Landscape (Low Horizon)

Assignment #7:  Shoot a landscape with the horizon in the lower third of the frame.

Here in Middle America, we don't have a lot of deep, three-dimensional topography to photograph.  So, naturally, I have some landscape assignments on my list and, unsurprisingly, my example shots are all from our travels out west.

So what makes a landscape photo a landscape photo anyway?  Do they have to be vast?  Should they not include people or man-made objects?  Must they always showcase the beauty of nature?

I don't know that we have to answer those questions or that we have to agree on the answers.  I tend to think of a landscape photo as conveying a sense of scale and promoting an appreciation of a place.  And I certainly don't object to people in landscapes as is evidenced below.

Why do I specify a low horizon for this assignment?  Because it's something to think about when you're composing a shot like this.  Sometimes the sky is absolutely worth including - and sometimes it needs to be purposefully omitted.

Break in the Clouds
Atop Pikes Peak near Manitou, Colorado

Isaac and the Crazy Clouds
Colter Bay, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Morning on Jackson
Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Light Painting

Assignment #6:  Create an image with light painting.

It's as simple as "drawing" with a flashlight during a long exposure or as complicated as you want to make it.

Spirolight: Grasshoppers

Spirolight: Atom

Spirolight: Cuneiform

Silhouette

Assignment #5:  Capture a silhouette.

To be honest, if I get a neat silhouette, it's probably a happy accident.  In looking at silhouette shots that others have taken, I'm much more drawn to images that seem "found" or candid than those with posed people or objects in front of a sunset or composite images with unnaturally large moons.

Dark Trunks
View from the back deck of the Rendesvous on Jackson Lake, Grand Teton Naional Park, Wyoming

Freeze Motion

Assignment #4: Use a fast shutter speed to freeze an instant in time.

I like that the camera often captures motion in a way different from our eyes and, although I'm lacking appropriate pictures, I have a number of motion-related assignments on my list.  This one's easy as long as you can find some action to freeze.

Exchanging Fire
A well-armored swimming pool combatant in Greenwood, Indiana

Going In
Fishers High School, Fishers, Indiana

False Start
Keeneland Racetrack, Lexington, Kentucky