Saturday, January 3, 2009

Fun with Photoshop

What do you all do when you're bored with nothing to do? I tend to lean towards crafty projects such as baking and knitting. Photography is another skill I want to perfect--I've been wanting to take the digital photography course that is offered at the local community college, but things keep coming up like continuing cake decorating classes, or Jon coming home, or even the holidays! The class is a whole semester long and I would have to take the five hour course offered on Saturday afternoons....there's just no other way with my full-time work schedule! But I couldn't even enroll for this next semester because Jon will be coming home in the middle, and I want to keep my schedule open for weekend getaways (no vacation left after R&R).

So for now I'm putzing around on Photoshop CS2. I've always wondered how people altered their photos to black and white with those splashes of color. A little Googling goes a long way. The process is a lot more complicated than I thought! Well, it's actually pretty simple, but it wasn't just click-a-button-and-you're-done sorta thing. I'm lazy, what can I say?

I don't have very many photos where I can actually utilize this skill. Most of my pictures look best in color. But I found a few:


Tulips from the Mount Vernon Tulip Festival (2004). Not sure if this one works! Too bright?


Jon and I at one of his best friend's wedding (2004). Again, not sure if this works. Jon's vest really isn't a focal point in this picture--I just like the color of it.


Sammy as a puppy. Que precioso!



Sammy's first Christmas

Our wedding cake. The color of the flowers are gorgeous!

I wanted to do more than one picture just so I could get the process down. Mission accomplished! Photoshop is just so overwhelming to me--all those possibilities! And to think when I first started using it I was just making collages! I have a lot to learn!

5 comments:

Rebecca said...

The wedding cake one is definitely my favorite!

I love Photoshop! There are so many things you can do with it.

New Girl on Post said...

I can't wait to start using my Photoshop, I love editing photos!

Your pics turned out great!

Kate said...

Hi, I can't remember exactly how I found your blog- but I wanted to leave a comment to say Hey. I'm an Army girlfriend from Washington State and a knitter so reading your blog sounds familiar sometimes! (I used to work in Mount Vernon so I love the tulip picture, I miss WA!)

jlc said...

Awwww your pup is named SAMMY!!!! Not that I get excited about that name for any specific reason. ;) ;)


Nice work. I wish I could do that.

rebecca said...

I too LOVE Photoshop! Great pics, girl!

I'm SUPER happy too, right now, because Songbird started playing when I logged on to your blog. That was our wedding dance song. :)