It's Been Awhile, but can we keep it fun?

I haven't written in awhile mostly because my part time job just went back to full time (very long story), but also because I was so engrossed in learning about photography, and so frustrated with not getting right. Not creating the photo that I wanted, not being able to copy the "look" others were creating. Either I was out of focus, or not in focus at all, too much ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed and not enough stillness. I was looking for the perfect shot, the perfect picture and I was missing the beauty in the stillness. Two things happened. I met a semi-professional photography on one of my walks and he gave me some new insight. He said that he tells everyone to have fun. Don't worry about composition, layout, ISO, etc. He said if you see something that draws your attention, just take a picture. In time, you will get better, you read a little here, a little there, and as you try new things in small doses, you will begin to perfect you craft.

He walked on, and I heard the Fall peepers. Do you know what those are? Little bitty frogs that make peeping noise throughout the marsh. You can never see them, so you have to be very still and just listen. And then it happened. The woods came alive for me. I saw a blue heron hiding in the march, another stretch his wings. I looked down in a patch of orange flowers to see what I thought was dragonfly...do you know those little guys are impossible to shoot when they are moving! In any event, it wasn't a dragonfly, it was a hummingbird.

I came home so renewed, ready to download my photos, and it clicked. My reading, my photoshop practice seemed to come together. My eye was keener, my expertise a little smoother. I had learned, I was applying it, and I was having fun.

To some those photos may not be the best. But they are to me. A lesson I learned. Find your own style, take your time, ask questions, but realize that the learning may be important, but the stillness helps focus on why you love what you are doing.

Some of my resent photos. Look closely for the hummingbird. Doesn't the tree look like it has its own floral bouquet of autumn? How have you been? Thanks for keeping me on your list. I promise to get better.

What are you struggling with in your Photography? What would you like to learn? Please share it here and let's see what we can learn together.

PhotoShop Elements 6.0 Learning as I go...

I have come to the conclusion that I am not a patient person. Well I have been told that all my life, but I didn't believe it. Well, I sort of did, but tried pretending that I was very patient. I am actually very patient when it comes to others. Patient in traffic, patient when the person in front of me cuts me off, or doesn't go through the light, even when they are on a cell phone. Patient with children, patient with old folks. Just not patient with myself. Which is what I am so frustrated!

I have been trying to learn PhotoShop. Of course I have been trying to do it without reading the book, trying to figure it out blindly on my own. The whole thing just seems so complicated. There is so much I want to know. Questions like layering words over a photo, sizing a photo in odd sizes and then getting it to print that way, creating a collage, making my own note cards, all of it. In reality I think I want a little more than just Photoshop. I think I want to be able to design my own images and perhaps that is more than just Photoshop?

And then there is the computer. Working on a laptop with a less than reliable connection, everything takes forever, from uploading photos, to saving photos it seems to move so slow. So here is the question: What does a person need in the way of computer technology, design software, and printing? Where does a person begin if they want to learn how to create their own cards, letterhead, brochures, advertisements and more?

Is there one place you can go for all the answers? I don't know. But I intend to find out. In the meantime found a class at my local scrapbooking store that teaches digital scrapbooking using PhotoShop. The class is only $40 which to me seems reasonable and I am the only person who registered. Probably because people don't see the connection between Photoshop and Scrapbooking. The class is on Sunday, so come back and I will let you know what I learn. Hopefully the instructor will be patient with me!

I am posting a photo that I took with my new camera. Its either an egret or a heron, I am not sure. This is the photo I want to layer with text. I will let you know how it turns out!

What new thing are you learning? Are you taking photos? Developing a new skill? Please share with us!