Weekly Photo Challenge: Down a Random Road

Posted on October 26, 2018November 1, 2018 by Jenn Mishra

This week, the theme is to:

Photograph Down a Random Road

This week, the challenge is to get out and find a random road – and maybe find some colorful fall foliage along the way.

In my area of North America, we’re just about to go into the autumn. Colors are due to peak in about a week, some of you may be in the heart of the fall colors right now. If you need a bit of help finding out when you might see fall colors, take a look at the Fall Foliage Prediction Map.

One of my favorite parts of photography is the sense of exploration and discovery. I don’t need to be traveling to far-flung regions of the world to find something interesting to photograph. I just need to put on my trusty shoes and walk out the door.

You don’t need to go far to make this challenge work, just find a road or a street you’ve never walked before. It can be an alleyway near your home or work or it can be a rural road that you find on a map.

Photo new orleans artist street — Walking randomly in the French Quarter of New Orleans – can’t really go wrong no matter which road we walked down!

Take a different route to work or school. Walk around the block before going into your favorite shop. I’ve found interesting shops and people and photos just walking around the block. Wherever I am, I make it a point of going all the way around, scouting out every angle. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Tower of London, or your local supermarket. Take a 360 look.

My photography friends are jealous when I show them views of the bridges across the Mississippi River and want to know my secret spots. I just smile slyly, keeping my secrets. In truth, I just looked at a google map and started exploring. Some road were dead ends or led to restricted areas, but one – only one – led to the river. My friends could do the same! If I told them where to go, I’d sap out all the fun of discovery.

Photo Musial Bridge Gateway Arch — One of my favorite places to photograph along the Mississippi. Quite a different view of the St. Louis Arch and some other cool finds along the way.

There’s no telling what you will find when you drive down a random road. No matter how boring I think the road is going to be, I almost always find something interesting.

If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, pull up a google map and close your eyes. Put a pin on the map. Take a look to find where you’re going to explore today.

Photo rainbow cienfuegos cuba — One of our favorite things to do in Cuba was to choose a random road or street and take a look. Locals pointed to this road because it had a school on it and was busy in the morning. We photographed people going to work and school and then we turned around — You never know what you will see.

Stay safe, but challenge yourself to explore a bit. We tend to walk and re-walk the same paths in life. This week strike out on a different path, even if just a little bit off your beaten track.

You may just find your favorite photography spot just by turning left rather than right.

Photo under clark bridge — I only found this bridge (and what’s on the other side) by exploring a random road that I passed by often. Now this road leads to one of my favorite places to photograph.

Share your posts in the Comments below or share with the tag #photoyogarandomroad for a chance to have your photo featured on PhotoYoga.

#photoyogarandomroad #witsendphotography #photoyoga #weeklyphotochallenge #photoyogalife

I’m using my Random Inspiration Generator to choose the challenge each week. Use it if you want more frequent inspirations!

This post is sponsored by PhotoYoga.

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Published by Jenn Mishra

Welcome to Wits End Photography blog, my name is Jenn Mishra. I'm an American photographer born in Colorado and based in the St. Louis metro area. I love to travel, but even when at home, I try to keep the same sense of adventure – looking for novelty in the everyday; finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Some photos are available for purchase at www.witsendphotography.com View all posts by Jenn Mishra