Mailboxes

Photograph a mailbox, Find a unique one, take a picture at certain angles, be sure to bracket.

Dashboard Ornament

Bronzed baby shoes? Mood Crystal? Find a dashboard, mirror or window so that your subject’s vehicle interior reflects their interest or lifestyle and photograph it. Be sure to bracket.

Street Poetry

Streets, malls, the front of school and neighborhood are teeming with interesting people and faces. Capture these human artifacts as they are found in a daily routine. A tripod, long lens or a converter, refocusing and patience are helpful but not necessary.

Street Graphics

Much of today's most exuberant, most creative and most telling imagery can be found in the street. The street has become a public art gallery of visual icons, and pictograms. Capture the images of western and rural life, neon, graffiti, nostalgic chrome and steel. Old billboards and advertising, the chrome and steel of vintage autos, are examples of this theme, Fill the frame, a wide angle lens would be helpful. Be sure to bracket.

Portraits of Animals

Photograph an animal to show it as an individual, not as a still life object. Let me know “who” the animal is; give me an insight to the animals personality. Move in close, be sure to bracket.

Find A Smiley Face

Look for objects that have the similair characteristics of a smiley face or another face. An example would be a bowling ball (two eyes and a mouth). Fill the frame, a wide angle lens would be helpful. Be sure to bracket.

Milking Your Talents

M*I*L*K: Seek a photograph that represents Moments of Intimacy, Laughter, and Kinship. Picture concepts may include friendship, family, and love etc. Be sure to bracket

Shop Until You Drop (the Shutter)

Small shop and storefronts has become a vanishing breed. They are falling victim to the Wal-mart and Big K type stores. Try and capture the uniqueness of a one of a kind or family-run emporia, grocery, barber, butcher etc, a wide-angle lens for the interior may help. Shooting after hours or in times of slow traffic would be beneficial. Watch out for your reflections in glass.

Cowboy Poets Photography Show

Enter your 8 x 10 Black and white picture in the Medora Cowboy Poets Photography Show. Follow the rules and you may get some recognition for your skills.

Medora Car Show Photography

Enter your 8 x 10 Black and white picture in the Medora Car Show. Follow the rules and you may get some recognition for your skills

Badlands Art Show

Enter your 8 x 10 Black and white picture in the Badlands Art Association Show in the black and white division. Follow the rules and you may get some recognition for your skills.

West River AG Expo & Livestock Show Photo Contest

Enter your black and white picture in the AG Expo photo contest. “Take Your Best Shot”.

Categories include: Farm Related (farm activity, rural living or rural landscapes), Animal (farm animals and wildlife). Follow the rules and you may get some recognition for your skills.

Be A Sports Recorder

Choose a sport. Choose a player, preferably a starter. Shoot close-up shots of intense action and determination. Make sure you pre-focus, and sit in the front row. Make a storyboard of this one player. He / She or their family may compensate you later for your efforts.

Mothers Day

Photograph your mother, show her as an individual, photograph her doing something that she likes to do. Photograph her interacting with one or more of her children, put you in the picture, follow the theme.

Be sure to bracket. A timer on your camera would be helpful.

Fathers Day

Photograph your father, show him as an individual, and photograph him doing something that he likes to do. Photograph him interacting with one or more of his children, put you in the picture, follow the theme.

Be sure to bracket. A timer on your camera would be helpful.

The Trades

Photograph someone working in the occupation they were trained. Show their intensity, the sweat, the pressure, the stress, the love the job these people do. Move in close, but not to close, one should be able to recognize the profession they are in. Be sure you get permission first. Don’t forget to bracket. Shoot at different angles.

Fill The Frame

Get close and personal with your subject and fill the frame with it. Choose a characteristic of the object that translates what the object is without showing all of it.

The red seams of a baseball, the vein in a leaf, and the tread of a tire are good examples. Just another exercise in expanding the composition thought process. Don't forget to bracket.

Ice Baby Ice

In no reference to ice cream. I'm talking about the fantastic compositions that nature produces with frost and ice storms. Not great for driving in, but it's generally not wise to operate machinery while taking pictures anyway. No need to go further than your back yard to find amazing images. This is a great time to use that close up lens, get close, and fill the frame with those crystal structures of both ice and frost.

(No) Vacancy

Photograph an room or space. Photograph it full or empty. Show the room as a still life object. Let me know “where” the room is; give me an insight to the occupants personality. A wide angle would be help full, be sure to bracket.

