This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (13-19 Sep ‘09)

Weekly Assignment

It was sins abound this week with all the participation in the Seven Deadly Sins assignment. I have to say, this assignment had a lot of really high quality entries and it was great seeing the level of creativity. Our winner this week was Nathan deGargoyle’s Seven Faces of Sin. He didn’t just show us one, but all seven in a striking, imaginative, and slightly scary approach to this week’s theme. Our first runner up was Ali QJo’s photo for pride, when your love of self becomes more important than anything else. The crisp black and white along with a good use of negative space created a really effective shot. And last, but not least was mseigafuse’s wrathful film noir shot. This shot had nice lighting and a good depth of field and successfully combined the film noir style with the theme and we could tell that a lot of thought went into crating the shot.

We also started our Contrast. Contrast can be used in a number of ways to create an effective image. It can be used in contrasting colours, contrast in the image, or contrasting elements. As usual, if you would like to participate in the weekly assignment, there are a few rules to note. First, your image must have been taken between 9 – 22 September 2009. Next, your post must include the words “Assignment: Contrast” and the date the photo was taken. If these are not included your photo will not be considered in the voting phase. Finally, your EXIF should be intact and it’s useful if you can include some of the main data from the image (e.g. camera, lens, shutter speed, aperture, ISO). Next week’s assignment will also relate to contrast, but our next assignment is Shadows, which we often try to eliminate through the use of extra lighting.

Hot Threads

• Sharpness in Landscapes: Often times when shooting a landscape we want to get as deep a depth of field as possible. But how do you achieve the best sharpness in landscapes? What settings do you use in camera? And what do you do with your picture afterwards? Come read the advice and suggestions in this thread and contribute your own thoughts.
• Nikon D3000 vs D60: As camera manufacturers continue to release new cameras it can become difficult to tell what’s changed between similar models. Especially when those release dates seem to come closer and closer together. So how do these two cameras compare and which would you buy?
• One thing you really want to photograph: What is the one thing you would want to photograph if you had the chance? What if there were no limits of time, money, gear, distance, etc. What would that one thing be?
• What Would You Do: This is our weekly post-processing thread where you get the chance to edit another forum member’s photo. You use the photo and show us how you would edit it. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, you’re welcome in this thread.