This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (28 Feb – 6 Mar ‘10)

Weekly Assignment

As February has come to an end, so has our series of food assignments. Our last food assignment was focused on Beverages. Whether those were drinks that warm you on a cold day, or the cool refreshing drinks of summer, we wanted to see them all. Our winner this week was GwenieThePooh’s “‘Diet’ Coke”. This was one of those shots that was clever, made us smile, and stuck in our minds during the assignment. Our first runner up was thebubblybeginner’s “Mocho Cocoa!”. The lighting on this shot was great, it was simple and very effective. You can almost feel the warmth of the cocoa and the coolness of the whipped cream on top. And last, but not least was eBomb’s “Cold Bull”. This one really has the feel of a product shot. From the crisp white ice to the bold colours of the energy drink, this shot stood out to us and made us think that it might be a good afternoon pick-me-up at the end of a long week. Well done everyone!

Our newest assignment was also posted this week, and we wanted you to go ahead and Jump!. We had this assignment last year, but it’s always a fun one. Whether it’s a jumping self portrait, an animal, or another person, we want you to make sure that their feet are off the ground! And while that might sound easy once you get the technical part of the assignment down, don’t forget to consider your composition and lighting in these shots too. As always, a quick reminder of the assignment rules. First, your photo needs to have been taken between 24 February – 10 March 2010. Your post must include the words “Assignment: Jump!” and the date that the photo was taken. And last, but not least, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s useful if you can include some of the main points like: camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, etc. Next week’s assignment will be Commute and will run from 3 March – 17 March 2010. We want you to show us how you commute each day. Whether it’s by bike, by foot, by car, by train, by horse… show us how you get from point A to point B.

Hot Threads

• Simple Water Droplet Tutorial: Have you ever seen those water droplet shots that look like colourful glass or almost living creatures as the water splashes up? Have you seen them and thought you need all kinds of specialized gear to take these kind of shots? Powerpix put up a tutorial showing how to take these shots with an 18-55mm kit lens that many of us own. So if you’ve ever wanted to shoot water drops but weren’t quite sure how, come check out this thread.
• Digital Rangefinders: In the last few months there have been more and more digital rangefinders hitting the market. They’re smaller than DSLRs, but have the ability to change lenses and are getting good reviews. But one forum member asked about any “overlooked” gems in the digital rangefinder world. So if you’ve used one or are looking at one yourself, why not join in the discussion over in the forum.
• Why do you need a tripod for shooting macros?: If you’re shooting macros you might be wondering if you really need a tripod, especially if you have enough light. After all, you can get a faster shutter speed. If you’ve ever wondered why you might still need a tripod though, you might want to check out this thread where there’s some great information about the benefits of tripods and other gear for shooting good macros.
• Black and White Photography: Once upon a time there was nothing but black and white film. But now, you have the option to not only shoot in colour, but do all sorts of things to enhance your photos. But sometimes this can make it difficult to shoot good black and white photos because we just aren’t used to it. Not to mention it can be hard to see how a black and white photo would come out when the world around us is so colorful. Come share your tips, tricks, hints and suggestions on how to shoot good black and white photos over in the forum.
• What Would You Do: One of the fun and creative parts of our forum is the weekly post-processing game we call “What Would You Do”. You may be familiar with this game if you’ve been on the forums for a while because we’re up to number 136. But if you’re new to the forums, this is our weekly game where where you get the chance to post-process another forum member’s photo and show us what you would do with it. Often times people get some great ideas of how they could improve their shots in ways they may never have thought of otherwise.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (28 Feb – 6 Mar ‘10)