teaching an old dog new tricks

I'm trying to pick up some basics in Photoshop, and so far, "I love it I love it I love it" (in my best Helen Madden ~ And a Happy Birthday to Molly Shannon!)

squirrell!~~~~ANYWAY ~~~~

I haven't yet been able to take the class a friend of mine offers HERE on Mommytography...but another one is coming up! 

In the meantime, I've been trying to do a little learning on my own and came across this tutorial from Amanda over on her blog.  

Now its time for Show and Tell!

this is my picture sooc (straight out of camera)

THIS is what I did today in Photoshop!

"I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT!"

Let me tell you the story of this picture mmkay? K

This is "Old Sheldon Church" near Beaufort, SC.  My sister in law, Michelle, took me out to it...and I do mean out, a ways out, one evening, just before dusk.  It's history is storied.  This church had been burned several times, once by British soldiers.  This is how it stands today, some would say in ruins, I say in glorious beauty.  A slight misty rain had come as we were walking the church yard.  Scattered around the church are markers for those who have passed on, oaks dripping with moss, & beautiful old fence work.  The sun had come from behind the clouds, the drizzle all but stopped, and glory shone down from above.

These Photoshop edits are as close to what my minds eye remembers the scene looking like in real life.  The sun, retiring ever so gently behind the trees, sent its last golden rays down into the clearing amongst ancient oaks and illuminated the back wall of the church.  The church appeared to be lit from within.  I have never before seen such a beautiful light.  

Michelle and I were awestruck.  I kept snapping pictures, shot after shot, hoping to capture what I was seeing.  You see, I'm still learning to use my camera on manual, and honestly most of what I got that evening was all shot in auto.  I was afraid I would miss out on getting anything usable if I switched to manual.  I did try a few, and lets just say...auto was my friend that day.

So, this picture of Old Sheldon church is my favorite.  Even in the sooc pic you can see the light on the back wall of the church.  The oaks frame it beautifully too from this vantage point, in my opinion.

So, for those of you curious to know what "actions" I used, here's the recipe.

From the PW Photoshop Action Sets, I used:

• Slight Sharpen
• Lovely & Ethereal
• Dim The Lights
• Warmer

I adjusted the opacity on each one slightly to achieve the final edit above.

Thanks Tracy, for introducing me to Photoshop!

Thanks Amanda, for the tutorials on your blog! 

Thanks PW for the free Photoshop Actions!

Now this old dog can trick out some shots!