This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (9-15 Jan ‘11)

As we started a new year, our first assignment was Best of the Year – 2010. Gosh, if we thought it was hard to pick a winner in the normal weekly assignments, it was even harder to pick one from this assignment. There were a lot of really excellent photos, and I think we wound up with more finalists than ever before, and from there we narrowed our choices down to a top 3. It definitely wasn’t easy. But our winner this week was crockny’s bird photo. In a way, this is what the assignment is all about. Crockny said that they had been working on bird photography for the last year, and that it had been constantly improving. Well, we agree crockny! This was just an excellent shot. Great colour, great composition, excellent sharpness, and the fact that the bird had a berry in his mouth too was just perfect! Well done crockny! We all wish you luck on your photographic journey. Our first runner up was xfile001’s Train to Leander. It almost looks like a ghost train from the long exposure. You can see the lights, but you just barely see the train. It’s one technique that looks easy, but it can be very difficult to et a good shot with. And last, but not least was GoranMarich’s “Teky & Mihaela”, his wife and 2 month old daughter. This one was just sweet, the emotion that is captured here is heartwarming, and while we’re sure that this is a photo that will stand out to GoranMarich for years to come, it stood out in our picks of 2010 as well. Great job everyone, and great job to those who didn’t win as well. Keep trying in the new year!

We also started another assignment this week, and continuing our new year theme, we want you to show us what Brand New means to you. As a new year rolls around, many of us start new things. New diets, new goals, new parts of our lives, so we want to see what brand new means to you. As always, a quick reminder of the rules. First, your photo must have been taken between 5-19 January 2011. Second, your post in the assignment thread must include the words “Assignment: Brand New” and the date the photo was taken. Finally, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s useful if you can include some of the main data like camera, lens, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc. Next week we will start our Spot of Colour assignment. Colour really impacts where we look in a photo. Bright colours tend to draw our eyes to them first, and that tends to become the most important part of the image. This week is about using colour to bring attention to an area. It is important to note that this assignment is not about selective colour where an image is black and white with one part left in colour. This assignment is about having something that is colourful that draws your eye.

Have You Ever Doubted Your Photography Skills?: Sometimes it seems like the best photographers (or at least the photographers whose photos we really like) don’t struggle at all. They seems like they’re always great and they’ve always been great. But, what happens then when you’re doubting yourself and your skill? Do you ever? Come share your thoughts over in the forums.Enough Gear?: There’s always one more lens or maybe a new body, or another piece of gear that would improve our photos, isn’t there? Maybe not. This thread is about reaching a point where you have all the gear that you need. Have you reached that point? Do you think you ever will reach that point? Join in the discussion in the forums.Thoughts on the Most Common Mistakes: A new year also means that many people are considering going into a new business. But what are the most common mistakes that new photographers going into business make? If you’ve started your own business, why not share your experiences in the forum. And if you’re just starting out, check out this thread for some advice from those who have been there before.What Are You Proud You Learned in the Past Year?: Last week we asked what your goals were for 2011. But let’s look back a little bit. What are the goals that you set in 2009 that you finally realised in 2010? Come share your accomplishments for the last year.To IS or not to IS?: IS (for Canon users) or VR (for Nikon users) is a feature that is coming on more and more lenses, but is it worth the extra cost? Share your thoughts over in the forums.

Nicole is a DPS Forum moderator and keen photographer from New Zealand. See her blog and Flickr account.

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