Weekly Photo Challenge - Week 4 - Wood

Wood - Anything that looks like or comes from the hard fibrous substance, such as trees or shrubs. Again, be creative and take several pictures to choose the best of your series. You have one week to accomplish and email in to tophatutah@gmail.com . Remember to vote!

Weekly Photo Tip - Flash - Flash photography will take more than just one tip to cover. First, no matter what camera you have, you will probably use a flash; one of the most common mistakes people have is where they place their subject. Look what is behind the subject, and avoid any reflective surfaces such as mirrors, or any shiny thing. When the flash goes off, the light will bounce directly off of those reflective surfaces creating a flare or giant light blob on the photo, which is no good. Either move your subject or move these light blobbing objects to ensure a clear picture.

#1 - Nettie - West Jordan, UT - Bass Relief Wood Carving

Mario - Santiago, Chile - Wood

Mario - Santiago, Chile - Love

which Photographer Best Captured "Wood"?
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	photographer 5
	photographer 6
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Weekly Photo Challenge - Drink

Drink - Any potable liquid, especially other than water, as tea, coffee, beer or milk (or anything liquid that you can potentially drink). In a cup, out of a cup, in your mouth, out of your mouth; tropical flavor, not tropical flavor; Enjoy.

Weekly Photo Tip - "Cloudy" Feature: Most point and shoot and DSLR cameras will have a function represented by a cloud. This is typically found in the White Balance section of your menu or dial. I have read and also found this function to work great to eliminate "cold" or "blue" lighting in my photos. Next time you are shooting in the sunlight, with a flash or with any indoor natural lighting, try this setting to get a more natural, warm look to your photos.

#1 - Nettie - West Jordan, UT - Drink

#2 - Kim - Utah - Small Drink

#3 - Josh - Heber, Utah - Irish Carmanilla

Which Photographer Best Captured "Beverage"?
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	Photographer 5
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Weekly Photo Challenge - Week 2 - Pet

Pet - Choose one or all three of these noun descriptions for "Pet" to enter into this weeks challenge.
1. Any domesticated or tamed animal that is kept as a companion and cared for affectionately.

2. A person especially cherished or indulged; favorite: He was the teacher's pet.

3. A thing particularly cherished.
Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pet

Weekly Photo Tip - Making Extra "Mula"
When I first had the desire to dive into photography, I knew that I could not just go book some shoots and immediately start getting paid. Homework needed to be done, but more importantly, I needed some sort of portfolio, decent equipment and some business cards. The best way to gain a portfolio (according to me) and start earning extra "mula" is to let your friends and family members know what you are doing, and offer to take free pictures of them, their pets, their whatever so you can build your portfolio. Have them sign a "Model" Release contract stating that you have the rights to do with the photos as you please (print and web media). Also make sure that you give each "Model" a CD with the finished work. This process will get you comfortable with booking a job, completing it and repeating. Everyone needs a photographer, speak up if you even remotely think you might be needed. Once you are comfortable with the process, make a name for your business, do word of mouth marketing through (facebook, business cards, blog etc.)

#1 - Nettie - West Jordan, UT - Jumpy & Spots

#2 - Josh Spray - Heber, UT - Otie

#3 - LB - Draper, UT - Joe in Tunnel

#4 - Sam Chalai' - Mesa, AZ - Kitty

Which Photographer Best Captured "Pet"?
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	Photographer 5
	Photographer 6
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Weekly Photo Challenge - Tree

The more people I talk to, I am finding that there are quite a few people looking at my blog! We are almost at 1,000 visits! (yeah a good chunk of them are mine but still...)

I would love to continue with the theme "Daily Photo Challenge", however as you can see most of the participants are Nettie and me. In order to get more participants I am going to switch the challenge to a Weekly Photo Challenge instead. This longer time period will allow EVERYONE to participate and submit as many photos you would like that pertains to each challenge.

Continue to email your photos to tophatutah@gmail.com . If you aren't sure on how to resize your photos, go ahead and email them to me as is and I will handle that for you. I'm guessing that 90% of you own a digital camera and would love to do more, well here's your chance!

Also amidst the change, I will be developing a brand new fancy website built by yours truly, which will be a bit more user friendly, have links to photo tips, slideshows, archives and also photography news on what's new and popular so you can stay up to date when it comes time for you to make your purchases.

Thanks to everyone who has been participating, I hope you continue and that everyone will at least try to participate by voting on your favorite photos!

Weekly Photo Challenge - Tree

Although it's still winter around most of the county and parts of the world, trees can still be wonderful objects for photography! You have until Monday, March 15th to send in your photos of "Tree". Send as many as you wish, I will post them all for people to vote on! Have fun and let me know of your experiences out in the world of trees.

#1 - Crystal jakeandcrystal.blogspot.com - Fresno, CA - Prune Orchard

#2 - Nettie - West Jordan, UT - Globe Willow

#3 - Josh Spray - Monerey, CA - Sprout

#4 - Sam Chalai - Mesa, AZ - First Water

#5 - Josh Spray - Heber, UT - Stump in Mud

#6 - Mario - Santiago, Chile - Arbol

Which Photographer Best Captured "Tree"?
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	Photographer 5
	Photographer 6
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Photo Challenge Day 26: Super

Super - An article of superior quality, grade, size etc. Also a superior photo, that describes "super" according to the photographer.

Daily Photo Tip: When it is raining or snowing outside, keep a transparent plastic bag handy to place over your camera, also put on a lens hood to better protect your lens from the elements. Be sure to always clean your camera and lens after being exposed to weather. Keep in mind also that your lens may have a filter installed, so remove the filter and clean both the filter and the lens with an appropriate lens cleaner.

