Alphabet Photo Challenge - I

[Cassel]

The idea of one photo a week was quite popular in 2024, and it encouraged participants to take photos and showcase them without having to create a whole layout for them.

In 2025, I will offer you a little twist on this. Again, the idea is only to showcase a single photo at a time. You can showcase them as a flashcard, emphasizing the letter (you can use these free cards as a basis to create your own). Of course, if you want a different format, you can use a polaroid frame, a slide, or a playing card (like Susan was doing in 2024). Choose the format you want, and keep it throughout the year. But just make sure to emphasize the first letter!

Every 2 weeks, you will be asked to take a picture of something, at home (or around your home) that starts with a specific letter of the alphabet. The goal is just to be on the lookout for ANYTHING that can be photographed. You can stage the object however you want, or just take a picture of it in its natural environment. For example, you can showcase your favorite Mug, or your Pillow, or your Fireplace.

You can practice your photography skills if you want, but you can just capture things as they are.

Let's just encourage each other.

This is a no-pressure thread.

And if you skip a letter or two, you can always come back. You know your alphabet so you can easily catch up, whenever you need to.

Let's continue with the letter I. It could be your trusty Iron, a well-stocked Ice cube tray, your favorite Insulated mug, or the handy Ink pen on your desk!

What will you showcase?

[Rene Marker]

I have to say thanks to Susan for the idea for the letter I. This was one of the letters I was not sure what to highlight for the longest time.

I is for Iron. Specifically, cast iron Irons.

These have been around as long as I can remember. Mom used them as doorstops and I've continued this use to this day. I'm not sure but one of the doorstops may have belonged to my grandmother but given to Mom after her death. I just know there have been 2 of them in this house as long as I can remember. Not pictured is a cast-iron doorstop in the shape of a dachshund that lives in my bedroom. I couldn't get a good photo of these irons in their normal place since it has no natural light or an overhead light (and I can't get down on the floor!) so I moved them elsewhere for the photo. They are HEAVY...

A little history: Cast iron "irons". American country irons flourished from 1850 to 1950. The most common early irons were cast in one piece and weighed from five to seven pounds. In the nineteenth century, they were found in every country home and were heated on cast iron stoves. They are commonly called "flat" or "sad" irons. "Sad is an archaic word meaning "dense" or "heavy". Cast Iron History

Cast-iron doorstops were made from roughly 1820. Most found today were likely made in America sometime between the turn of the last century and 1940.

[Corrie Kinkel]

On 4/26/2025 at 1:34 PM, Rene Marker said:

I have to say thanks to Susan for the idea for the letter I. This was one of the letters I was not sure what to highlight for the longest time.

I is for Iron. Specifically, cast iron Irons.

These have been around as long as I can remember. Mom used them as doorstops and I've continued this use to this day. I'm not sure but one of the doorstops may have belonged to my grandmother but given to Mom after her death. I just know there have been 2 of them in this house as long as I can remember. Not pictured is a cast-iron doorstop in the shape of a dachshund that lives in my bedroom. I couldn't get a good photo of these irons in their normal place since it has no natural light or an overhead light (and I can't get down on the floor!) so I moved them elsewhere for the photo. They are HEAVY...

A little history: Cast iron "irons". American country irons flourished from 1850 to 1950. The most common early irons were cast in one piece and weighed from five to seven pounds. In the nineteenth century, they were found in every country home and were heated on cast iron stoves. They are commonly called "flat" or "sad" irons. "Sad is an archaic word meaning "dense" or "heavy". Cast Iron History

Cast-iron doorstops were made from roughly 1820. Most found today were likely made in America sometime between the turn of the last century and 1940.

I remember my grandma still using those in the 1960th

[Corrie Kinkel]

Due to my trip I'm a bit late for the letter I, but I already had it done before, so now I'm back I just have to post it. The I stands for Imari porcelain and my parents got this wand plate when they had their 25th wedding anniversary in 1971. Imari is an old Japanese painting technic for porcelain. I suspect this plate isn't that old, because nowadays the technic is still used. 

[Harmony Birch]

5 hours ago, Corrie Kinkel said:

Due to my trip I'm a bit late for the letter I, but I already had it done before, so now I'm back I just have to post it. The I stands for Imari porcelain and my parents got this wand plate when they had their 25th wedding anniversary in 1971. Imari is an old Japanese painting technic for porcelain. I suspect this plate isn't that old, because nowadays the technic is still used. 

 

This really takes me back as I used to buy and sell Japanese and Chinese antiques mainly fine porcelain

 

[Harmony Birch]

Well here's my I, this is one of my favourites of all my incense burners, it is fascinating to watch a candle burning in such delicate glass

[Ann Seeber]

Well, after our cake discussion, I decided to go with Ice Cream Cake for my entry for the Letter I: The font is Bremen.

[Susan Ewart]

Letter I

I'm back to trying to keep up on color practice and was inspired by playing with very impure acrylic inks touting themselves as Primary Cyan, Magenta and Yellow.  The magenta has yellow in it.  yeesh!  And then there's me, mixing away and adding too much water as I was trying to get the same saturation...I failed, but it sure was fun overcoming the impure ink I had.  All these hues were made from these three inks, and yes, even the black, known in this case as "hue black" as opposed to "true black- (which is a value on the value scale).  The back light also washed out some of the hues and made Red, Magenta-Red and Magenta hard to tell apart - which is actually the case when sorting these ones in smaller increments of change.  I'm adding this color bar so you can see what it should look like.  The font is Wild Smith and this is a composite of two photos. I did extract the ink bottles to place in the frame, mostly to take up some space.  I had wanted to do a circle but didn't have any suitable containers.  I should point out that there is very few pure art media materials available (ink, paint etc), but knowing which way a color skews and how to counter balance that is most helpful.  I learned from painters and polymer clay artists that if you have to add a bit of something to fix one hue, you should add it to all the hues you are working with so the palette works well together.  I will invest in some high quality printer ink to play with.  

 

 

Edited May 14 by Susan Ewart

[Corrie Kinkel]

1 hour ago, Susan Ewart said:

Letter I

I'm back to trying to keep up on color practice and was inspired by playing with very impure acrylic inks touting themselves as Primary Cyan, Magenta and Yellow.  The magenta has yellow in it.  yeesh!  And then there's me, mixing away and adding too much water as I was trying to get the same saturation...I failed, but it sure was fun overcoming the impure ink I had.  All these hues were made from these three inks, and yes, even the black, known in this case as "hue black" as opposed to "true black- (which is a value on the value scale).  The back light also washed out some of the hues and made Red, Magenta-Red and Magenta hard to tell apart - which is actually the case when sorting these ones in smaller increments of change.  I'm adding this color bar so you can see what it should look like.  The font is Wild Smith and this is a composite of two photos. I did extract the ink bottles to place in the frame, mostly to take up some space.  I had wanted to do a circle but didn't have any suitable containers.  I should point out that there is very few pure art media materials available (ink, paint etc), but knowing which way a color skews and how to counter balance that is most helpful.  I learned from painters and polymer clay artists that if you have to add a bit of something to fix one hue, you should add it to all the hues you are working with so the palette works well together.  I will invest in some high quality printer ink to play with.  

 

 

This is a very original take on the letter I with things in your house! I love your play with the colors, even in your card!