Project 365 update: In which she capitulates to post-processing

Once upon a time (okay, last week) I was skeptical of photos that had been manipulated in Photoshop or other post-processing software applications. I was a bit of a purist and, let’s call it, a snob. If I really liked a photo, I’d like it a little bit less if I noticed it had been manipulated. Then I had a really interesting conversation with a group of people on Flickr also doing a 365 project, and came to believe that post-processing is not only completely acceptable, but actually a lot of fun. Post-processing, I now believe, is just one of a suite of tools one uses to make the final photograph resemble the image you originally conceived before you even peered through the viewfinder – a suite of tools that includes your focus ring, your composition, your selection of colour or b&w, your decision to use flash or not, etc, etc. A 180 degree turn on my 365, you might say.

All that to say I’ve had a lot of fun this week with Photoshop. Like this photo, for example. Since I got the minivan, I’ve wanted my boring old key fob with it’s red PANIC button to say this:

And now, thanks to the wonders of post-processing, it does!

I had a lot of success this week, including this shot, which I truly believe is one of the best pictures I’ve ever taken:

Don’t you just love his hat? And for the Canadians in the crowd, you can delight in the irony that I snapped this in a Starbucks (overcoming my strong fear of being arrested for stalking a random stranger by capturing this photo while peeking out from behind a shelf stacked with Tazo tea) on my way to Tim Hortons for a coffee.

All of the photos from this week seemed worthy of showcasing in full size – it was a good week! All of these have been adjusted, most very minimally, in Photoshop as well.

Now, if only I were living with someone who was so comfortable with Photoshop that he actually taught the subject, and had access to dozens of free textbooks on the subject. Oh wait, I do!! Yay!

(Now I just need an extra five or six hours in the day to play… anybody got any of those to spare?)

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