FEATURED: Sweet as Honey

[James Staddon]

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS:
• Publisher: Calvary Baptist Church (USA) & Scripture Baptist Church (Europe)
• Purpose: We are creating a 2022 Scripture Calendar in an European language with a theme of “The Word of God”. Around 3,500 of the 2020 Calendars were distributed in 2019, and we are hoping to distribute that amount or more each coming year!
• Request: A beautiful, calendar-worthy picture (with an obviously spring-time theme if possible) that reflects the truths of Psalm 119:103 “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
• Special Instructions:
a) The picture should have enough “empty”, uncluttered space in it so we can clearly put the words of the verse on the picture somewhere.
b) Though we would like the picture to complement or illustrate the Bible verse as much as possible, keep in mind that our previous calendars have used mostly nature scenes. We don’t want to move too radically away from natural beauty such that people dislike the new calendar.
c) In addition to what you come up creatively on your own, here are some ideas of things that could be used to illustrate this concept: honey dripping off a honey dipper, honey comb, honey bee sipping honey, a frame of honeycomb in a bee hive, a beekeeper working in a bee hive or extracting honey, honey being dribbled on to a piece of bread, Biblical-era utensils relating to the use of honey in a Biblical-era atmosphere.
• Orientation: Horizontal; photo will be used at roughly a 2:3 ratio.
• Photo Specs:Highest quality possible. It can not be smaller than 2500px longest edge. Edit however you like. No watermarks.
• How to Submit: Members can follow the A, B, C process outlined here. Don’t forget to submit your write ups too! (Instructions for non-members can be viewed here.)
• Remuneration: Photos will be delivered to the ministry at no cost to them. However, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, Lenspiration members will be paid $27 if their photo is chosen!
• Terms: By submitting your photo(s) on this forum, you agree to the terms outlined in the STS Photo Assignment Agreement. The ministry would like to be able to use the pictures for other ministry purposes as well, including use in tracts or books, though they have no immediate plans for that yet. They can not guarantee that they will be able credit the photographer or Lenspiration, since they don’t generally do that on the evangelistic or tract-like material they create.
• Deadline: Midnight Saturday, April 25, 2020 (or until this topic is no longer highlighted yellow).

LEARN HOW:
Watch how I shot this assignment and get related training on how to shoot it yourself at On Assignment: Into the Danger Zone.

WATCH CRITIQUE:
Watch the photos submitted for this assignment get critiqued live by registering for the April 28 Photo Critique Webinar!

[James Staddon]

I got carried away with this assignment. 🙂 It was really fun!

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[Frazer Family]

I dug into my archives, and found the first shot, that I used for the labels on a local beekeeper’s honeyjars. For the others, I pulled my inspiration from @James. All lighting is artificial.
After eating up the remains from the bread and honey shots, I pronounced @James a capital fellow. 😋 Best assignment yet!

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[James Staddon]

I don’t know about for a calendar, but that first shot would indeed make for a good background photo. With the texture.

It seems to me like the two pouring honey photos could use a faster shutter speed. Do you know what was used? The shape of the glass/plastic container that the honey is being poured into doesn’t look like something honey would be stored in at first glance. What is it exactly?

The solid black background is really nice on that last shot.

[Frazer Family]

@James said:

It seems to me like the two pouring honey photos could use a faster shutter speed. Do you know what was used?

I assume you’re referring to the first two of the four, and if so, yes, I should have used something faster than 1/160th and 1/125th of a second, respectively.

The shape of the glass/plastic container … What is it exactly?

The first was a tapered glass, and the second was a cylindrical, straight one. What annoyed me about these shots was the reflections that the glass produced, not at all like your glass, James, which only reflects just enough to let the viewer know what he’s/she’s looking at. Maybe I should have experimented with using a polarizing filter? Were you using one?

I suppose technically I ought to ask that on the Q&A forum.

[Sonja Grace]

Here are my photos for this assignment! I thought honey bees would work to illustrate this verse.

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[Ernest Lloyd]

Here’s a couple of the pictures that I shot for this assignment.
It doesn’t strike me as a really good calendar photo, but it’s all that I had time for.
I might just get another chance to take some more photos before the assignment deadline.
The first one is definitely my favorite of the two.

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[Caleb Moulder]

Here is 2 photos I shot outside!

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[James Staddon]

Thanks for the info @frazerfamily. Perhaps the shapes of the reflections are not as pleasing because they are “straight” up and down, as opposed to what’s created by the more graceful shape of the glass container I used. And no, I didn’t use any filters.

Nice and sharp @sonja-grace. Do you have a macro lens for getting these kind of shots?

A quick shot is better than no shot at all, I’d say, @ernestf-lloyd! Yeah, if you get a chance this week, I’d suggest trying side or back lighting. And no manicure necessary, but trimmed nails may avert distaste from viewers who are perfectionists.

@calebmoulder, nice lighting. Well set up. If you submitted your original files, I’d be curious how much cropping you did, since the publishers will want some space to put the verse text.

[Ernest Lloyd]

Yeah, if you get a chance this week, I’d suggest trying side or back lighting.

I’m just looking for a nice day to go into the backyard with some sunlight and try some different lighting angles.

And no manicure necessary, but trimmed nails may avert distaste from viewers who are perfectionists.

True, my younger sister was the model for this shot! 🙂

[Sonja Grace]

@James-Staddon Yes, I use a 60mm macro lens. 🙂

[steve whitson]

Here is my photo for the assignment. I thought a bumble bee getting Nectar out of a columbine flower would be a good example of the Verse.

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[Ernest Lloyd]

Okay, this was a fun assignment! Yesterday there was gorgeous lighting in the backyard, so I got out my camera and shot tons of photos.
These turned out a lot better than my previous try, so here they are. I included lots of angles and backgrounds this time since I couldn’t decide which of these I liked the best. I had fun experimenting with using a black backdrop (the backside of a chalkboard 🙂 ) to get some of the photos! I also had fun using aperture to create the starburst effect.

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[Ernest Lloyd]

Here are the rest.

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[Greta]

I have always enjoyed the the beauty of the light of the morning sun. Being outside, surrounded with the morning sun, and photographing honey was so much fun. I really enjoyed this assignment. It seems to me that the element of transparency and yet evident density of honey is what illustrates the seeming purity of the honey. The Word of God is so comprehensible and yet so unmeasurably profound. It feeds our hungry souls and lightens our eyes such as Jonathan experienced with physical honey in 1 Samuel 14:27-29.

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