Wishing you Much Wonder in 2010.

This photo was taken with the Canon Rebel using my 100-300 zoom lens. I came out blurry so I used a few textures and overlays, and feathered the edges in Photoshop. Turn blurry photos into something new! In my research, its important to lower shutter speed to allow in less light and shoot faster. I now have my tripod and a wireless remote, so I am heading out to see if it makes a different. Wish me luck!

Capturing Kids

It's Christmas and I have 5 little nephews running around like crazy, giggling, wrestling, making funny faces and just being kids. There have been snow ball fights, bingo games, opening presents, a few tired tears, hugs, and a bunch of love. I brought the camera with the goal of trying to preserve some of those special moments. Before I started I equipped myself with a little knowledge to help make it a little smoother. One important lesson I learned was to capture the unexpected. Get away from "Posing" them the way you want, don't force the smiles and look for the special times when they are just being kids. So I waited and watched. At the park I took pictures of hands. Just hands making sand pizzas. At home my brother and my sister's two boys sat together in GrandDad's chair. One nephew on his own with hands behind is head and his feet crossed looked just like GrandDad.

As the day progressed I was able to see things about each child that I had never noticed before. The way one cocks his head to the side when he is trying to figure something out. The way one twirls his hair around and around with his little fingers while watching a movie. It was truly insightful.

Digital photography makes it possible to experiment. You can shoot and shoot and shoot and then sort through the photos to capture the ones that express what you want to express in your photo montages. Kids don't stay small for long so get busy captures those special moments.

Show me some or your favorites! Here are a few tips I found on Digital Photography School Its great to go prepared!

Something I Made!!

Well, Christmas is coming and it seems everyone is in the Christmas spirit, but much more cautious about spending. While many are hitting the stores, there are just as many finding ways to cut costs, and still enjoy the Spirit of Christmas. To me, its be a new, exciting challenge to see how I can create something new, spend less, and make it special. Photography allows for so many options and whether you print your photos at home, or send them out, there are special discounts for first time orders, free shipping, and more. There are three areas that I focused this year and here is what I did:

1) Holiday Office Party and Gift Exchange: I decided to make it homemade. I found a vintage style Candy pedestal for under $10. I was making holiday candies for family and friends so I made 2 doz to go along with the gift. All the candies were simple recipes using pretzels, oreos, peanut butter, rolos. For the recipes I used give me a call!

2) Christmas Cards. I made my own. The photo in this listing was a tree I found on my photography expeditions. A little photoshopping, a few snowflake brushes, a Word Art layer, and some other layers (all free, including the cardinal!!) and I am good to go! If you can't find any of the free things I am talking about, drop me an email or leave me a comment on this post and I will point you in the right directions.

3) Family gift exchange. This year, we are taking a cue from Just Something I Made and the gifts are coming from inside our house! Just go to her site and click on the Thrifty Gift Exchange Post on December 14th! We all have so much stuff in our house that we don't need, don't use, that someone else may enjoy. Why not give it a try. Our family is now on the phone, talking, trying to figure out what they are going to give up, or bring, and its really stirring up some humor, stories, and excitement.

I hope you will try to do the holidays and little different this year. You don't have to do it all, just pick a few things you can do and make it happen. You will be surprise how much fun it is!

So Many Free Photoshop Resources on the Web!

I am addicted to Photography and Photoshop and constantly amazed at the number of people willing to share information, techniques, expertise, and more. And the resources, tutorials and on-line education available all for free! I have met so many interesting and talented paper as I learned Photoshop, and I encourage everyone to search for anything you might need to learn a new task, develop a new talent.

Lately I have been interested in layers and textures. And now there are actions! All designed to help improve your photos. And so many people have created free ones that you never have to purchase them if your budget does not allow. Some of the sites ask for donations or have select products available for purchase, but the free items are available without commitment or obligation. So try your hand at something new.

What amazes me about layers and textures is that it can transform the ordinary photo. Give it the extra oomph! that it might need to soften, highlight, texturize.

Here are some new sites I have happened upon. Please drop on in on them and let me know what you are working on. That is what the internet is all about. People connecting with People. Its a virtual library, a social event that you need to participate in. Don't be a wallflower!

ShadowHouseCreations The author creates the most interesting photos, and offers all kinds of free brushes, textures, and layers. His brushes were used to add the birds, and an extra tree in the photo above!

