Your Assignment Is

"Your Assignment Is..." Photo Challenge

Now that the 365/52 Photo Challenge has ended, the Rockbridge Camera Club is starting a new challenge "Your Assignment is...", for 2022. Each month we will assign a photographic technique, and you may submit images taken using that technique.

Click here for description of the challenge and instructions on submitting your photos.

Click on the box below for the description of this month's assignment.

Click on any image to go to larger images and the photographers' full descriptions.

November - December 2023 Assignment: Rear Curtain Sync

Chuck Almarez's Presentation Notes on Rear Curtain Sync

October 2023 Assignment: Silhouettes

Judy Robichaux - Silhouette

We shot engagement photos for our neighbors; this one was back-lit with the couple underexposed, so I used masking in Lightroom to turn it into a silhouette. Upon export after editing, I realized that Neil had taken it.

Canon 5D Mark III, 105 mm, f/4, 1/250 second, ISO 200.

Ted Burrowes - Chessie Bridge Over South River

Much of my effort for this month has focused on masking and layering – take something that is not immediately a silhouette but begs to be one – after all, not all interesting profile shapes can be captured in a backlit environment! This derivative of part of the steel bridge that takes the Chessie Trail over the South River fits this scenario to a T. The original photo is in the lower right corner, and it soon becomes obvious that I not only “solidified” the steelwork, but I then reversed the black and white so that the object is light and the background is dark – just to be a bit ornery!

Ted Burrowes - House Mountaines.jpg

Yes, I mean the “double plural”! There are two House Mountains – Little House Mountain and Big House Mountain. While some folks refer to the pair in singular form, I prefer the plural. And then my image is made up of three different views of the pair, each one having been distilled to a silhouette using an unnatural background. I had hopes of becoming proficient enough with my masking and layering to be able to combine these shapes in a more interesting manner, but the month has about run its course and this is as far as I have gotten.

Ted Burrowes - Where Are My Glasses?

And, finally, I will deviate from the classic “silhouette” in a different direction. For me, some shadows can qualify as silhouettes. This one of a framed work of stained glass hung in a mullioned window does not have the sharp outlines I'd normally expect of a “silhouette” but for me, the (natural, not edited) blur actually adds to my engagement with the shapes.

Deborah Pugh - Under the Bridge

At first, this assignment seemed rather easy, but I found it difficult. First, if you want to shoot silhouettes in natural light, you must have the sun and a strong, contrasty sun at that. There were not that many days that our wonderful sun cooperated! So, having said this, the truth is that this photograph was more luck than skill. I was trying out my new wide angle lens and noticed as I walked under the bridge in Bridgewater that super powerful sun rays were piercing the holes under the bridge, creating multiple silhouettes.

Canon 5D Mark III, 1/80, f9, ISO 400, 14mm (Samyang), Evaluative Metering

Deborah Pugh - Tree By River

What I had trouble with in this assignment was metering light properly. If you put your subject in front of the sun and you are shooting in front of the subject, this can produce horrible blown-out skies and backgrounds. This was particularly true along the river in Bridgewater. So I tried spot metering and many, many shots later finally, produced this image that I don’t really like but can live with.

Canon 5D Mark III, 1/500, f8, ISO 400, 14mm (Samyang), Spot Metering

Deborah Pugh Photographer in Thornrose

In this image, I was experimenting with silhouette portraiture. Experiments fail! As in the Silhouette #2, I used spot metering to try to darken the front of the subject. That did work but I had to darken the subject more in Lightroom. I really struggled with this because if I made the subject too dark, it took away from the portraiture objective (and make her look cartoony) and too light seemed to violate the silhouette technique. In almost all ways, this image is a failure. First, because you are doing portraiture, there is so much more to consider like clothing and pose. This pose was not adequate because I did not pose her correctly and make sure I captured her camera’s profile in the image. You can’t even see the camera strap because the subject is too dark. I found the posing so difficult: you have to show more form, more open limbs to not end up with a monolithic dark blob. I need more practice and maybe some guided practice in a field trip!

Canon 5D Mark III, 1/200, f9, ISO 100, 14mm (Samyang), Spot Metering