Wait a minute..... Are we talking about two or more different situations here, or what? I suspect that the use of the words "Photo of the Week" , "52 Weeks" and "challenge" has been confusing. At least to me, as I tend to be very literal.
I have done two 52-Week projects over the past two years and so this year am taking a break from that. A 52-week project, done in the customary way, is one where someone commits to shooting at least once a week and at the end of the week deciding upon a particular image and that one image represents that particular week. In some situations a photographer will share several of his or her best images if he or she shoots a lot during each week. Most people shoot more frequently than one day a week and also most people begin a 52-Week project at the beginning of a new calendar year, which of course makes perfect sense. Subject matter is limited only to whatever the individual doing the project chooses, as it is his or her personal project.
Yes, a 52-Week project IS a challenge, no doubt about that, but it is not really meant to be competing against other people, but rather oneself. It can be a valuable learning tool and a great way to get out there with the camera and just shoot. Needless to say a daily Photo of the Day (365 Days) project is even MORE challenging, and again is meant as an individual's personal project rather than a competition with others. That said, doing either type of project provides plenty of material for sharing with others in various ways!
Then we have the weekly (in some other forums in which I participate) or in this case, the monthly challenges which are meant to be competitions and which for rather some time have been tossed out here on this forum without any particular theme or topic. Ehhhh? That does not work for me. Having everyone shooting to a specific theme or topic is what makes it easier for participants and viewers to assess which image(s) in their opinion in the end are truly outstanding, as everyone is starting from the same place and presents his or her own interpretation of whatever the theme is. That in itself is what makes the concept more challenging.
So maybe there needs to be some renaming somewhere along the line here? If the group wants a weekly challenge, that's greet, but don't call it a 52 Weeks challenge, as that is really something entirely different. A weekly contest can be fun and I've participated in those in other forums. And, yes, IMHO it needs to have a theme for each weekly competition.
The monthly thing, though, the way it's been.....that's confusing. It seems as though members can post random images and at the end of a month one becomes voted in as what I would term essentially the "best photo of the month," which is entirely different from a competition where everyone participating needs to shoot to a specific theme, present his or her own interpretation of that theme and then viewers can assess which in their opinion has turned out to be the best overall image, which is based on a number of factors: interpretation of the theme, composition, exposure and other technical skills, etc., etc.
Just my tuppence here. I haven't participated in the 52 Weeks thing in 2022 because I am not engaged at this time in shooting such a project. last year I did submit an image weekly, which was selected from whatever I'd shot during the previous week.
I also haven't contributed to the monthly challenge/competition thread because of the lack of theme. It's a fair playing field if the theme is, say, waterfowl or birds, or landscapes or portraits, or images with a particular color included, but when there is no theme, it's simply open-ended, people can toss any old image into the mix regardless of subject matter, then to me that becomes a different ball game altogether. So that's why I haven't been participating.
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