I am making a giant leap in the photo-editing world.

I have downloaded a free trial of both Photoshop and Lightroom to test them out and see how I can boost my photo-editing skills.  I have forced myself not to use Camera+ or iPhoto on any of my hundreds of pictures this week in order to force myself into figuring out how to make my pictures look just as great (or even greater) using these professional sounding devices instead.

I am a very calm and patient person.  But I have been Googling every step of the process.  It is taking forever.  I miss you Camera+.

I want to pull my hair out.

This is mostly because I have gotten so used to just tapping a touchscreen, scrolling through filters and making changes exactly where my little finger tells my phone to.  I never had to think about White Levels or Exposure or any of these buttons.

Sigh.

So today I spent a few hours messing around in both programs, and I am (kind of) proud to show off my very first Photoshop collage.  And if you look at it and think “Wow, she’s got a long ways to go”, I sure do.  But I’m hoping to get up to speed ASAP and have some beautiful graphics and collages for you as soon as I possibly can.

This little collage I put together is of every single item we had while out to dinner at The Bazaar on Monday night for our one year anniversary.  Yes, we took pictures of every single item.  And yes, they get a little more blurry as the night progressed.  But don’t fear, we didn’t eat it all ourselves.  Our friends Neil and Julie were there to help out.

But still.  Oh my gosh.  We ate so much food.

To order we actually had to make a list on Neil’s phone so we wouldn’t forget anything.  And then our server told us a few extras we couldn’t miss.

The line-up?

Not Your Every Day Caprese

Japanese Tacos

Bay Scallop Ceviche

Philly Cheesesteak for 4

Your Life Will Change Linguine

Fermin Platter

Baby Japanese Peaches with Burrata

Cotton Candy Duck Liver for 4

Bunuelos

Braised Wagyu Beef Cheeks

Croquetas de Pollo

Baby Beet Salad

Brussel Sprouts

Smoked Yellowtail

And that was before dessert…

Oh. My. Gosh.

Jose Andres, you are a crazy mad-man food genius.  Thank you for making my first Photoshop collage look delicious, even if it still needs a lot of work.

And Photoshop, I’m looking forward to round two tomorrow.  I’m not afraid of you.

xoxo