Windows

From picture, broken, and stained glass; there are hundreds of windows in the world. Capture this image by filling your frame and moving in close. Look for backlighting. Photograph an object in front or outside the window to give it some depth.

Doorways

We pass through them everyday. Single, double, new or rustic capture this image by filling your frame and moving in close. Look for backlighting. Look for textures. Photograph an object in front or outside a door if it has one to give it some depth. Take a close up of the hardware; locks, chains hinges etc.

Protecting the Interest of Out Children.

Feel free to interpret this theme however you like-use your imagination. Perhaps you'd like to take a photograph of children riding their bikes while wearing their safety helmets, or of a traffic crossing guard, guiding children across the street. A young sibling in the back seat buckled in a seatbelt. People do not need to be in your photo. The rubber chips beneath the monkey bars at a local playground. A warning label on a bottle of medicine. Find a striking image and keep your eyes open.

Images of Freedom

Take a photography that represents what freedom means to you. A soldier in uniform, a fourth of July celebration. There are numerous occasions a photographer could capture a moment with this theme.

Show Your Stars and Stripes

Take a photography that has an american flag in the frame. Make it the principle subject. There are numerous occasions a photographer could capture a moment with this theme. Don't forget to fill the frame.

Curves

The S curve is one of the best ways to use leading lines to take the viewer in to your photograph. Find a curve and concentrate on it in your picture. Move in close or use a zoom, fill the frame.

Spider webs

Spider webs are often called nature's architectural marvels. But photographing them dramatically can be a awesome picture. If you are lucky, a foggy early morning will bring dewy spider webs. If not create your own by using a spray misting bottle. The dew will sparkle like jewels. A dark background will provide a dramatic contrast. A short flash, fast shutter speed will freeze any motion. A small aperture will insure sufficient depth of field.

Be sure to bracket and shoot from a low angle, have backgrounds a distance away so it won't reflect light.

Barns

Take advantage of our rural surrounding. Whether they be freshly painted red, white and green or rough and ready to fall. Barns make a interesting record of our history and lifestyle.

Make sure you shoot a perspective angle. Observe the textures both inside and out. Be sure to bracket. Watch your horizon, choose a shot with low or a high angle.

Looking Down

Cracks in the sidewalk, reflections in water puddles, autumn leaves, manhole covers with a natural high angle you can photograph objects of interest. Fill your view finder or zoom in close. Look for textures, reflections and patterns. Natural still life's on table settings and work benches can make some neat moments. Be sure to bracket.

Frame Your Feet

Here's a cool photo technique that takes awkward blinking out of the equatiion: Feet First. Lying down, frame your feet within the picture, being it a landscape or seacape ect. Include about knees down. Use rule of thirds, placing your feet in the lower center of the thirds grid.

Backyard Safari

You don't have to trek to Africa or the Amazon to get some great natural looking animal photos. Just go to the nearest zoo or to your own backyard and compose carefully. The idea is to keep telltale elements out of the frame. You can do this by choosing your camera position with care. Use a zoom lens. Lighting is usually most attractive in early morning. Be sure to bracket.

Same Place, Different View

As the sun moves across the sky, and as the weather changes, a given scene can take on quite different "looks". So for this assignment, pick a scenic spot, and watch how it changes throughout the day making a picture each time you notice a photographic change. This will take some patience. Try horizontal and vertical formats. Try different focal length lens. Remember, you window of opportunity is around seven (7) minutes.

Reflections

Reflections make great photograph subjects, and compositional elements. The strongest reflections occur when the subject being reflected is front lit and water surface is calm, if water is your reflecting surface. Glass, mirror, polished aluminum are other possibilities. Be sure to bracket.

Edges

All objects have edges, concentrate on interesting ones. Examples could include, the edge of the sidewalk, an edge of broken window pane, the edge of a building. Move in close, try and show texture of the subject. Be sure to bracket.

The Watermelon/The Chair

Take a watermelon. Or any large object (like a chair). Impress me with a photo of this watermelon. Submit a number of images as a story board. Do not forget to bracket.

Diary of...

Create a documentary. Show what goes on behind the scenes and the public eye. Examples could be backstage of a student production. Beyond the gates of a rodeo. The clean up and disarray of some event. Make sure you fill the frame. Be sure to bracket.

