Self assignment - Letters of the Alphabet

I'll assume that you've already read my article on why you should try self assignments. If not, go read it now Why Self Assignments? Go ahead; I'll wait.

One letter at a time

This assignment entails shooting one picture for each of the 26 letters of the English alphabet. I realize that WWW means World wide web and English may not be your first language. I'm specifying the English alphabet since it's most likely to be universally accepted. If you'd like to try out Greek or Kanji please feel free.

The details

Your task is to spend the next 26 days shooting pictures that represent the letters from A to Z. I suggest that you do one letter per day in order to keep your focus (pun intended). Starting on the first day of the month may be helpful in order to stay on track as you work your way through the assignment. You'll want to evaluate your pictures each day and make sure you're accomplishing exactly what you set out to do.

Methods of attack

There are a number of ways that you could take pictures to represent the letters from A to Z. Before you start, you'll need to clearly define how you will proceed. This would be the SPECIFIC part of the SMART method I mentioned in the other article. Listed below are a few suggestions to help you decide.

Take pictures of objects that represent the letters, such as those used in elementary schools. A - Apple, B - Boy, C - Cat, etc. Hopefully, you can find a Xylophone and a Zebra somewhere in your town.
Take pictures of natural or manmade objects that look like the letter of the day. Architectural elements that look like an I or H or O are fairly easy to find. Look for patterns in nature or lines and shadows.
If you live in a heavily urbanized area you may want to try street signs and signs on buildings. Be sure to do some night shots of neon signs with bright colors. Remember, part of the reason for doing self assignments like this is to try something different.

Go chase the Zebra

As you can see, there are a number of ways to approach these self assignments. It's important that you clearly define what you will do and write it down. Check your results each day and make sure you stick to your set goal. At the end of this journey you should find yourself looking at the world around you just a little bit differently.

That's the whole point!