Great shot Johnny, Color and Composition is outstanding. I like the focus but I agree with the other critiques it would have been more appealing if it was on the eye. The ants give your photo a very different look, something I have not seen here in a while, great work and thanks for sharing!

If you have read Joe McNally's new book The Moment It Clicks you have noticed that it is full of photo tips, illustrated by his photos. An example of a tip Joe received early in his career was to always use a strobe in a locker room. Most, he says, are not so absolute. (If you haven't read it, you really should. Buy it, borrow it, or read it in a library, but read it!)

Let's create our own collection of tips. We are not all Joe McNally (who else is?) but we probably have our own tips. So this month's assignment is to submit a photo tip, and a photo that illustrates it or is based on it. A photo tip is nothing more than a good practice or a good idea that someone else might benefit from, and we all probably have at least one we would like to share. One of my favorites is to look back behind me after shooting a landscape;sometimes that view is pretty good, too.

To qualify for this month's assignment,
• Submit a photo tip in the Photographer's Comment of a photo, and
• Illustrate the tip by the photo you submit.

If you have any questions, email an admin. If your photo is deemed to not meet our assignment criteria and hence removed, please accept our decision graciously. Our decisions are not subjects for debate, so if you are not sure, ask first. To enter your photo into the assignment, just check off the box that says 2009 01 ~ Here's a tip!. You can view previous assignments here. You may submit as many photos as you like into the assignment. Good luck!

This assignment will be enabled on January 1 and run through January 31.