Photo Assignments

I have a constant desire to improve and grow as a photographer, but sometimes I find I remain stagnant, taking photographs of the same things, over and over and over...
I decided to introduce assignments for myself, and for all of you that have emailed me or left comments asking how to take better photographs.
Well, there's no single right answer for that, but I'm right there with you when it comes to wanting to be more accomplished. I want to take better photographs, always!
There is no better way to grow and learn than by doing. So every week, I will introduce a new photo assignment that will explore different aspects of design, nature (human and of the earth), photography in general, and so on. I will give photographic examples of the assignment, and after a week of exploring the assignment, I will show what I have learned. I hope you will do the same because I love to see things from someone else's perspective.

Photo Assignment #1- Light & Shadow
Yes, pretty much everything involves light and shadow, but I'm going to start with the basics. Sometimes, I think I pay too much attention to content and I forget about what light and shadow are doing to my subject. The goal here is to make light and shadow as interesting as possible.
I took this photograph about a dozen years ago in college.

The contrasting light and shadow show off the beautiful lines of these sand waves. If I would have taken this photo at high noon, with the light hitting it directly, this photograph probably would never have come into print. The dramatic light also gives the photograph an abstract quality (we will explore abstract photography on a later assignment).

So get creative, go crazy and come back soon!