This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (22-28 Nov ’09)

Weekly Assignment

First, Happy Thanksgiving to all our American readers. I hope you had an enjoyable holiday!

We finished our Kinetics assignment this week, and one of the things that really showed up was that you can create great abstract shots with a little thought and some interesting techniques. Our winner this week was Keikyu‘s All Powerful Blake. This shot had kind of an otherworldly / 80′s sci-fi sort of look to it, which was created by zooming the lens from 18m to 70mm while Blake had a string of Christmas lights wrapped around him. The lights really helped pull this image together because not only do they create depth that’s emphasized by the zooming, but also they emphasize the silhouette. Really well done. Our first runner up was Stephe‘s Sunflower. This was another effective use of zooming while taking the shot. The zooming gave it a glowing, almost painting like effect. It was a little abstract while still being clear enough that you have an idea of what it is. And last, but not least was LAOR‘s Pipes. This one also appears to use zooming to create movement. It was well composed and you could tell what it was, but the fact that the pipes became almost transparent was what set it apart. Well done everyone!

With Thanksgiving this week in the US and earlier in Canada, our assignment this week was Thankful/50mm or Thankful. You’ll notice that there are 2 parts to the assignment this week to make sure that everyone can participate. If you have a 50mm lens (or a lens that can be set to 50mm), your assignment is to take a shot of something you are thankful for, and shoot it at 50mm. If you cannot shoot something at 50mm, then you can just shoot something that you’re thankful for. But remember, if you can shoot at 50mm, then do so. The goal of these assignments is to help move beyond snapshots and think about composition, exposure, and the other skills you’ve learned in photography and in these assignments. Make sure you’re posting your very best. All of the rules can be found in the first post of the assignment, so make sure to check them. Remember, your photo must have been taken between 18 November – 2 December to be eligible for the mini contest. Next week’s assignment will be Storyboards. Your goal is to tell a story in 3 images (it should have a beginning, middle, and end). Keep this in mind: if you need to write out an explanation to what the story is, you probably aren’t getting your message across in a visual medium.

Hot Threads

• No Photoshopping: You’ll hardly believe there’s no photoshop in creating these photos that take a humorous look at nature. Ron Lacey explains some of the results he’s had with his outdoor studio.
• Polarizing Filter & White Balance: This technical question came up in the forums this week: should you set your white balance before or after putting on a polarizing filter? Come read the answer and learn a little more about setting white balance and using DIY tools to set it.
• Which Lens for a Beginner?: With all the lenses out there, sometimes it can be hard to know which lens you should start with when you’re just getting started with a DSLR. Do you stick with the kit lens? Do you get a cheap prime? What do you do? And as usual, inkista offers some great advice why the kit lens isn’t always as bad as it can be made out to be.
• What Would You Do: If you’re looking for a break from the eating, football, and shopping this weekend, why not come have some fun in our weekly post-processing thread where you get the chance to edit another forum member’s photo. It’s open to all levels of post-processing and you’ll learn a lot in the process.