Photography Journal

Beauty of Perennials

March 1, 2021
I am from a long line of gardeners! My grandmother was an avid gardener of both vegetables and flowers. She had a green thumb and spent her free time nurturing her vegetable garden, flower beds, and visiting gardens or nurseries. She often won the “Yard of the Month” award due…

Mono No Aware: Appreciate the fleeting days of spring!

February 28, 2021
Have you heard of the term Mono No Aware? The concept originated in Japanese literature as early as the 1100s. During the 18th century, the idea spread through Japanese culture and became a tradition. The term means ” the pathos of things.” This term often implies sadness or a melancholy…

Tell A Story With Composite Photography

February 24, 2021
Do you admire composite images you see online? Do they appear daunting or way too complicated to create? Let’s explore the styles of composite photography and then some tips to help you get started. Composite photography is blending two or more images using an editing program like Photoshop. The composite…

Master creating beautiful high key images.

February 15, 2021
High Key photography is a style typically found in commercial and portrait photos. This method creates an image with a bright white background and little to no shadows present. The final images are creative and project a luminous, airy quality. When capturing flowers in a high-key manner, they almost become…

Creative Editing - LAB Color Mode to Expand Color In Your Images

February 3, 2021
To get started, let’s review a little about color spaces. The standard color space used by digital cameras is the RGB color space (Red, Yellow, Green). The camera starts with these colors and mixes them to create the colors in the image. L-A-B color space defines color differently. It uses…

Emotion of Color

February 1, 2021
“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.” - Claude Monet “Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions.” – Pablo Picasso “The chief function of color should be to serve expression.” – Henri Matisse These famous artists all had something in common, their use and love for color.…

Creative Editing: LAB Color Inversion

January 26, 2021
Simple steps for all skill levels! If you are looking to add a creative flair to an image shot with a white background, try this quick technique to invert the image creating a black background. This creative technique works well for images shot with a lightbox, light-pad, or white background…

Creating a Vision for the New Year!

January 1, 2021
It is that time of year where we see the words “new year resolution” popping up everywhere. A new year is a signal to stop, reflect and restart things in your life. A great way to document those goals or dreams is through a vision board. Vision boards are inspirational…

2021! Set your photography intentions!

December 31, 2020
I recently met someone who shared that she had not picked up her camera all year! She regretted it but said that life just got in the way. Isn’t that often the case? We have good plans, and then things happen that change our course. As we start the new…

Photoshop - October Creative Editing Updates

October 23, 2020
Added Sky and Blur Background and a texture in the grass. Before Image Have you checked out the latest Adobe Photoshop updates? I have been playing around with some of the new features and how I can use them with creative editing. There are three updates that I will share…

Lightroom Update: Color Grading

October 21, 2020
Adobe just launched a new update to the Lightroom Develop Module, and I love it! The new feature is Color Grading and it replaced split toning. This tool allows you to gain precise control over the colors of shadows, mid-tones, and highlights in an image. The tool also offers global…

iOS Creative Editing

October 19, 2020
Before After Creative editing or painterly editing is a way to add an artistic look to your images. Creating these images can be made with normal editing programs like Lightroom or Photoshop, but using an iPad or iOS device provides unique ways to create these magical images. I use these…

Seascapes with Intentional Camera Movement

September 24, 2020
I recently was able to take my first vacation in 2020 and headed to the coast of South Carolina. I love to get up early to capture the sunrise and create abstract seascape images at the beach. Abstractly capturing the sea brings out the emotions of the waves, the depth…

Editing Texture Images

September 16, 2020
This texture photography series has focused on defining texture photography, how to capture textures, examples of where to find textures, and now I will share some final editing techniques. The following tools can be found in most editing programs, and I will show examples using Adobe Lightroom. Editing Basics: Contrast: …

Where to find texture to photograph

September 16, 2020
In the previous post, I reviewed comparing texture photography to textures in abstract and impressionistic art, how to compose, and shoot textures. Textures are everywhere; we just have to take time to slow down, think about how to capture them, and showcase their detail. Here are some ideas to get…

How to Capture Textures

September 9, 2020
Texture Photography is a way to add more depth, creativity, and abstract qualities to your portfolio. Texture can be the focal point of the image or a part of the image that you bring to attention. Remember, from my first post that textures bring out emotions; they visually describe what…

What is Texture Photography

August 31, 2020
Texture is a significant part of nature and abstract photography. This blog series will focus on what we can learn from art about texture, techniques to photograph texture in nature, and creative methods to capture texture Let’s start with understanding texture photography. Texture photography is about taking images that focus…

Create Impressionistic Garden Images

August 27, 2020
I love to create abstract, impressionistic, creative images in the garden. Using the technique of intentional camera movement will help you achieve this look in the camera. In a prior post, I shared how to capture ICM images in landscape scenes. The techniques are similar, but let’s review the best…

Tame the Greens

August 19, 2020
The color green is abundant in nature. It is a color that evokes powerful emotions. People usually connect the color green with growth, renewal, abundance, peace, and security. It is said to be the most soothing and relaxing color for the human eye to view. Think about the various shades…

10 Minutes A Day

August 17, 2020
Are you just getting started with photography? Are you uninspired, in a rut, or lacking creativity? Have you tried a 365 project in the past and failed? No matter where you are as a photographer spending just 10 minutes a day with your camera can help you grow, improve your…

Favorite Close Up Photography Gear

August 10, 2020
I will admit I am not a camera gear aficionado. I don’t like to carry a lot of camera gear. I want to keep it simple. I spend my time reading and studying the art of photography vs. the technical details of gear. However, it is critical to our craft…

Creative Technique - Pep Ventosa Technique

August 2, 2020
Creative Photo and Editing Technique – Pep Ventosa Method The artist and photographer Pep Ventosa’s work is inspiring, alluring, and exciting to try to emulate. His work is a process of walking all-around a subject taking photos, and then combining them in Photoshop or a similar stacking/layer program to create…

Rainy Day Photo Ideas

July 31, 2020
It’s been raining for days! Don’t let the weather get you down. Try some of these simple photography ideas to make the best of the weather. Freeze Objects Place flowers, fruit, or sliced lemons in a freezer container. Fill the container halfway with water and let it freeze. Once frozen…

Intentional Camera Movement - Landscape

July 29, 2020
A creative technique when you are out shooting any landscape scene is to capture it abstractly. Intentional camera movement ( ICM) is easy to produce and can give you a different perspective of the shooting location. I also like to save these to use as textures with other images. Here…

1O Ideas for a Photo Walk

July 28, 2020
This is a great time to try something new in your photography, stepping out of the norm to explore and expand your skills. A great activity is a themed photo walk of your neighborhood or local area. Walking and shooting with a theme can help you focus on something different…

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