AUGUST 2024: EMILY RENIER
“PHOTOGRAPH ENERGY”
This month, British social photographer and Fujifilm ambassador Emily Renier sets an assignment that will have you looking for energy, either physically or as a concept. This assignment was set initially in episode 444.
THE ASSIGNMENT BRIEF
From Emily: “Whenever I get really good feedback from a client, it’s usually because they love the energy in my pictures. It’s also a good word as a challenge because it makes you think about your framing, what stays and what’s left out, the overall composition, emotion and movement within a photo.”
HOW TO ENTER. IMPORTANT NOTES ON FILE SIZE AND ENTRIES
Send your entries to stories@photowalk.show. Pictures should be 2,500 pixels wide, if possible, for online optimisation. Or send the full-resolution photo, which we will optimise. Feel free to provide text as well, if you think it will help explain the location, context etc. Please send one photography only.
Entries are shown below, and good luck!
Neale
EMILY RENIER
Looking for pictures that have energy this month. Photography by Emily Renier.
DANIEL CROFT
CHRISTOPHER PARSONS
For the theme of energy, I’m including a reflection image that I made during the Canadian National Exhibition, which occurs annually in Toronto. For me, the image emits the chaotic and bustling excitement of the Ex — the eye is taken all over the place, in and out of reflections, and sees peeking faces and eyes throughout the frame (while, of course, seeing some representation from the CN tower, one of Toronto’s landmarks).
MICHAEL MIXON
A bit left field for this month, but hopefully this still meets the spirit of the assignment. :-)
When spied by a hiker who, over the last hour, has been waging a silent battle to prevent the nether-dwelling reincarnation of last night’s dinner, these otherwise unsightly structures can inspire a sudden burst of energy as the distance between them and the hiker is quickly closed.
BILLY REPENNING
This is a picture of one of my grand nephews at Great Grandma’s house in the mountains at a family reunion. It was after dark and we were making s’mores (sadly without Garibaldis) and the sugar was too much for this one and his 4 brothers. After smearing chocolate over his face he began to beg for a picture to be made. So I happily did so. Even standing still he was vibrating with energy!
DAVID HIGTON
I've attached my photo for the Energy assignment. Encouraged by you on the podcast, I've been experimenting with "audiophotography" hence two versions of the same image, in case the audio version doesn't work for the website. These were taken at the Manchester Pride parade over the bank holiday weekend. It was my first visit and I learnt a lot for future visits such as getting there early and being bold in getting into position. The parade started at noon so we thought we'd have time for a quick lunch at Katsouri's Deli on Deansgate. It's my favourite lunch stop in town and thankfully much quieter on a Saturday than on a weekday as there aren't the masses of office workers. After this we walked to Peter Street to see that the parade was being held up by a small bunch of protestors. The police ushered them to one side and the parade continued to great cheers. The whole day was full of energy and joy, I could have chosen many different images to send but settled on this one as they summed up the day very well. In case your other listener is interested, the sound was recorded separately using the built in video facility on my camera and I then added the sound to the image afterwards.
COLIN MAYER
Bombo Quarry is a popular photography spot for us sunrise shooters in NSW. When the ocean swell is up the energy of the waves crashing against the cliffs and surging up the various channels is at its best, its sometimes easy to forget the main energy source for our little planet – the sun. But when both break together, you can’t help but feeling energised for the rest of the day…perhaps after a coffee and breakfast at a nearby café. See more of Colin's work on his website.
GERRY O’FARRELL
This image is from a Furnace Festival in a 1,000 year old stone fort at Caherconnell in the Burren, Co Clare, Ireland. Enthusiasts from all over the world came to recreate ancient furnaces from areas as far-flung as Senegal and China. There was forging of Viking ship rivets and other iron implements from ancient times, all using a putty-type iron ore found under the bogs in Ireland. The energy of fire has helped us develop and I think this photo captures the power of fire and how humans have harnessed it.
KELLY MITCHELL
Really like these one word challenges, definitely have to do a bit of thinking on them but still sometimes the image just comes to ya. So attached is an images taken last weekend (August 17) at the Calgary Chinatown Street Festival. Now, this was my first time and go figure this was their 25th anniversary!! It will definitely be on my summer festival list for next year. This lady along with about 30 other ladies did a fan dance that they had just finished and the organizer was trying desperately to organize everyone for a group photo!! Hahah. What a great smile, ehh!! They all looked like they had great fun!!!
PAUL FRIDAY
Soon to be replaced forever by a solar-powered electrical socket. This is a relic of the days when you could get five-star petrol with extra lead.
NIELS HOUBEN
On a whim, my friend and I decided to go to the Olympic Games in Paris to watch the mens road race. As Belgians it would certainly be a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience a Belgian winning olympic gold in this category. Arrived on Mont-Martre before the first passage, the streets where packed with people, and the energy and excitement was absolutely buzzing! It still gives the chills when I remember this Irish lad, Ben Healy, passing with a small lead over the following group. You could hear the crowd announcing his arrival while he fought his way up the Mont-Martre. I especially think this picture screams energy when your eye notices the woman in white absolutely screaming this lad on. Ben was caught up with a while later, and a Belgian cyclist won. But the moment I snapped this picture is the memory of that day that I’m most fond of.
