The Joy of Achievement

My desire to learn more about photograpy actually began with a photo manipulation project. I discovered that I had a photo editing program on my computer called "Paint Shop Pro". The program came installed on the computer, so I thought that I would give it a try.

I didn't own a digital camera at the time, so I scanned in a photo that I had taken with my Kodak point-and-shoot film camera. (The camera used APS film.)

The photo was taken in the nearby village of Clinton, NY on an autumn day in 2003. This quaint college town has an esquite statue and fountain right in the middle of its village green. I captured the statue against a back drop of autumnal beauty in shades of reds, yellows, greens and gold.

However, the sky seemed a bit bland to me. (I now know that photographers say that the sky was "washed out".) So, I decided to use Paint Shop Pro to enhance the photo.

I found that this photo editing program was fairly easy to use. I taught my self the basics and began to experiement with this photo and Paint Shop Pro. My goal was to add vibrant colors and a sense of movement to the piece. Then I remembered a book that I had just read to my students in my school library. The illustrations in this children's book where in the style of Vincent Van Gogh. (The book is entitled Art Dog, by Thatcher Hurd.) That is how I decided to manipulate the colors of the leaves to add interest to the sky and other areas of the piece.

After I completed "Village Rhapsody" in the spring of 2004, I took a chance and submitted it to a local juried art show held at our local museum. I was thrilled when it was accepted! "Happiness... it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. " (Vincent Van Gogh) I decided that I wanted to learn more about photography basics so that could learn more about this art form. I also wanted to learn more about digital photography and photo editing. And that is where my creative journey began.