I am a very amateur photographer who just got into photography after having kids...and getting into blogging. I will try to publish my experiences and learned tricks here so that others can glean from me and my learning curve (which will undoubtedly include mistakes!).
Anyway, on to the nitty gritty. This is my camera, the Sony DSLR A230. I got it a couple of months ago as a birthday present. I have my eye on a more luxurious Nikon D90, but that is a pipe dream at the moment. I liken it to a kid who wants a puppy but her parents get her a gerbil to see if she can handle the responsibility. I got this camera to make sure I can care for and spend time with it. Considering my previous camera was a simple point and shoot from Costco (a "goldfish", if you will), I'm making progress in my photography career. Seriously though, I do like this camera for it's ease of use and initial price-point. It takes great pictures and makes me feel a bit more "professional", toting around a DSLR and all. ;)
I will post pictures here that I deem blog-worthy. Some will be SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera), and some will be photoshopped a bit. I will be sure to note what is what and share any little nuggets of wisdom that I glean...usually from others who are much more experienced than me. For starters, let me recommend checking out
"CoffeeShop blog" for photography tips and fun ways to edit (she also has LOTS of *free* photoshop actions for downloading...I love generous bloggers!). She's awesome and I've learned a lot. Others that I would also highly recommend are
"Pioneer Woman" and
"Kevin and Amanda"...they also have out-of-this-world tips and tricks!
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Amanda from "Kevin & Amanda" recently posted a photoshop tutorial
here. This is a great tutorial because it shows how to make pictures blog-ready, while enhancing the sharpness and brightness. For example, here is my SOOC shot of Mt. Rushmore:
A decent picture, but it took really long to load due to the size...plus it could use some sharpening. After following
Amanda's tutorial, this is what I ended up posting
on my blog (and it took 1/2 the time to upload):
Isn't the sky a magnificent blue?! Look closely at the President's faces (even the trees!) and you'll see the difference in sharpness from running the photo through photoshop. Too cool! :)
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One of my favorite subjects...kids!
