Hello Henriëtte here with this months photochallenge.
I know it is not every ones cup of tea but the theme is:
How to Photograph a Spider’s Web ?

One subject that presents photographers with wonderful opportunities but also a lot of challenges is the spider’s web. There’s something about their delicate nature (while also being incredibly strong for their size), flexibility and beauty that draws me to them every time.

But how do you photograph spider’s webs? Here are 11 tips to keep in mind:

1 Shoot on a still day
Spider’s webs are incredibly light and if there’s even a hint of breath in the air they’re likely to move as you photograph them.
This has the potential to not only cause blur in your shot – but also movement will shake off any moisture on them and potentially could even break them.
Generally the stillest part of the day is early morning (which is also a great time for finding dew covered webs).

2 Be an environmentally friendly photographer
We’ve covered this topic numerous times here at DPS but it’s worth remphasising.
Remember that where there’s a web there’s a little (or not so little) creature that made it.

3 Find a dark background
The backgrounds of all shots are important as they either add to or distract from the shot.
WIth spider’s webs it is particularly important to have a plain and preferably dark background.
This will enable the web itself to stand out and be the feature of the shot.

4 Narrow your Depth of Field
To isolate the web further from your plain and dark background choose a large aperture (small ‘f/number’) to give you a shallow depth of field.
This will throw your background out of focus.

5 Shoot from head on
Photographing webs from all angles can leave you with interesting results – however getting directly in front of the web and shooting from straight on will enable you to keep the full web in focus as the distance from your lens to all parts of the web will be similar – negating any narrow depth of field you might have.
Of course you might also like some shallow depth of field shots (large apertures for these) from different angles to see what effect you can get.

6 Use Manual Focussing
Switching your camera to manual mode is something that most macro photographers find helpful because even the slightest changes in focussing can have a large impact.
As webs are so fine even being slightly out of focus can ruin your shot.

7 Tripods Please
Keeping the web still by shooting on a still day is important – but so is keeping your camera still.
The intricate details of a web on a contrasting background mean that camera movement will be very noticeable.

8 Dew on the Web
One of the classic photos of spider’s webs are those with dew or rain droplets on them.
The great thing about moisture on a web is that it widens the web slightly and helps it to stand out more clearly.
As already mentioned – the best time of day for dewy webs is mornings.

9 Fill Your Frame
Use your zoom to get in as close as you can to the spider’s web. If you’ve got a macro lens or macro mode switch to it to help you focus up nice and close.
Another framing is to focus upon just a smaller part of the web and the patterns that you see there.
In this way you can end up with some real detail and abstract composition.

10 Shoot from both sides
Sometimes a web can look quite dull and lifeless from one side while the other side has the light falling upon it in a way that just brings it to life!
This will also help you to see the web with a different background.

11 Experiment with a Flash
I find that shooting with natural light is generally best – but sometimes adding some artificial light with a flash can light up the web nicely and get some good highlights.

From an article by Darren Rowse Digital-Photography-school

Here is Wendy’s = WM[squared] go on the challenge and yes that is a mighty creepy spider !

And my try too, it is a bit of an old web but the only one I could find what was still intact.

Please read the posting rules too, especially about posting in the right gallery, thaks you!!

1. Upload your photo (and LO if you have one) to the appropriate gallery, then please link it back to the challenge in the forum
2. Just one entry per person will be eligible for a point, one extra point can be earned for doing a LO with the picture and if you win the challenge you also gain one extra point
3. The pictures must be especially made for this months challenge
4. No double dipping with other challenges please

Thanks and have fun!

Have you ever found that perfect photo – just one – and you really want to scrap it, but you don’t want your page to feel empty with that lonely photo? Or how about – you have a photo with a lot going on, and you want to bring attention to several smaller details? Then, by golly, you need to repeat that bad boy to get the biggest bang for your buck!

For this challenge, I want you to use only ONE photo on your layout, but you must use it at least THREE times. Feel free to re-size, re-crop or re-color, but the point is to really make a statement with your photo, and show it to it’s best potential.. Take advantage of this opportunity to really hone in on all the things that make your photo great!

Here’s mine, using Blessed from Sahlin Studio..

… and check out these great inspiration layouts from our super-talented CT…

from Natasha aka bcnatty

from Andrea aka chia

from Cristina aka Cristina

from Amanda aka panders77

Now it’s your turn.. Let’s see what you’ve got… Once you’ve completed your LO, upload it to the Saturday Special Gallery, and be sure to link us up in the forum so we can leave you LOTS of love..

A few reminders:

* You will receive one point for your entry
* You will receive one extra point for using a NEW product within the first week of its release – PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THIS IN YOUR POST
* You have until the end of October to complete your layout
* No double dipping – please keep your layouts unique to each challenge
* HAVE FUN!

Holy Cow!  It’s October!  Tgmousechick here, kicking off October with a hybrid project.  This month’s decor project is making paper luminaries for your home.  Don’t panic- these are EASY!

First things first, head off to the store and pick up your freebie overlay for this project:

Your download contains a single png file that will provide you with trim lines and faint fold lines- it has been designed for standard letter/A4-sized paper, so no specialty printer is necessary.

Moving on to building your project:

1) To start, just open a letter-sized project in landscape orientation.  Add the guide “overlay” in as a layer and design your canvas.  This was my “canvas” using Midnight Crow by Chelle’s Creations.  I am keeping all of my design work out of the lower flaps and the little side lip to hold the thing together.

When laying out your project, remember KISS- Keep It Simple, Scrapper!  The warm glow of a luminary is typically enjoyed from a distance, so images with a lot of fine detail may get lost when viewed from afar.  Your best results are going to be from easy-to-discern shapes.  For example, for the project above, I used the tree image, the pumpkins, and the moon- all images that will be easy to identify from a distance.

2) Once you have completed laying out your project, it’s time to print it.  This is another one of those great low-risk starter projects for hybrid, because you don’t need to invest in a lot of expensive supplies.  If you stick to printing simple black shapes, you don’t need a high-end photo printer, or a ton of experience with fine-tuning settings for an optimal print-out.  For these luminaries, I used vellum that I had in my stash, and plain ole’ standard copy paper.  Truth be told, the copy paper actually gave me better results, since my Epson R1800 wide format printer does not have a setting for printing transparencies, which is how I’ve printed on vellum in the past.  With no transparency setting, the printer uses a bit more ink than is really needed for the non-porous surface, and it results in some spider-y ink bleed.  Since I made samples for Halloween, the ink bleed works, but I think I would be disappointed if I wanted crisp and clean printing for another event, like wedding luminaries.  Long story even longer, the copy paper and a fairly low “Text” print quality provided lovely results.

3) Once you have printed, it’s time to trim.  The darker lines of the overlay are your cutting lines.  You’ll be cutting a small lip to create the block shape, and tabs that are folded up to form a base.  At the top, I left you a bit more height than you need.  You can make a tall luminary, by all means, but you can trim off a couple of inches of the top (my luminaries are about 5″ tall).  You can do a straight cut with a trimmer, use paper edgers, or you can simply tear an upper edge like I did in the sample below:

Score and fold along the provided guidelines, and use the tab to join the paper to form a square tube.  After you form the tube, you can fold up the flaps to form the base- a little adhesive on all but one flap with secure things a bit.

These are my finished luminaries, featuring a variety of digital kits from our ScrapMatters designers!  From left to right: All Hallow’s Eve by Trixie Scraps, Midnight Crow by Chelle’s Creations, A Halloween Nightmare by Britt-ish Designs, and Jeepers Creepers by Designs by Jeni Hopewell.  Sometimes, a little color can be added so that your scene can also be enjoyed by the light of day.

Did you know there are now LED votives available?  I picked up a few packages of them at Target this past weekend and I am so excited to have them.  Previously, although I love the soft flicker of a burning candle, I avoided them because I have a 2 year old and a cat in the house.  I can now enjoy candles again!!!!  What a wonderful safe alternative!!  I’ll still use votive candles in my little metal jack-o-lanterns outside, just becasue I’ll be too lazy to go outside at the end of the evening to flip the switches on these candles.

Here’s how those luminaries look when the lights are out!

Here’s another lovely example by Cristina.  Don’t you love the pink paper??  She used the Flora Brushes by Andilynn Designs:

I’m so excited with how these turned out!  Are you wondering how I got these great photos?  I was rather surprised myself!  There are three keys to keep in mind:

1) Use a fast film speed.  I set my camera’s ISO sensitivity to 1600, but I have seen recommendations to shoot at at least 400.  The higher the number, the more light sensitivity you will have.

2) Turn off your flash!!!  The flash completely kills the mood.  You want your light source to be the candle in the luminary (or your jack-o-lantern, for that matter), not your flash.

3) Use a tripod.  I was too lazy to drag out my tripod from the closet, so I steadied my camera on one of our kitchen chairs.  Regardless, even with a sensitive film setting, you’re still challenged by low light conditions, so when you take the actual photograph, the shutter will remain open longer to allow the light in.  Even slightly shaky hands will result in blurry photos.  Using a tripod allows you a steady base, and the shutter can remain open as long as necessary.

Please give this simple project a try!  It even counts for the Matter of Scrap point system!  To earn Matter of Scrap points, you need to post your completed project into the gallery and the respective forum thread (link is coming).  You have all month to do so- entries are due by October 31st.  Use a new release from the week that you post and earn a bonus point (and believe me, there are TONS of fabulous Halloween kits that you won’t want to miss).  Post as many projects as you like, but you only get points for the first one.  And finally, you can’t use this project to earn other Matter of Scrap points later in the month (the “No Double Dipping” rule).  I’m anxious to see what you come up with!