Camera Labs

These rules are in the process of or have been changed. Stay tuned for updated rules tomorrow (May 23rd).

Hello everyone and welcome to On Assignment, the section of Cameralabs where you get to share your photographic skills with the world!


History

During October 2007, Cameralabs forum member Luis suggested a regular section where members could submit a photo based on a theme. Following the first two themes we decided to formalise the idea here. Many thanks to Luis, Daniel (DD_nVidia) and everyone else who's made suggestions and of course contributed to the assignments so far.

The rules

1: Every month a new theme will be set. All you have to do is take a photo of or inspired by the theme. Once you've taken your photo, upload it to a host of your choice, such as flickr, then post your photo on the thread entitled submissions for that particular month.

2: All photos MUST be taken during the month of the Assignment. So if it's the December 2009 Assignment, the photo you submit has to be taken during December 2009. Images taken previously will be disqualified, sorry!

3: All submissions must be no more than 1024 pixels on its longest side. You can however link to the original high resolution version if you want - in fact flickr now requires you to do this.

(see this thread for tips on posting images in the forum)

Please also include a sentence or two with your photo describing what you were trying to achieve and if there were any particular challenges in doing so.

We're all enthusiasts here, so it's also great to see what equipment you used and the settings too. So please also include the following:

Camera Model:
Lens and focal length:
Aperture:
Shutter Speed:
Sensitivity:
Processing:

The description and camera info are purely optional but most of us here would appreciate the insight! Ultimately this section is all about taking photos and seeing how different people interpret different themes.

Please keep the submissions thread for submissions only though. If you have any comments or questions please use the separate comments thread for that particular topic.

Then at the end of each month we'll post a poll to vote for the winning photo! No prizes (yet!) - this is just for the fun of it!

To keep things fair, please don't ask friends to register and vote for you. We welcome new members, but not ones who are only here to boost the votes for a particular member. If we observe any cheating in this regard, the submission will be disqualified.

Feel free to also suggest themes for forthcoming assignments in the suggestions thread!

Any questions, fire away!

Gordon Laing, Editor
http://www.cameralabs.com

I have not snooped here, in this section, and Gordon, I have a question... are we allowed to use photos from the past, or photos taken in the "month" of the competition? If you have already addressed this, then forgive me for not diggin around to find the answer....

My choice, is that I will submit only photos that are taken within the month of the competition...so, it may be awhile before you see me enter again...(!).

best to you,

patti

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canon 7D, Mark iii 5D, ef 70-300 f/4-5.6, ef 28-135mm canon 100-400mm L IS 4.5, and a little 24-70 L f/2.8...

Nice Q Patti!
If you interpret Gordon to the letter it means you have to make a new photo. Honestly, I didn't "feel" that this was a rule, so perhaps there needs to be some clearification from the "Chairman"!

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Good question! I'd say it's fine to submit a photo you've taken previously, although as the creator of the contests, I'm happy to give the final word on this to Luis...

I was just wondering, because my take on it (and I know I am oft times WAY off base) is this:

On Assignment means to me, that the assignment is to go out "as an assigned task" and capture the monthly theme, within the working time frame...until the cut off date..

My selfish side, WANTS it to be all-time encompassing, retro in nature..mostly because I have some great photos layin around, just waitin for the next theme, and I am never sure what tomorrow will bring...shuffleing thru the photos, does not make me stretch...it makes me feel like I have a good enough one to submit, somewhere in those files, so why bother pickin up the camera...I will use what I already have...

The driven side of me, says the challenge is for the day...where can we take our cameras, mindful of the assignment theme, twist and tweak it to our own personalities, and produce a photo that is worthy of competition?Basically, I am gonna wuss out on this, and wait for Luis to cast his vote....I am happy either way, confessing I love the challenge of the forward looking theme. Advancing in our abilities...knowing the rest of our compadres on every continent, are stealthily doing just the same...Looking for that next image, the one that will stir the heart, and please the eye, provoke a thought, make us all say WOW!! Or in my case, just plain old get us out there using our cameras.

Resting on my laurels...
I am with ya, either way.

patti

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canon 7D, Mark iii 5D, ef 70-300 f/4-5.6, ef 28-135mm canon 100-400mm L IS 4.5, and a little 24-70 L f/2.8...

I'm with patti on this one. The spirit of the thing is to go out there and put your mind and your gear to work, to deliver a photo for the given theme.

My suggestion would be to clarify, stating that the photo has to be taken within the timeframe of each assignment.

So, let the January assignment run its course and then state the clarification, effective February onwards.

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Nikon D90 + MB-D80 + SB-600 + AF-S VR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 + AF-S 35mm f/1.8 + AF 85mm f/1.8 | My photos on Flickr.

.
Whoops. In that case we must avoid any weather related seasonal themes given the differences between the northern and southern hemispheres, not to mention equatorial regions.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Bob, I thought about that, too, how could Luis incorporate all the different longitude and latitudes...when ever the next winner decides the theme, if they are looking for "weather or not" photos, it could just be "weather in your world".. when I am sweating in 105 weather, and Australia is cold and snowy, why, that would just be the flip side of weather..might be fun to see what the same day, around the world, looks like..or the same month rather..when weather is the theme.

Personally, I always wonder how Christmas can be in Summer...lol..but Christmas is Christmas, even if you are having the holiday at the warm beach...instead of wraped in red wool suits.
My goal is to take a photo a day, within the theme parameters, and see if I can make ONE that would be worth your review, and critique..and that will be a chore in itself!!

sorry for the can of worms..I shudda just shuddup, and submitted the photos.

patti

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canon 7D, Mark iii 5D, ef 70-300 f/4-5.6, ef 28-135mm canon 100-400mm L IS 4.5, and a little 24-70 L f/2.8...

WHat are the rules for voting? I notice you can vote for your own work.

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40D, 400D, 24-105L, EF 50 1.4, 580EX MKII, EF 100 f/2.8 Macroe, EF 85 1.8 (on order)
http://strobemonkey.blogspot.com/

Easy: everybody has only one vote!
You can cast your vote as you like...

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Thank goodness!
Great opportunity to learn and have some fun- I'm in!

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Photo Taker for ~30 years.
Books: The Art of Photography- Barnbaum, Photographically Speaking- duChemin.
@Clifford Rourke on Twitter, Clifford Rourke on Google Plus

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