The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Other people’s houses.

On 9th Feb 20268th Feb 2026 By dalecooper57In photography9 Comments

Good morning, welcome to The Cosmic Photo Challenge on a brisk February Monday, where we have been taking pictures of; Other people’s houses.

The rather prosaic idea of this week’s prompt is to discover in what type of residential surroundings our various contributors reside. It’s interesting to see how different parts of the world approach similar architectural challenges and after all, we all have to live somewhere.

So give us a flavour of what residential communities look like wherever you call home.

I live on a housing estate on the outskirts of Barnstaple, meaning I only need to walk for ten minutes and I’m out in the country, where older buildings intermingle with the new.

Now let’s see what it looks like around your neck of the woods…

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To get involved with the challenge; check out the Cosmic Photo Prompt each Friday, then post a photo (or photos) on your blog the following Monday, with a pingback link to my Monday post.
Tag your posts with #CosPhoChal.

Any and all effects, editing, Photoshop, Instagram, morphing, collages, animation, gifs, or whatever other post production techniques you fancy are permitted, (in fact, they’re actively encouraged!) so get creative and turn your photos into artworks for the Cosmic Photo Challenge

Cosmic Photo prompt.

On 6th Feb 2026 By dalecooper57In photographyLeave a comment

Good afternoon, here’s your prompt for The Cosmic Photo Challenge.

This week I’m trying to get an idea of the residential architecture in your various parts of the world, with the cheekily titled; Other people’s houses.

What does it look like where you live? What kind of environment do you inhabit? Villages, towns, cityscapes, housing estates, high rise apartment blocks, trailer parks, gated communities; we have found so many ways to coexist with our fellow humans, so let’s see how folks do it where you are.

Have a great weekend, see you all on Monday.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Minimalism.

On 2nd Feb 2026 By dalecooper57In photography17 Comments

Hello there, welcome to The Cosmic Photo Challenge and congratulations on making it through the longest month of the year.

Yes, it’s finally February, I almost feel like I’ve recovered from the flu and we’re restarting with something simple; Minimalism.

I based my pictures on something I’ve used a lot over the past two weeks, but can you work out what I used to make these satisfyingly smooth contours?

What simplistic images do you have for us today..?

Cosmic Photo prompt.

On 30th Jan 2026 By dalecooper57In photography4 Comments

Good afternoon, I hope you’ve all been doing well since the last time we were together, I’m now mostly recovered from a deeply unpleasant week of flu and more or less ready to take on The Cosmic Photo Challenge once again.

We’ll start off with something uncomplicated, pretty much by definition; Minimalism.

I’ll let you interpret that however you wish and we’ll reconvene on Monday to compare our simplistic images.

Have a great weekend, stay healthy, catch you all soon.

Cosmic Hiatus.

On 23rd Jan 2026 By dalecooper57In photography4 Comments

The Cosmic Photo Challenge is taking a break this week, as I’m suffering from a particularly virulent strain of flu, normal service should resume next week, fingers crossed.

Thank you for your patience, enjoy your weekend.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Morning light.

On 19th Jan 2026 By dalecooper57In nature photography, photography15 Comments

Good morning from The Cosmic Photo Challenge, which this week is all about that special time of day when we can experience; Morning light.

I was lucky with the weather for my pre-breakfast walks at the weekend; the mornings broke clear, cold and bright, perfect for capturing views across the glistening countryside.

So, what did you see as the sun rose over your part of the world..?

Cosmic Photo prompt.

On 16th Jan 2026 By dalecooper57In photographyLeave a comment

Hi there, I just popped in to give you your creative inspiration for the weekend, courtesy of The Cosmic Photo Challenge and this week’s theme; Morning light.

This time of year the early mornings are especially lovely, if rather cold, so set your alarm and see if you can capture the world waking up for Monday’s post.

Have a great weekend, see y’all soon.

The Cosmic Photo Challenge: Still life.

On 12th Jan 202611th Jan 2026 By dalecooper57In arts, photography13 Comments

Good day to you all, I hope you had a pleasant break, now it’s time for The Cosmic Photo Challenge to brighten your Monday, with this week’s theme being; Still life.

As always, however you wish to interpret the prompts on our challenge, we’re here for it, that’s the beauty of our lackadaisical approach to rules.

But when I set the theme on Friday, apart from having no real idea of what I was going to do, it occurred to me that I wasn’t entirely certain what “still life photography” actually meant.

So I looked it up.

Amongst other things, it seems the general guidelines come down to:

Backgrounds: Select simple, complementary backgrounds that don’t distract.
Cohesive Objects: Pick items that tell a story or share a similar style (e.g., antique theme).
Create Layers: Arrange objects at different heights and levels for depth.
Rule of Thirds: Place key elements on imaginary lines or intersections for balance.

Also suggested were; using fabrics to soften and create textures; adding bowls of fruit or flowers to connect to nature or give a “lived in” feel; give depth by lighting from the side, instead of from in front or above, and drawing inspiration from classical still life paintings.

So, taking all of this sage advice on board (I could only manage a small ramekin of blueberries at short notice), I spent Saturday evening setting up a photo shoot in my living room. I rather enjoyed it, too. ;~}

Here I present three differently lit shots, each taken from slightly different perspectives, you’ll have to decide for yourselves if your favourite is the same as mine…