photo assignments

[Southern Man]

I go to school here at UNC for photography (I'm just starting) and I'm having trouble figuring out what to photograph and how. Everyone seems to be so creative but all I can think about shooting are my friends and the buildings. I'm stuck here without a car so I can't travel very far. Does anybody have any suggestion about what to shoot and how? This is driving me nuts and I don't want to embarras myself in class by asking dumb questions. My class now is only black and white. Are there some things that look better that way?

[Sepia]

Black and white is my favourite medium. I had the same problem as you. What we were taught was to take pictures of everyday things but from different angles. Buildings look larger if you lay on the floor looking up. Take a picture of someones eye, nose or just part of the face. Find some mud and place a footprint in it. Play with a hosepipe and practice taking pictures of water.

[Sepia]

There are a few examples of different pictures on these two pages. The pictures are small because at the time I did this site I had a tiny monitor, but it might give you ideas. Feel free to use them. http://www.scribblers-inc.ic24.net/gallery/five.html
http://www.scribblers-inc.ic24.net/gallery/one.html

[Georgews_old]

I agree with Sepia. You don't have to travel far to get creative photos - try your own back garden. What about shadows - the ones cast by your garden gate from different angles and at different times of the day. Try experimenting with exposure times - I taught a class of 11 - 12 year olds some time ago and we experimented with a fixed camera and someone biking past - how much did it blur? When was the shutter speed so low that the cyclist did not even register? (make sure you have ND filters or polariser and slow film for this.
Do you process your own prints? Look at some books such as landscapes (Ansel Adams will show you what B&W can do!)
read books and magazines in your library.
Keep a camera with you and look for similar things e.g. old sheds, rusty cars etc and see how many you can get. Don't just take one photo of each - try different angles and exposures etc.
Have lotsa fun!! Don't get too bogged down with technicalities - let your mind wander!
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George