My Work Mentioned on CoolDigitalPhotography.Com- Week of Feb 2-8th, 2014

I happened upon this blog today and found my photos there in the Number 1 and Number 4 position as best photos for the week of Feb 2-8th. Sure was a nice discovery!  Feel free to take a look at the link and the photos..:)

http://cooldigitalphotography.com/best-photos-of-the-week-february-2nd-to-february-8th/

To view more of my work please visit me on my Flickr profile.

Julie Everhart. Photo by Bob Blankenship

100,000 Views CELEBRATION to my 500px Account!

Finally! Today was the day I got to see 100,000 views to my photos on my 500px.com account!  This is not an easy task to do on that site with so many great photos. I am thrilled that the photo I chose today was able to give me enough views to get me there today.

To see a high resolution view just click on the image below.

Brigid's Flowers by Julie Everhart

http://500px.com/photo/61722195

Thank you ALL for each and every click, I appreciate every single view I receive. Hopefully I can continue to create images that will always have your interest, I will always do my best. 

Have a great day and Happy Clicking!

Julie

65,000+ More Views To My Flickr Account This Week!

WOW! I have no idea how I keep getting all the views but I am very happy and I appreciate each and every view I get to my photos. Maybe it does help to have a blog as well as produce some nice images? LOL

On Feb 12, 2014 I was at 551,000+ views.  Just last week I had 50,000+ views and thought that was pretty awesome considering I didn't have any photos make it to Flickr's Explore and this week was even better ( still no Explore)

Just today Feb 19, 2014 ( below)

This is all very exciting and I hope it won't be much longer till I reach my goal of 1,000,000 views on My Flickr profile. If you would like to take a peek at today's newest upload just click on the photo below.

Cold As The Wind Blows by Julie Everhart.

Thank you all so much for all your views and continued support. 

Julie

Natural VS Edited...Which Do You Prefer?

This seems to be a subject of much controversy for many photographers. In my early days of taking photos and learning editing I was always fascinated at how I could take an image and make it look so much better than the original.  The tools we have available to us are endless! Cleaning up an image to make it look so perfect and enhance the colors of the sky or just adding a touch of color to a butterfly just seemed to make the image "pop" and I could not stop myself from making the changes and saving the image.

All Her Beauty by Julie Everhart

I have had many friends and followers comment to me and ask me if that was exactly how the image looked out of the camera? I used to tell them no, you wouldn't really be impressed at what I started with and yes, its an enhanced photo. They used to tell me that I was "cheating" or "too artistic" with my images and that they preferred "the natural look".My answer simply was " then don't  look at my work" or "find another photographers work that you like because I don't process my images that way".

As a photographer we have the freedom to do what we wish with the images we create.  Its our right to express our creativity if its inside of us. Having someone tell you that you should "tone down your saturation" or" keep trying you'll get there one day and you will learn how to capture nature the way it should be" is not something that is going to change or inspire us to change who we are or what we do.

When Flowers Cry by Julie Everhart

I have never hidden the fact that I am first an Artist and secondly a Photographer.I use an jpeg as a medium. Its simply a blank canvas to me and then I proceed to do with it as I wish. If it doesn't appeal to a large crowd that is OK with me. This desire to change an image from its original state made it very difficult for me to find a photo sharing site where I could be comfortable sharing my work as I was to well received early on. Now as the digital age of photography has progressed and more and more consumers have purchased DSLR cameras and joined photo sharing sites it has become more evident that people have been experimenting more with the digital age of editing.

Sure, there are still many photographers out there that enjoy nature in the raw and they are very good at what they do. I can never say that I don't appreciate it and give kudos to those masters. I am simply saying that if anyone is looking for that from me, they won't find it. I enjoy all and any ways I can find to create different looks from images and I will always take advantage of any new filters and accessories I can find to learn, change and grow with the times. Technology and the digital art world always will fascinate me. After all, if someone took the time to create the software and and filters,someone else should take the time to use them and see what they can do. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you have comments, questions or simply disagree, feel free to leave a response below.  I will be happy to hear your thoughts.

Have a great day!

Julie 

Which Site is THE BEST Photo Sharing Site?

Over the past 6 years I have tried several photo sharing sites such as Flickr, Viewbug, 500px, Imagekind, and FineArtAmerica and even just sharing my photos with my friends on Facebook. I have not been paid to speak about any of the sites mentioned in this post.  It's just my honest opinion about my experiences with these sites. I hope you will find the information useful.

All of these sites are run differently and have different intentions and uses of your images. Some offer free profiles with limited uploads unless you upgrade and others are photo contest sites (Viewbug) and some are non competitive and offer a great place for you to share your photos and meet other like-minded people who share your same passion for photography.

I started out on Flickr and have always considered it my "home-base photography profile".  Many people & friends I met there and I am still following them and they are still following me.  They have stayed very committed even when I didn't upload images there for months, even years.  They still recognized my name or profile image and were happy to see me back online sharing my photos.

Here is one of todays uploads called Down the Hatch.

Photo by Julie Everhart

I guess it all depends what you are wanting and you need to ask yourself that very question before you begin your online presence and start building your portfolio. If its a photo contest site you are after, then I recommend Viewbug. Its not a heavy traffic site and unless you have been with them since the start, its very hard to receive comments/feedback and make new fans/followers.  They do let other peers award your photos and that is a nice feature.  I have been entering the monthly contests there for about a year and half and have yet to win one.


Imagekind and FineArtAmerica are profiles that I started and I personally felt that it takes allot of time to categorize your work and get your photos uploaded. However, I have not been back to my profiles for quite some time and its possible that things have improved.  I know many photographers that  make most of their sales there and love it. So this is just my personal opinion.

