Enterprise, Alabama
Photoshop is a recent acquisition of mine. And due to certain family members being enrolled in certain graduate schools, I get to have it for CHEAP. And that was the only way I was going to have it, man.
I am terribly excited about learning how to navigate it. And terribly frightened that I will get sucked into the obsessive vortex that can be image editing (do you like it–“image editing” as opposed to my old activity of “messing around with pictures on the computer”?).
I’d like to state for the record that my goal is still to take great pictures SOOC (straight out of camera) so that I don’t feel compelled to mess with them. It’s all about having options and not obligations.
As I learn, I plan on posting some step-by-steps . . . but right now I feel like a small child lost in the woods. And if this small child just knows what roots to dig and eat, what berries won’t poison her to death, how to create a blanket out of leaves, and how to befriend the local fauna, she could have a blast playing in this woodland realm with no adults to tell her what to do! Have I lost you? Layman’s terms: Photoshop is going to give me amazing freedoms to edit, beautify, and get all artistic up in the crizza, but first I need to learn about the roots and berries and leaves. And I need to befriend the local fauna.
In the meantime, here are a few pictures that I have played with. There is so much potential to be unpacked, and I am not only on the tip of the iceberg, but I’m only touching the tip of the iceberg with the smallest part of my tiniest finger, straining my arm from the deck of a huge boat that’s about to take me far, far away from the iceberg. My mission is clear: jump off the boat, embrace the whole iceberg, and avidly kick my legs to avoid hypothermia.
Thank you for allowing me to get lost in metaphors. It gives my brain a workout.
All these pictures were taken with my Nikon D5000 (love that thang) on our March sisters reunion in Enterprise, Alabama. Maybe one day I will understand what I did to these pictures, but all I remember is–layers? Layer masks? Something with a filter?
Photoshopping my lovely sister Erica
Photoshopping my lovely and pregnant sister Heidi
Photo courtesy of Erica; Photoshopping courtesy of me =)
- Ditto on previous photos–thanks Erica.
- A halo of light
The picture above was fun to play with, and I used a cool eye-enhancing technique which involves sharpening the blue part of her eye and whitening the white part … and something with dodging and burning maybe? (Note to self: must enhance long-term memory via a diet of nuts and berries.)
- Heidi and Mike! Photo courtesy of Erica.
Eye-whitening/enhancing tutorial coming up! In the very distant future. Unless the nuts and berries work.
So, I love your blog… a lot! It’s super sweet and fun to read and I definitely want to try that banana crepe foster! I’m working on campus over the summer in a computer lab and I’m trying to learn all about Photoshop and Illustrator, so I can’t wait to see what you do with it! Your pictures are beautiful 🙂
Cool! Well if you learn any amazing Photoshop tricks, pass ’em on … I feel like such an amateur, but hopefully it’s just a matter of time (10 years? =) before I am completely dominating this program. I hope your summer is great!! Glad you like the blog. =)
I’m am so looking forward to those step-by-step tutorials! Please post them soon 🙂
Thank you for sharing the lovely pictures.
Jenna, can I tell you how much I love this blog? (and you!) Ok, so I also got the D5000 for Christmas, and I am such a newbie! I haven’t even dipped my toes in the editing waters yet – I’m just trying to be brave enough to get out of the automatic settings. I did find this great site with all kinds of tips (most are over my head, but they do have a lot of beginner stuff) that you could spend HOURS browsing. http://digital-photography-school.com/
I love seeing the work you’ve already posted – so many creative shots! Yeah, and it also doesn’t hurt that you and your sisters could all be models too. 😉
Hey Erin!! Glad you’re enjoying reading … I’m certainly enjoying writing! I’d gone too long without doing anything creative. Anyway, if you want some great photography tips that are explained in beginner terms, visit thepioneerwoman.com (her photography section). She’s the one that inspired me to get the camera in the first place. I’ll have to check out the digital photography school–sounds promising and helpful.
Estás hecha toda una profesional….vaya fotos más bonitas!!!
Ya sé a quién tengo que mandar las fotos para que me las retoque y así salir presentable ;-)….tienes un blog bastante entretenido y para mí super didático.Besos
Gracias Asmara!! Me encanta jugar con mi cámara y con Photoshop. Besos a ti también!
HEIDI IS PREGNANT???!!!?!? Or did I just make that up? How exciting!
Yes!! She’s due in January. Isn’t that amazing!?!?
That IS amazing. Little Heidi. Laurel is due in just a couple of weeks!
These are great photos! Thanks for this! I have the same camera as you & love it, too. And, I also just purchased Photoshop so look forward to your tutorials. I’m such a perfectionist that I’m almost afraid to start for fear of screwing up! But, I do like the option of being able to crop photos. We just went Whale Watching out of Santa Barbara and have lots of off-center photos of whales & dolphins!
Thanks for visiting my blog, too!
Hello Jenna,
I love your photos! They are so beautiful.
I have a Nikon D5100, but I can’t take such a nice pictures like you!
I have followed photography lessons, because I like to make photos.
I take mostly nature photos , and you?
Julie
Thank you Julie! Nature photos sound wonderful. To me those are harder–I don’t think I’m very good at capturing space. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, and I wish you all the best as you enjoy your camera!