March 2008 - Self-Portrait without Mirrors

Photograph yourself without taking the shot directly into a mirror. This means setting up the camera with a self timer or cable release (or use a photo booth). Please make your face recognizable (no shots of feet only, for example) and avoid clichés like posing with a camera.

May 2008 - Photo Series of the City

A series of three photos that capture the character of a city, which must be identifiable from the photo series by means other than the title. The name of the series will be the name of the city and the name will be announced before the series is judged. The series will receive a single score for all images.

July 2008 - High Key/Low Key

Produce one final image with a very small amount of pure black-black and one final image with a very small amount of white-white. Both images should have all values represented. Both lights and darks, except for pure white and black, should show texture. The two images together will receive a single score.

What are the artistic expressive effects possible by finding situations where the outcome is nearly all white or nearly all black? Can you produce full tonal range prints which are very high key, but still include a small amount of black, while holding textural information in both the light and dark areas? Can you produce full tonal range prints which are very low key, but still include a small amount of white, while holding textural information in both the light and dark areas?

High Key shots are those where the setting and subject are light or reflective with a light or well-lighted background. Look for a few well placed darks and/or shadows to accent and/or define the subject.

Low Key shots are those where the setting and subject are dark or shady with a dark or poorly-lighted background. Look for a few well placed highlights to accent and/or define the subject.

The two images need not be of the same subject but should illustrative your complete command of tone and exposure.

September 2008 - Square Peg in a Round Hole

This month’s assignment is a very creative one. This is an open-ended assignment which allows every photographer to pick their own subject to shoot. Except, this assignment has a twist. Your image must include an oddity in it...something that does not fit, hence the title square peg in a round hole. An example might be three people sitting around a campsite roasting marshmallows over a block of blue glowing ice. Be creative, and put something in your image that makes people do a double and triple take scratching their heads, “That’s not right!”

November 2008 - The Decisive Moment

Capture the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression. Let your inner Cartier-Bresson out.

January 2009 - Architecture

Interior or exterior of a building. The image should convey the experience of being in or around a built environment.