I've never really used Photoshop and thought I'd ask Daniel for a quick lesson of just the basics. He started off by informing me that Photoshop is like an advanced version of Paint. "You've used Paint before, right?" I shook my head -- nope, not really. He was shocked and must have asked me at least 5 additional times if I was serious about not having previously used Paint. While I know of its existence and have used it here and there on occasion, I can't say that I ever spent any meaningful time using that program.
My favorite "photographers" (defined very loosely) all seem to have their personal aesthetic and I admire them all. I find myself falling prey to the allure of their photos and style. I think to myself that if I could glean inspiration from this one and that one, then cobble and crib them all together, I'd be able to come up with my own look and feel. But the more Daniel and I toyed around with different effects and styles and techniques, the more I realized that the version I gravitated towards the most was the original, unedited, one. And then it dawned on me: that is my aesthetic. Natural, pure, untouched. I'm not a big fan of trying to make things appear different from what they really are and much prefer to work on ensuring that my reality is precisely how I'd like it to be. This mantra obviously applies to more than just photographs. . .
Besides, my primary goal is simply to capture memories and moments that may otherwise be forgotten by my faulty mind. And when considered from that perspective, there really is no need to doctor anything.
I suppose you could say that I ate berries in the canaries this past weekend. :) I also ate the most amazing Japanese strawberry and cream croissant. Seriously - it was very good.
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