LARS HEGAARD
“Positive energy” is my contribution to this month's challenge. The picture is from a street theatre festival in my hometown. The actors are from the French theatre ensemble Les Grooms.
See more of Lars' work on his Instagram.
VICTORIA ROBB
My August entry for energy has a bit of a story to go along with it. Or perhaps better said as some interesting histories. Of Stone Energy (above).
Outside the gym, I go to every Friday is a set of stones. The use of stones for lifting is part of a history of strength training that has some of the largest examples in Scotland in the Dinnie stones, a fact I now know care of my instructor when I first told him of my idea to photograph the stones. The two Dinnie stones weigh between them 332.49 kg, and Wikipedia says, "They were made famous by strongman Donald Dinnie, who reportedly carried the stones barehanded across the width of the Potarch Bridge, a distance of 17 ft 1+1⁄2 in (5.22 m), in 1860."
The Putney gym (below with the stones) also has an impressive early history - in that it involves a lady who, back in 1928, set up the weight lifting gym - Margaret Grey and that it had quite a number of lady members from early on - inspiring!
People may well know weight lifting stones are also called Atlas stones - usually the final round in the Strongest Man competition - and a record was set by a Scotsman last year.
Back to the assignment brief, the stones express energy to me, both in the physical energy required to lift them and the energy it took in forming the stones in the first place. There is also something appealing about their shape and colour. Though I have not tried lifting them myself... my training sticks to the indoors weight equipment.
MARTIN PENDRY
For my photography assignment on "Energy," I chose to capture the vibrant atmosphere of the Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's largest street festival. The energy at the carnival was palpable, with towering speaker systems blasting beats, transforming every street corner into a celebration of sound and culture. The streets were lined with homes and shop-front bars showcasing rich Caribbean themes, contributing to the festive atmosphere. This event, rooted in the North Kensington Caribbean community, exemplifies the energy and spirit of collaboration, from the pre-carnival party hosted by Age UK for the older generation to the massive sound stages for the young. My photograph captures a young lady in a quiet, personal moment as she touches up her makeup near the end of the parade route in Ladbroke Grove, illustrating both the individual and collective energy that defines the carnival.
See more of Martin's work on Instagram.
CRAIG WILSON
I took this photo in my back garden in Sunderland of all place with an unbelievable show of the northern lights, the sun’s energy.
JEFF SMERALDO
This photo is of a performer with the Blessed Sacrement Winter Guard from Boston Massachusetts. This performance was at the annual world championshps Winter Guard International held in Dayton Ohio. I often shoot both photos and video for WGI and I couldn’t think of a better way to show energy. Both my daughters have performed on lines in WGI, my oldest actually performed with Mayflower from the UK. WGI is popular in both US, Canada and parts of Europe. We often call it the biggest sport you never heard of.
RYAN HELSEL
Listening to the podcast while walking my dog last weekend, Emily Reiner's description of this month's assignment immediately made me recall this image I captured late last month in Montauk, NY, USA. This is my wife and 4-year-old son. I've taken many versions of this photograph since we became parents 7+ years ago. I am always caught off guard by the beauty and pure empathy that fills my wife's face whenever one of our kids feels pain, even the slightest bump or scraped knee. It's as if she is willing the pain and discomfort to leave their little bodies and enter hers. More than any other photos I've taken of family, it is these quick snapshots that truly capture the energy of parenthood.
Shot on FujiFIlm X100VI, Acros film simulation.
DREW BROWN
Waterfalls are wonderful subjects to photograph. For me they highlight the power, the beauty and the energy of nature. The broken branches a result of this powerful energy.
This is Padley Gorge at Grindleford in the Peak District. I love this place, parking at Grindleford Station Cafe (perfect for a post walk brew/bacon butty), the woodland and gorge with the babbling or raging (depending on the recent rainfall) Burbage Brook is a magical place to explore in any season. Perfect for a future Photowalk away day!
JOHN KENNY
Energy is something that I have always associated with waves. In its many forms energy can be transmitted as waves (if I remember my GCSE Physics), waves in the sea hold potential energy and the ebb and flow of our own energy within a day or lifetime could be viewed as waves. I remember reading somewhere that our own physical bodies could also be described as waves. Cells are lost and replaced until they themselves run out of energy.
The attached submission is a composite of photographs of the surface of the harbour at Whitby. One end of the spectrum shows more activity with focus and light, whilst the other is more gentle and dark. The duplicate and reversed layer is a slightly clumsy way to show how cyclical the energy can be.
See more of John's work on his website.
JOHN CHARLTON
Photographed through the windscreen of my little yellow Mazda 5 during blue hour.
This particular stretch of road rose and turned over the top of a hill before dropping down into a small valley. Shot with my first digital camera, a Nikon Coolpix 995 and upsized in Photoshop because this early digital only shot images to a maximum of 2048px wide. Some post-processing has been done in Camera Raw and Topaz Studio 2 to capture the feeling of the moment.
The lines and movement within the image create a dramatic arc which leads the eye and lends a sense of movement and being propelled forward. On a personal level, the photo also reminds me of the graceful power of my little yellow Mazda, license plate MY ZM ZM, as it carried my weary self home from a long day at work.
See more of John's work on his online journal.
