With a baby in the house, I find myself up at the crack of dawn more often than I’d like these days. Still, there’s something special about the sense of peace and quiet that exists in the early morning hours. I love being out in the crisp air as the world slowly wakes up around me.

In honor of my own little early bird, September’s Photo Challenge theme is “Mornings.”

This month, see if you can capture what mornings are like for you. Get out of the house in time to catch the sunrise. Go for a walk with your camera and take advantage of the soft morning light. Or set up a shot that shows your favorite—or not so favorite—part of your morning routine: your first cup of coffee, your favorite bakery, a backpack by the front door ready to go (this is a great opportunity to practice your composition and lighting skills). As always, I encourage you to get creative with the theme.

The Details

Any subscriber can participate in the monthly Photo Challenge. In addition to photographs, you can also submit collages or other images you’ve created in Photoshop Elements. Submissions must follow a few simple guidelines:

• You must take the photo within the challenge month (after all, there’s not much challenge in digging through your library to find an old photo)
• You must own the rights to any image you submit. (If you use third-party frames or embellishments, please make sure this usage is allowed under the sale terms.)
• You are encouraged to interpret the theme creatively, but keep in mind that photos that seem entirely unrelated may get overlooked.

You can submit your entries to either the P.E.T. Gallery or Elements Village Gallery as you would for Subscriber Showcase. When uploading your image to the Elements Village Gallery, please enter the phrase “Photo-Challenge” exactly as shown (without the quotes) in the Keywords field. For the P.E.T. Gallery, please enter “Photo-Challenge” in the Description field when uploading the photo.

When the month is over, we’ll highlight some of our favorite entries on the website and in the magazine. (Our selections for the August “Shadow” Challenge will be going up soon!)

So set your alarm clock, preset the coffee maker, or ask if you can borrow a neighbor’s baby. Then get out and shoot!

Kelly