Eating In

All images must have a food, dish, plate or platter. Or shot within a place where food is bought, sold or consumed. Examples could be a hot dog or concession stand. Restaurant, farmers market or even a family gathering.

Twist and Shoot

Shoot at a longer shutter speed, but handhold the camera instead of placing it on a tripod. Then you are free to move the camera while the shutter is open to create long streaks , or looping swirls, instead of a normal image. Move in close. shoot an entire roll doing this, you will have move to choose from to finish. Works well using color film.

"Morning Has Broken"

The early morning hours can provide great lighting as well as the opportunity to photograph scenes before the crowds arrive. Additionally, industrial pollutants haven't had a chance to settle in, making scenes even clearer than dusk. Look for items that spell out "a.m". Use several exposures to find the one that will yield good results.

"Sitting In the Evening Sun"

Like the early morning hours, a late in the day photograph can bring dramatic light. Look for items that spell out "p.m".

Special Effects

Zoom Zoom

Give the zoom lens a twist and add a unique twist to your photos. Mount the camera on a tripod and focus on any subject matter you choose. Set the f/stop high enough to have a shutter speed below 1/4th of a second. When the shutter is triggered, twist or pull the zoom lens. Changing the focal length during exposure. This will create a kaleidoscope of lines that start at the edge of the frame moving toward the center. give a little zoom-zoom to those photographs. Good luck.

Photo Distortion

Photo distortion will make a finished print look unrealistic. A simple way to distort pictures is to curve the photo enlarging paper while it is being exposed. Focus the print one third of the distance between the top and the curve of the paper. Expose as a flat print. Dodging will have to be done in the center of the print because of the uneven exposure. Experiment and have some fun.

Image Spreading

Image spreading is a way to make misty, fan-like prints. Begin by determining the correct exposure time for a normal print. After half of the time , raise the enlarger head with the light remaining on. The speed of which the enlarging head is raised will determine the affect of the final print.

Multiple Printing

In multiple printing, two or more negatives are combined on to one print. Adding clouds to a bare sky is a good example. Care must be taken to make sure registration will give you the desired print. The first step is to frame the scene that needs clouds. Determine the correct exposure with a test strip. write down the time, diaphragm opening and the height of the enlarger head. Mark the horizon line with a grease pencil.

Next, frame the clouds and determine the correct exposure time with a test strip. Write down time, the f/stop, and the height of the enlarger head. On the back of the enlarging paper indicate which is the top. Step three, put the first negative in the enlarger head and print as planned, dodging out the sky.

Remove the paper and replace the first negative with the second one. Place the enlarger in the position noted in the second step. Replace the paper, expose the second negative. Normally the prints will over lap so some dodging is required. Develop and wash normally.

Grading your photographs

Your photos will be graded in six categories: Composition, Technique, Exposure, Interest, Matting and finishing, and Your Documentation.

Photo tips:

1. Submit prints that are 5 x 7, 8 x 10 or larger. A small print tends to get lost and is less interesting.

2. Choose your assignments before submitting. Handing in multiple images of the same subject and theme does not enhance your photographic creativity.

3. Submit prints that are free of dust, scratches and finger prints, these will only distract from the quality of your image.

4. Crop your pictures carefully. Eliminate distracting portion of the image.

5. Matte your pictures correctly with straight lines and borders.

6. Consider the stopping power of your images. Look for subjects with good reactions and emotions, interesting lighting, peak action, unusual and different situations and story-telling moments.

Composition: The manner in which the photo is setup and the creativity used putting together the photo. By camera handling, and by final finishing.

Technique: This involves how the picture was taken, special effects, and lenses, shutter speeds, focusing. Darkroom settings and exposures, prints free of dust, scratches, chemical stains, and finger prints.

Exposure: This involves the exposure of the photo. Perfectly exposed pictures will score higher than poorly exposed photos. Darkroom control including printing procedure, test prints, contact prints; does your photo have all the shades of black – gray – white?

Interest: Involves how the photo catches one’s eye and how well if fits in the theme selected.

Matting: Involves how well the mat and photo are finished, suitable for framing.

Your Documentation: Involves the information required to duplicate your photograph. Do you know the film type, shutter speed, and lens opening, and any other information that would be beneficial to another photographer? Darkroom statistics... type of paper, enlarger settings, exposure times, these need to be documented.