Photo Editing Tip - PS Elements

I said at the end of last year that I was interested in improving my skills - one area of interest is in photography and photo editing. I have the chance to work on that right now - I took about 1200 pictures on our recent trip to CA. Now it's time to sort through and edit the good ones into a couple of photo books.

One PS Elements tip I've picked up:

• if you click on that "quick fix" tab you can see the original photo and then your modifications all on one screen, so you can compare. I've found this helpful - it helps me to know if I want changes or not. In PSE5 (I'm terribly out of date), you have access to several of the general fix type tools - lighting, contrast, sharpness, red eye, etc. 

Back to work! :-)

Some Special People

I mentioned last time that I was just back from a trip to CA. That trip was in honor of these two special people - celebrating 50 years together!

They are just as wonderful as they look here - full of fun, love, devotion and warmth. I'm a very blessed daughter.

Congrats Mom and Dad!

Getting Back Into the Swing

We had the opportunity to spend a few weeks in CA over the holidays. It was a wonderful time visiting family. But, of course when you drop out of your life for two weeks, it takes a while to get everything back to functioning order - that's where I'm at right now. The studio is calling and I am anxious to answer that call.

Merry Christmas from my family

This is our family photo this year. I have made a card to send to the usual suspects but Snapfish says Walmart has them and Walmart says that Snapfish must have them, because they don't. Lovely.

This time of year is so busy, I think I'm letting it rest until the new year. When they turn up, I'll send them out.

I'm so thankful for all my guys - aren't they all handsome? :-)

What will I do in 2012?

Lost in Thought

Last year all of my plans and goals were sidelined when lifestyle changes became medically necessary.

And you know what? I reached two dream goals I had begun to think would never be possible (they'd been on the list for several years):

1. Achieved my "ideal" weight (and have maintained it for several months)
2. Developed a personal style in my artwork.

I did not have big detailed plans for either one.

On day 1, we took the step that seemed best. On day 2, we took the step that looked best then. There was no guilt in not achieving a deadline. There was only simple and regular evaluation of what was working and what wasn't. I tried something - it worked and I kept doing it, it almost worked and I tweaked it and tried again, or it was a failure and I learned something.

And each day I had the freedom to enjoy what the day had to offer.

What does this all mean? Well, it means that I'm going to simply state a few things I'd like to see in the year. I'm not going to plot and plan. I'm going to follow my nose for the steps to achieving what I want. It worked last year and I believe it will work again.

I'm learning less is more.

In 2012, I'd like to:

1. Continue developing my style.
2. Share my art.
3. Build my skillset.

I have ideas for my next steps for each of those and that's as far as I'm going. The steps after that should be apparent when I get there - and at the end of the year, I'm sure I'll be able to evaluate how I did.

Now that I've gotten all the goal stuff out of the way I'm going to focus on enjoying the holidays!

What Have I Done in 2011?

Absorbed
from September 2011

 2011 was not the year I expected, the game changed in January and life was entirely different. So, I'm going to give you my highlights and then, to be transparent, the goals I stated in December 2010.

Princess from Carlin Workshop
July 2011

My highlights from 2011:

• 100 pounds lighter - that's 80 for Professor Incredible and 20 for me
• 5 hours/week devoted to exercise - that's huge for two people who have been largely sedentary in recent years.
• Gluten Free - my diet has had to become GF - I feel better than I have in years, really.
• 1st public showing of my work - one piece in a group show, a great way to start.
• Asked to demonstrate my CP technique to a group of CP artists - a real affirmation that I have developed a personal style that is working for me.
• Entered a juried CP show - didn't get in, but got great feedback.
• Regular Production - in the last quarter of the year I produced at least one new 5x7 piece a week and several larger ones - including two 11x14s.
• Rhythm - I think I am finding a rhythm to how best to run my life with all of my responsibilities, that feels very good.

For A Moment
from November 2011

Below are my 2011 goals, in bold, and then how near or far I came to them.

• 100 blog posts: I hit just over 70.
• 12 Monthly newsletters: I did 3.
• 10 Portfolio pieces: I did 9 pieces that I loved, half of which wouldn't be out of place in a portfolio, the others I love but are only 5x7.
• Build my FB fans to 100: Currently at 64, which is +13.
• Sell 5 packs of notecards: Sold 0.
• Hand out 60 business cards: About 10.
• Join my local CPSA chapter: Done and even gave a demo at a meeting.
• Enter a piece in CPSA competition: No, but I did enter my first group show with my CPSA chapter.

All in all, this year wasn't what I planned for, but now I am very glad that I had the year I did - it was better than what I had planned.

Looking Back
from May 2011

Next time, my plans for 2012.

Christmas Photo Funny

We took some photos over the weekend for the annual Welty Christmas card. This was the first shot while setting up the camera - you can see the enthusiasm boiling over, can't you? :-)