Are You A Winner?

Well, you are, if your name is either of the two that were randomly selected by our list generator!

The winner of our Scrapbook Adhesives prize pack is:

List Randomizer

There were 23 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Lee-Anne Thorton, AB
2. April Childs, AB
3. Lise Malette, ON
4. Jennifer Lundsten, SK
5. Lise Malette, ON
6. Diana Hetherington, NB
7. Sarah Fitzpatrick, ON
8. Lise Malette, ON
9. Jill Sparks, ON
10. Lise Malette, ON
11. Jill Sparks, ON
12. Lynette Parent, AB
13. Agatha Wiebe, ON
14. Lise Malette, ON
15. Lise Malette, ON
16. Lise Malette, ON
17. Lise Malette, ON
18. Nathalie Cormier, QC
19. Lise Malette, ON
20. Lee-Anne Thorton, AB
21. Valery Klassen, AB
22. Agatha Wiebe, ON
23. Lise Malette, ON

Timestamp: 2011-03-03 05:03:56 UTC

and the lucky winner of the Magenta prize pack is:

List Randomizer

There were 23 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. April Childs, AB
2. Jill Sparks, ON
3. Lise Malette, ON
4. Lise Malette, ON
5. Lise Malette, ON
6. Lise Malette, ON
7. Sarah Fitzpatrick, ON
8. Lee-Anne Thorton, AB
9. Jennifer Lundsten, SK
10. Diana Hetherington, NB
11. Nathalie Cormier, QC
12. Lise Malette, ON
13. Agatha Wiebe, ON
14. Lee-Anne Thorton, AB
15. Lise Malette, ON
16. Lise Malette, ON
17. Lise Malette, ON
18. Lise Malette, ON
19. Lise Malette, ON
20. Agatha Wiebe, ON
21. Jill Sparks, ON
22. Lynette Parent, AB
23. Valery Klassen, AB

Timestamp: 2011-03-03 05:10:23 UTC

Congratulations to our winners – your prizes will be mailed out shortly to the addresses listed on your submission forms.

Thanks again to all who played along – check back on or around March 8th for another tutorial and photo assignment!

Cheers,

Jan/Feb submissions!

So sorry for the lack of posts this month, everyone!  As you may know, if you follow my blog, I have had some serious dental issues over the last few weeks.  I have had three rounds of antibiotics and they really knackered me!  I’m happy to say that I’m finishing up Round 3 of antibiotics and I *think* we finally have this thing licked!  (Touch wood!)

I have many submissions to share, and I certainly enjoyed receiving them, even if I couldn’t drag myself out of bed to post them.  We had 23 submission for January and February!  And we’re going to pick TWO lucky winners once I’ve posted them so check back Friday to congratulate our winner… Who knows?  It may be YOU!

Speaking of winners, I also have the prizes to share with you!!  All photo submissions will be eligible for both prizes, regardless of the photo subject, but I will pick a winner for both January and February.

January’s prize is this yummy pack of adhesive goodness from :

January Prize Pack by Scrapbook Adhesives

And our February winner will receive this prize pack from Magenta Stamps:

February Prize Pack by Magenta

Now onto our submissions!

April Childs, of AB:

Taken with Nikon D80 at f/5.6, 1/125 sec., ISO 125

Nathalie Cormier, of QC:

Taken with Canon EOS XSi at f/5, 1/60 sec., ISO 1600

Agatha Wiebe, of ON:

Taken with Canon Rebel XSi at f/5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 400

Taken with Canon Rebel XSi at f/10, 1/320 sec., ISO 200

Lynette Parent, of AB:

Taken with Canon EOS Rebel XT at f/5, 1/60 sec., ISO 400

Diana Hetherington, of NB:

Taken with Canon Rebel XSi at f/4, 1/64 sec., ISO 400

Sarah Fitzpatrick, of ON:

Taken with Canon PowerShot SD1300 at f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 80

Valery Klassen, of AB:

Taken with Canon EOS Rebel T1i at f/10, 1/320 sec., ISO 100

Jennifer Lundsten, of SK:

Taken with Pentax K-R at f/16, 1/640 sec., ISO 3200

Lise Malette, of ON:

Taken with Nikon Coolpix S630 at f/14, 1/86 sec., ISO 64

Taken with Nikon Coolpix S630 at f/14, 1/82 sec., ISO 64

Taken with Nikon Coolpix S630 at f/3.5, 1/340 sec., ISO 64

Taken with Nikon Coolpix S630 at f/3.5, 1/113 sec., ISO 64

Taken with Nikon Coolpix S630 at f/5.1, 1/207 sec., ISO 64

Taken with Nikon Coolpix S630 at f/11, 1/577 sec., ISO 64

Taken with Nikon Coolpix S630 at f/5.3, 1/440 sec., ISO 88

Jill Sparks, of ON:

