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What are Self Assignments and Why Do Them?

We all tend to get in creative ruts sometimes. We start assuming too much about what we can and can't photograph, and about the limits of our equipment, our film, and ourselves. These assignments (hopefully) take you out of your comfort zone and get you photographing things you might not normally shoot. 

The only way to really learn is to do and the more film you put through your camera the better you'll get.  Plus you get the chance to win a bunch of film.  This months winner will get 30 rolls of the Fuji Professional film of their choice courtesy of our sponsor Fuji Film, runners up receive 10 rolls each.

This Month - A Dramatic Landscape

Every photographer has a couple of landscapes that they're really proud of - probably the ones hanging on their wall.  This month's self assignment is to think about all those dramatic landscapes you love and to go out and shoot a dramatic landscape or cityscape of your own.  The goal is to create an image that grabs people and makes them stop for a closer look.

There are really no restrictions on this one, you can use any lens or film, color or black and white, city, country, or desert, sunrise, sunset, mid-day or midnight.

The single restriction is on digital manipulation.  The final image should be what was actually before your lens when you took the shot, not a composite image (save that one for a PhotoShop contest).

Film Types
Color or black & white, Negative, Slide, or digital

Lens Types (35mm format used as a reference)
Any focal length

Rules
Each month we pick several photos from the previous months contest that we think are worthy of publication. Photos should be submitted by email in JPEG format, and should be no larger than 700x700 pixels, 24 bit color (1.4MB). Overly large images will not be reviewed. Panoramic images may exceed 700 pixels in one direction but should not exceed 1.4MB in total file size. Photos should be submitted no later than one week before publication of the next issue (listed on the front page). Submission of a photo will be considered a defacto release for publication. Please include the following in your email:

• Name
  email address
  Brand & model of camera
  Brand & focal length of lens
  Brand & speed of film used (or specify digital)
  Scanner and/or scanning method
  How/if the image was manipulated digitally
  The story behind the image
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