Assignment #1 - Scavenger Hunt

Ok gang, this first assignment is designed to get you used to using your camera, understand it's functions and really, most importantly, to have some fun.

I want you to follow these instructions for this assignment. Following instructions with exactness is crucial to many of the things we will do in photo. It is a very process-intense thing to do all of this right, so pay attention and you'll do fine.

1. Take your camera and set it on 'P'.

2. Try and find the following objects to photograph: tree, bird, dog, car, cat, platypus, friend, mom, dad, sky, floor, hand, something red, something green, something scary, something funny.

3. Try to mix it up with your shots. Get close, get closer, get REALLY close. Let the camera focus before you take the picture. Take several views of each object. You don't pay much more to take a million shots instead of just one...so why not play with your angles, the point of view, the close-ness, the far-ness, etc... Don't you DARE just take one image. I will smack you if I see you starting off being a lazy photographer.

4. Get at least 30-50 shots of whatever it is you have found. It is NOT important that these images are perfect works of art. These images are PRACTICE! These images will give us some files that we can work with next week to teach you how to upload your images to your portable hard-drives, how to set up your blogs, etc... Something to work with is better than nothing to work with, so be sure you get something in your camera.

5. DON'T FORGET TO BRING YOUR CAMERA/MEMORY CARD/CARD READER TO CLASS NEXT WEEK! This is really important...if you don't have your images to class then the assignment is LATE and your grade will suffer. Not only that, but if you don't have your images with you then you won't be able to follow along with me as I do my demo.

6. Open your instruction manual read it and play with the various settings on the camera. Learn it's controls as much as you can. You don't have to understand everything, just the basics for now. We will go over in class in a very detailed manner everything you will need to know. For now just the basics are good. This will be the only assignment you ever shoot on 'P'. The rest of the shooting will be on 'M'. If you are really ambitious you can set your camera on 'M' and mess around with it.

7. If you are REALLY ambitious, start over from the beginning and re-photograph what you shot at first. You might be surprised at what you learned and how much better the images turn out.

DONT WORK ON THE IMAGES UNTIL WE GET BACK NEXT WEEK...BUT...THIS IS WHAT WILL BE DUE.

TO COMPLETE ASSIGNMENT #1 YOU MUST DO THE FOLLOWING BY TUESDAY, JANUARY 22nd.

1. Post three of your your favorite, UNPROCESSED images from all of your shooting done for Assignment #1 to your blog.

2. Process the same images in Lightroom, make them as good as you possibly can, and post to your blog.

3. Process the same images AGAIN in Lightroom, this time make them as ugly as you possibly can, ignore everything I ever told you about making an image good, and instead make it so ugly I want to puke. Post to your blog.

4. Write what you learned, what you did, something to let me know you are a thinking being on your blog. Extra points for a Haiku.

All three images (and their different variations), should be posted in ONE SINGLE BLOG POST...the title of which shall be: Assignment #1 - Scavenger Hunt