Now it comes to 500px.com. This is not a site for beginners!  Although I don't consider myself a beginner and not quite a pro, I have been taking photos long enough and have had to grow quite a few layers of skin to be able to tolerate how this particular site works. It is very skewed and photographers are not likely to take an immediate liking to your work very easily.  They have a what they call a "pulse" each time you upload a photo and based on number of views, likes or favorites it receives, number of Facebook shares or tweets it may get will raise this score. The higher the score, the closer your photo will get to being number one for the day, or just a few hours.

After 24 hours the pulse is dropped 10 points and will never go higher. It will record the highest pulse you received and that will be it. That photo will never again have the chance to go any higher , unless you delete it and try it again another day.  Be aware that there are many photographers that will refuse to like or Fave your newest upload as to not give your photo a chance to go higher. They will like or fave a photo from a day or two before knowing what you last upload is. There are many photographers that do not act appropriately. So BEWARE.

I am relatively new to 500px and joined in July of 2013 and I am almost at a 100,000 views and trust me, I worked very hard to get those views.  With so many great photographers from all around the world its not easy to get views to your work. People tend to Like and Favorite your work only if you Like and Favorite their work first.  Its a very time consuming process and and as I stated above there are not many photographers there that will reciprocate favorably back.

Facebook is great place to share when you are a beginner. However the more advanced you get, you will not want to share your best there. People can download and save your images and have become very accustomed to it. Your photos are not protected there!  I will from time to time on rare occasion put up a decent photo there as a cover photo but always cringe when I do.  I personally do not like to give my work away.

All in all, my choice is Flickr. Photographers are not in a constant state of competition and the other members will genuinely Fave your photo if they feel it deserves it.  They have no hidden agendas and people are sincere with their words or comments on your photos. They have thousands of groups you can enter and I even have one I started nearly 5 years ago called Above All The Rest and Simply The BEST.


So there you have it. My thoughts and views on a few of these photo sharing sites. If you have any other comments or questions feel free to write them below. I would love to hear your thoughts on these sites if you are a member of any of them. Maybe you share a different experience or could shed some light for those of us that feel differently?

If you would like to have a peek at today's newest upload feel free to click the image below. This image was shot in Infrared from the top of the St.Augustine Lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida on February 15, 2014.

Have a great day!

Julie

P.S. Donations for the information I have provided in my blog are always appreciated but never necessary.

As Seen From Above by Julie Everhart.

3,000 Views to My New Blog in Just Over 2 Weeks!

I just wanted to write a little Thank You  message to thank my viewers/readers for the 3,000 views I hit today(see Lifetime counter at the bottom of this post).  Its  been my pleasure to share with you some of my photos and information from the past 6 years from my photo sharing experiences online. Hopefully I can continue to write posts that are of some interest to you and maybe you will find a tidbit of information here and there that will be of some value to you.

Bird with Gradient Sky by  Julie Everhart.

As always I appreciate your visit and hope you will come back again soon. If you would like to be notified by email of new post just submit your email address on the top right hand corner of the blog.

Have a great day and keep on clicking!

Julie

Bird Photography... A MUST for ALL Photographers!

Trying to get that "perfect shot" of a bird in flight seems to always be the never ending task for most all photographers. Learning how to follow the birds flight patterns and steadying your camera is not an easy thing to do and can take years to master. This doesn't mean that we quit trying and it doesn't mean that a bird sitting perfectly still would not make a good shot.

Over this past weekend I was in Cape Canaveral, Florida and St. Augustine, Florida and took some time to focus on getting some new bird photos.  I was a little rusty but did manage to get a few shots that I am quite pleased with. 

Click  on the title of the photos to see them in high resolution.

Flight of the Seagull by Julie Everhart.

Seagull in Flight by Julie Everhart

You Talkin To Me? by Julie Everhart

As you can see I was able to catch two birds in flight.  The second image has a better overall appearance with the beautiful blue water behind it and the position of the bird. The image on the top was not my best shot however I did like the look in the birds eye.  The bottom image of the pelican was just a look I could not pass up!  He seemed to really be listening to me as I talked to him while getting closer and closer to him to get the shot.  He seemed to be very interested in what I had to say to him, lol. Silly bird!

All of the images were taken with my Nikon D200 and I was using my trusty Tamron 28-300mm lens.  It's the lens of choice for me, in fact I have 2 of them, one for each of my Nikon's.  It's a great lens in my opinion and saves allot of time when out shooting.  I rarely switch lenses while out shooting photos if I have my 28-300mm on my camera. Its a great overall lens for general purpose shooting.


Thanks for having a look and I hope you have enjoyed the photos. As you progress in trying to add different images to your portfolio you will want to take some time to have images like the example above to showcase your work.  People love to see images of birds.  No two images are ever the same and you will be very glad to have some images to call your own.

Julie

Too see more images from my trip to Cape Canaveral and St. Augustine feel free to visit my Flickr Profile.

St. Augustine Weekend Photo Shoot!

I had the pleasure of being in St. Augustine this past weekend and got to take some awesome photos of the St. Augustine Lighthouse and from the top of the lighthouse! I climbed 219 steps up to get some gorgeous shots and boy was it worth the view!

St. Augustine Florida Lighthouse

Here is one of the photos (above) of the lighthouse that I had to stitch 4 photos together to get the entire lighthouse in one photo. Beautiful bands of black and white and the red roof and blue sky really make this photo pop!

To see the photo in full size just click the photo.

Taking a drive along Rt 1 in St. Augustine we found some beautiful boats and with some great lighting.  Click the photo to see it in higher resolution.

Thanks for stopping by to have a look at my photos! If  you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below.

Julie