Sometimes the photograph is only the beginning.

I went to Florida expecting to learn.

I did not expect to change my flight because I refused to leave class early. 😂

But that is exactly what happened.

After a few days in Vero Beach chasing birds, crawling around beaches, getting rained on and generally doing the things photographers apparently consider a perfectly reasonable vacation, I headed to Orlando for the Florida School of Photography.

And then I met Sandra Pearce.

Actually, “met” is probably too mild.

Sandra proceeded to park my butt in a chair and fill my brain with Photoshop brushes, painting techniques, light, color, shadows and possibilities until my head was spinning. 😆

Sandra is a nationally recognized digital artist and educator who has spent years teaching photographers how to use Photoshop not simply for editing photographs, but for creating art. She is a Master Photographer, Master of Electronic Imaging, Craftsman and Certified Professional Photographer, with an impressive list of awards and years of teaching behind her.

And I had four days with her.

There was NO WAY I was leaving halfway through the final day.

So...

I changed my flight. 😂

Best decision ever.

I Don't Want to Just Record What Was There

This class put words—and tools—to something I've been moving toward for quite a while.

I love photography. I love being outside with Miss Focus, waiting for a bird to do something interesting or standing beside some Oklahoma backroad wondering what story is hiding around the next bend.

But I've realized something about the photographs that mean the most to me:

I don't necessarily want the finished artwork to show only what the camera saw.

I want it to show what I saw.

There is a difference.

The camera may record branches, clutter, ugly light, distracting backgrounds and every other little thing that happened to be standing there.

But that's not necessarily what caught my attention.

Maybe I saw the light around a bird's feathers.

Maybe it was an expression.

Maybe the background disappeared in my mind because I was completely focused on those eyes.

Maybe the scene felt quiet and soft even though reality was rather messy.

That's the photograph I want to create.

Not a record of every object that happened to be there.

The feeling of being there.

And Then Came the Brushes...

Ohhhh boy. 😎

This is where things became FUN.

I'm not giving away Sandra's secrets—you'll have to get your own butt properly squared in one of her classes for those.

But I began learning how Photoshop can become much more than a place where I adjust exposure, remove distractions or polish an image.

It can become a canvas.

Brushes. Color. Shape. Texture. Light. Shadow.

And, most importantly...

control.

Sandra's classes are built around using Photoshop's painting tools and techniques to transform photographs into expressive painterly artwork. That's exactly what we spent our days exploring. Sandra Pearce Photography

We worked with animals.

We worked with people.

And THAT final part—painting people—was one of the reasons I am so glad I stayed.

Because suddenly I could see possibilities reaching beyond wildlife and into my portrait work too.

My little creative wheels were turning rather quickly by then.

The Photograph Doesn't Have to Be the Finish Line

This may be my biggest takeaway from Florida:

I didn't come home with a Photoshop technique. I came home with another way to finish the story the camera started.

THAT excites me.

I'm not interested in making my photographs look like everybody else's photographs.

And I'm certainly not interested in pushing a button, applying an effect and calling it art.

I want my hand in it.

I want to make choices.

I want to decide where your eye goes.

I want to decide what stays quiet and what becomes important.

I want the finished piece to contain some of what was happening inside my head and heart when I pressed the shutter.

Sometimes that may mean very little manipulation.

Other times?

Well...

Bo apparently has brushes now. 😂🖌️

Look out.

Still Learning. Thank Goodness.

One of my favorite things about this whole experience had nothing to do with Photoshop.

It reminded me how much I absolutely LOVE learning.

I don't understand the idea that we're supposed to reach some certain age and gradually become finished versions of ourselves.

Finished?

Good grief, how boring.

There are still techniques I haven't tried.

Places I haven't photographed.

People I haven't met.

Oklahoma roads I haven't wandered.

Photographs I haven't made.

And apparently entire ways of creating art that I didn't even know I was going to fall in love with.

Sandra has been teaching photographers to turn their photographs into painterly artwork for years, and Florida Professional Photographers exists in large part to provide exactly this kind of artistic and professional education. FPP

I went there willing to be a beginner again.

That's a pretty wonderful place to be.

Coming Home With More Than Photographs

Eventually, of course, Florida had to give me back.

Buster and Pupster were waiting. ❤️

Oklahoma was waiting.

Real estate was waiting.

Laundry was probably waiting too, although I find that considerably less inspiring. 😂

But I'm not coming home quite the same photographer who left.

I've got ideas.

I've got techniques to practice.

I've got photographs already whispering, Try this one...

And I've got another damn tool in my toolbox for making my artwork look and feel like mine.

That's what I wanted.

Not perfection.

Not somebody else's style.

Just another way to take what I saw through Miss Focus and combine it with what I saw in my mind's eye.

Because sometimes pressing the shutter isn't the end of the story.

Sometimes it's only the first sentence.

— Bo

Every Road Has a Story. Every Photo Tells One.

P.S.
Enjoyed this story?

If you enjoy photography, nature, Oklahoma backroads, travel, and a little inspiration along the way, I’d love to have you along.

Subscribe below and I’ll send new stories straight to your inbox.

I Changed My Flight for This — And I’d Do It Again