focus52|2012 {week seven} february 12 to 18

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Welcome to Week Seven, 52'rs! How did you enjoy our still life prompt last week? Browsing through your blogs and flickr, I noticed a lot of you mentioning that you had to step outside of your comfort zone for the prompt and that's GOOD! Growing and learning, that's what it's all about. You need to step outside of your box and try something new every now and then.

Now, unless you've been hiding under a rock (and some of us would like to!) you're well aware what's going on this week. Love is in the air, people.

Apparently.

February 14th. You either love it or you hate it. And to that end, you have two choices for your prompt this week (because I'm a little afraid of you anti-Valentine peoples) ...

Love. How would you capture it this week? You could choose to go the Valentine route, or choose to portray love in an entirely different manner. Perhaps a scene you spy on the street or at the mall (there's plenty of discombobulated men running around trying to find the perfect Valentine - that could be fun!), maybe an expression of love, a symbol of love, a person/place/thing you love ... so many possibilities.

And then there's Red. Yummy, scrumptious red. My friend, Katrina Kennedy, introduced me to the Red Rule some time ago. It's simple really ... if you see red, shoot it! Red adds that punch of interest and draws your eye. It can add that something special to your composition and take it from 'good' to 'WOW'. And if you're looking for a bit of photo inspiration this week, there's an entire flickr group dedicated to the Red Rule.

A few tips when photographing the color red:

  • Watch your exposure. Red tones are easy to blow out and you don't want to lose detail in your shot.
  • Watch your white balance. Orange is not red. Likewise, don't go too cold and end up with a purple toned red and a blue background. Or? Shoot in RAW format and be happy :)
  • Lighting - I find red easiest to capture in it's truest form using natural lighting, but that's just a personal preference. If you're using artificial lighting, get your white balance right (or again, shoot in RAW format)

That's about it, I think. Fun topics this week and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Whatever you choose to do this week, follow the prompt or no, come back here and link up your work when you're done (weeks run Sunday to Saturday, don't forget!). Links must be to the direct URL of your actual work, not just to the site it's posted in, and may be a link to your blog post or to your flickr photo. Also, please don't link and run - try to find some time to visit at least a few of your fellow 52'ers. That's half the fun! And don't forget the flickr pool!

Remember, you do not need to use the prompt in order to come back here and share.

Have fun and have a LOVEly week (sorry ... couldn't resist)




focus52|2012 {week six} february 5 to 11

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Welcome to week six! Before we jump into it, I want to say a few things about our previous week. Quite a few 52'rs were disappointed or confused with the prompt 'cold'. Some were unsure how to go about completing their project for the week when they were having such warm temperatures.

One of the great things about having a weekly prompt is that it is just that ... a prompt. Prompts, by their very definition serve to suggest, inspire, motivate. The word or idea given does not have to have such a literal meaning. On weeks where we have a simple word prompt, I encourage you to think outside of the box, stretch your imagination, be creative. Have some fun with it. It's your project and yours alone, and there is no right or wrong way to do it.

And you know what? At the end of the week, you guys totally rocked the cold prompt! I saw some truly inspired work and a lot of gorgeous ice and snow. The whole week was great.

So stop stressing :)

Okay, onto week six!

Still life photography is an art unto itself. Much thought must be given to composition and lighting. But, YOU are in control of the entire scene and for that reason, it's one of my favorite forms of photography. Total control ... how often can you say you have that? heh.

A still life composition comes with it's own challenges though. I've often spent well over an hour arranging and rearranging a composition, only to scrap it all and go right back to the way I had everything set out to begin with. It's important to rearrange and adjust, try different perspectives, angles, depth of field. Not liking what you see? Move around your setup and come at it from a different point of view.

Any subject is fair game for a still life composition (even mundane makeup!). A few tips to keep in mind:

  • Look for pleasing arrangements of objects that look like they belong with each other.
  • Choose a good background or surface that compliments your subject matter.
  • Use the Rule of Thirds. Always.
  • Keep it simple.
  • Experiment with your lighting.

Don't worry about creating the next masterpiece and spend endless time searching out the perfect subject for your focus. The most ordinary, every day object can be a thing of beauty if you take the time to compose your photograph properly.

Whatever you choose to do this week, follow the prompt or no, come back here and link up your work when you're done (weeks run Sunday to Saturday, don't forget!). Links must be to the direct URL of your actual work, not just to the site it's posted in, and may be a link to your blog post or to your flickr photo. Also, please don't link and run - try to find some time to visit at least a few of your fellow 52'ers. That's half the fun! And don't forget the flickr pool!

Remember, you do not need to use the prompt in order to come back here and share.

Have fun and have a wonderful week :)




focus52|2012 {week five} january 29 to february 4

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Here we are at week five and heading into February. Honestly, is it just me or did the month of January fly right by? You know, by the end of this week, you'll already have one full month (and then some!) of your focus52 project under your belt.

One full month!

See? You can do this. You are doing it.

So let's get right to week five. This week, our focus52 prompt is ...


Plenty of ideas to choose from, just from that brief description. You don't have to be up here in Canada with me, freezing key body parts, in order to have some fun with the word 'cold'. Choose a literal presentation or use your imagination. Get creative.

