Set Subjects

2012 February - Floral Beauty
Be creative. Perhaps take only part of a flower; use a macro lens with a shallow depth of field. Focus on one part of the flower and have everything else out of focus. Put the centre of the flower on a third and have petals radiating like rays rather than put the flower right in the middle of image. Take in muted light to avoid harsh shadows. It is often better to bring flowers inside to avoid wind movement. Take them back lit, looking up from under the flower. Focus on one flower with both foreground and background out of focus. Try blurring the flower itself to create a more abstract image using the colours of the flower to enhance your image. Try to keep a natural look; as nature is.

March - Moody
Your image should be characterised by the many moods of weather; foggy, frosty, stormy days. Moody, brooding skies will add atmosphere. Use early morning and late evening to take your photos. Use a tripod and take wet streets at night by street light to create a mysterious mood. Also, there are human moods, tears, sorrow, pensive, happy. They are simple and also complex. Elderly people can depict interesting moods shot by window light and darkened background. Children caught at the right moment. The victory of winning or disappointment at losing. All human activities will depict some mood but must be obvious to the viewer.

April - A Different Perspective
Put your camera on the ground. Results can be amazing. Shoot from the top of buildings or car parks, looking down. Look up or down stairwells, zoom in. Shoot from underneath an object or from above a small tree looking straight down. Tilt your camera to accentuate the different perspective. Really anything goes, just don’t stand and shoot from the waist.

May- On the Beach
Underexpose if it is a bright sunny day. Put your camera on the ground to get shells or seaweed in the foreground using a wide angle lens. Zoom in to capture surfers’ actions. Shots of sandy children, family groups, beach sports etc.For those special shots, take them at sunrise or sunset to get that low light especially on sand hills with tussock in the light rays. Don’t forget Surf Carnivals, and stormy days with huge surf and moody clouds. Visit the beach at different times of tide level.

June- A Family Story
Take your camera to family gatherings and special events. Bath time with young children taken by candle light in foam baths can be delightful. Your grandparents, with character faces and aged hands, tell a story. Use old and young members of a family to show interaction and contrasts. Make a montage of family shots to tell a story.

July- Nature’s Patterns
Isolate the patterns. They are everywhere in plant, animal, land forms, waves and sky. Take backlit leaves and petals to show the ribs. Look for lichen on bark, cracked mud, feathers etc. Repetitive patterns are best when there is one odd element introduced breaking that pattern and giving a focal point. Look for colour pattern, shape pattern. Shadows can add to a pattern. The scope is endless, but remember we are looking at pattern so you don’t want intrusions that are not part of that pattern, and composition is still important. Look for lead in lines in your pattern and remember diagonal lines are more dramatic, so tilt your camera.

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