Black & White Wed... on Thursday. ahem..

Blog hopping today I found Lisa's BEAUTIFUL blog...
she had the brilliant idea to post B & W photos on Wed... to keep the creative juices flowing during the LLONNG winter months... (realllly long here in Norway.)
I am hoping she won't mind my joining the fun a day late...

Something happens when the sun is shining & I have my camera... (it has been dark & dreary the past week... so this is a great excuse to go through pictures of a few weeks ago...

I LOVE black & white... I have tons of them on my computer... guess how many I have hanging in my house? (3 from like 10 years ago... I know, SHAME)




For my birthday I am thinking I would like to go ahead & invest in Photoshop...
I am CLUELESS...my baby sis said I was looking into approx a $500 investment.... Right? - I am so jealous of all of the photos I see on your blogs & I am wondering what I NEED to take my photos to the NEXT LEVEL.
Suggestions? ADVICE?

Comments

Herself said…
Just found you from SITS! I LOVE Norway! We lived in Helsinki and cruised over to Sweden and Norway.
Robin said…
Very nice picture ... we lived in Dublin, Ireland for 5 years so I know how the winters can be :( I have CS4 & that was pretty expensive BUT I think you can just as much with Lightroom or one of the Photoshot programs. I have receommend to my mother to hold off on upgrading to PS & invest in Lightroom. They have a 30 day free trial that is super nice to try out first.

Robin
Sarah - Kala said…
Well, if you haven't checked out the pioneer woman's blog
http://thepioneerwoman.com/ you should she has a PHOTOGRAPHY section that talks tips and equipment galore. PLUS, you'll fall in love with her humour and fun times! Great recipes and all!
But, as far as your photos go, I think they are FAB!! It does help you're all so stinkin' gorgeous!
This is a beautiful picture!! Thank you for playing along:) Sounds like we are both guilty of taking lots of pictures, but never printing and hanging them:(

Like Robin, I have some advice when it comes to photoshop.....I absolutely LOVE this program and do most of my editing there.

If you want photoshop, get the real deal...do not get elements. You want to get CS3 of CS4. You are right, it is a big investment, but go online and see if you can locate CS3. It is hard to find, but you might be able to track it down. They were running it at a rediculous markdown because of the new CS4 version. I got mine for $150....and I have heard others that paid even less. There are only a few differences between the two versions and you will be just fine with CS3. Let me know if you have any questions. My email is attached to my profile:)

Look forward to seeing more black and whites!

Lisa
Michelle said…
I was stopping in at SITS and saw your blog (it's been a while).

Anyhoo....I have just started using photoshop CS3. It is great, but I have a lot to learn.

If you want a less expensive alternative you could use Photoshop elements. A lot of the people who are creating actions (quick fixes) are making them for elements users.

Have you tired Picnik.com? I still use them when I want to do a really quick edit.

I have to say though, if your above photo isn't edited at all then I am impressed. It is beautiful.
Wanda said…
This is just a gorgeous shot. Wow.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you again - maybe next Wed.

Wanda (At Last...)
Sandy said…
Gosh, I have always thought your pictures were beautiful as is and wished that one day mine would look as good. I know many who swear by Photoshop, I have not invested in the software (yet).
Beautiful, beautiful image!!
kerri said…
Wow, those eyes!!!
Gorgeous!
April said…
I also love black and white photos-they are so classy. But, I know nothing about photoshop-sorry! Stopping by from SITS!
Your photos are soooo gorgeous you don't even need photoshop. I love this pic in black and white, you have a great eye and I look forward to seeing the pics you post!
LadyFi said…
Gorgeous shot! Although as we haven't seen the sun over here, all my colour shots ARE in black and white!

I don't use Photoshop but I know it costs quite a lot...
PHotoshop is fantastic!!! And once you get the hang of it you will never want to turn away from it!

There are so many resources for free that help you work through photoshop.

If you are worried. I would say to try LightRoom. It was made for photographers. It is user friendly. But you can also tweak and adjust each photo to your content.

BUT you can also do a whole GROUP of photos and edit them together... which is a plus and something you can't do in Photoshop!
let me know if you get it! I'm here for some help... I'm not the BEST.. but I do have SOME experience with it :)
Unknown said…
Oh my word! My favorite American in Norway is over here too : ). My friend Lisa does this thing a ma jig! Isn't it cool. I mean, just what I need, ONE MORE MEME to take my time : ) But this is such a fun one, right?

Right now you can download the new lightroom for FREE! They are letting photographers download it for free until they make it go on sale in April. So basically you will be helping them test it and get all the kinks out of it. You could download that first and see if you like it before you invest in photoshop.

I only have elements and I am sort of glad. I think it makes me work a little harder. As soon as I master it : ) I will go on to the real thing.

Good luck. LOVE your image. As always. When don't I love your picutres?
Love to follow you're hoppings ;-)

Any advice?: Well, I would say you don't need an expensive program (a lot of freeware out there you know), besides; it often makes it look more artificial after all and the reason why I love yours as they are: Natural!

Btw: We missed you last night! Talking about hopping; You're welcome over to see what you missed - if you dare! ;-)
Hi! You don't know me, at all, but I clicked on your comment over at Life with Kaishon's blog and I just had to write and say that your photography is phenomenal! I am also doing the 365 in 2010 thing. I feel like I'm learning a lot, but have A LOT to learn.

I wanted to invite you to check out a new blog that I am starting with women throughout the world.

We will each share 1 photograph every day that sort of represents our lives, cultures, and families. So far we have women representing Japan, the Bahamas, Taiwan, Utah (that's me), and Las Vegas, and I would love it if you'd consider joining us! It should only take about a 10-15 minute commitment each day, and we won't be posting on weekends. We're aiming to start our first post on February 1st.

For more complete info, check it out at:

http://communalglobal.blogspot.com/

I sincerely hope you'll consider joining us - you would be a lovely addition to our team and I think this blog will appeal to women everywhere and will also expand global awareness and sense of community for women who aren't lucky enough to travel to all of the places they'd love to see and know more about! (ahem, like me...)

Thanks so much for hearing my out! Come what may, you are seriously talented and I have loved reading through your blog!
TorAa said…
It seems you have a great camera with a lense that is perfect.

I agree, if you have time, photoshop seems to be a good invest, if Photography is your #1 Hobby.

Else, I find Picasa for free is more than OK.

Have a great end of this weekend
Fragrant Liar said…
Oh, man! GORGEOUS photo. Black and white adds so much dimension to a photo.

PhotoShop is the industry standard for graphics, but they do have less expensive home versions. There are also a few other art and photo programs you could check into that won't break the bank. PhotoShop is powerful software and worth it if you can afford it and would really use it a lot.
emily said…
BEAU-TIFUL picture! Love it - even without photoshop, this is amazing : )))
I love, love, love Photoshop and am a total addict, so I would say "YES" get it ... but I've also heard that Lightroom does just as much stuff and is easier... Photoshop can be complicated at times. I also think Lightroom is easier, so just some food for thought.
Again, your picture is gorgeous and I look forward to reading more of your blog as I'm an American in Belarus : )))
Amit said…
In the early days of photography, photographers had no choice but to shoot in black and white, as it was the only available medium. Then, in 1936, the invention of kodachrome gave colour photography to the world.
Black and white digital photography

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