What makes me happy?

1. When I spend a while on a photograph and Photoshop and I end up really pleased with the result! I used a photo I had of an acer in my garden, which had very shallow depth of field. I cropped it to the shape I wanted. Using a texture and overlay from the talented Pixel Lounge, I played with contrast, magic brush and contrast levels. Nothing seemed to be working. It was almost there - for a few minutes I was stumped. And then I remembered 'curves'. I love curves! And curves worked their magic and gave me a result I am actually really happy with!

 

It will be interesting to see what the reaction is on Flickr - often, when I really like something, it doesn't pull the same admiration from my contacts!! Conversely, when I'm not that happy with a pic - it tends to gather quite a few faves!

Finding my feet

I discovered photography when a friend introduced me to Flickr. I had been experimenting with a compact Samsung, my first foray into the world of digital, but this new world of other people's creativity stunned me. I tentatively purchased a starter Nikon SLR and began to explore my own capabilities. Someone had given me Photoshop and it wasn't long before I yearned to understand what it could do - and more importantly, what I could do with it! A painful self taught period started, and culminated in me throwing my arms up in despair. I couldn't, just couldn't, understand layers. And the more people kept telling me that "layers are great - they're so easy" the more I despaired. A kindly work colleague stepped in and patiently taught me exactly what I needed to know. Looking back, those first attempts at layers were not good! I think this one was the first to go public!!

But encouraged by the kindness of fellow Flickrites, I pursued my new found hobby. A golden handshake from qualifying as a teacher came through about this time - and with some trepidation I decided to abandon Nikon and move into the world of Canon - a 40D - at that time brand new. It felt fantastic and I began to fly. The past 18 months has seen a real interruption   to my photographic past time - and it has only been in the last few weeks that I have slowly been able to return. I cannot thank enough those who develop beautiful actions and textures which they give away freely. Lately I have been exploring those that come from the ever creative Pixel Lounge  as used in today's photo. Thank you.