Taken with Nikon D60 at f/6.3, 1/160 sec., ISO 100

Taken with Nikon D60 at f/5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 200

More from Lise Malette, of ON:

Taken with Nikon Coolpix S630 at f/3.5, 1/340 sec., ISO 64

Taken with Canon EOS Rebel XTi at f/4, 1/60 sec., ISO 400

Taken with Nikon Coolpix S630 at f/5.1, 1/440 sec., ISO 158

Lee-Anne Thorton, of AB:

Taken with Canon EOS 30D at f/5.6, 1/15 sec., ISO 500

Taken with Canon EOS 30D at f/7.1, 1/8 sec., ISO 400

Thank you to everyone for their interpretations of this month’s photo assignment!!  And thanks for being patient with me…

I will announce the winners on Friday!

Cheers,

January Tutorial: Symmetry and Patterns

Thanks for your patience, while we switched servers!  I’ll be posting January’s tutorial today, and will follow up with February’s tutorial tomorrow – deadline for both photo assignment will be the same and we’ll draw TWO prizes this month – once for each photo assignment!

Today, we’re going to learn about symmetry and patterns in your composition. Both can be used, either together or independently for effectiveness in composing your shots.
Symmetry in a photo is when both sides of an image, either vertically or horizonally, are of equal weight. That is to say that while they can be symmetrical in actual content, like this image:

Mount Rainier reflected in Mirror Lake (from the University of Washington Libraries)

Similarly, a photo can be considered symmetrical even though it is not identical, if it is weighted equally on the horizontal or vertical axes, such as in this photo by Kevin Steele:

Neighbours by Kevin Steele. Taken with Olympus D600L.

Both left and right sides are equally weighted by stairs, door and mailbox, even though they are not identical.  However, there is a big difference in the symmetry in this photo:  the dog.  Having a break in symmetry like this in a photo can be just as effective.  It provides a resting point for the viewer’s eye as he is perusing the image.

Consider this beautiful photo by Fabio Montalto (Wagman_30):

The Orange Chapel. Taken by Fabio Montalto with Nikon D200.

The perfect symmetry of this composition is offset by the little orange trash receptable in the lower right hand corner.  This illustrates that sometimes, breaking up the symmetry can prevent a photo from becoming ordinary in its symmetry.

Similarly, patterns can enhance a photo’s composition with their presence or an abrupt break in one.  Repetition can be used effectively in photography.  One method is to emphasize the pattern by capturing it in your scene, such as in this image by Christopher Rose (khowaga1):

Repetition by Christopher Rose (khowaga1). Taken with Canon EOS DRebel XTi

 Just as effectively, a break in pattern can offer relief from the pattern and lead the viewer’s eye through the image, as in this photo:

Taken with Nikon D80 and 50mm lens at f/1.8, 1/50 sec., ISO 200

Finding patterns and symmetry in our lives is not difficult – they can be found everywhere.  We just need to “train” our eyes to look for it through our viewfinder.  So get out your camera and look at your world through new eyes – and send us your images with symmetry and patterns!

January 2011 photography assignment:

Using the January tutorial as a guide, photograph patterns or symmetry around you.  Explore your surroundings and try to photograph both styles – with a break in symmetry or pattern and without.  As always, if you have any questions, please leave me a comment on this post, or email me at sue {AT} canadianscrapbooker {DOT} ca.

Deadline:  11:59 pm EST, February 28th, 2011

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: 

1) Because the whole purpose of the tutorial is to get you to experiment with your camera, submitted photos must have been taken between January 7th and February 28th, 2010, inclusive.  Photos that do not meet this criteria may be shared on the blog but will not be eligible for our contest. 

2) Please send original-sized photos – I will size them for our blog. 

3) And PLEASE don’t forget to  include your camera settings, including camera used, f/stop, aperture and ISO settings for your image in the Comments section of the submisson form!  Submissions that do not include this info may not be posted on the blog  or included in the prize drawing.

Please submit your photo, using only our submission form (no emails, please!), for a chance to be entered into our draw to win an awesome prize.   A randomly chosen entry will be drawn after the deadline.  Please note – submissions that are not relative to the tutorial and/or do not abide by these rules will not be posted on the blog, or entered into the draw.  Please click HERE to review the rules regarding this draw BEFORE submitting.

