Some students have already started classes, some go back next week. Mom's are sending their children off sometimes with a tear or two. 
For this month, portray in a photograph anything about school, education, or going "back to school". For example, shopping for school supplies, school buses, school uniforms, books, recess, packing lunches, moving into dormitories or other student housing, etc. Could be a portrait, still life, street scene, anything. 

• In a portrait, light from behind enough to make a "glow" or "aura" around the subject.

• Light shining through leaves so you can see the veins is another way to use backlighting. Or behind an animal so you can see the hairs or fur.

• Light shining through floral petals

• Red wine (or food coloring in water, as long as you make the colour nice and rich) in long stemmed glasses.

• More liquid and container combinations:
  Drinking glass, decanter, bottle, pitcher, etc. Wine, pop/soda, olive oil, kool-aid, tea, etc.

• Drop an alka seltzer in a glass with the liquid!

Tip: To see many excellent examples, go to http://images.google.com and search on either "triptych" or "diptych".

For this project, prepare a triptych (3 images) or a diptych (2 images) related to the subject matter of your choosing.  PS: This theme goes quite well with the previous theme "Passage of Time", so let's extend that theme into January for those of you who may not have had time to explore that subject.

One caveat, please: No "flowing water" pics!!
That's just an exercise in long exposure. Which yes, technically, that's the passage of time. But some of you do that so well already, that this wouldn't be a challenge for you.

This assignment also can be an exercise in exposure , as the lighting in front of your "frame" may be drastically different that that on the other side of the frame. Or you could use a split gradient ND filter, if such a split is appropriate for your composition.

**Note: Our forum friends in the Southern Hemisphere won't have the same seasonal associations as those in the Northern Hemisphere; they will be the opposite. (e.g. when it is Autumn in the Northern it is Spring in the Southern.)  

• In a portrait, light from behind enough to make a "glow" or "aura" around the subject.

• Light shining through leaves so you can see the veins is another way to use backlighting. Or behind an animal so you can see the hairs or fur. 

• Red wine (or food coloring in water, as long as you make the colour nice and rich) in long stemmed glasses.

• More liquid and container combinations:
  Drinking glass, decanter, bottle, pitcher, etc. Wine, pop/soda, olive oil, kool-aid, tea, etc.

• Drop an alka seltzer in a glass with the liquid!

• Dragging the Shutter ( http://planetneil.com/faq/dragging-the-shutter.html ) 

For this project, create TWO images for submitting. The first showing what the camera and flash thought was the correct exposure (ie: what you would normally get) and the second showing what you have produced by slowing the shutter speed down to expose for the ambient while properly exposing the main subject with a flash. 
What you are looking for is a well lit background and a poorly lit subject. If anyone is having issues, post them to the group and we can collectively learn this useful technique. Also, this DOES NOT have to be a portrait; it can be what ever you would like. BTW - for those that know how to do this, try it in the middle of the day... with an under exposed background and a properly exposed main subject.

This assignment also can be an exercise in exposure (or a chance to try HDR - see below), as the lighting in front of your "frame" may be drastically different that that on the other side of the frame. Or you could use a split gradient ND filter, if such a split is appropriate for your composition.

"Letters: The Alphabet in the Image.
There are many common symbols and signs around us, some of which are obvious, while others can emerge from parts of a scene. The letters we are seeking for this alphabet soup can be parts of signs that are isolated and obvious or objects that seem to form letters on their own, the "X" that marks the spot or the "M" in the way peaks of houses mark the horizon--the more imaginative the better. This big "R" was spotted on a high floor of a parking garage; the lens used and point of view create a scale that seems to rival the buildings of the city in the background."

Grab this magazine (or go to the URL above) to see the sample photo they are talking about. The shape and scale of the "R" mirrors the shape and scale of the background buildings.

So-- the assignment really is about finding a scene that suggests the shape of a letter that also has that letter on a sign!! It should be a bit of a scavenger hunt...!!

For this assignment, let's see your "first frame" in such a scenario, and the "last frame" -- and be prepared to explain the adjustments you made to get from start to finish. Feel free to also show any in-between shots to help illustrate your thought process.

NOTE: This project is NOT about photoshopping or digital manipulation of your image; it is all about the camera work.