One cool take...and another

So confession up front: I did not take this picture. All credit goes to my friend Jennie who snapped it while on a vaca to the South. Like hip Savanah, Georgia south. She caught her hubby, Jarod, and their son Austin in a mid jump. So cool. I spied it on her Facebook page and immediately wanted to "play" with it. So she willingly sent it over. Here it is SOOC (straight out of camera). Super cool as is, really. (Jennie, you mentioned your praise for the "sports" setting on your camera...a good fast shutter speed will do the trick.)

I first just cropped it a bit (to bring the focus more onto our levitating subjects) and popped it with some color.

Tried a little simple black and white.

Maybe a little creamy chocolate-ness to warm it up? Hmm....

Then I went back to color and did some Lomo action. (I am very into the Lomo look--just think it is too cool. Too cool.)

And then finally tried a bit of "honey retro". Looks like I used some old film with my 1970's point and shoot.  (Funny how my generation is attempting to go back and mimic all the old school looks that resulted from flawed cheap film and cameras.) 

Not sure which one you'd prefer...soooo many choices. For me, it is a tie between the last two. And I am sure I will have fun playing with it more. 

This picture-a-day project has taught me much, but one thing I have discovered is my love for the post processing phase. It is simply an extension of creativity that I did not know existed until I began to look and see what others were doing. A tour through the many Flickr groups will leave you amazed! Though I still feel the need to get my best SOOC shot, and am disappointed with myself when I do not, I can get lost in the endless ways to creatively explore in the post processing moment. There are those that poo-poo this process, claiming it is often a poor disguise for a poorly taken picture. But I say, "So what! Who cares?" Kudos to those who have the creative bent to turn trash into a treasure. Or a great picture (of two jumping boys) into countless fun, beautiful, creative versions. 

Most of all, I have learned that my photography is for me. When I stopped and realized that I am often lost in the joy of being behind my lens, or lost in the fun of my photo editing software I realized that no matter what I created, whether photo contest/show worthy or not, it was "good enough" for me. 

Thanks Jennie for letting me play!