New photography skillz.......

I got my Canon Digital Rebel xTi back in November 2007, and have been wanting to learn how to shoot better photos, and learn how to use editing software since then.  Finally, 3 years later, I'm taking the steps to make that happen.  I had purchased a book written specifically about my camera over a year ago, and finally cracked it open a couple weeks ago.  I felt like I was back in school, taking notes and stuff.  I'm more of a learn by doing kind of person, so I had a hard time staying focused while reading the book.  Enter Kim.  It is pretty awesome when one of your closest friends is a professional photographer.  Have you ever checked out her website?  If not, drop what you are doing and immediately check it out, she is the bee's knees.
Today while Kim, Casey, and I were hanging out down in Ballard, Kim offered to give me a few pointers regarding shooting outdoors.  It was pretty cool seeing how the different camera settings make a big difference in how a shot looks.  Just tweaking the exposure can make so-so photo look so so so much better!  Kim also showed me how to use some of tools in Photoshop to help my photos look lighter and crisper.  I'm pretty stoked to put some of her pointers in to action!

Here are a couple shots from Golden Gardens this afternoon.  Love love love Seattle when the sun is shining!

I won't be quitting my day job any time soon, but I am looking forward to learning more techniques.  Big Picture Classes also offers an online workshop called Mastering Manual Mode -- that is an idea......