And if you're looking for snow, I'm happy to share ;)

Whatever you choose to do this week, come back here and link up your work when you're done (weeks run Sunday to Saturday, don't forget!). Links must be to the direct URL of your actual work, not just to the site it's posted in, and may be a link to your blog post or to your flickr photo. Also, please don't link and run - try to find some time to visit at least a few of your fellow 52'ers. That's half the fun! And don't forget the flickr pool!

Remember, you do not need to use the prompt in order to come back here and share.

Enjoy your week, 52'rs! Stay warm ;)




focus52|2012 {week four} january 22 to 28

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We're at Week Four, 52'rs! Congratulations! By now you should be quite comfortable here in the group and hopefully forming some sort of weekly routine with your photography project. If not, don't despair. You'll be in the swing of things in no time.

I was happy to see so many of you rise to the Black & White challenge. I saw some truly stunning images both here and in the flickr pool. I wasn't able to comment on everybody's work this week, but I've seen them all! Great work, group!

This week, Week Four, our prompt is ...

By definition, leading lines are lines within a composition which lead the viewer's eye to the subject, to another point in the image, or occasionally, out of the image.

Sometimes, the lines are obvious as in the case of roads, pathways, etc. Other times, your eyes are drawn into the photo with subtle lines as is the case in the lake above.

When you look at any given photo, your eye is naturally drawn towards and along lines. Effectively using these lines, you can pull the viewer into your photo and towards your subject, or through your photo (think winding roads, paths, etc). Leading lines can be vertical, horizontal, diagonal, converging or even a lovely curved line. Learning to correctly use leading lines will lend more depth to your photos and make for an overall pleasing composition. And just as importantly, improper use of leading lines can cause viewer confusion and a skewed perception of what you are trying to present.

Been there, done that :)

Have some fun this week hunting down some leading lines! Once you get the hang of it, I guarantee you'll be seeing them everywhere.

Whatever you choose to do this week, follow the prompt or no, come back here and link up your work when you're done (weeks run Sunday to Saturday, don't forget!). Links must be to the direct URL of your actual work, not just to the site it's posted in, and may be a link to your blog post or to your flickr photo. Also, please don't link and run - try to find some time to visit at least a few of your fellow 52'ers. That's half the fun! And don't forget the flickr pool!

Remember, you do not need to use the prompt in order to come back here and share.

Enjoy your week!




focus52|2012 {week three} january 15 to 21

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Welcome to Week Three! How are things coming along? I hope you're settling in and getting comfortable with what you are doing. If you have any questions or concerns, now is the time to ask! Comments are always open here, so feel free to leave a note or a question any time.

Last week, we had a lot of fun with the prompt I am. I saw a lot of great ideas come from our group and learned quite a lot about most of you. Fun!

This week, our focus52 prompt for week three is,

There are a few things you can do with this prompt, the most obvious being a photo taken in or converted to, black and white. But maybe you want to go for the less obvious, choosing to capture an idea or abstract of black and white, or perhaps something in your world that is already seen in black and white (a tiled floor, the printed word, a grey and foggy day, etc).

A photo presented in black and white is not as simple as running a quick conversion in an editing program and calling it a day. As should always be the way, your photo begins inside of your camera and the key to an excellent black and white photo is in your composition. Stripping away the color from your image strips away distraction and gets right to the heart of what you are attempting to capture. A few things to think about when composing your shot,

  1. focal point: Choose your focal point and be aware of everything you are bringing into the frame. Do surrounding objects lead the viewers eye to the subject? Remember you are not relying on color to form your focal point.
  2. declutter: Black and white photography gets right to the heart of the matter. Try to remove distractions and clutter. Strive for a 'clean' shot.
  3. contrast: Look for good contrast in your scene. Shadows and highlights are an important part of your composition! Without them, you have a grey, flat photograph. Blech.
  4. ISO: Try to keep it low to avoid a 'noisey' shot. Although most of us regularly do this anyway, black and white can make noise more pronounced so you want to keep an eye on that. Unless of course, that's the look you're trying to achieve. I personally love a gritty black and white shot :)
  5. exposure: Expose for the 'grey' areas of your scene and then adjust. Again, keep contrast in mind. If your photo has a distinct focal point (such as in a portrait) expose for the subject and adjust until you have the tonal look you're after.

A few examples of black and white photography from our focus52 members!
1.Parisian Street 2.San Juan Island 3.1/52 4.10/52 5.I am 6.framed 7.Untouched #52 8.La Noyee 9.I am


Black and white photography can be stunning, timeless, romantic, journalistic ... fun! Some say that to truly understand the basics of photography and composition, beginning your education in black and white is a must. Whether a must or not, it definitely improves your skills. Some excellent subjects for black and white studies might include buildings/architecture, photo-journalism/street photography and always, always timeless portraits. Black and white tells a story. What story would you like to tell?

Don't have a photo editing program? These ones are free (to name a few):
Picasa
Picnik
Photoscape
Photoshop OnLine
Remember though, first get in right in camera.

Whatever you choose to do this week, follow the prompt or no, come back here and link up your work when you're done (weeks run Sunday to Saturday, don't forget!). Links must be to the direct URL of your actual work, not just to the site it's posted in, and may be a link to your blog post or to your flickr photo. Also, please don't link and run - try to find some time to visit at least a few of your fellow 52'ers. That's half the fun! And don't forget the flickr pool!

Remember, you do not need to use the prompt in order to come back here and share.

Have a happy week, 52'rs :)