World Through My Lens: REPORT on my first 30-day Challenge

A summary of my first chat challenge on Substack

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Well, I’m extremely happy with how well this first chat challenge turned out! Thank you all for your engagement!

I know the challenge connected some of my readers and this won’t be my last chat challenge!

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World Through My Lens: 30-day Challenge

This chat challenge was intended to connect my readers and grow together as a community.

From January 20 to February 22 I posted a new prompt each day in chat, along with my own example, and advertised it in Notes too. This was the invite:

30-Day Chat Challenge: World Through My Lens

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Since the end of the challenge is here, I’m collecting all the participants with my choice of the most striking photo of the day.

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Week 1 Topic: Favorite Travel Memories

A selection of my readers’ shares:

1. Your Happy Place: Glacier National Park in Montana by Richard Philion

2. Most Beautiful View: Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain by Stephanie Thurrott

3. Unexpected Delight: Gdansk, Poland by Designing With Code

4. Best Meal Abroad: British High Tea in Dubai by Graham Saxby

5. Travel Buddies: Meg by Graham Saxby

6. Postcard Moments: Sunrise at Hilton Head, South Carolina by Chris Wills

7. Off the Beaten Path: Letchworth State Park by Richard Philion

1) Glacier National Park in Montana by Richard Philion; 2) Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain by Stephanie Thurrott; 3) Gdansk, Poland by Designing With Code

4) British High Tea in Dubai by Graham Saxby; 5) Meg by Graham Saxby; 6) Sunrise at Hilton Head, South Carolina by Chris Wills; 7) Letchworth State Park by Richard Philion

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Week 2 Topic: Learning Through Travel

A selection of my readers’ shares:

1. Local Lessons: Making Orecchiette in Italy by

   Richard Philion

2. History in Photos: Numancia necropolis at Garray, Spain by

   Food and Fiesta

3. Cultural Connection: A street musician on market day in Zagreb, Croatia by

   Graham Saxby

4. Travel Tips: Regent’s Canal London by

   Graham Saxby

5. Throwback Fun: Stables at Clydesdales by

   Chris Wills

6. Local Delicacies: Eating raw sea urchins in Bari, Italy by

   Richard Philion

1) Making Orecchiette in Italy by Richard Philion; 2) Numancia necropolis at Garray, Spain by Food&Fiesta; 3) A street musician on market day in Zagreb, Croatia by Graham Saxby

4) Regent’s Canal London by Graham Saxby; 5) Stables at Clydesdales by Chris Wills; 6) Eating raw sea urchins in Bari, Italy by Richard Philion

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Week 3 Topic: Travel Adventures and Challenges

A selection of my readers’ shares:

1. Adventure Awaits: Mountain gorillas in Uganda by

   Kris Kuhn

2. Lost, But Loved It: Getting lost in Zagreb, Croatia, by

   Graham Saxby

3. Wildlife Wonders: Monkeys in Thailand by

   Gretchen

4. Packing Pros and Fails:

   Graham Saxby
   forgot to take his camera to Dubai

5. Budget-Friendly Bliss: Beaches are usually free, by

   Jen Phillips April
   and
   Anjali Krishnakumar

6. Language Barriers:

   Chris Wills
   feels those bring a family closer

1) Mountain gorillas in Uganda by Kris; 2) Getting lost in Zagreb, Croatia, by Graham; 3) Monkeys in Thailand by Gretchen

4) Graham’s camera; 5) Beaches by Jen Philips April and Anjali Krishnakumar

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Week 4 Topic: Dream Destinations and Inspiration

A selection of my readers’ shares:

1. Bucket List Spots: Sydney by

   Marylee Pangman 📝✍️📚
   & St. Petersburg, Florida by
   Kathleen Thorne RN, LMT

2. City vs. Nature:

   Gretchen
   prefers nature

3. Best Travel Season: Off-season if possible for

   Chris Wills

4. Inspiring Architecture: The Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba by

   Richard Philion

5. Favorite Souvenir: A painting of Venice by

   Chris Wills

1-2) Sydney by Marylee & Florida by Kathleen; 3) Glacial lake by Gretchen

4) Greece off-season by Chris; 5) The Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba by Richard; 6) Venice on canvas by Chris

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Week 5 Topic: Visual Journeys

A selection of my readers’ shares:

1. Colors of Travel: West-African traditional costumes by

   Marloes Wardenier

2. Golden Hour Glow: Dubai skyline by

   Graham Saxby

3. Street Art Stories: The Prince Albert pub in Brighton, UK by

   Graham Saxby

4. Hidden Details: An elephant close-up by

   Richard Philion

5. Urban Skylines: Sydney by

   Marylee Pangman 📝✍️📚
   & Amsterdam by
   Marloes Wardenier

1) West-African traditional costumes by Marloes; 2) the Dubai skyline by Graham; 3) The Prince Albert pub in Brighton, UK by Graham

4) An elephant close-up by Richard; 5) Sydney by Marylee & Amsterdam by Marloes

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These readers also participated with their photos, and thank you all for that:

Catherine

,

Brian McGrath

,

Betty Carlson

,

Pia Whitmartlet

,

Alea Montañez

,

J Callender Photography

,

Diane Burley

,

Charisse Tyson

,

Practical Globetrotters

,

Debbie Hudzik

,

Daniel Catena

,

Etta Madden

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The leaderboard for this challenge:

1. Graham Saxby
   posted 23 photos in these 30 days, so he is the winner! 🎉🎉

2. Richard Philion
   posted 18 photos

3. Chris Wills
   posted 15 photos

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The winner will receive a yearly subscription to Journey Jots, and all three first places will get a chance to collaborate, so keep following to learn more about them!

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Join me to become part of an affirmative and open-minded community that loves learning about the world around us!

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A special gift for my readers – explore Europe in 2025!