CoffeeTeaPhotography This is an amazing site that offers tutorials, resources, free actions, and more. She accepts donations of any amount to help her keep her site running, but its not a requirement for using the information. For me, a donation is well worth it. Her items are fantastic!


TexasChicksBlogsandPics Another informative site that offers tutorials, layers and actions and walks you through how upload them in any version of Photoshop. They also have a newsletter! Great tips and techiniques. They also have products for sale, but again, a lot of freebies.

If you want to try your hand at layering, trust me its easy. Drop me a line if you need some help.

Another huge resource is Flickr groups. People share their photos and work, you can get free textures of all kins on this site, and the groups allow you to post challenges you are having and get advice and suggestions from people who may have had the same struggle.

There is no excuse for learning. The free information is out there, print, bring it home and learn a new skill. Its easy peasey!

This photo includes my photography of a tree off the Potomac River, 1 cloud layer, one cloud texture, and one color texture all from ShadowHouseCreations and/or downloaded from Flickr. It has an eagle that was added using a brush set that was free on ShadowHouseCreations.

Now on to actions! Don't know much about them yet, but I am doing the Research. Will keep you posted.

Pictures I see may not be the picture you see...

Recently, someone purchased a picture from me. It was a picture taken at Bellows Beach on the island of Oahu. My home town. It was one of my older pictures so I was a little leery of the request. He wanted an 11 X 14 of the picture, and I was fearful that it wouldn't look as good as his expectations of my work. I am an amateur. I am getting better, and sometimes I get the perfect shot, but in my opinion this wasn't one of those times.

We talked back and forth and I learned that he had some very fond memories of Bellows Beach. It was his memories that made that photo beautiful to him. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say, and I have come to realize how true that can be. Each day when we pick up our camera, we are taking pictures of the beauty we see, or the oddity, or juxtaposition of the shot.

But someone else, is seeing a memory of their past, or perhaps a goal for their future. They are remembering a tale once told, or a song once rehearsed. Photos allow others the opportunity to relive or replay their own stories.

Its kind of wonderful when you think about it. Don't get so caught up in taking the perfect shot. Take pictures of what you love. You never know what memory you make wake up, or who you may inspire.

Pondering a New Thought. What do you think?

On another website a therapist who works with photography to help people make changes in their life wrote "Your photos are actually "self-portraits" even if you are not in them". WOW, I mean Whoa! that caught my attention, made me feel a little bit uncomfortable so I knew I was in the learning mode with God at that moment and I had to think about that statement. Especially since I have been a little less than satisfied with some of my work. Her belief is that we take pictures of things that move us, people we want to spend time with, actions that amaze us. These snap shots can give us an idea or our mood, our journey through time, our future.

So I began thinking about what was bothering me about the pictures. They were too blurry, they weren't crisp or as "Pretty" as some of the other professional photos I see, I can't get the f stop, ISO, aperture correct, etc, etc, etc. And in this self analysis I realized a few things. 1) I am in too much of a hurry to be perfect 2) Because I am in too much of a hurry, I am taking pictures just to have a picture, but not really to learn the process and 3) Like everything in my life I rush, look for quick, fast easy ways, and don't enjoy the experience. And so, what do I get? Blurry photos. It is self portrait of my hurried, fast paced existence. The beauty comes from slowing down, looking for the best shot, perhaps not always taking the photo, but just enjoying that quiet solitude, those moments when no one is around and you are seeing it all take place around you.

I am challenging myself to make the time to slow down. To no be so worried about getting a shot, but to spend more time with the learning, more time with relaxing and enjoying the visuals. Finding composition through my own life interpretation.

I love to learn new things about myself, about processes, about people. Its no surprise to me that this new revelation about myself has come up "once again". It just is. I hurry. I move fast. A lesson to learn is the slowing down. Perhaps we will begin to see a change in the way we take photos as we slow down and enjoy the process.

This also translates itself to photo editing. Photoshop should not be used to just slap on some layers and call it a day. It should be another slow process where we feel the photo and find ways to translate the moods into a finer print. Textures, words, layers can all be useful in expressing what we saw during those quiet moments but it can only be done if we took the time during the shot to feel the experience, to relish and enjoy the shot. What do you think?

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.