The February Photo Assignment was "Texture," and we have quite the tactile gallery -- 35 images submitted by The Digital Story members demonstrate the creativity and craftsmanship of our virtual camera club shooters. These are shots you just want to touch!

To produce the gallery, the pictures were first loaded into Aperture. I then added the accompanying stories to the IPTC caption field and combined it with the EXIF data from the photograph. The final step was to create a web gallery in Aperture and upload it to the Digial Story server. You can view this month's photo assignment here.

The March assignment is "Self Portrait." Start working on your contribution now. Details can be found on the Submissions page. Because of our new gallery format, you can now submit photo assignment pictures up to 600 pixels wide for horzontal shots, 400 pixels wide for verticals. Please follow the instructions carefully for labeling the subject line of the email for your submission. It's easy to lose these in the pile of mail if not labeled correctly. Also, if you can, please don't strip out the metadata. I use that for the caption data.

Good luck with your March assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for February. It's a outstanding collection of images.

Photo by Garth Jesperson

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story, Photo Assignment

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The January Photo Assignment was "Glimmer," and we have a sparkling gallery for you -- 21 images submitted by The Digital Story members demonstrate the creativity and craftsmanship of our virtual camera club shooters. These shots shine!

To produce the gallery, the pictures were first loaded into Aperture. I then added the accompanying stories to the IPTC caption field and combined it with the EXIF data from the photograph. The final step was to create a web gallery in Aperture and upload it to the Digial Story server. You can view this month's photo assignment here.

The February assignment is "Texture." Start working on your contribution now. Details can be found on the Submissions page. Because of our new gallery format, you can now submit photo assignment pictures up to 600 pixels wide for horzontal shots, 400 pixels wide for verticals. Please follow the instructions carefully for labeling the subject line of the email for your submission. It's easy to lose these in the pile of mail if not labeled correctly. Also, if you can, please don't strip out the metadata. I use that for the caption data.

Good luck with your February assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for January. It's a terrific collection of images.

Photo by Heath Clayton

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story, Photo Assignment

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The things you find in the depths of your inbox. In this case, discovering Landon Michaelson's unpublished entry for Pool of Light was like discovering a $20 bill. I just couldn't leave it behind. So I asked him to tell me a bit more about the image so I could publish it.

"The idea came on quickly," said Landon, "but execution took some thought. I surrounded him in black fabric to keep everything dark. I gave him the device and allowed him to just look at the screen. This is hand-held, as he does not sit perfectly still, ever. So had to pick settings that allowed me to pull it off."

"I originally tried to keep everything in focus, but soon found that to be less desirable. With all the other shots I had visualized and shot, this one met my creative goals better for each. I liked this shot enough to enter it for both. I was on assignment for two assignments. One for "sound" and the other "pool of light" for December. While not technically the best photo ever taken, but I was more concerned with the mood. I entered this in time for the assignment, but something happened in the process. Gotta love technology when it works. No problem Derrick. ;-)"

Thanks Landon. By the way, he used a Nikon D200 with an 85mm lens, ISO 800, and manual exposure mode for this great shot.

The photo assignment for Jan. is "Glimmer." Please get your entries in by the end of the month, and I'll try not to lose them :)

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story

The December Photo Assignment was "Pool of Light," and we have a thrilling gallery for you -- 17 images submitted by The Digital Story members demonstrate the collective keen eyes of our virtual camera club shooters. Many of these pictures are stunning.

To produce the gallery, the pictures were first loaded into Aperture. I then added the accompanying stories to the IPTC caption field and combined it with the EXIF data from the photograph. The final step was to create a web gallery in Aperture and upload it to the Digial Story server. You can view this month's photo assignment here.

The January assignment is "Glimmer." Start working on your contribution now. Details can be found on the Submissions page. Because of our new gallery format, you can now submit photo assignment pictures up to 600 pixels wide for horzontal shots, 400 pixels wide for verticals. Please follow the instructions carefully for labeling the subject line of the email for your submission. It's easy to lose these in the pile of mail if not labeled correctly. Also, if you can, please don't strip out the metadata. I use that for the caption data.

Good luck with your January assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for December. It's a terrific collection of images.

Photo by Maarten Sneep

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story, Photo Assignment

ExpoDisc Custom White Balance -- Simply Better Color. Simply Better Pictures. Visit www.expodisc.com

The November Photo Assignment was "Juxtaposition," and we have quite a gallery for you. Twelve images submitted by The Digital Story members demonstrate the collective keen eyes of our virtual camera club shooters. These images are downright clever.

To produce the gallery, the pictures were first loaded into Aperture. I then added the accompanying stories to the IPTC caption field and combined it with the EXIF data from the photograph. The final step was to create a web gallery in Aperture and upload it to the Digial Story server. You can view this month's photo assignment here.

