Photo Editing...

     I have decided that I don't like photo editing very much....I feel like I learn something and spend a whole lot of time on a picture and then....I don't like it. Maybe it's just me....I don't know, but I haven't given up yet. I was thinking ahead to next summer and some pictures I might like to enter in a fair...Last September Al and I spent the weekend at the Clay County Fair and we went to the Chuckwagon Races. Anyway, I thought that several of those pictures were good enough to enter in a contest so I thought I'd see what I came up with.
     So, sitting next to Al while he watches the Super Bowl and asking lots of his opinions, I did some things to this photo. I picked this one because I liked the rider urging his horse on with his hat...I learned a lot about several of the tools in Photoshop Elements and just kept starting over until I liked what I did. In the end, I think Less is often More....

    

What do you think about our choice? Let me know so I can keep trying new ideas and hopefully get better at this stuff!!:)!

Snow Day!!!

So, my friend Beth is on a little vacation down south this week, but I've tried to edit a couple on my own....I tried to do much less as the comments I heard were that it was too much and now I'm not sure I've done enough and I've tried to upload and move around soo much I can't tell what I'm doing anymore!! I think editing is hard and you'll never make everyone happy and I'm not sure what I like best!! This is why originally I decided not to practice editing but to just practice taking better pictures in the first place. However, I do think some editing is really great, I'm just not there yet....

This first picture is kinda funny cause Max was actually pulling Casey around the yard!! I'm not used to having video so I didn't think to switch to video, I just took pics!! Next time...

The bird pictures are taken out of my deck window of my new bird feeder that I got for Christmas from Mom and Dad. At first I didn't think the birds liked me, but they finally found us!! Hooray!!! Now I have incentive to keep my window clean!! Who knew? See, Al, you just need to find the lotion!!!

What do you think?

I don't often take the time to try and edit photos. It seems every time I try a lovely child of mine wants the computer and aren't very patient waiting, or it's time for supper, or time to get ready for school...Or I have an excuse...Anyway, I still try to take interesting pictures. These next ones were taken in the frigid temps just because. I've tried a touch of editing. See what you think...

This first one is by the ethanol plant that is on my way home. I thought it would be neat to get the sun dog and the smoke, etc. I don't think you can really see the sun dog in this pic, though. I pulled over on the way home to take this pic and people stopped to help me. Nice to know there are still kind people out there.

The dam in the town I work is being changed and worked on so this one side was freezing and flowing and looking cool. I tried the black and white to try and make things stand out more.

This tube of ice that the water was flowing through was just so cool!

Here's a sun dog!

So what do you think? Would you try something different in editing?? I need suggestions so that I can get more in the habit of "seeing" what needs to be done. Then maybe I can do more with editing and making my pictures better.

Beauty 2

Okay so here's the same picture with some editing done to it. Which is better? I think this is cool and fun, but I'm hoping to take good pictures without having to spend lots of time editing. It never hurts those to spend a few minutes, I suppose. I'll just need to find the time....

But you be the judge..

Before:

or After: