Welcome to Project MCP: Develop Your Skills as a Photographer

You know what they say, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!”

Today, Project 12 officially becomes Project MCP. As a faster-paced, challenge-filled project, Project MCP is sure to inspire, teach and get you taking more photos.

What is Project MCP and how will it work?

Project MCP is designed to push your creativity, improve your photography skills and help you capture images and memories to last a lifetime. Beginners, hobbyists and professional photographers are all invited to share in the journey.

On the first Saturday of each month, the Project MCP Team will offer up four, or five, challenges; one for each week of the month.  The challenges might be a theme, technique or inspirational. Complete all, or just a couple. Take your photos in  one shoot or in multiple sessions. This way you can fit Project MCP into your schedule and your life.

To keep you motivated, each Saturday you can check back on the MCP Actions Blog to learn more about the challenges, see other photographer’s work and learn new techniques.

Where to upload your images:

You spoke, and we listened!

Submit your Project MCP photos by uploading your images to the Project MCP Flickr group (formerly known as the Project 52 Flickr group) or on the MCP Actions Facebook page.

• You can upload five images to the Flickr group for each set of challenges posted.
• Important: When posting your images to our group or page, tag them with the project name, month and challenge number. For example: Project MCP, March, Challenge #1.
  

How to participate in Project MCP:

• Comment below and let us know you are on board. There is no timeline, so you can feel free to join anytime. The project is flexible; you can complete as few or as many of the challenges as you would like. Photos must be taken specifically for this project and within the time-frame indicated.
• Join the Project MCP Flickr group and/or our The MCP Facebook Page, take your photos and upload your images.
• Visit our Blog on the first Saturday of each month to find out the new challenges.
• Bookmark this page: http://projectmcp.info – this will help you find the posts each month.
• Remember, you can share unedited or edited images, iPhone, point and shoot, or SLR photos, anything goes. If you edited with MCP Actions, we’d love you to indicate what you used.
• Spread the love – Everyone likes praise. Visit the Project MCP Flickr group and the MCP Actions Facebook page to view submissions and leave comments for your fellow photographers. Please only give constructive criticism if asked for. Remember many participants are non-pros and are just looking to have fun.  If you want detailed feedback and critique, indicate that.
• Spread the word – Share on Facebook, Twitter, your blog and photo forums all over the web. The more participants we have, the more we will learn from each other as photographers and the more fun it will be. Grab a Project MCP Banner here.

A few guidelines:

We would still like to keep things as relaxed as possible for 2012, but to help things run smoothly we will stick to these guidelines.

• Photos need to be taken in the within the noted time period and fit the challenge requirements. Do not use old photos which happen to fit a theme.  You will be cheating yourself.
• Photos on the Flickr Group will be moderated. It make take up to 24 hours for your photos to appear.
• Collages fitting the topics and time-frame are welcome. You can use tools like our Blog it Boards to display these.
• No pornography, nudity, violence or any content deemed illegal by the United States Government. MCP Actions and its designees reserve the right to remove any photos  deemed objectionable.
• Images must be taken by you.  You cannot submit images from another photographer.
• By uploading to our project, you maintain copyright, but give us permission to use the photo on our Blog/Facebook, in the context of Project MCP. If we want to use a photo for any other purpose, we will contact you and obtain permission in writing. Please consider watermarking and branding your photos using tools like our Finish It actions  or Free Facebook Fix Photoshop actions.
• Most importantly, have fun!

We hope that you will participate in Project MCP. We truly appreciate your feedback regarding Project 12 and hope that Project MCP is a change in the right direction. See you Saturday for the first challenges!

The Challenges Box: Current and Past Challenges

March, Challenge #1 -  Take a picture from a high vantage point, from above your subject

March, Challenge #2 – Capture a photo using natural light.

March, Challenge #3 - Express the following word in a photo: Transition

March, Challenge #4 – Create a “guess what” photo – this is a photo that is so close up that the subject becomes abstract.

April, Challenge #1 – Illustrate the following in a photo: Showers/Wet

April, Challenge #2 – Take a picture using a shallow depth of field

April, Challenge #3 – Interpret the following in a photo: Blooming

April, Challenge #4 – Get Low. Lie Down on the ground and shoot above

May, Challenge #1 - Illustrate the following word in a photo: Neighborhood 

May, Challenge #2 - Sunny Day - Capture a photo with sunflare

May, Challenge #3 - Illustrate the following word in a photo: Friend

May, Challenge #4 - Get moving - Take a photo using motion blur 

May, Challenge #5 - One click – Don’t cheat. Think twice, click once - Show us your first shot

We want to thank our corporate sponsors for Project MCP:

Project MCP

This post was written by a Project MCP Project Team Member. If you would like to contribute to the MCP Actions Blog, check out our Guest Writers Wanted page.

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