Assignment: "My Best Shot of 2009" Dec. 16-30

[Saralonde]

As we close out the year, for our last assignment, I want you to go through all of your shots you took this year and choose your very best. Give a brief explanation of why you feel it is your best of the year. You need to have taken it during 2009. Please remember to include your EXIF info and "My Best Shot of 2009" if you want to be in the mini-contest.

THE WINNER of "My Best Shot of 2009" as chosen by the judges will win a Lowepro Toploader Pro 70 AW

As always, rules:
Please note the change in closing time.

Just a note to new posters: DO NOT start a new thread for your post. Please just hit the reply button at the bottom of any current post and put your image there.

1. Your original image you submit should be taken between the 1st of January and the 30th of December. Each week as an assignment closes on the Wednesday, it will be AUTOMATICALLY deemed *CLOSED* after 8am GMT ( 3am EST) and any posts after that time will not be eligible for the assignment competition. Don't wait until the last minute to post!

2. Your post must include "Assignment: My Best Shot of 2009 " (to show your permission to count it for the contest) and the date the picture was taken (to show that it is a valid entry).

3. EXIF data should be intact. It helps if you can include the main points (including camera, lens, date taken, ISO, shutter speed and aperture) in the text of your message.

4. Only one entry per member (if you can't restrain yourself until the end of the first week you can post two or three separate pictures but your entry should be in a separate post and the only marked with the text above). It must be an original image taken by you.

5. Remember the cross-site image size limit (800px on the longest side).

6. If the image does not exist in post at the end of the contest, it is disqualified. If you modify anything on flickr and re-save the image then the link is broken and the message needs edited to link the picture again before it will be included in the contest.
For everyone, please do not repeat other people's photos by quoting them until the contest is over. If you want to comment on or discuss an entry you can use a link to it (or just delete the picture from the quoted text).

7. If you are looking for the winners of the mini-contest, please check the front page of the DPS blog Saturday late afternoon (EST) and here.

In the midst of gift wrapping, cooking, entertaining, traveling and shopping I FORGOT THE NEXT ASSIGNMENT!! So since we're going into a New Year, our next assignment will be "New Beginnings".

[Photoboothguy]

The Color of Sound


This is a photo of paint on a speaker.

By popularity, this is my best photo of the year. In 6 weeks, it has had 6600+ views, 160+ comments, and 650+ favs on Flickr. Technically, this was one of my toughest shots, combining several technical and photographic skills.

Tutorial can be found here.

Exif Data:
Taken: November 10, 2009
Camera: Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Lens: Sigma 70-200 f2.8 w/ Kenko 36mm extension tube
Exposure: 1
Aperture: f/14.0
Focal Length: 110 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Flash: 580exII at 1/16 power, at 7 o'clock.........430exII at 1/8 power at 4 o'clock
Flashes triggered by sound trigger, 70ms delay.
Speaker was 120Hz tone (not sure of dB).

One last thing to add: DPS has done wonders for my photography since I picked up a camera 14 months ago. The "How I Took It" has given me inspiration on many shots, and the Weekly Assignments really get the creative juices flowing. Not only that, but it has given my work quite a bit of exposure, and has encouraged me to improve and fine-tune my work. And so (and I think I speak for a lot of the DPS members), I want to say thank you to Darren Rowse and the staff of DPS for creating and maintaining such a wonderful website, where photographers of all levels can learn and share their experiences in a warm and friendly environment. Thanks!

[heyadamhey]

Originally Posted by Photoboothguy

The Color of Sound

SUCH a good shot! stiff competition already...

[andrecb]

Lonely street in Oporto Portugal



Exif Sub IFD

* Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 1/4 second ===> 0.25 second
* Lens F-Number / F-Stop = 4/1 ===> ƒ/4
* ISO Speed Ratings = 100
* Original Date/Time = 2009:12:08 16:44:29
* Shutter Speed Value (APEX) = 131072/65536
Shutter Speed (Exposure Time) = 1/4 second
* Aperture Value (APEX) = 262144/65536
Aperture = ƒ/4
* Flash = Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
* Focal Length = 18/1 mm ===> 18 mm
* Image Width = 700 pixels
* Image Height = 1050 pixels

[sk66]

Taken January 4 2009
Camera: Nikon D300
Exposure: 0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 65 mm
ISO Speed: 3200
Exposure Bias: -1/3 EV

It wasn't easy to decide, but I chose this one even though it does have some technical flaws.
I consider this my best shot because it wasn't "luck", it wasn't created in post, and it wasn't "easy" to capture.
There was this large flock of crows migrating or something and every time I saw them it gave me this "Hitchcock" feeling, that's what I wanted to capture. I spent several evenings over a couple weeks time trying to capture them and I finally caught them perched next to an abandoned funeral home (how perfect!).
To get the image I set the ISO very high because I wanted the grain. I set the WB to something for blue lights (fluorescents I think) to give the warm color, and I underexposed slightly because it wasn't actually that dark. It was all about creating the mood. What you see is almost straight out of camera.
I did do some minor color adjustment as well as boost the grain some, minor cropping and added the vignette.

[parran]

I picked this one, because I like to find beauty in things most people do not find beautiful, like a pile of construction debits. 2/15/2009



Camera: Olympus E-510
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 42 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Auto, Did not fire

[nickspictures.com]

[tanya_m]

This is a shot I took while experiment with the kinetic style (I think it's also the shot I submitted for that assignment).



Camera: Canon Rebel Xsi
F-stop: F/22
Exposure time: 4 sec.
Iso: 400
Focal Length: 53mm

[Obijuan]

My best shot is this one because it was so much fun to create. We make it a daily activity. Fun.


Dec 16, 2009
1600×1072 pixels – 161KB
Filename: OscarJMP 029.jpg
Camera: NIKON
Model: D80
ISO: 250
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: 4.2
Focal Length: 26mm
Flash Used: Yes

[sdhondatuner]

I took this picture at sunset this past summer. It's the remains of the Peter Iredale that ran ashore in Astoria Oregon in 1906. This picture is hard for me to walk away from. For me, it looks "so right" as well as "so wrong." It intrigues me. I'm not sure it's my best, but I really like it. It's one of my favorite shots of 2009.





Taken: 07-19-2009
Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Nikkor 18-35 mm
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture: f/18.0
Focal Length: 29 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: -4/3 EV
Flash: No Flash

PP: Adjusted levels and blue saturation in Elements 6. Adjusted size for flickr.

Any constructive criticism or comments are appreciated (on my flickr page). We are all students as well as teachers.