Fun With Photoshop, A Question, and A Reminder

It's cold and rainy at my house today, a sure sign that fall is here to stay.  I'm not complaining, the yucky weather has forced me to do some work, and get caught up on a few things I've been putting off.

Another great thing about this time of year is the fact that our resident eagles come back to hang out in the big old dead tree near the waters edge.  They love to sit up here and fish during the cooler months once the osprey have left their nest heading for warmer climes.  

Today there were two eagles on the tree, a juvenile and this one.  They really are huge when you see them in comparison to other birds, even large ones like hawks and osprey.  So big in fact that the branch in the photo above used to be much larger, but the other day it snapped off due to the weight of one of the eagles that was perched on it.  

The younger eagle took off as soon as I walked outside to take the dogs out, but the elders know we pose no threat to them and happily sit in the tree even if we get close to them as we walk down to our dock.

And the one who remained seemed happy to simply sit in the rain and wait for the perfect fish to appear beneath him so that he or she could swoop down and have lunch.

I decided to take a little break from writing today and snapped a few pictures of the last of the summer roses from my hybrid tea.  And then I thought, hmm why not have a little fun with my Photoshop Elements program too?!

The photo above is pretty much straight out of the camera and represents the true color and how the rose appears in real life.  

I did notice something today that I've never seen before though.  When I added my watermark to each picture it changed them ever so slightly, and I'm not sure why.  I have to say that I didn't really like the subtle changes that occurred.  Each picture looked a little more harsh is the only way I can really describe the difference.  If someone knows the reason for this, or how to avoid it I'm all ears!

For this one I softened the clarity just slightly and lowered the saturation, giving it a softer feel.  You can see how it changes the actual color of the rose dramatically.

For this one I did the opposite, I increased the contrast and clarity, but I also overexposed it and then boosted the saturation just a little to increase the color inside the petals instead of along their tips.   By overexposing it, you lose some of the clarity, so it appears softened, even though it was actually sharpened a bit.

This last one is my favorite, I reduced the clarity to soften it and I also reduced the contrast a fair bit to add even more softness.  Then by reducing the saturation I achieved this lovely romantic looking rose with just a whisper of color. 

I am just starting to be brave enough to use PS Elements and all that it has to offer.  These are baby steps in the world of photo editing, the simple stuff in its most basic form, but I'm learning...slow and steady wins the race.

Here is the un-watermarked version of the same photo...can you see the subtle difference, and how the watermarked one has just slightly sharper edges...or something?  Maybe I'm just losing it?....completely possible!

So here's my question, actually there are 2...

Which rose picture do you like the best?

and

I'm thinking of opening an Etsy store to sell some of my photos and to maybe use my photos to create blank note cards to sell.  What do you think?  Do you think that note cards with sea inspired themes, flowers, or pretty scenery would be something you would want to buy?  And how much would you want to spend for a pack of say 12 cards, maybe with 4 different designs in each package?  And are there specific things you would want featured on my cards or in photos I would offer?

Ok, that was a huge step for me, to ask you all this and to wait with baited breath for your replies...I'm not very good at self promotion, but like photography I'm learning...baby steps.

Thank you for taking the time to tell me what you think about my little idea, your feedback is much appreciated!

Also don't forget there is still time to enter my latest Giveaway...just click HERE to enter!!