Nettie - West Jordan, Utah - Super Dragon

Crystal jakeandcrystal.blogspot.com - Heber, Utah - Super Size Anyone?

Photo Challenge Day 25: Miniature

Miniature - A representation or image of something on a small scale; a breed of dog; anything you would consider miniature will work for this challenge. However, be creative and have your people vote!

Daily Photo Tip: Digital Sensor Size - In the world of digital photography, bigger IS better when it comes to the sensor size. When shopping for a digital camera, do some research on digital sensors. Generally point and shoot digital cameras will be manufactured with around the same size sensor, which are much smaller than a DSLR camera. If you want a quality image, you also should want a good megapixel per digital sensor area. When you push the shutter release button, the image that was in the viewfinder, is now arranged in many different pixels on the digital sensor. Keep in mind also, the greater the megapixel count the larger the sensor should be! Each pixel is developed by the amount of light exposure brought in by the camera settings. If you buy a camera with a small sensor perhaps built for 8 megapixels and it is really 12 megapixels, they just squished an extra 4 megapixels into the sensor to up-sell the product. The image quality may not be noticeable to the untrained eye, but most often the 8 megapixel sensor will out perform the 12 megapixel sensor of the same size because more light was able to touch each of the 8 megapixels vs. the 12. Obviously the larger the sensor, the more you are going to pay! Next time you are at the local camera shop, ask the dealer to show you the difference between a point and shoot sensor and a DSLR sensor...it's astonishing!

#1 - Nettie - West Jordan, Utah - Miniature Pumpkins

#2 - Josh Spray - Heber, Utah - Mini Palms

Which Photographer Best Captured "Miniature"?
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Photo Challenge Day 24: Anything!

This weekends challenge, you may submit any photos that people might like and want to vote on! You can submit ANYTHING! Have a great weekend and remember to vote!

Daily Photo Tip: Lens flare - Usually from a very bright light source, such as the sun, occur from within the lens itself and will greatly change the composition of your photo. I admit, there are times that lens flares are cool, but most of the time they are an annoyance! Be sure to position yourself out of range of bright spots and can really wash out your photos.

#1 - Nettie - West Jordan, Utah - Female Kestrel

#2 - Josh Spray - Heber, Utah - Clean Shrimp 

Which Photographer Best Captured "Anything"?
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Photo Challenge Day 23: Symmetrical

Beauty based on or characterized by such excellence of proportion; the proper of due proportion of the parts of a body or whole to one another with regard to size and form; excellence of proportion;

Daily Photo Tip: Symmetrical vs. Asymmetrical - Nine times out of ten, asymmetrical is preferred to today's eyes, placing the main object away from the center of the viewfinder using the rule of thirds. However, some of the most stunning photos you will ever take are symmetrical, or proportionally balanced with the main object in the exact center of the viewfinder. I read this morning a short tip about ( http://digital-photography-school.com/two-shot-strategy-symmetry ) "Two Shot Strategy - Symmetry" and thought you might want to try it out! For the next month, every photo you take, try taking one symmetrical and one asymmetrical of the same scene or object, to add an additional option for your bag.

#1 - Nettie - West Jordan, Utah - Spots

#2 - Josh Spray - Heber, Utah - Fregadero

#3 - Jergis - West Jordan, Utah - Cup Holders

Which Photographer Best Captured "Symmetry"?
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Photo Challenge Day 22: Still

Anything you can think of that may be considered "Still" or even the opposite. Enjoy, be creative and have some fun! Thank you for all of the "Creature" submissions yesterday! Remember if you have photos for any of the past challenges feel free to send them in for everyone to see!

#1 - Nettie - West Jordan, Utah - Played For Years, But STILL Must Practice

#2 - Josh Spray - Heber, Utah - Still Life

  

Which Photographer Best Captured "Still"?
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	Photographer 5
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Photo Challenge Day 21: Creature(s)

Creature(s) - Any living, breathing thing other than a human is eligible for today's challenge.  The easiest way to snap a photo at a "creature" is to capture your house pet(s) in their comfortable habitat. Catch them in action or just sleeping. The competition on this one will be tough, so get in close, snap a bunch of photos and choose your winner and hope you win.

Daily Photo Tip: TBA

#1 - Sam Chalai - Mesa, Arizona - Crawling

#2 - Nettie - West Jordan, Utah - Grape Thief

#3 - Josh Spray - Heber, Utah - Heffa

#4 - LB - Draper, Utah - Joe

#5 - Crystal - Fresno, California - Bee Boxes

Which Photographer Best Captured "Creature"?
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Photo Challenge Day 20: Reflection

"I'm thinking...I'm thinking..." -The Thinking Man Statue
Reflection - an image; representation; a counterpart; a fixing of thoughts on something; careful consideration; anything you interpret it to be;

Daily Photo Tip: Framing - One of the easiest and best ways to jazz up your photos is to frame your subject. Something I ran into when I started was to place my subject in the very center of my viewfinder, where the little square is located. I didn't bother zooming in or moving closer to the object. Look at all the corners of your viewfinder and see what is there, avoid clutter or a busy background and try to isolate the subject by zooming or moving closer, and by choosing either landscape or portrait or any other angles that would be appropriate. Keep in mind also background objects that might appear to be sticking out of someones head (lamp post, pillar, building etc).

#1 Jergis - West Jordan, Utah - Crystal Reflections

#2 Nettie - West Jordan, Utah - Peaceful Mountain Reflection

#3 Josh Spray - Heber, Utah - Vivian's Mirror

#4 - LB - Draper, Utah - Duck Walk

Which Photographer Best Captured "Reflection"?
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	PHotographer 3
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	Photographer 5
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