Ashanali

CHILD I'm entering this for APPAs in June. Fingers crossed. PORTRAIT - shot last night.

oh and I know it's on the extras list, but from the same wedding 'shadow'

I have a busy day ahead of me. I have one shot that I'm sure of... I took it at a wedding three weeks ago. LOOK UP I'll be going through my work for the last month and seeing what else fits, but then I'm shooting the rest of them today on an old crappy 10D with an equally old and crappy lens (Alex is shooting a wedding so I can't have the good gear). It should be an interesting exercise. I also need to go back and make some comments on photos from page 18 onwards.

ambient light meters are cheap if you are just wanting to play around and get to know natural light settings better. Alex has a metz meter now, but Polaris are also good and you should be able to get one for less than $400.

I want a 5D I'm getting depressed looking at some awesome 5D photos on Flickr. I wanna shoot low light without flash Just a little longer...

Just letting everyone know that I haven't forgotten you. I've just been snowed under with work. The March challenge is organise - no hints. I'll post the new thread on the 28th. I'll be back in a few days with comments on photos and hopefully with some photos of my own.

1D!! 1D!!

I haven't voted. We are going through the same dilemma here. We need another camera for the business and trying to work out if we wait a little bit and get the 5D mark II (and fight over who gets to use it) or supplement our kit with another 40D which we are more than happy with and we could get now. 5d means you can shoot in ridiculously low light, but if light hasn't been a problem in the past then why do you suddenly need a camera to combat it now? Then there is the film capability which is awesome, but how often would you really use it? I know many places are doing fusion but is this a path you want to take? and then I could go on. I haven't voted. I'm a fence sitter like you.

Yep - I have been able to shoot night shows from outside the ring due to the lens I use. Canon 70-200 2.8 IS. Cost approx $2000 though so not exactly a cheap lens (but it does a brilliant job).

Rocco - I was wondering when you'd join in. I love love love your photos.

Well, what is the idea? I let you know in about 23 days. I am LOVING the photos in here everyone. You are all doing so well.

Anyone can join at any time in February. Even the 28th if they like Photoshop until your heart's content.

I just want to thank everyone for embracing this challenge. I know for some (myself included) a photo a day is difficult to commit to. I am actually impressed that I managed about 20 out of 31. :p I have photos from a couple of days that weren't posted - one because I didn't download it until the following week and another because even though it's a good photo, it contains some explicit language (wall of graffiti). I am so impressed with the way many of you have approached the challenge and made your own personal goals. I have loved a 'month of Chester' (including the self portrait ) and I have also loved 'ILTBY's month of macro'. I think there are a few here who have made great improvements with their photography over the month, the three that spring to mind straight away are tlc, PPS and lea. Overall I have enjoyed and loved seeing the vast array of work that EVERYONE has produced from simple shots in their home, of their dogs and general domestic life to getting out and about and doing things they wouldn't have normally done if it wasn't for the challenge. The treasure hunt list for February has been posted. Hopefully Troy will be nice and pin the thread for us again. I just want to say thank you to everyone for making this a success and I hope you have all enjoyed it as much as I have. See you in the February thread! :D

I'm exctied! It's the start of the month and my internet is now back and running at full speed :p Great start Lea and Darien :D

It is up to you how you want to post them Everyone will be different, some people may choose to do the task as a photo a day still, others may shoot half on one weekend and half on the other. It is up to you when you choose to share.

Evolving - sure you can join in! If you are shooting on film, just ask them to scan it to a disc at the time it's developed. Then you'll be able to share your work with us. The creativity thing is secondary - the main aspect is to just have fun. Good luck with the challenge.

This will be the thread to post the photos in. I have PM'd Troy and asked if he would be so kind as to pin the topic in the same place as January so we might be moved pretty soon. Can I also ask the members who are joining into the challenge who also post on Flickr to add their photos to the DOLers photo pool please?

The official treasure hunt list: home portrait vegetable look up! water mobile glass/es night lights music child old landscape/streetscape eyes mineral key best friend collections pink dance tree and for those who are wanting to extend the challenge - after you have your first 20, you can tackle these next eight: food stamp car drama secret something you leave behind shapes shadow The idea of this challenge is to think outside the square. For each item, think about alternative meanings that the words could have and how you might be able to work them into something you can photograph. The challenge isn't to post as quickly as possible, your goal should be to shoot the list of 20 by the end of the month and be happy with the work you post. If you finish the first 20 photos and want to challenge yourself further then have a go at the last 8. Some of the subjects are more difficult than others but most of them should be 'accessible' in some way or another. I can't wait to see how people go with these subject. Most importantly: HAVE FUN!!! :D (btw - I have already had an idea for March :p )

TerraNik - great experimentation! Sorry I have been so slack lately. The last thing I feel like doing after editing client photos all day is grabbing the camera and doing my own shots

also forgot to say that it's a great photo

PPS - next time you have a fog like that hanging around when it is still mostly dark, try making the apeture as small as possible so around (F22 - 32 depening on your lens), drop the iso as low as it will go (iso 100 or 200 depending on your camera) and set your camera on a tripod or something sturdy so it can do a long exposure. The mist will start to look more like smokey water the longer you can get your exposure.

Lea - just for you. Here are three outtakes. I'm a little sad about the one with the bird in full flight as it looks great small but when it is viewed full size it is out of focus. I looked at it and went, "NOOOOOOOOO!". It sucks.

It depends on what I'm shooting. If I'm shooting a portrait, I'd be mega-peeved if it took 200 photos to get one good image. However I can't direct birds and tell them what to do, where to fly or which direction to turn their head. One shot on 200 is good enough for me!

While I have a minute. Someone asked how did I take the seagull photo. Seagulls, pigeons and sometimes Ibis are the easiest to target because you will often find them easily and in large numbers. Head somewhere you know they proliferate and set yourself up with their favourite food. In my case, I was sitting eating some fish and chips by the waterfront and they materialised out of nowhere. Although I was shooting in the middle of the day, this was a very lucky shot as usually the light is way too hard to get anything decent. The best time of day to shoot birds is early morning or dusk (best time of day for any shooting actually). Because you will be changing your angles unpredictably; the best approach is shooting in aperture priority. Set your f-stop to around 2 - 3. The photo I took was set at 2.5. With the bright midday light it gave a shutter speed of 1/5000th of a second - necessary to freeze action. It also helps if you set your camera to the 'AI Servo' function. This means that the camera will keep refocussing on a moving object when the shutter button is half pressed. Sit yourself down, have lots of food to give the birds, have your camera ready and snap away! I think I took about 200 photos just of seagulls to get that one. It's a hard task but it's also lots of fun.

I agree. I like photos with life.