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.

March 2009 - Looking Up

May 2009 - Night Lights

Set up your tripod and take a photo that captures how you see lights at night--indoor or outdoor, people or places--they all lend themselves to illumination. The main source of the light should be something other than a flash or slave on the camera.

July 2009 - Fireworks 

Beautiful fireworks can be spectacular to watch.  Use your photographic skills to capture the brilliant light and color of fireworks bursting in the air, do some creative light painting with a sparkler, or whatever you can imagine.  The image may include other items or buildings or people, but the fireworks should clearly be the subject of the image.

September 2009 - Environmental Portrait 

‘On location’ or ‘environmental’ portraits mean portraits taken of people in a situation that they live in (work, rest or play) and/or a place that says something about who they are.  A good environmental portrait is more than just a likeness; it can convey something about the subject’s character, story and life.  The surroundings can be as important as the subject’s face and clothes.

November 2009 - Black and White

Shoot a classic black & white image for this assignment.  Strive for images showing how emotive, arresting and inspiring the B&W medium can be—landscapes, still life, textures and details, etc.—whatever you shoot, be sure to realize the full potential of B&W.  It  doesn't matter how the image got there, as long as final photo is B&W!