The December assignment is "Pool of Light." Start working on your contribution now. Details can be found on the Submissions page. Because of our new gallery format, you can now submit photo assignment pictures up to 600 pixels wide for horzontal shots, 400 pixels wide for verticals. Please follow the instructions carefully for labeling the subject line of the email for your submission. It's easy to lose these in the pile of mail if not labeled correctly. Also, if you can, please don't strip out the metadata. I use that for the caption data.

Good luck with your December assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for November. It's a terrific collection of images.

Photo by Steve Cooper

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story, Photo Assignment

The October Photo Assignment was "Reflection," and we have quite a gallery for you. Twenty six images submitted by The Digital Story members demonstrate the reflective qualities of our virtual camera club photographers. These images shine!

To produce the gallery, the pictures were first loaded into Aperture. I then added the accompanying stories to the IPTC caption field and combined it with the EXIF data from the photograph. The final step was to create a web gallery in Aperture and upload it to the Digial Story server. You can view this month's photo assignment here.

The November assignment is "Juxtaposition." Start working on your contribution now. Details can be found on the Submissions page. Because of our new gallery format, you can now submit photo assignment pictures up to 600 pixels wide for horzontal shots, 400 pixels wide for verticals. Please follow the instructions carefully for labeling the subject line of the email for your submission. It's easy to lose these in the pile of mail if not labeled correctly. Also, if you can, please don't strip out the metadata. I use that for the caption data.

Good luck with your November assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for October. It's a great collection of images.

Photo by Maria Camillo

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story, Photo Assignment

The September Photo Assignment was "Circle," and we have quite a gallery for you. Sixteen images submitted by The Digital Story members illustrate a bounty of creativity and craftsmanship. In other words, they look great!

To produce the gallery, the pictures were first loaded into Aperture. I then added the accompanying stories to the IPTC caption field and combined it with the EXIF data from the photograph. The final step was to create a web gallery in Aperture and upload it to the Digial Story server. You can view this month's photo assignment here.

The October assignment is "Reflection." Start working on your contribution now. Details can be found on the Submissions page. Because of our new gallery format, you can now submit photo assignment pictures up to 600 pixels wide for horzontal shots, 400 pixels wide for verticals.

Good luck with your October assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for September. It's a great collection of images.

Photo by Nina Contini Melis

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story, Photo Assignment

The August Photo Assignment was "Red," and we have quite a gallery for you. Nineteen images submitted by The Digital Story members illustrate a bounty of creativity and craftsmanship. In many aspects, this may be our best gallery yet.

Due to the number of excellent submissions, I switched to a new format. The pictures were first loaded into Aperture. I then added the accompanying stories to the IPTC caption field and combined it with the EXIF data from the photograph. The final step was to create a web gallery in Aperture and upload it to the Digial Story server. You can view this month's photo assignment here.

The September assignment is "Circle." Start working on your contribution now. Details can be found on the Submissions page. Because of our new gallery format, you can now submit photo assignment pictures up to 600 pixels wide for horzontal shots, 400 pixels wide for verticals.

Good luck with your September assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for August. It's a great collection of images.

Photo by Matt Kuperus Heun

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story, Photo Assignment

This month's Photo Assignment displays the work of 4 participants from The Digital Story community. The following shots are their interpretations of the theme, "heat." This assignment must have prompted many of our readers to break out into a sweat, because we had fewer participants than in previous months. But I think you'll enjoy the steamy shots presented here.

Derrick Story "Iceland Steam." Many people imagine Iceland as this cold, barren place. But much of the country is powered by geothermal steam. While I was staying in Nesbud, I discovered this creek of flowing 90 degree C water... too hot to touch. We waited until evening so we could capture the steam rising in the cool air, then placed models in the middle of this turmoil clad in Icelandic wool. All of these elements helped me create this unusual portrait. (Derrick is the moderator for The Digital Story). I used a tripod-mounted Canon 5D with a 75-300mm IS zoom set to 170mm. ISO was 200, shutter speed 1/30th, aperture f-5.6.

Eight featured slideshows that are as distinctive as the artists themselves... One photographer used this medium to bring his heritage to life, while others relived vacations or captured the rhythm of everyday events. One entrant created a movie to promote his photography studio. Still others shared life's drama, such as a balmy evening of boxing in Texas, or a garage band's road to local fame. These are just a few of life's tales vividly captured in the entries featured in the FotoMagico Slideshow Showcase.

You can watch each of these presentations, read about the techniques and software the artists used, and consider if any of these approaches might help you better share your images with the world. So sit back, turn up your speakers, and take a trip to the movies, digital story style.