I LOVE old photographs! I love the graininess and the muted colors. I especially love these old photos because these are some of my favorite people in my family. I simply scanned these images into my computer and then used some post-processing to make them really pop!

Who knew a pet pig would be so cute?! When my friend, Summer, bought a miniature pot belly pig I'll admit I wasn't convinced that it was actually going to be cute. But, as soon as I saw this pig I was hooked! I mean, who doesn't love a pig named Bacon?! I knew I had to set up a photo shoot for him so I could capture his cutes features. I think this was a real success. We had three major locations, all of which were quaint and interesting downtown areas. And I kid you not when I say this pig was stopping traffic. You wouldn't believe the amount of people who pulled over only to ask, "Is that a pig?" and, "Can I take a picture of him?" It was hilarious! People who didn't pull over did a triple take to verify their eyes weren't fooling them, and when we were in a crowded area hoards of people were coming up to pet him! Bacon was a huge hit! It was a great day! Here are a few of my favorite shots. Check back soon to see a photo slideshow...as soon as I can get my husband to help! :)

I really hate snakes, but these were just too cool! I loved the bulky bulbs in the overhang and how the coloring of snakes matched the coloring of the bulbs. This is one of my favorite photos I've ever taken. Happy photo-ing!

These monkey/apes were too cute to pass up. I love the contrast between the brown/tan monkey up front and the black/gray monkey in the background coupled with the blurred ride on top. I think this shot is framed well and the black sky provides the perfect backdrop for the pops of color you see here.

Now, I don't know if i would have gotten on this as a kid. I like big and fast roller coasters, not freaky spinning circles that make me...well...you know...I did, however, really enjoy capturing the blurred lights thanks to the shutter speed! I also changed the coloring to include more cyan and red than what was originally in the photo.

This was definitely one of my favorite rides as a child, even though it doesn't go very fast! For this photo, I really wanted to make the colors bold and gritty; I wanted a lot of noise in the photo. I amped up the gamma settings to really draw out the blacks in the photo and I think I achieved the perfect balance of blaring light and deep darkness.

As a child, I never really got a thrill out of this ride. I preferred the bigger, faster rides. But, as an adult I appreciate the beauty in Merry-Go-Rounds. No, this isn't the most beautiful painted horse you'll ever see--I'd love to find a fair with pristine painted horses--but the colors were stunning. I amped up the contrast, vibrance, and saturation, cropped off the ugly metal fence, and called it a day. I think it came out pretty good!

As I continue to play around with Photoshop, I'm finding out more and more that this program is endless. I decided to distort a picture and add some funky texture to it only to find the "Stained Glass Window" effect. I wouldn't use this on very many photos, but it sure does achieve an interesting effect on this one. Maybe it should have been part of "Random, yet Interesting"? As always, click on the photo to enlarge. Happy photo-ing!

I think I said I would do Nature next, but I have so many of those photos (and they're my favorite to do) that I don't think the series would ever end! This series, though, does have a stopping point; just 7 pictures make up this series and I have to put them up before summer vacation is over! My husband and I went to a little street carnival one evening when I had just gotten my camera and I was able to start practicing. I don't think these shots are as good as some of the previous ones I've shared on this site, but you get the point! Night shots are tough--especially when there are moving images involved! It's something I'm still not great at, but practice makes perfect so practice I will!

Singing in a choir is another one of my passions. I got to be a part of the church choir this summer and am really looking forward to being in it come September. We put on a huge American musical for 4th of July and I found it to be a really great opportunity to reflect on both God's sovereignty in our nation and on the sacrifices men and women have made for our country. These three pieces of music feature words that really speak volumes about this country.