I tried something different today. Rather than post a picture that I took, I did an edit for another blog called Show Your Skills. This is Amanda Padgitt's picture and blog. She suggested a black and white conversion of her photo.

I did a gradient layer and lightened a bit with the gradient slider. I also lowered the opacity to about 65% because the sweater she is wearing is purple. By lowering the opacity a bit, it took her sweater from a dark gray to a purplish gray and I thought it looked really nice like this.

Tell me what you think. This is my first try at Show your Skills. I hope it turned out ok!

Day 20

Merry Christmas from John!

I just wanted to mention that i am entering a contest to try to win a seat in a class. Root for me!!!

Day 19

Meaghan did her own hair.

Day 17

Day16

Kids having fun in the tub!

Day 15

This is 2 pics of the dreaded boiler. The first is the part that needs replacing, the gas valve and the other is a pic of the boiler. My ss was really slow on the boiler pic and it is blurry. Ugh.

Day 14

My children's new best friend and toy.

Day 12

I love her expressio

n. The pic is a disaster from a photography standpoint but she looks so cute after her bath!

Day 11

Day 10

Got her! She was not blown in the original and didn't look so in PSE but here it looks a bit blown.

Day 9

Emily visits!

Day 8

Things that remind me of my home. The flag hangs on the front of our house and the Home Sweet Home sign hangs on the front door. Both lead you in!

I was trying out white balance and not blowing out whites.

No one would sit still today

for a picture. I could have used a picture from last night but while sitting in the kitchen I caught this image. Although not the best picture from a techinal standpoint, it shows how much George and Meaghan love each other.

Day 6

Isn't it beautiful? Went on a photowalk with my wonderful friend Stacy. Thank you Stacy!

Day 5

My buddy playing Geotrax. Crazy day and picture taking really went to the bottom of the list!

Day 4

Hands that could change the world.

Day 3

I had intended on a different picture all together when I happened upon this very beautiful leaf. It stood out against the paler yellows, reds and greens of the tree. It appeared to be peeking around to try to see any light under the huge canopy of leaves still remaining on the tree. The day is a dreary one so its attempts to find any happy light will be futile. I love the bokeh in this shot and the colors all contrast nicely.

Day 2

Today is Election Day in the United States. I originally thought I might do a voter theme but George found some of our sunflowers and I thought what an interesting photograph that would make. They were so beautiful just weeks ago but now are fading like the rest of our flowers and trees as the winter arrives. We saved some of the seeds for next year and left the rest for our birds. I love the frayed edges and the dimension of the seeds. It is straight out of the camera except for a bit of web sharpening.

The second is John again playing in those tempting leaves. They must call his name the minute he leaves the house! It is the picture I submitted as my final class assignment.

Welcome to day 1! I am finally here, starting my 365 day project. This month I hope to really improve my skin tones. So many times in the past my subjects looked gray or blue, or yellow or whatever else I could find! I am eager to improve that soon. This month I plan to take pictures of everyone I can shoot, hoping I can learn how to capture skin more lifelike. This is a picture of my son from this morning, jumping in the pile of leaves out front of the house. It was way too tempting not to jump in! I joined him in the pile! It is a chilly day here, low 40's at midday so we are dressed for the weather.

The second shot is a house in our neighborhood decorated in a creepy and fun way. I captured the sun falling on the house but didn't blow out the sky so you could see how beautiful the fall sky can be in Michigan. The tree on the side of the house is almost devoid of leaves adding to the creepy Halloween feel of the house. The spiders will be coming down today the owners tell me so I am glad I was able to capture the house!

I realized that blogger switched my pics! I will have to remember that in the future!

Only 2 more days!

I am starting my 365 project in just 2 short days. My goal is to shoot everything and choose a favorite of the day and to post and write about it. I have some goals for myself over the next year, improving skin tones, finding better light and improving my composition. I am also hoping to improve my PSE skills but I want to take better pictures so I don't need PSE as much as I have used it in the past.
Stop back to check out how I am progressing, hopefully you will see a difference by Halloween 2011!

The beginnings

About a year and a half ago, several moms on a message site got me excited about photography. I have loved scrapbooking and pictures for a long time so it makes sense to add to my passion. I have tried learning as much as I can about photography but it is an expensive and time consuming hobby. Add to that my mom's illness and it has made for a slow process. I am currently taking a photography class and want to start a 365 project. This entails a picture a day to try to see the world as I see it and to learn as much as I can about photography. I am going to continue to learn with two good friends and show my "talents" to the world. Don't choke as you laugh!

Check back on my journey, it should make for smiles, laughs and giggles.