I took beginner Photoshop at the start of April. My CS5 was a gift from Christmas and I had not even cracked the box open. MY ADD and HIC (head-in-clouds), a much too strong of a contender, to learn anything from a book or videos. So, I took the class and learned the basics.

My aversion to CS5 and the “art”, and the “creativity”, suddenly had a completely different perspective.

It was a whole new world opening up for me. So much so, I signed up for the next set of classes taking Advanced Photoshop. I am happy to say, it was just as hard, and I learned just as much.

I am FAR from an expert in Photoshop, but I am now a believer. Yes, I want to shoot pictures and have that “perfect” shot, but I also love to play and create.

We learned RAW and I took my first photographs using RAW.

Then? I created.

Then? We learned HDR and panoramic (also shot in RAW).

Then? I learned and I created.

But rather than talk about my new-found love, I will show you my first images, shot and edited in RAW, then tweaked in Photoshop. I will show you why I get so wrapped up in the world beyond SOOC and how I lose my time to editing.

This original photo of glass jars was taken by my instructor Lindsey. It was only two glass jars and they were blue. We made a collage in class, then I added edits to it. I just love how effects made it turn out to look like a reflection.

HDR photograph of the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. You take three photos and merge them into one for the perfect exposure.

My first panoramic shot. I could tinker with this one some more, but love the perspective.

One of my favorites, the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington with Six Flags over Texas next to it. You can hear the screams from here. This was taken at twilight.

This last photo is also HDR with the detail pumped up and probably what most of you are used to seeing HDR looks like. I am not a huge fan of the HDR-ish photos, but love the texture of this one.

So there you have it, from RAW to rich, and a newly turned fan of CS5.

It’s stunning what you can do when you open your mind to the limitless possibilities.