Paper Bag Challenge - 2019 Edition

Paper Bag Challenge 2019 © WCC Members

Our Tuesday night meeting welcomed the annual Paper Bag Challenge. A night where members are presented with a mystery item and are asked to create an image with that item. Over the years members have become wise to the madness and bring along props that may or may not work with the mystery item. It's a great night that tests our abilities to think on the spot and make images with the presented item, props brought in, and found items and locations around us.

This year, it was all about the PEG.

I was excited to see, and surprised by, the ingenuity of our members. Their willingness to embrace the subject and work with in the confines of time and subject, as well as working in groups was joyful to watch. We got some great photos presented from our groups, and having wandered around during the evening, I know there are some really good photos that didn't make it up onto the big screen as groups were encouraged to only submit one or two images from their group.

Some groups chose to consolidate their efforts on a single idea, while others individually worked on concepts and ideas... on the night of a Paper Bag Challenge, anything goes.

One member brought in a hubcap, which lead to jovial queries as to whether we had to check our cars before we left to see if it were our own. Some members offered themselves up as the subject and found themselves in a painful embrace of pegs adorning their face... ouchy! Funny, but ouchy. We also had some using interesting items as gobos to cast shaped shadows across their scenes.

Not all our ideas come out the way we might expect, but all up a fun night was had by all.

Big thanks to Karen who organised our mystery item, it can be difficult finding a subject for our members, but I think the Peg was just right!

Click on any image above to see a larger view.

Upcoming

Presentation: Image Evaluation

We will demonstrate image evaluation and then break into groups to practice. Members are welcome to bring a print with them to the meeting or send a digital image to president@williamstowncameraclub.com.au prior to the meeting.

Walker Close Community Centre
11th November 2025 7:30 pm
Workshop: Paper Bag Challenge

We dive back into our Paper Bag Challenge. Members will break into teams and make images with a mystery item. Teams will be encouraged to take a variety of photos and amongst themselves select and edit their final entry... all in the space of a single meeting.

The images will then be presented and critiqued with a winning image selected by all in attendance.

Walker Close Community Centre
25th November 2025 7:30 pm

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