Sometimes you have ideas and they just aren't as good as you want them to be. Other times the idea is fine but the execution isn't.
I think my submission for the Stranger assignment was a case of the latter. I wanted to be able to shoot a picture of the egg this mama robin was protecting. I ran into a few problems.
I wanted to be sure not to spook the robin too much. She had nested once before in this spot only to abandon the three chicks after they hatched. I didn't want her to do that again on my account. This left few opportunities to shoot the nest when it was vacant.
Once I got my chance I put on my macro lens only to figure out there wasn't room under the patio roof to get an angle on the egg. I didn't have my phone with me so I had to settle for this shot, which isn't bad. It just doesn't convey stranger without a little narrative help.
As I mention in the caption, this shot fell a bit short of my expectations.
On Taking Assignments
I frequently listen to the On Taking Pictures (OTP) podcast, which I highly recommend to anyone looking for good conversation about creativity, especially as it related to photography. In January 2014 the hosts, Bill Wadman and Jeffery Saddoris, began a new segment of weekly assignments that they gave to listeners. Results of the assignments are posted on the OTP Google Plus group. I decided that I would commit myself to the assignments for a year without interruption, and that I would complete each one before the next assignment was announced on the show each Tuesday morning. My 'On Taking Assignments' blog posts are the culmination of my year-long focus on these assignments.