Our prizes for both the January and February photo assignment contests will be revealed shortly!

Happy Clicking!

Technical Difficulties

Sorry for the delay in posting January’s tutorial and photo assignment but I’m having some trouble getting photos to upload – and it’s hard to post a tutorial without photos!

Because we’re knee-deep in magazine progress (and we know you don’t want us to delay that!), I’ve decided to combine January with February’s tutorial, which will be posted on or around Feb. 1st.

If you want to get a headstart, read my article in your Winter 2010/11 issue and start snapping! January’s topic will be Symmetry and Patterns, and February’s topic will be Leading Lines. Only photos taken between January 7th and February 28th, 2011 will be accepted and posted for this assignment.

Cheers,

January tutorial…

will be delayed a few days!

We are in the middle of a server change and to avoid any trouble with lost posts or images, I will be posting the tutorial later this week.  Don’t worry – we’ll allow extra time for the delay!  But if you want to get a headstart, the tutorial will be on symmetry and patterns – and I’ll allow all photos that were taken between today (Jan 10th, 2010) and the deadline!

Thanks for your patience!

Cheers,

We have a Winner!

Two, actually!

First, thank you to everyone who participated in our contest!  We appreciate your help, spreading the good news of our blog – I’m having fun!  I hope that you’re learning more about your camera and how to use it – and more importantly, having fun in the process!

I’m sorry about the delay in posting – I had grand plans to photograph the huge bucket of entries and to video tape the draw, but we had a slight family emergency last night and those plans were hastily replaced with a decidedly unceremonious draw tonight just prior to writing this post!  But while I couldn’t share the process with you, the end result is the same!

The winner of our contest is…

Michelle K on January 27th, 2010  

added you to my blog… http://www.maybecreative.blogspot.com

Congratulations, Michelle K!  You have won the following prize from Just Cre8:

July Cre8ive Pack by Just Cre8

Please email your mailing info to sue (AT) canadianscrapbooker (DOT) com and we’ll get your prize sent out straightaway!

Now, for our January assignment winner!  Let me thank everyone for sending me their beautiful photos – it’s so fun to see everyone trying this technique and to see what subjects you chose!  And thanks to the same *high-tech* process as in the last draw, we have a winner!

Congratulations to Lee Anne Thorton, of AB and her photo:

Taken with Canon EOS 30D at f/4.5, 1/50 sec., ISO 800

Final round of January submissions

Wow!  We had some fabulous submissions this month!  Here is the last batch for the January assignment:

Barb Riley, of SK, sent me this yummy looking photo of cookies at the ByWard Market in Ottawa, ON.  She writes, “[The cookies] were in the same bakery where Obama bought his maple leaf cookies when he visited in February – you can see them just below the shelf of cookies I photographed. They’re still advertising them as “Obama cookies”. I focused on the yellow ones as yellow is my favourite colour and I wanted them to stand out.”:

Taken with Canon EOS 20D at f/4.5, 1/250 sec., ISO 400

I love the mix of bright colours here – thanks for submitting!

This next photo was submitted by Julie Ballah, of ON:

Taken with Canon EOS Rebel XS at f/3.5, 1/60 sec., ISO 800

Great depth of field, Julie – and love your sunny, yellow scrap room!  Thanks for sending us your photo!

In keeping with the scrapbooking theme, Mindy Smith-Bernard, of ON, used the tutorial to photograph her American Craft ribbon collection:

Taken with Canon Rebel XTi at f/5.0, 1/30 sec., ISO 400

Love it – thanks for your submission!

Maxine Lozinski, of AB, submitted this photo:

Taken with Canon EOS Rebel XSi at f/4.5, 1/80 sec., ISO 400

I love the contrast of the orange with the brown – after all, orange is my favourite colour!  Thanks for your submission, Maxine!

Carla Ganske, of AB, submitted this next photo, saying, “I had to photograph my ATC Trading Cards that I created for a swap.  I thought I would use what I learned for this photo shoot.”:

Taken with Canon Rebel XSi at f/5, 1/15 sec., ISO 400

Turned out great, Carla – thanks for submitting!

And last but not least, Jamie Harder, of SK, sent us this beautiful photo of her daughter, Sienna:

Taken with Canon Rebl XT, f/1.8, 1/2500 sec., ISO 400

I love the pop of colour from the lollipop!  Thanks for submitting!

Well, now I am inspired to go out and photograph something!  But first, I will compile all of the submissions for both the January assignment and the contest and will report the winners later this evening!  Thanks to all who played along and be sure to check back later this week when I will post the February tutorial and assignment!

