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.

Again, this photo was entered in that Americana photo contest I told you about. I'm an English major so reading is something I actually do for fun...and I do lots of it! The Americana theme of the contest inspired me to find a collection of some great American literature I've read over the years. I loved the effect I created in which I made the entire photo black and white and the colored back in the red. Photoshop rocks!

Growing up I always heard that the American dream was enclosed by a white picket fence. I never really thought I'd live in a house that had a white picket fence, but it is kind of fun having one! I love the contrast in this photo--which I achieved in Photoshop--and the odd spots of focus. Normally, I would focus up close or far away, but I tried focusing in the middle this time and achieved a neat effect.