This photo was taken at night, as you might suspect, using 7 individual exposures at 1/2 increments for a typical HDR (High Dynamic Range) scenario.  HDR simply put, means you take the first photo so it's nearly dark to capture all of the shadows, and the last photo so it's almost completely washed out to catch all of the highlights.  The 5 photos in the middle, shot at different exposure levels, capture all of the mid-range colors of the image.  Once gathered, all of the images were combined using Photomatix Pro software and presto-chango you have an HDR photograph.  I would like to say this photo was completed on my first or second attempt.   Not so.  I like to tell myself that trial and error is part of my workflow process, not an indication of incompetence.  This may have been the 10+ attempt to get it right, it's all a blur right now.

And for artistic reasons only, that seemed appropriate at the time, both the rain and the rainbow were added in post production using OnOne Effects software.Excellent software, reasonably priced now compared to other products, and works as advertised.Everything else in the photo is "as shot" with no enhancements other than HDR.

One of the wonders digital photography has given us is the ability to create your "own kind of art".  Not only by being able to do your own thing, but doing it on formats that are improving every year.  This is a picture of my very sleepy dog named "Boo".  That's short for Bruno who is part Pit Bull and part Mastiff, 125 pounds of 100% sweetheart.   Anyone who has ever owned a dog of this type, knows that if they're raised lovingly, they return that love 1000%.  It is the 1% of creeps who get 100% of the press for mistreating their animals and making it appear as if the whole breed is flawed and a danger to society.

But back to the photos. I literally woke Boo up, held his head up for just a moment, and took a quick picture.  If he were able to human speak, I'm sure he's saying, "Really, right now, Really?".

The modified photo was done entirely on iPad using a great program called "Procreate".  You can do just about any art project with Procreate, at all skill levels.   From a pure novice like me to gifted artists who can create works of art work you would swear came straight off a canvass .   And the best part is, it mirrors many of the features you may already know and use in Photoshop.  There are Layers, all of the Blend Modes, Selections, Customizable Brushes, Opacity control, save to .psd, and many, many more. No I take that back.  The best part is, the program only costs $4.99.  Are you kidding me!! My last trip to Starbucks was more than that and gone in half an hour.  I have no affiliation with Procreate, and I'm not really an artist, but if you like doing art projects, being able to do it your way, being digital and portable, check it out for yourself.  I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Sometimes a so-so picture focusing on the cactus and yellow flowers can overlook the obvious, Bee-utiful addition to the scene.  Using only Adobe Lightroom to make adjustment to the colors by boosting the luminosity and saturation so they are not so muddy, makes the photo more dramatic.  The exposure value was increased as well as the clarity, to make the photo standout from the background.   A modest crop, to to direct the eye to the topic of the image, results in a more  interesting, colorful finished picture.  All of these adjustments were possible, in part, because the photo was shot in the RAW mode, allowing full access during post processing to all of the data the camera sensor had available when the picture was taken. 

The border was added using the OnOne software plugin inside Lightroom. Who needs Photoshop anyway!! 

(Just kidding….sort of).