Ashanali

Just a quick play with curves and texture... the image attached isn't the best edit but made a small difference. Your problems are easily solved. The sun doesn't have to be exactly behind your subject like an eclipse. It can be off in the corner and out of the frame, but essentially you will have sun then subject then photographer rather than subject photographer sun. You have the right idea but you need to move around a little and perhaps wait until it gets just a little bit later. Blowing out is perfectly fine and totally normal. The camera is going nuts trying to equalise the background as it takes up the majority of the image.

Brilliant shots lea

RnA - you are doing a great job! btw - are they at the Japanese Gardens at USQ?

Well done Justice Shades and welcome to the challenges!

You need to focus on the eyes. Right idea, just the wrong focus point.

wolfsong - they are right :rolleyes:

newfsie - :D

This one too...

RnA - I hope you don't mind, but this is a really cute shot so I had a play.

Only one of the photos is mine.

yep - that's a plane.

Yes, that's one form of sun flare. The one that Kirislin is talking about might have looked more like in this image see the light orbs at the bottom of the bride's dress? or the light orb to the right of the bride? or follow this link and you will see a quite detailed sunflare http://www.flickr.com/photos/traveller2020/3036017282/ Sometimes they can end up in distracting places such as cutting across your subject's face, but if you move slightly it can alter the effect and place it somewhere more flattering.

so far - all photos are on the right track for backlighting and silhouette. Kirislin - the 'UFO thingy' you removed would have been a sun flare. This happens when the light is at a certain angle. If you go to flickr and do a search for 'sun flare' or 'lens flare' you will see heaps of photos where it's been used as a special effect. There are also some images in the flickr group that I posted where the flares are obvious and create a part of the effect.

RnA - yes - that qualifies. Terranik - think outside the square. You don't have to use sunlight, it's just the obvious choice. Think about setting up a strong lamp somewhere just to test out the technique.

I've had to launch this month early as I have a busy night ahead. I know you won't mind. First of all - for those with SLR cameras Backlighting!!! Simple outdoor backlighting When faced with a tough lighting situation such as the harsh midday sun or you simply like the ‘rim lighting’ or ‘halo’ effect that you can see in some images – you need to explore backlighting which is effectively, shooting into the light. There are many different methods of backlighting and the effect can be achieved in controlled lighting situations in studios, using strobes, using tungsten light, reflectors, fill flash, plain old sunlight or any number of combinations. The technique that we will be looking at here is the simplest of all and a good place to start and experiment. Step one: Have your subject positioned with the light behind them. Step two: With your SLR set to AV mode, select the desired aperture. Step three: walk right up to your subject and focus on their skin tone so that their skin fills your lens completely. Take note of the meter readings. Step four: Switch your camera into M (manual) mode and put in the aperture and shutter speed that you just took a reading of. Step five: Move back from the subject, focus and shoot. This will mean that even if you have a strongly lit background, the skin tones will be correctly exposed. Your subject, after all, is the most important part of your image! Don’t worry about the background blowing out, this is meant to happen and don’t be worried if you have some sun flare in the image, this can be a part of the effect. The goal is to have your subject correctly exposed. This is the most basic of backlighting exercises. From here you could choose to experiment with fill flash or reflectors to add more light onto the subject or you can bring back areas of the background when editing in photoshop. Over the last month or so I have created a Flickr group to be able to show the people in this challenge successful backlighting of people. Please go through the group to see the many different ways that backlighting has been handled. Also please note on the outdoor images, the position of the sun. It isn't always directly behind the subject and different positions can have vastly different effects on the outcome. http://www.flickr.com/groups/1144501@N20/ Please feel free to submit images of people to the group for approval Challenge for those with compact cameras and also those with SLRs Silhouettes Backlighting is a bit difficult for some people with compact cameras so keeping in line with the theme of, "shooting into the light", challenge B is, "silhouettes" I have posted an online article below which talks about using SLR's but generally most compacts will automatically attempt to "correct" and create a silhouette anyway. Just try a little experimentation. http://www.picturecorrect.com/photographyt...ette_photos.htm Silhouette Photography By Trisha Leung Many of you photographers have probably stared at a silhouette photo and wondered to yourself how exactly they were taken. Silhouettes could contain a couple’s moment on the beach, a person staring out at a landscape, or an amazing cityscape with the sun going down in the background. Silhouette photographers must have great timing and perfect exposure settings. What is a Silhouette? In photography, a silhouette is defined as an outline that appears dark against a light background. More specifically, it is where your subject is seen as a black shape without detail against a brighter background. This is an artistic outcome that many photographers like to perfect. This effect can be achieved with any kind of bright light source, but of course the most commonly used is the sun around sunrise or sunset. The backlighting from the sun shadows everything towards you and produces this effect. Silhouette Techniques When you are getting ready to take your silhouette pictures, there are a couple things to keep in mind. These tips work for both digital and film photography. Make sure you never point the lens directly at the sun. If there is too much light, the light will fall on your object. If there is not enough light, your background will become gray. The main key to silhouette lighting is having your background lighter than your object, but this can be done in more ways then one. Many photographers focus on a certain time of day, where their subject is, what kind of weather there is, and where the sun positioned in the frame. My Silhouette Tips and Methods I choose to take my silhouette photos when the sun is right above the horizon, usually at sunset. I prefer this time because the sun causes the sky to be at it’s brightest for a greater contrast between your object and the sky. Try aiming at your object with the sun directly behind it for a glow around your silhouette. Also, if the sky is too bright and your object is small, it is possible to underexpose your silhouetted image. I always use a narrow aperture (high f/stop) so the camera captures the whole scene in focus. It is also convenient to use this method so you can use your camera’s automatic exposure settings focused on the lighted background. If you use a point-and-shoot camera focused on the subject meant to be dark, the camera will probably try to compensate for the lack of light on the subject and overexpose the background. So when you have your camera set on automatic exposure, be sure to focus on the light in the background. Remember that there isn't an exact science to taking a great silhouette. It takes practice, experimentation, and maybe even a little luck to capture a truly spectacular silhouette photo. Here is a link to an existing Flickr group for silhouettes so you can see some examples. ;) http://www.flickr.com/groups/silhouette/ Enjoy the month everyone! I look forward to seeing the results

