Picture This

Capturing good street photography images can be a lot tougher than it seems. First, you have to be bold enough to shoot candid images of people on the street, most times without their permission. Secondly, in this assignment we were looking for powerful street photography images that captured an emotion or told a story; not just random shots of people walking down the street. Or, to paraphrase the great Henri Cartier-Bresson, we were seeking images that captured “the decisive moment.” With these 10 favorites by Shutterbug readers from the Street Photography assignment, we found them.

Despite all the advancements in digital imaging, classic black-and-white photography never goes out of style. Shutterbug readers proved that this month with a stunning array of monochrome images submitted for this assignment. Our 10 favorite photos weren’t simply black and white just for black and white’s sake, they all used the dramatic impact of monochrome in a powerful way.

This assignment was simple but it was also highly competitive. Yes, we received many lovely landscape photos in our Picture This! gallery on Shutterbug.com, but we were looking for something extra special. And we got it, with these 10 images from readers offering incredible and unique vistas.

Shutterbug readers got super artsy with this month’s Fine Art Photography assignment and the results were stunning. While it may be hard to precisely describe what fine art photography is, the 10 images we chose this month all struck us as being gallery-worthy. These shots display a firm vision, a great eye, a keen knowledge of forms, and, overall, an appreciation of the abstract beauty of the natural and man-made world.

For this month’s assignment, we asked you to think outside the box about winter photography. While photos of snowmen and sledding are nice, we were looking for images that captured the true splendor of the season’s power and beauty. We wanted to see photos of winter with a sense of wonder and you delivered. Here are our nine favorite images of winter from Shutterbug readers.

This month’s assignment was “bokeh,” which is the beautiful background blur you get when you capture an image with a shallow depth of field. Bokeh, which is derived from the Japanese word for “blur,” is typically achieved by using a lens with a wide aperture (f/2.8 or faster is ideal) and a nine-bladed diaphragm, to create an almost painterly background with highlights broken into soft glowing forms. Just as critical to creating a great picture utilizing bokeh is the sharp subject matter in the foreground, which draws the viewer’s eye in like a laser beam. Here are our 10 favorite examples of bokeh from Shutterbug readers.

Our Picture This! assignment this month really made everyone see Red. We were looking for images where the predominant color is red, or where a red accent makes a powerful statement within the frame. Perhaps the boldest color, red always catches the eye and many images entered for the assignment were just that: bold and eye-catching. We were also looking for images where other colors complemented and enhanced the presence of red within the frame. On the next few pages check out the photos we thought screamed Red the loudest.