This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums

We had a really busy week in the forums this week reaching over 5,300 members! So here are some of the highlights.

Assignments

This week everyone was seeing red as we finished the Red assignment. Another great response from our forum members made it another difficult week for judging. There were a lot of very creative entries that showcased the colour red, but in the end we finally decided on a winner, and it was Rdaw for the simple and effective red fabric. It was an incredibly difficult choice with all the great entries (especially ones from cheri13green and Susan). The honourable mentions this week go to two very creative shots. First, was RexK_Cozumel’s photo of his “darkroom”. At first he wasn’t sure how to proceed with this shot, but after some advice from the forum members, he definitely managed to show his vision. Second, was Hendo1769′s Fiery Gates which was not only creative, but also well executed and left us wondering how it was done.

The newest assignment was also announced and it is Strangers. Taking pictures of strangers is difficult for many people because we are uncomfortable with getting into other people’s spaces, this assignment is aimed at breaking down some of those barriers and becoming even more comfortable with all aspects of your photography. So if you enjoy street photography, this assignment may be perfect for you. And if you’re too shy for street photography, what better excuse is there to get out and try something new. If you want your photos to be eligible for the mini-contest, make sure that you took the photo between 9-23 August 2007 and they are tagged with Assignment:Strangers somewhere in the post. Next week’s assignment will be Seeing Double.

Weekly Poll

The weekly poll took a bit of a different turn this week and instead of asking people what choice they would make if they were only given two options, we wanted to know how much memory people carried when they went out shooting. There were some very interesting results and we learned a little bit about why people carry the amount of memory that they do.

Sime said it best about why to carry multiple cards and said “More is best, offers redundancy if a card fails, move onto another – dont try fix it on the road… “

Of course, wulf gave a very practical view of why more cards might not be better and said this about carrying a single 1GB card “So far, I haven’t come near to filling it up (I shudder to think about how much time it would take to sort the pictures afterwards if I did!).”

This week, stop by the forums and tell us whether you prefer to photograph people or places.

Hot Threads

If you don’t use Flickr, what do you use?: Even though Flickr is one of the more popular photo sharing sites, not everyone uses it, so if you don’t use Flickr, drop by the thread and tell us what you use and why.

Are you a Mac or PC user?: One of the never-ending debates (aside from the Canon v Nikon one) seems to be the one between Mac and PC. So which one do you use, or which one do you prefer if you use both of them?

How did you choose your forum name?: An older thread has resurfaced this week since we crossed the 5,000 member mark. There are a lot of people with unusual names in the forum, and even if your name is just your own (like me), then drop by the thread and tell us why you go by the name you do in the forums.

Toothpick: Have you ever seen a dragonfly cleaning his teeth? Well, if you haven’t here’s your chance to see that and a great example of macro photography.

Other Threads to Note

This week’s alphabet thread is really one to challenge your creativity. Q is for… is the most recent thread in the series and possibly the most difficult to date, but there’s already been a pretty good turnout. So, if you have a photo of something that starts with Q or you can find something to take a picture of, make sure you drop by the thread and share. We’re also up to week 13 on What Would You Do so if you want to show off your post-processing skills or simply want a way to learn what you could do, make sure to drop by and give it a try.

Finally, August’s contest to win a Wallhog is still on, so keep posting in the forums because every post you make earns you a chance to win a 4 foot Wallhog.