PS. Why isn't the thread pinned as per previous challenges? because I was a slacker and forgot to PM Troy and ask him. I'll make sure I do it for the next one.

I used to have a great tutorial for the next challenge saved on my computer but I've lost it when I reformatted So I need to write it from scratch now as I can't find it online. argh! Tonight the new challenge will be launched.

This is a photo of KOE'VU who is a dol'er and gave birth a couple of weeks ago. She was a fantastic model and stayed very still for me to get this painted with light photo

okay... hint... it will be a 'light' challenge but not painting with light.

This is a thread about English Pointers. Not GSP's. GSP's don't have a thread in this area yet BUT you can chat to the GSP people here if you like http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=106681 alternatively, choose an English Pointer instead.

I just wanted to say to everyone how impressed I am by this month's efforts . I think the creativity and experimentation in here has been amazing. You all deserve a huge congratulations. Now a teaser for the months ahead... August will be technical again. I had to do a bit of thinking about a challenge that wouldn't exlude people without DSLR cameras and/or beginners and came up with a good one. I'm excited! I have an absolutely brilliant idea for November but I need to put a heads up to people to be prepared - you WILL need a movie maker program of some sort to produce a slide show. For mac users, most computers will already have a movie program installed. For PC users, there are heaps online available for free download. I'll do a little more research to find out which one will be the easiest to use but feel free to do some research for yourselves if you're keen. I guarantee you will have a ball with the challenge. September and October haven't been decided as yet - I'm still scouting for ideas.

How old do handlers have to be to join into classes? One of my sons is keen to join in with one of the other dogs if he can.

Thanks all. I'm heading along to SDOC on the 31st for their intake and we'll start up on the 3rd of August. I need to work on her brains before I start even thinking about agility. She's only 10 months old so agility is a long way off anyway. Besides, Monday night training works well for us with work and kids. ;)

If she responds well to obedience, I'll consider agility down the track. She is like a gymnast already and practically made of rubber.