Shorter projects

If a year feels like a big commitment, try one of these shorter projects

1 Take a seat

Find a bench close to home and revisit it at the same time every day for a week. Photograph the people, events, and pets that use the bench, and record how they interact with their surroundings.

2 Create your own language

Follow in the footsteps of painter Stephen T Johnson (see Alphabet City, ISBN 978- 0- 67085631-2) and spend a day shooting every letter from A-Z ‘as it occurs naturally’ in your surroundings.

3 Study a building

Create an exhaustive portrait of your favourite piece of architecture, both inside and out. Look for reflections, graphic shadows and details to isolate.

4 Roll a dice

Make whatever you roll your number for the week. Look for this figure wherever you go – try three ducks on a pond, one man sitting on a bench, or the figure eight formed by a garden hose. Photograph what you find, then roll the dice and start again.

5 Reduce your mileage

Buy an Explorer map from Ordnance Survey (OS) and use a compass to draw a circle radiating one mile from your home. Restrict yourself to shooting within that area for one afternoon.