How this Quest works
In a photo challenge, participants receive an assignment at each stop and submit a photo as evidence. Macro photography is about getting close and capturing details most people miss. The evidence type is set per stop — photo, video, or none.
The screenshots below are this example played for real, in Kew Gardens, London — 5 stops, about 1.2 km of walking end to end. Nothing here is a mock-up: the 5 quests from this page, dropped on 5 real places and walked through.
The wording at each stop is a starting point, not a script. Each screenshot below names the real place it was staged at — borrow the shape of the walk and write your own for where you are.
All 5 stops pinned across Kew Gardens, London. The participant is 42 metres from the first.
A quest only opens once the participant is physically within about 30 metres of it. The brief appears on arrival and the photo has to be taken there and then.
Stop 1 as the participant sees it, opened on arrival.
A completed stop pays the 300-point base plus whatever is left of the speed bonus.
Everyone's results land on the same scoreboard as they go, so a group spread across Kew Gardens can still see who is ahead.
The live scoreboard part-way through.
Stop 1 — Bark and Lichen
Trees with interesting bark texture make excellent first stops. The assignment is clear and everyone can find a tree.
Title: Bark Texture
Description: Fill the entire frame with bark texture — no sky, no background, just surface detail. Get within 5 centimeters and focus on a small area. Side-light brings out the textures best.
Evidence: Photo
Stop 2 — The Leaf Study
Leaves are everywhere and look fascinating up close. A great assignment that requires observation and creativity.
Quest 2 — Waterlily House.
Title: The Leaf Landscape
Description: Photograph a single leaf so it looks like a landscape seen from above. Hold it up to the light and capture the vein patterns. Look for imperfections — holes, brown edges, dewdrops.
Evidence: Photo
Stop 3 — Ground Level
An assignment that forces participants to change perspective creates engagement and surprising images.
Quest 3 — Temperate House.
Title: The Ant's Perspective
Description: Lie down and photograph the world from an ant's point of view. Get the camera as low as possible — aimed slightly upward into the undergrowth. Focus on a mushroom, a seed, or a tiny flower and make it look monumental.
Evidence: Photo
Stop 4 — The Creature Close-Up
Small living things require patience. That makes this assignment a challenge that rewards calm and attention.
Quest 4 — Treetop Walkway.
Title: Life's Tiny Details
Description: Find a small creature — an insect, a spider, or a snail — and photograph it in its natural habitat. Move slowly and avoid casting your shadow over the subject. If you can't find an animal, photograph a spider web or a snail trail instead.
Evidence: Photo
Stop 5 — The Abstract Pattern
Finish with an abstract assignment that challenges participants to see nature in a new way.
Quest 5 — Great Pagoda.
Title: Nature's Abstraction
Description: Take a photo so close that the viewer can't immediately tell what the subject is. Photograph the inside of a flower, the surface of water, or a piece of bark until it becomes pure color and form. The goal: natural beauty as abstract art.
Evidence: Photo