Getting to Grips

Last November, after hankering after one for ages, I bought a DSLR camera...which I have barely used since. The days have been too dark and wet, and I seriously have not got to grips with it.

Which is why I was very eager to join in when Lilia (Paracosm of Lilies) started up a themed art/photography project, Delightful Aberrations.
Each week, there will be a selection of prompts which participants can respond to in their chosen medium (you can read more on the blog linked above).

Usually I'd balk at joining in with something like this, but the emphasis is on developing ideas rather than flawlessness, so though I've forgotten all the photography skills I learnt in college I can happily snap pictures without feeling too self-conscious!

Anyway, this week I went for the prompt concrete and this is the end result:

"Breaking Down"

This fence post is near my house. It's been in this messed-up state for years--basically the metal reinforcements have started to corrode, and the post has broken apart around them.

Admittedly I shot this today (the deadline for this week) after a week of procrastination and zero inspiration.
What can I say, my mind has been on other things.

I'm trying not to get frustrated learning to use the camera. It would be too easy to use the auto feature and let the camera do everything for me, but I specifically bought a DSLR so that I could control shutter speed, aperture, etc.


Some of the other prompts for this week were also interesting, and I had some other ideas in mind, but don't have the location/space/time/models/props to do them. I could have drawn instead, but my art skills have gone out of the window lately!

Next week, I hope I'll have more 'oomph' to participate!