happy anniversary....{and photoshop tip}

No...not our wedding anniversary although as of today my husband and I have been married exactly 7 1/2 years... but  I am talking about my dSLR anniversary.

It was about a year ago that I got my dSLR camera. I love my camera so much, that I thought "she" deserved a little post of her own.

Here's a little stroll down memory lane through my images from last year May/June...

a bit over edited {in Picasa} but not too bad.

A little better after about a month.

...and then some I took this last week.

 This one also a bit over edited but I kind of like it that way.

 

Last year at this time, I still shot everything in AUTO and had about one good image per 25. Today I am getting better but what I really notice is that I feel more comfortable with my camera which makes it more enjoyable. In fact, I can rarely notice a beautiful moment, see a pretty scene, or do anything without thinking about how I would frame it as a picture.

This little piece of technology has definitely enriched my life by helping me see the beauty in every detail.
Happy anniversary my little camera. :)

{taken last year}

I also want to give my love to all of you followers - all 89 of you - woo woo! When I started this blog three months ago I wasn't sure it would work out. So...Thank you for reading my blog!

Creative pursuits feed my soul and sharing it with you sparks more creativity. It is a wonderfully voracious cycle. When I read your blogs and get inspired by your amazing talents and ideas I feel like you are all dear friends teaching me, inspiring me, and pushing me to be better and try new things.

OKAY...so enough with the self-indulgence.

I do have a QUICK photoshop tip that you might like. If you blog stalk photography blogs like I do you will notice that the "eye pop" editing is becoming really popular. I think some photographers do it subtle enough where it adds enough drama to really make the photo. I have seen some overdone ones that channel eerie, supernatural, alien - ness...not into that so much.

I don't have a fancy enough version of photoshop to do it properly, but I have stumbled on a substitute that works if you just want a subtle "eye pop" - which is what I like so I am pretty excited to share it with you.

Please note: This only works if you have good catch lights in the subject's eyes and is better if you are doing a close up. You must also have a well exposed {not too light and not too dark} image. If it is over exposed your subject will become eerily light and sometimes grainy looking after trying this tip. Erring on the side of underexposed - just a bit - is best.

I just adjust the levels (lighting pretty much) to how I like it. Then under the enhance tab I go to adjust lighting and then over to the shadows/highlights. {Sorry that these are a picture of my computer screen still - I can't figure out a way to get screen shots in blogger without creating a blog post in word which I haven't actually tried yet...anyway!..}

PSE8 automatically lightens the photo for you right off the bat. I toned it down a bit by moving the slider to the left. Increasing the mid-tone slightly can also help you achieve this effect but the lightening slider is where it's at.

Voila. A little eye pop. No alien eyes. See what it looked like before SOOC {straight out of camera}?

"Before"  but after quick adjustments to the levels:
And with eye pop:

Okay this one is veering a little toward too much "pop"  for me but I wanted you to see that you can take it pretty far if you like.

Neat trick huh?