Today’s post is a compilation of my favorite edits that I did to photos from 2012. So some might be a repeat, but I was pretty excited about the basic edits I did to transform some of my photos. Keep in mind, I haven’t really photoshopped in almost 10 years…I’m still using PS2 for cripes sake. So cut me a little slack on my lack of photoshop prowess. I do have to admit, at this point, I’m much happier with the SOOC (straight out of camera) shots I’ve been taking anyway. Nature is gorgeous enough as it is!
2012 Favorite Edits
(edited photos first, in case you couldn’t tell)
This before/after edit was really just me messing around. I didn’t really like the original photo all that much so I just decided to focus in on the bee as much as I could. I added a little warmth to the photo too so the bee’s colors would come out more.
This one I simply cropped in really close on the egret. Didn’t really do anything else. I love how I was able to pick up the water droplets behind the egret as it came out of the water on the edited version though. Never saw that on the original.
This one I just adore. The original is nice, and I even did an initial crop of just the flower itself which was nice, but cropping it in really close and adjusting some of the color really made this rose pop out. I especially like this one because this rose plant is right in front of the window where my desk is and this rose lasted all the way into November.
Shudder. So the story behind the squirrel phobia is this:
When I was a child in Michigan we had huge looming oak trees in our neighborhood. Oak trees = squirrels. But that wasn’t the problem. When I was 5 I was bit by a neighbor’s dog. And as if being bitten weren’t bad enough on it’s own, I was bit on the face and it required stitches. Pretty much dashed my dreams of being Miss America someday. (Yeah, I had that dream, lol). So five year old getting stitches on the face was traumatic, but then came the talk of rabies shots. Back in the early 70’s rabies shots consisted of many rounds of shots in the stomach. Luckily, I didn’t need the rabies shots, but just the thought of it was enough to send me over the edge. Then a neighbor dropped the bomb that you could get rabies from squirrels. Insert phobia here.
I know it is totally unrealistic to think that I will ever get bitten by a squirrel or get rabies, but childhood fears die hard. And in the childhood fear I didn’t even need to be bitten, just close to a squirrel. I used to stand frozen in my tracks, weeping, any time I saw one. It didn’t help that shortly after the whole dog bite experience we moved to an area in Illinois that basically had no trees. And by the time the trees matured enough to sustain squirrels I had forgotten all about the fear. Fast forward to high school when I first encountered a squirrel again and I was suddenly frozen back in time and terrified! It took me some time to figure out what the deal was with them. But there it is, old phobia come back to haunt me.
So while I know, realistically, the fear is unfounded, it is still there. I view squirrels as the rabies enemy. I’m working on overcoming my fear and dealing in the reality that they are just rodents with big fluffy tails. It’s taking quite a while though.
That being said, enjoy the extreme close up of squirrel happily eating my pumpkin.
This one is my all-time favorite (and first) big time edit. This photo is from years ago, and I thought pretty much a lost cause. It is really hard to get good photos underwater from a disposable camera. But sitting on the couch one evening with my daughter I started dabbling back into Photoshop to see what I could do. I freaked the heck out of myself, really. Let out a little squeal and showed Margo. She let out a squeal as well. I have no clue what I did to achieve this, but I am extremely pleased with it! I can not believe how much clearer it is!!
One more from my favorites of 2012. Stay tuned!
Going Forward, Giving Back 