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• July 2012

Photo Challenges:
July 2012

Signs

Once again, this month, I chose a topic from the pool of reader submissions on our Ultimate Photo Tips Facebook Page. This month’s challenge topic is "Signs." This one may be a little tricker; it won’t be as easy just to dig into your archives. Time to grab your camera, and go hunting for a sign!

The sign you choose to photograph could be a road sign or a shop sign, or any other creative way you choose to interpret "signs." It would be nice to see some kind of interpretation of the sign, or have the sign in an interesting context, rather than just a straight record shot.

I’m looking forward to see what you all do with this one 🙂

Read the rules. One entry only each month per person, please!

Enter your super-amazing photos in our photo contests. The winning image will be featured on the Ultimate Photo Tips homepage for all of the following month.

Submit your image.

See what other people are submitting, and vote for your favorite:
View other entries.

 

I’m Looking for a Sign!

Stop
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Hey! I’m re-using a photo from last week’s "Roads" challenge…
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Children Crossing
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Okay, not much interpretation here, but I couldn’t resist including this!
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Feel Better? Or Feel Bitter? The choice is yours.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

 

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• Photo Challenges
• June 2010

Photo Challenges:
June 2010

Did you ever watch Sesame Street as a child? This month’s photo contest is brought to you by

The Letter "D"

This month, you can shoot anything that starts with the letter "D!" A deer, a donkey, or your pet dog! Dinosaurs? (Great Aunt Doris?) It could be anything from disaster and devastation, to dolls, dimples, or dessert! Try desert dunes or a landmark in Denmark! Dazzle and delight us!

Enter your super-amazing photos in our photo contests. The winning image will be featured on the Ultimate Photo Tips homepage for all of the following month.
Submit your image.

See what other people are submitting, and vote for your favorite:
View other entries.

 

My Delightful Demonstrations!

 

Gone to the Dogs!
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

 

Dressed up Donkey
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

 

The Duomo, Florence
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

 

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• Home
• Photo Challenges
• March 2011

Photo Challenges:
March 2011

Pattern and Repetition

I was inspired by the winner of last month’s photo challenge to create a challenge around the idea of pattern and repetition. A pattern is a particular arrangement of visual elements. It may be repeated in a regular rhythm, or randomly. So, let’s see some images from all of you where pattern is the star of the show.

Enter your super-amazing photos in our photo contests. The winning image will be featured on the Ultimate Photo Tips homepage for all of the following month.

One entry only each month per person, please!

Submit your image.

See what other people are submitting, and vote for your favorite:
View other entries.

 

My Take on Pattern and Repetition

Spooning
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Bellagio Fountain
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Textured Glass
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Hand Prints
© Julie Waterhouse

 

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• Photo Challenges
• March 2012

Photo Challenges:
March 2012

Shadows

We know that photography is all about the light. Well, the other side to light is the shadow it creates! Light makes or breaks and image not just by the areas it illuminates, but also by the areas it doesn’t. Shadows can add drama and interest to an image. They may hide or obscure parts of the subject or the environment, and they may reveal contours and depth. Sometimes, the shadows can be take center stage, and even become the subject of the image.

This month, we’re looking for photos where the shadows really make a statement, and are a key element of the image. Without the shadows, the image just wouldn’t be the same.

Read the rules. One entry only each month per person, please!

Enter your super-amazing photos in our photo contests. The winning image will be featured on the Ultimate Photo Tips homepage for all of the following month.

Submit your image.

See what other people are submitting, and vote for your favorite:
View other entries.

 

The Shadow Knows…

Lantern and shadow.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Trees at sunset.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Shadow in the snow.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Fence and its shadow on the snow.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Lamp and shadow.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Moonlight makes shadows on the floor of this ruin at Terlingua, TX, USA
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Construction fence (along the left) and its shadow.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

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• Home
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• May 2010

Photo Challenges:
May 2010

Get ready for this month’s challenge! Grab your gear! Let’s go! This month’s topic is (drum roll please)…

Color Collage

Here’s the deal. Pick any color you like — just one, though. Then go out and spend a few hours shooting ONLY objects of that color. You’ll be surprised how much that color will start jumping out at you after a while!

You can post a single image representing your chosen color. But much more fun is to make a collage! You can use this simple and free tool to make your own: http://bighugelabs.com/mosaic.php The tool can use photos you upload from your computer, or can pull images from a Flickr photoset or Facebook album.

Enter your super-amazing photos in our photo contests. The winning image will be featured on the Ultimate Photo Tips homepage for all of the following month.
Submit your image.

See what other people are submitting, and vote for your favorite:
View other entries.

 

My Orange Collage

Here’s an example that I shot with the Toronto Photography Meetup group a couple of weeks ago on The Danforth in Toronto.

Orange!
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

 

 

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• Home
• Photo Challenges
• May 2011

Photo Challenges:
May 2011

Creative Nature

In my old camera club, we had a competition each year whose topic was "Creative Nature." In camera clubs, "Nature" competitions have very strict guidelines as to what images qualify. Our club introduced "Creative Nature" to provide a less restrictive forum for people to enter more interpretive images. It was always one of my favorite competitions. I’ve decided to use it as this month’s topic.

