Photo Wars with Rick Sammon

Welcome to my new series, Photo Wars, where I have friendly competitions with talented photographers. Here's how it works:

• Both me and my opponent pick a photo challenge

• We flip for it to decide which challenge wins

• We both have one month to complete the challenge

• At the end of the month, we meet again to share our favorite photos and the stories behind them

• You too can participate in our challenge for a chance to win photo glory and amazing prizes from sponsors like TAMRON, Delkin Devices, Hunt's Photo & Video, and more!

This month, I go head-to-head with my good friend Rick Sammon to create interior wide-angle photos, which is the theme for this month's Photo Masters challenge. Check out the video below to find out more.

Rick Sammon decided to take photos in the second largest Buddhist temple in the United States, located in New York. He wanted to tell a story about the awe-inspiring atmosphere and look of the temple and statue. To achieve a wide-angle effect, he used his iPhone with a reflex fisheye lens. 

Rick shared another photo that he took in Cuba. He wanted to capture the grandness of the movie theatre using the same fisheye lens. Rick believes in creatively using perspective distortion if it enhances a scene. It can create converging diagonal lines that add visual power to a composition and create a sense of perspective. 

When it came to my interpretation of the challenge, I decided to shoot local architecture indoors in my home city of Minneapolis, which is something I’ve never done before. Surprisingly, I enjoyed this challenge! This is one of the reasons that self-assignments are so important: you may find that doing something unusual or uncomfortable can turn into a fun and educational experience.

I spent a lot of time walking up and down spiral staircases looking for interesting abstract patterns. I used ultra wide-angle lenses for the photos featured in the video. Thanks to this challenge, I’ll spend more time exploring and looking for interesting subjects that are outside of my comfort zone.

Finding photogenic subjects, even within your local area, is the key to photographic success. 

Now, it’s your turn to take some amazing wide-angle photos indoors! Explore locally or travel far to find something outstanding to photograph. Remember: it’s not necessarily the subject itself, but the way you approach it and the techniques you use, that make a great photograph.

One final note: There's no need to take the same approach that Rick or I took for this photo challenge. We both chose to focus on indoor architecture, and certainly, you can draw inspiration from our interpretations. But I encourage you to find your own unique way of approaching the challenge!

Make sure to share your best interior wide-angle photos here. The deadline is October 31st.