productive. I already feel like I’ve failed because I haven’t worked on any of them and even though I really tried to write down goals and subgoals that really matter to me (such as daily routines for my body and soul or photography goals for Captured Outdoors), I just can’t make it happen. I know, it’s still very early in the year but how do I change my habits and change my life around to work towards these goals?
Anyways, this blogpost isn’t about me, not solely anyway. One of the things I really want to invest in this year, is writing more blogposts, probably more for me than for the business, really. I love writing. I’ve loved it since I was a teenager. I love sharing knowledge, sharing insights, telling stories that accompany my photos. I have multiple lists of possible blogpost themes, written down in a burst of creativity on a walk or at 1 a.m. in the morning when I’m stuck in a photography rabbithole and a ‘let’s-do-everything-that-I’ve-been-ignoring-for-months’-mood.
The idea of a monthly or weekly photography challenge came to me very quickly. I had set out an outdoor photography challenge for every week of the new year. There were only two problems:
I already missed my own deadline to post the first challenge in a blogpost, Instagram post and Pinterest pin.
I realised I couldn’t launch a 52-week challenge for other people if I just know I would never be able to keep up with the challenge myself. Not to post the challenge every week, but certainly not to go out myself and do the actual thing I’m asking other people to do.
So… that idea went away as quickly as it popped up in my mind.
The 12-months Photowalk Challenge
I hope you’re still reading at this point. I’ve come up with a more qualitative challenge, one that I know will work out for me and for you. Because let’s be honest, do we really have the time to dedicate a fair amount of thought and effort in a weekly photography challenge for a whole year? Wouldn’t it be better to have one focus a month. One photowalk with a prompt to trigger your creativity, your photographer’s eye but also your mind. I want to make this challenge something that makes you not only a better photographer but also a more mindful photographer. Maybe you learn a thing or two about yourself or your view on the world?
What is a photowalk?
But wait… what the f*ck is a photowalk? I think the word photowalk can mean a lot of things and whatever you make of it. For me, I first heard of the concept from Sean Dalton, a travel photographer and youtuber who I’ve been following for years. I couldn’t find the specific youtube video in which he talks about his photowalks in Bali but it really changed my take on photography and how I perceive my own work. A photowalk for me is not a guided photography tour in a fancy city or a beautiful landscape per se. For me a photowalk is a solo activity. You pack your camera and maybe a snack, you put on comfortable but weatherproof clothes and shoes and you leave your house, vacation stay, camping spot or even work. You don’t have a plan to shoot anything. You didn’t premeditate what to shoot and where. You didn’t look up hotspots or places on Google Maps. It’s just you and your camera with no plan. You basically just start walking from your doorstep with your camera in hand and you photograph what draws your attention. You take photos of things that interest you. You photograph colours, shapes, subjects, textures that just seem right to you and you try to capture them beautifully, in your own way. Because no one else can see what you see and that’s your superpower as a photographer!
Mindful photography
For this challenge, I want to give you a new photography assignment every month (first Wednesday of the month) to challenge you to look differently and explore your creativity. I want to trigger you to practise your photographer’s eye. But I also want to tell you something about mindfulness photography. Because I think that photographing while walking and mindfulness go hand in hand. I was inspired by the book The Mindful Photographer by Sophie Howarth. The book reminded me of what photography does for me when I let go of other people’s possible judgements of my work, the pressure of social media or my own perfectionism. Mindful photography slows me down and lets me notice things differently. What’s really in front of me? Can I notice the beauty in the mundane, boring things in life? How do I make these things look good anyway? How do I see the world as it is and how can I capture it to show my world to other people? How do I see things from different perspectives?
Either you’re a beginner or professional photographer or you acccidently stumbled upon this blogpost and you don’t even own a camera. This challenge is for everyone and can be done with every type of camera or smartphone. You don’t have to know all the technical terms of photography and you definitely don’t have to own a fancy camera to still make photos and grow in this challenge. The point of this challenge is not to take award-winning photographs. It’s to learn to see, better your photographer’s eye and the art of noticing. It’s about slowing down and photograph for you, and for you only.
Coming back from a photowalk always gives me a good feeling. A lot of times, I come home with more photos than I had expected and even if I didn’t take any, I still went outside and had a great time so what’s there to lose?
Are you ready to do this with me?