Seeing double

I had such a lot of fun using PSE to create this pic for The PWL course at Feel Good Photos. I am really pleased with how it turned out and really chuffed that it is one of the nominees for photo of the week. Now that I have tried doing this in PSE I just know I am going to use it lots in the future.




I am doing an online Jessica Sprague course on Frame-Ups and Special Effects so will post some of the photos from it tomorrow.

What are your favourite things to do in PS or PSE? I would love to hear how you make your photos fun, funky and unique so please leave a comment if you want to share.

Water, water everywhere

Ever wondered what happnes at the moment a water balloon bursts? Well wonder no more, here it is. Don't you just love the way the water holds its shape for a split second before cascading all over the place.

Here's another water shot. A drop of water splashing into OH's hand. I converted to B&W to remove the distraction of the background and concentrate on the water. Not quite a crown, but almost.

In the name of art

I had OH posing alot for me this week so I could get some arty shots. This is the one I am happiest with. Sreet reflected in sunnies.

My little Rock Star

I am so pleased with this photo that I will definitely have to do a scrapbook layout for it. I haven't really played about with the filters in PSE before but I had a go this week and they are so cool. You can get some amazing effects. It's not often that DD1 is a willing model but I think the electric guitar helped a bit and even she had to admit that she loved this pic. I am much more confident in trying out different things in PSE now and at least if it all goes horribly wrong I can always do ctrl Z.

Pictures of the past

We have this old camera that sits on top of the piano and gets ignored most of the time but when I was trying to get some pics for my photography workshop I saw it in a new light. There I was snapping away with my lovely Canon Powershot S5 IS and I suddenly remembered that this time last year I thought I would never be able to get off the auto setting and I was scared stiff of fiddling with any of the settings in case I broke it. Now I never use auto, I'm a manual girl these days. It made me look at the old camera in a different way because even though it is old and less technologically advanced than what is available to us now, I still wouldn't have the first clue how it works.

Places we never go.

I'm really motivated to get out and about with my camera this week because I have just started a new photography workshop with CJ at Feel Good Photos. Yesterday I went to Stormont estate, the home of the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is a very large, picturesque estate with grounds that the public can walk through. The main drive leads up to Parliament Buildings which are enormous and very grand. It struck me that I don't really come here often and yet it is only 20 mins from my house and is a major tourist attraction. The last time I was here was back in 2001 to see the Eagles in concert.

Anyway I got to thinking about all the other tourist hotspots in Northern Ireland that I don't visit. I suppose that is the same for many of us because we tend to overlook what is right on our doorstep. I will make a real effort to get out and visit some of our most popular and scenic locations this summer and photograph them. I might even compile my top ten places to see in Northern Ireland and post it on here for anyone who might be thinking of paying a visit to our beautiful little corner of the UK.

Here is a picture of Stormont from yesterday. What do you think?

How observant are you?

I've decided that I am not really very observant and miss alot of what is around me - not a very good way to be if you want to get good photos! I was walking through Lagan Valley Regional Park last week and suddenly came across this old Borough marker.




I must have walked past it dozens and dozens of times in the last few years and yet I never noticed it before. It's a lovely old piece of local history and I enjoyed getting some shots of it. It made me wonder though what else I've missed, so I am making a determined effort to look around me when I'm out and about now. Who knows what I might find!

Your mission for the week, if you choose to accept it, is to take a fresh look around you when you are on the way to work, on the way home, out at the shops etc and try to find something that you have never noticed before. I would love it if you came back and left me a comment to tell me what you find. Happy hunting!