At this time of year, I do find it hard to get outside and photograph. And this month has been particularly awful, with a treacherous foot thick layer of ice in our driveway and on the roads. Thankfully, the ice is now gone but the cold lingers. However, two of my online friends have challenged me to do some playing with my pictures and it has been a lot of fun.

Milo, the Clear-Minded Creative, issued the Four for February Challenge – commit to one creative project per week for the four weeks in February. As I told Milo, this was a do-able challenge. I decided to focus on one topic each week and spend at least half an hour photographing. The first week was the ice storm, the second week was a bathroom renovation, and the third week was my Valentine’s Day tulips (photos below). I haven’t decided yet what I will do for this week, the last one in February.

Over at Gumnut Inspirations, I have been fascinated with Nutty’s Spectrum Square Color Challenge. Every week she picks a color from the spectrum and asks that we create something in a square format, using that color and its surrounding colors as the basis for the piece. I have been choosing existing photographs in the chosen color and, using filters and other effects, playing with them. I have been so excited about this project that I bought square mats in the hopes of having a completed project.

I love the way challenges can really get your creative juices flowing. How about you?