Here, you can enter any image that uses Nature as the basis for the subject matter, but you should include your own creative twist. It could be adding some motion blur, converting to black and white, using selective focus, making an interesting crop, or even having some fun in Photoshop. This month’s winner will be someone who shows some imagination in interpreting a Nature subject. Let’s see those images!

Enter your super-amazing photos in our photo contests. The winning image will be featured on the Ultimate Photo Tips homepage for all of the following month.

One entry only each month per person, please!

Submit your image.

See what other people are submitting, and vote for your favorite:
View other entries.

 

Getting Creative with Nature

Psychedelic Hostas
Made with a happy accident — I picked the Gradient Map adjustment layer instead of Gradient by mistake – and I liked what happened!

© Julie Waterhouse

 

Made using a Lensbaby to get only one area in focus.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Spanish Lavender
Using Selective Focus
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Valley of Fire, NV, USA
Having fun with Photoshop to add a slightly larger than usual moon!

© Julie Waterhouse

 

Hosta Leaf
Made with a long exposure. Kept the camera still long enough to capture the leaf, and then panned vertically to create the
soft leaf texture in the background.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

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• Home
• Photo Challenges
• May 2012

Photo Challenges:
May 2012

Bridges

Last month, I issued a call for help on the Ultimate Photo Tips Facebook Page. After two years of contests, my well of topic ideas was running dry! You responded. Thank you! And a special thanks to reader Sam Cox, who posted dozens of great ideas. The top pick (with the most "likes") was "bridges." You asked, so here it is! This month’s challenge topic is bridges.

We’ll take photos from on top of bridges, looking up from underneath bridges, and side views of bridges! Be creative, and show us your best bridge shots.

Read the rules. One entry only each month per person, please!

Enter your super-amazing photos in our photo contests. The winning image will be featured on the Ultimate Photo Tips homepage for all of the following month.

Submit your image.

See what other people are submitting, and vote for your favorite:
View other entries.

 

A Few of My Bridges…

A quiet moment of reflection.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Pedestrian bridge at my old alma mater.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Another pedestrian bridge.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Night time in Istanbul.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

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• Home
• Photo Challenges
• July 2010

Photo Challenges:
July 2010

For this month’s challenge, you’ll need to stay up past your bedtime! The topic is:

After Dark

We’re looking for images taken after the sun goes down.

Enter your super-amazing photos in our photo contests. The winning image will be featured on the Ultimate Photo Tips homepage for all of the following month.
Submit your image.

See what other people are submitting, and vote for your favorite:
View other entries.

 

My Night Visions

 

Neighbourhood Street Lights
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

 

Istanbul Mosque After Sunset
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

 

Moonrise in the Country
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

 

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• Home
• Photo Challenges
• September 2010

Photo Challenges:
September 2010

A Different Perspective

I’ve recently been adding content to the site that focuses on creativity. One of the ways to be creative is to get out of your box and take a different perspective when you shoot. This month, I encourage you to shoot some images from a different point of view. Too often, we shoot from our own eye level. Climb a ladder! Lie on your stomach! Shoot from above or below and look at your subject in a way that you don’t normally see it. Take a different perspective, and share what you see with all of us.

Enter your super-amazing photos in our photo contests. The winning image will be featured on the Ultimate Photo Tips homepage for all of the following month. One entry only each month per person, please!

Submit your image.

See what other people are submitting, and vote for your favorite:
View other entries.

 

My Perspective

 

Florence Cafe
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

 

Tulips
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

 

Canola
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

 

Spoons
© Julie Waterhouse Photography

 

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• Home
• Photo Challenges
• September 2011

Photo Challenges:
September 2011

It’s Hip to Be Square!

In the digital world, you don’t have to own a medium format camera to create square images. A little cropping afterwards will do it! Just set your crop tool to 1×1 in Lightroom, or hold down the Shift key in Photoshop while cropping, and Presto! You have a square image.

It’s good to remember that we don’t always have to accept the aspect ratio that comes out of our cameras as the one in which we present our image. You should choose the format that best suits your image.

There’s something appealing about the balance and symmetry of a square crop. Does every image work as a square, though? No. That’s what this month’s challenge is all about. Find those images that are improved and enhanced with a square format. Sometimes, symmetrical subjects can work well as squares, like my first image below. But asymmetry can work too, so experiment! Try different crops; you’ll know in your gut when it "feels right." That means you’ve achieved a visual balance. If that turns out to be a square, then submit it here!

Get out there and start shooting — and then get out those virtual scissors for some square cropping!

Read more about cropping photos.

Read the rules. One entry only each month per person, please!

Enter your super-amazing photos in our photo contests. The winning image will be featured on the Ultimate Photo Tips homepage for all of the following month.

Submit your image.

See what other people are submitting, and vote for your favorite:
View other entries.

 

Okay, I’m Square!

Calm Within Chaos
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Bowl and Plate.
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Balloons
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Looking Up
© Julie Waterhouse

 

Calla Lily
© Julie Waterhouse

 

A Drizzle of Honey
© Julie Waterhouse

 

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