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- Manual or auto focus?
Brain empty so here are some random photo thoughts.
I went to the zoo with my cousin recently, and after too many images of rhinos being blurred at the hands of auto focus, she is now a hard core believer in manual focus.
I don’t quite know how I feel about this. Auto focus never seems to work out for me, but my eyes are not good enough for manual focus. Usually I just use select manual focus… but that is also time consuming and not gonna lie, sometimes I’ve missed a shot because of it.
Thoughts? Reflections? Feel free to share your focusing tips with me.
Manual selection focus on a Canon camera display. On my child (the Canon 700D), you can access this by pressing the magnification button.
First time contributing? Start here!
1. Check out these guides to the Ubyssey photo section and what makes a good photo.
2. To claim a pitch, reply to this email and wait for confirmation that it's still available.
3. If you need to borrow a camera, let me know when you sign up for a pitch.
4. Take as many photos as you think fit the assignment, then select the best 5–10. Feel free to use editing software as needed (and let me know if you need Lightroom access).
5. Unless otherwise specified, please take all photos in a landscape orientation.
6. Send photos in JPG format and make sure each file is between 1–3MB.
7. Name the photos as follows: IMG_first initial-last name-pitch_file number (e.g., IMG_SShaw-CactusPlant1_2025-06-18)
8. Upload photos into the folder that will be shared with you from the [email protected] account. If you don’t have Google Drive, please let me know.
Photo pitches
Please send in all photos by 12 p.m. on the deadline (unless the event you are covering is happening that day). If you need to borrow a camera, let me know when you sign up for a pitch.
Culture
RePitch: Pleasant Day Festival on Aug 9.
Take 2-3 photos which showcase diverse aspects of the event like live music, food, crowd, set-up, and more! The festival is free to attend.
Deadline: Aug 12th.
Features
Artists and municipal infrastructure in Vancouver.
Accompany a writer during an interview with the director of Vancouver Fringe Festival at Granville Island. Photos should be of the interviewee themselves, the space, and the person interacting with the space. Looking for a slightly more experienced photographer as this assignment is more work.
Shoot is tomorrow (Thurs, Aug 7th) at 3pm. Flexible deadline.
Photo
It’s time for some end of summer photo projects!
File photo: Take a photo of the Black Student Space (exterior or interior) in the Exchange Building.
Deadline: Aug 13th
File photo: Take a photo of the Indigenous Student Society Lounge or the X̱wi7x̱wa Library.
Deadline: Aug 13th
This summer in photos
The photo section is starting a new series showcasing the best pictures taken from every month! Or in this case, the best photos from this summer.
Have a great photo taken between May 1st and Aug 25th? Have a photo that represents a UBC related event? Landscapes, street photography, wildlife, macro-shots, we’d love to see all of them!
This project is submission-based, so if you are interested in contributing, no need to email me, simply upload them according to these instructions. I look forward to seeing all of your photos!
Deadline: Aug 25th