Poinsett (Photo) Challenge
“You Are Here”, Poinsett State Park, May 2026
Hello Friend,
As I shared a couple of weeks back, I spent the Memorial Day Weekend camping at Poinsett State Park. On one of the days as we were hiking through the woods, I was thinking about creative constraints. I’ll likely do a future blog on these, but the usual idea is to give yourself a specific limitation to get your creative mind thinking in different ways. Some typical ones might be using just one prime lens for a while. Or only working in an aspect ratio that’s different then the one you are use to. Like going from 2:3 to 1:1 square. That type of thing. I’m sure there are ones people use for other arts, but since I was thinking about photography that day, these are the examples that come to mind.
Most of these constraints are physical. The only one I can think of that uses time is the 365 challenge. That’s where you have the goal to create at least one photo every day for a year. But while I was walking that day, I thought of an idea that was much more compressed. What if, while you were walking, you had an alarm go off every 10-15 minutes? You would then need to stop, take a few moments to look around at that spot and then create a photo. You can’t go off the trail to get the image – we still need to respect that part of nature. After the photo has been taken, you would reset the alarm and move on. You could stop sooner for the photo, but you can’t go past the time – even if you think you see something better up ahead. You’d have to work with where you are and what is there.
“Coquina Trailside Shelter”, Poinsett State Park, May 2026 (This shelter was build by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937.)
I think this type of challenge can be valuable for a few reasons. Most of us when we are on a hike – and particularly on a hike with a photo destination – we have our minds on the end of the hike. The photo we will take when we get to where we are going. Or if we are doing the hike more for exercise, we are thinking about our steps or how good it will feel when we are done. We get so use to being destination oriented, that we forget to give ourselves time to stop, look around, and notice what’s right at our feet or close by us. When there aren’t the big landscapes or the old broken-down trees or the large fields of flowers we tend to not think there are any photos to be created. Or to appreciate the beauty of the small, ordinary scenes around us.
So, while on that little hike on some of the trails of the state park, I thought it might be fun to make a whole photo conference weekend type thing around the idea of this challenge. Here are a few of the ideas I put together after getting back to my campsite. Some of these are for a group of people doing this as part of a workshop, but many of these ideas can be done on their own. You can go out in groups or alone. Hikes would take about 2-3 hours. But can take longer if wanted. The first idea I explained above about the time element.
“Lightning in the Trees”, Poinsett State Park, May 2026
Groups/Individuals would go out at staggered times. If you get an early morning time one day, you will also get the earlier afternoon time the next day. So, people won’t have only morning or evening light to work with. (Like the way golf tournaments flip times so people play under generally similar conditions over the two days.) Have a BINGO card with different types of photo possibilities. Such as: small scene, large scene, leaf, roots, single tree, groups of trees, stump, deadfall, sign post, mushroom/fungus, trail, ICM/ME, BW, color, Spanish moss (other local flora), water, lily, bird, wild animal and other man-made object in the frame… The goal is to think beyond the usual photo ideas. There could then be awards for the best of each of those categories and who filled their card the most. Then other usual workshop things like class time, photo critiques/reviews.
There are so many logistical things that would go into doing something like this for real, but I thought I would at least put out the idea there to get people to think about how they might spend their time outside in a slightly different way. And it would not need to only be about photography. If any non-photographers have gotten this far, here are a few other possibilities. One of my sisters has taken classes about leading groups in forest bathing. When I did a session with her, she talked a lot about the other senses besides sight. Maybe when you stop on the trail, you close your eyes and really listen to the world around you at that moment. You also note what you feel – both on the outside and the inside. You could write something each time you stop. Or sketch something you see. Anything that helps you start to notice and appreciate this “walk through country”.
“Black Dragonfly”, Poinsett State Park, May 2026
“Ferns Out of the Shadows”, Poinsett State Park, May 2026
“Armadillo Pups”, Poinsett State Park, May 2026
I guess my goal as I was thinking about this on my hike, was to not be so goal oriented on hikes. Maybe what I’ve proposed today will strike a chord with you, and it will get you to think a little differently – maybe a little slower – when out in the world. If anyone is interested in helping put something like this together – or stealing the idea – reach out, and we’ll see where things go. And if nothing else, next time you are out hiking, remember to sometimes just stop. Look around. Listen to the world. Smell what’s there. Feel what there is to feel. And enjoy and appreciate where you are at that moment.
Thank you, and keep creating what you do.
Patrick Krohn
September 2026
“Ferns by the Spillway” Poinsett State Park, May 2026
“Snail in a Dead Tree Wave”, Poinsett State Park, May 2026
“Hairy Deadfall”, Poinsett State Park, May 2026
