Photo Collages

I came across an amazing artist on ETSY. Her name is Mae Chevrette. She starts with a photo as her canvas, adding paper, textures, print, and words to express her thoughts and feelings. I highly recommend you check her out. I ordered one of her prints from one of her original canvases with a quote from e.e cummings and it is simply stunning. I can't wait to get it framed and hanging on one of my walls. Truly a piece of art at very reasonable prices.

I share this with you because it leads to a lesson or discussion on trying things outside the box as it relates to photography, crafting or any other form of creativity you take up. I shared with Mae that I was interested in taking a class to learn this technique and she said "Why waste your money on a class, when you can invest in a few simple items and try it out for yourself?" She took the time to share with me her process for creating photo collages, and it was wonderful to learn from a person who I see as an expert and artist. Many times people don't want to share what they know, their resources, or their ideas on how to do something because they think it will steal away their own creativity. I think Mae realizes that every artist sees things differently. There simply is no way that I could "recreate" Mae's art as it comes from her heart and her soul. She gave me the techniques, but I have to be willing to open myself up to trying something new. It was her encouragement that has me motivated to give it a try.

I think taking classes is a great thing to do to, but I tend to shoot for perfection and often times leave disappointed that I couldn't make it look exactly like the others. Don't be afraid to push the envelope and develop your own style. Classes are great for trying something out without investing a great deal of money in tools you may never use again. In time, you will find your niche and know when the investment is a valuable one.

Today, when you go out on your photography adventure, why not venture into the unknown just a bit. Try taking photos from a different angle, perhaps shoot something in Manual mode if you have never tried it and see what you find out. Go in search of a new subject. As you print that photo, think about what you might be able to differently with it. Add a brush technique? Create a postcard? Maybe create your own photo collage that highlights your dreams for the coming year? I promise it will leave you feeling refreshed and renewed.

And, one other thing, don't be afraid to ask questions. Most people want to share their own inspiration and will offer it willingly. Some may say no, but dust of your feet and move on. I find the journey an exciting one. I would love for anyone to share their own creations, their ideas here. Please feel free to post your tutorials, lessons, resources, and ideas.

Photos with Flare

I love to experiment and I have enjoyed touching up my photos with textures, actions, brushes and more. There is so much to learn. Recently I came across a series of Textures called "Lite Flare" which is a texture that puts light, sunshine and photography flares you get usually by accident! But the results can be extraordinary. I have attached some photos to give you some ideas of what you can do and how much fun you can have. Careful though, you can get carried away as well. Keep in mind how the sun rises and sets, where it rises, and sets. The set was created by Photographer Patti Brown and it is amazing! One of the sets she offers on her Kaleidescope set is Lite Flare. Coupled with layers you can create some amazing photos! It enhances the picture and captures the moment exactly the way you remember it. So give it a try. One thing I learned is that when working with multiple textures be sure and flatten the image as you go. The lite flare won't show up on top of a layer. It needs to be on top of the photo. Have some fun. I promise you will love it.

Frustrating Photos

Okay, I went out this past Friday (I had the day off) and headed over to a reserve at 8:00am to capture some shots of the Eagles they just let loose from rehabilitation. The day was perfect, it was very early in the morning, and not a soul was in site. The lake was calm and everything was coming to life. Butterflies, geese, birds, dragonflys, eagles, osprey, blue heron. I was in wildlife heaven, shooting photo after photo, after photo. Two hours later I headed home with some beautiful shots. You could see birds preparing to descent to catch fish, an osprey grabbing a fish from the water, a blue heron skimming the lake inches about the water. It was amazing and I was so proud that I had captured it all on film.

Coming home I was so excited, and tired. But I immediately began to download my shots. Photo after photo was blurry, out of focus. I was so upset and so frustrated. I just couldn't believe it. So I began to research the problem. And in a nut shell, here is what I learned.

1) Taking good shots is going to take time, patience and study. You can't rely soley on Automatic Focus. There are too many variables when it comes to capturing movement. In fact, there are three things that come in to play: Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO. I could go into detail about it, but I recommend that you head over to this site: digital photography school read up! They are a wealth of information. They give good tips on all sorts of subjects. Photography at night, photographing kids, photography for children...and more.

2) Blurry photos can be fixed. I found this plug in FOCUS MAGIC that works as a plug in with Photoshop elements and while it looks easy, my first day of practicing its use was a little daunting. I will post more on it as I practice. It costs $45 so seemed reasonable enough. They let you have 8 free edits to try before you buy, but since I didn't read the instructions prior to trying, I didn't have much success. I broke down and registered for it, so I now have alot of practice time. I will keep you posted.

The great thing about Digital photography is that you can keep going back and taking more pictures and trying again. Its frustrating when you think you got the perfect shot, and you want to see it, frame it, send it out to all your friends!

As you can see, they are quite blurry, but they are very clear in my mind. Here's the thing, no matter how many times I go back and take that picture it will never come out right if I don't take the time to slow down, learn something new, and take a few risks.

And with digital, I can do it again, and again and again! Wish me luck! If I master the blurry corrections on these photos, I will post them to show you the differences. Are you learning something new? If so, please share it with us. This is what its all about!

First PhotoShop Lesson with Jessica Sprague

I had my first PhotoShop Lesson today with Jessica Sprague and as an on line class it was easy to navigate, easy to learn. She teaches you different techniques designed for Digital Scrapbooking, but it also is helping me learn how to improve my photos, create unique accents to the photos, size them correctly for reprints and more. This is all from a free class she is offering this month in celebration of her website/company birthday celebration.

I definitely plan to take some more classes from her but for now, I am learning quite a bit and its free! I had a question regarding setting my workstation up and downloading some files, and I sent a note to them and immediately got a response within an hour! I was truly impressed.

Why I like this class? I can take each lesson at my own pace, go back and replay the class unlimited times as I perfect my skills. Jessica really took the time to set this up for any one to learn, the audio is clear, she gives clear instructions, and is available to answer questions should you get stumped. When I choose to learn more, the classes are priced reasonably and to me, well worth the minimal expense. Here is the sample photo I designed digitally using Photoshop Elements.

Let me know what you think!! The photo above was one of the first lessons. It included cropping, applying a brush, text art, and using layers. Its not the perfect picture layout as I am just practicing, having some fun, but it certainly opens up all kinds of ideas on how to portray my photos. Anyone can do this. Its easy once you become accustomed to.