I’m a college kid again!  Well, maybe not a” kid” but at least a college senior.  Ok, not that kind of senior, but a senior college student, the kind with age and it’s great.  I can go to college and not worry about girls, pimples, gagging from dorm food, or even grades.  So what if I’m only auditing one class for no grade!  I am still taking a college class, a digital photo class!  I’m enjoying it and even learning a few things about Photoshop.  Just goes to show even this old dog can learn new tricks and sometimes even scratch behind his ears but not with my hind leg.

We were assigned a project that used some of the Photoshop commands we recently learned.  This lab assignment was to create a cover for a fictitious magazine. The professor said we could create any type we liked as long as it wasn’t pornographic or sexually suggestive. Darn, there went one idea.   Well, on to other ideas.  Did I want to be sensible or humorous or show how lamebrained and off the wall I could be? Lamebrained is easy for me,  so maybe I should challenge myself more.  How about humor?  Sometimes my humor goes over people’s heads so maybe I should hold off on that one for now.  Which leaves sensible.  I suppose I can be more sensible at times.  That for me is a more difficult task, so I’d better challenge myself and try to impress the professor.

Consequently, I selected a photograph of a Mule Deer I had recently taken and decided to make a standard cover for a fictitious wildlife magazine.  I had to tweak the original photo by using that Photoshop “magic” I had learned.  This required a  little “levels” adjustment.  Tweak the exposure a little then add text and, walla’, a magazine cover.  I’m not going to discuss those Photoshop steps here as this is not a Photoshop tutorial.  Besides,  I want to keep you guessing and thinking I’m a photographic genius.

Before Photoshop "magic"

After Photoshop "magic"

This is supposed to be a “sensible” type cover. Maybe it is, maybe it’s not,  but, I was having so much fun, I did another cover.  Fun?  How about a little humor after all?  A quick look through of some of my pictures brought out a scanned slide  I hadn’t used before.  I saw the neck collar in the picture and thought “mule”.  It was probably a horse collar but “mule” came to my mind.  I took the picture in North Carolina many years ago.  The collar and harnesses  looked as though it had been hanging there for years.  Therefore, the idea of “retirement” came to mind.  Also,  I’m retired,  so it just seemed a fit for this old mule.  Plus, I liked the photo.  The old leather horse/mule gear was fascinating and fit right in with the weathered , brown siding of the old barn.  It appeared to me that someone hung it there and just walked off.  I guessed that the mules were sent to retirement and the owner followed.  Old mules don’t die, we just discolor.

There's a little more humor in this one.

The digital photo college class is fun and challenging and even gets me to thinking more about my photography.  Yes, sometimes I do think and often times it doesn’t even hurt.  I would recommend that if there are any photographers out there who have an interest in improving their pictures, they learn a little about Photoshop.  Photoshop Elements is a lighter version that is less expensive and easier to use,  and I would suggest that one for the beginner.  It is somewhat different from the full version and has less to it but still enough to help improve your photos.  And, so, what if you find out you are the old dog learning new tricks?   You might even find yourself as a college kid.

Please check out more of my photographs at my web site.   http://SamSherman.imagekind.com/