Another round of submissions to share :)

I have some more great submissions to share with you!

Our first one today is by Kelsy Propp, of AB, of her daughter, taken in the summer at Emma Lake in SK:

Taken with Canon EOS Rebel T1i at f/5.6, 1/60 sec.

So sweet!  Thanks for sharing, Kelsy!

Michelle Kuijer, of ON, practiced her depth of field on her Glimmer Mist.  Focusing on the first bottle causes each bottle behind to appear slightly less in focus than the one before:

Taken with Canon Rebel EOS XS 1000D at f/5, 1/6 sec., ISO 800

I’m jealous of your colour selection, Michelle!  Thanks for your submission!

Nathalie Cormier, of QC, writes, “When I was at the university,  my collegues were surprised that I had a lot of highlighters and pencils.  Each color had a function – blue for theorem, pink for definition, etc.” Her photo makes me smile, because I have the same habit at work – green for receipts, orange for expenses, etc…

Taken with Canon XSi at f/5.6, 1/15 sec., ISO 400

Thanks for the submission, Nathalie – and the reminder to scrapbook one of my idiosyncrasies!

And lastly, I’d like to share this photo by Michelle La Grue, of Ireland:

Taken with Canon Rebel XSi at f/5.6, 1/160, ISO 200

Yum!  Can’t you just TASTE it?  Thanks, Michelle!

Only a few more days, readers - have you sent me YOURS yet?

Cheers,

More January submissions!

The submissions are rolling in!  And they are awesome – so glad you are enjoying this assignment!

Dawn Hueser, of SK, sent me this photo for January’s assignment:

Taken with Canon EOS Rebel XSi at f/11, 1/160 sec., ISO 200

Love the gorgeous fall colours – Thanks, Dawn!

Carla Ganske, of AB, sent me this cute photo of her daughter’s Snow Buddies! 

Taken with Canon EOS Rebel XSi at f/4.5, 1/6 sec., ISO 400

(Don’t you love the bling bling on the dog in the foreground?!)  Thanks for your submission, Carla!

Using her granddaughter’s Littlest Pet Shop Pets, Helen Reid-Beecroft, of AB, practiced her depth of field by lining them up and focusing on her granddaughter’s favourite pet – the frog!

Taken with Canon Rebel TSi at f/5.0, 1/160 sec.

Great job, Helen – thank you!

And our last submissions for today come from Rhonda Steed, of AB:

Taken with Nikon D80 at f/2.8, 1/25 sec., ISO 400

Taken with Nikon D80 at f/2.8, 1/125 sec., ISO 400

Taken with Nikon D80 at f/1.8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400

Wonderful images – thank you, Rhonda!

We’re nearing the deadline for this month – send me your submissions by using the submission form found here by 11:59pm EST, January 31st, 2010 and you will be entered into a random draw for this great prize pack!

And don’t forget to spread the word of our blog and then leave a comment to be entered into our contest!!  Only FIVE more sleeps!   More details here…

Cheers,

More DoF submissions!

I have some more submissions to share with you!

Bethany Hoskin, of AB, wrote, “I’m scrapbooking a favorite toy page for my 6 yr old, so decided to practice on his Bakugans. He was happy to be my photo designer, setting them all up for me to photograph.”   What a great way to include your child in your assignment – Great job, Logan!  And you too, Bethany!

Taken with Canon REbel T1i at f/4.5, 1/160 sec., ISO 400

Karen Aldrin, of the U.K., sent me a couple of photos for this assignment, as well.  She used her 50mm f/1.8 lens and as you can see in this first photo, the prime lens opened at the widest aperture gives Karen an incredibly narrow depth of field:

Taken with Canon EOS 400D at f/1.8, 1/50 sec., ISO 400

In her second submission, she used a wider aperture of f/3.2, which increases the depth of field but still blurs the background nicely:

Taken with Canon EOS 400D at f/3.2, 1/125, ISO 400

Mmmmm, garlic!  Being Italian, this photo “speaks” to me! LOL!  Thanks for your beautiful submissions, Karen!

Sonia Rodriguez, of QC, also sent me a submission this month – I love the colour in this photo – and what great focus!

Taken with Canon EOS Rebel XSi at f/5.6, 1/125 sec., ISO 800

This reminds me of Grade 9 Home Economics class…   Thanks for submitting, Sonia!

I love seeing everyone’s work, and sharing it with our blog followers - please keep on submitting!

Cheers!