This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums
Posted in Forum, From the Forums, Photography Tips and Tutorials on January 31st, 2009 by NicoleWeekly Assignment
We finished the High ISO assignment this week, and there were a lot of really creative entries. We were able to pick out 3 of our favourite shots, but it was a challenge (as always!). That being said, our winner this week was duna’s sparklers. The use of the high ISO let her get the shutter speed up high enough to catch the little sparks and their detail. Our first runner up was lyskabar’s “Ingrained Farmer.” While the title creates a lovely play on words, the grain really helps bring out the detail and creates a timeless quality to the photo. And last, but not least was ana.gr’s Julia, 1600. In this case, the grain really helped add to the soft look of the photo and helped create a really lovely portrait. Well done to our winner and runners up! And also nicely done everyone else, it’s all the quality shots that we get submitted that make our task of picking just 3 pictures a difficult one!
Negative Space can have a powerful effect on a photograph. It can help draw the eye to the subject, create feelings of isolation, and just change the entire feel of a shot. That’s why this week’s assignment is Negative Space. In order to be eligible for the mini-contest, your photo needs to have been taken between 21 January - 4 February 2009, you must include the words “Assignment: Negative Space” and the date the photo was taken in your post, and the EXIF should be intact. Next week’s assignment will be “Cold”.
Hot Threads
- You have a great camera…: Have you ever been told this? Does it make you feel like people think that it’s your camera that goes out and takes good pictures rather than you, the photographer? Well, unless you have stitchbug’s camera (which apparently goes for walks on it’s own), you may feel frustrated hearing this. So what do you say when people tell you this?
- Making dull things interesting: A discussion came up in the critique forum which made one forum user ask the question: Can any subject be made interesting and dramatic in a photo? And the result of the question was a challenge to anyone out there to make the list of items in the thread look interesting. Stop by and participate in a thread which is sure to get you thinking more creatively and will help you realise that anything can be made intersting.
- 18 Minute Pinhole at Night: You read that right, one of our forum members (RussHeath) took an 18 minute exposure with a pinhole camera. The aperture for the shot was approximately f/150, and the camera was loaded with Fuji Superia 100 film. The result is definitely something to be seen!
- Do you under or over expose when shooting RAW?: While the ideal choice is to always get your exposure spot on, when you’re forced to choose between under and overexposing, which do you pick? Do you pick underexposure because it’s easier to rescule the shadows or do you come as close to overexposing as possible without clipping your highlights?
- What Would You Do (#84): What Would You Do is our weekly post-processing thread that let’s you edit the photo of another forum member who has graciously offered up their photo for people to edit. Whether you have Photoshop or Paint, The Gimp or Picasa, the game is open to all levels of post-processing skill, so come join in the fun. You’ll be amazed what you can learn!
