Happy Memorial Day!

I wanted to share with you my photos and frustrations from today.

I went out this evening just before sunset to capture the sunset and to get some photos of some of the many flags flying in my community. I was completely inspired when I grabbed my camera bag and headed out the door! Unfortunately, I found that the sunset was going to be a little lack-luster tonight. But all was not lost. I did manage to get a few flag photos that I liked and once I got home and began editing my photos I found some sunset photos I liked as well.

Ansel Adams once said “Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop”. If an accomplished photographer like Ansel Adams only expects 12 great photos in a year, who am I to expect more? This is a very good lesson to learn. Another good lesson is that your creativity does not have to stop with your camera. Playing with your so-so photos with your photo editing software can really inspire you and fulfill you creatively as well.

So, tonight I will show you 3 different photos I took this evening. I will show you them straight out of my camera (no editing) and then with a little tweaking in Photoshop Elements. Remember, that I have only minimal knowledge of PSE. I say this only to let you know that anyone can play with the software and come up with something they like.

This is a photo of a beautiful flag right at sunset. The wind was blowing pretty good as I was shooting and the lighting was not the best. I shot this with no flash and a slow shutter. I really liked how the stars and stripes are both clear and distorted. But it looked like it needed to tell more of a story than it did all on it's own.

So. . .

Here is what I did to it. I cropped it in a little bit tighter and addedsome text and a photo of my brother. Now it is actually a photo I would print out. It tells a story.

Here is one of my lack-luster sunset photos. There was very little color tonight and no great light show either. But I did like the basic composition of the shot. I love those feathery, desert trees at night. They just have so much character.

Here is that same photo with a little help from Photoshop. . . I really just changed it to black and white and adjusted the contrast on it. Now my feathery, desert tree really pops, and the sky is less distracting. Instead it gives a lot of depth to the photo.

Here is yet one more of my lack-luster sunsets. I take a lot of sunset photos in this spot. I love the trees and the saguaros in this location. And I love the "swoop" in the land that gives it a real feeling that there is a valley here. But tonight it just didn't work for me.

So, I played a little bit in PSE, changing it to black and white and uping the contrast a bit. Now my friends the saguaros take center stage in my little valley.

I hope you take the time to experiment a little with your camera this weekend. Take a few chances and if you don't love it straight out of your camera, play with it with your software. And if you still don't love it, don't beat yourself up! Remember what the master said. . . “Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop”.