By: Stephen Terlizzi

There is an interesting new Internet meme called Stocking.  Basically, you chose a stock photo and then try to recreate it. There is a Tumblr dedicated to the practice, called Stocking Is The New Planking.

Planking refers to the previous "hot" meme from earlier this year where people took photos of others lying face down in various, often unusual, environments.  There were other variations including teapotting, owling and horsemaning.
 

Is Stocking Good for Photography?

What does this mean for photography? Well, anything that gets people thinking about photography and taking photographs is definitely a good thing. And one can learn a lot about the execution of a photograph by stocking; however, if you are simply copying an already existing stock photograph, where is the creativity?

Stocking Is The New Planking is having a Stocking Challenge, where they have picked three photos to be recreated. The prize is small: $75 for 1st place and $25 for 2nd place for each of the three photos and the contest is open until September 7th, 2011.

It will be interesting to see the entries and the winners.