About thedigitaljeanie

I’m a self-taught photographer and way back when I used to love taking photos, but I allowed a business that I started in 2004 to take over my life and my photographic repertoire was reduced to quick product shots and how-to tutorials. When I joined the PhotoChallenge in December 2015, I was looking to rekindle my creativity and bring some joy back into my photography. I jumped in with both feet and have not looked back. I believe that photography can change the way we see and interact with the world around us. Some people may think that I hide behind the camera, but I feel that I experience the world in a much more intimate way when I am creating a composition in my viewfinder. In those moments distractions disappear, my mind focuses and I am fully present. It is just me and my camera capturing a moment in time that might otherwise go unnoticed. My background is as varied as the photos that I take. I’ve trained and worked as a software engineer, a massage therapist, an English teacher in Vietnam, a photo restoration artist (which is how I learned Photoshop) and for the past twelve years I have run a small software business with my husband where I have been published in numerous books and magazines, appeared on PBS television, created designs for fabric, quilts and machine embroidery and won awards for some of my quilts. It should come as no surprise that I am intensely curious about life and love to learn new things. I am blessed to live in the beautiful state of Colorado, USA in the Rocky Mountain foothills outside of Fort Collins with my husband and cat. You can find me online at: Photos: flickr.com/photos/the-digital-jeanie/ Day job: KaleidoscopeCollections.com Facebook: facebook.com/jeaniesa

2019 WEEK 39: Circles

A circle is the reflection of eternity. It has no beginning and it has no end. – Maynard James Keenan

This week we are focusing on circles (no pun intended). There are a few ways you can approach this challenge. Perhaps the most straightforward is to simply take a photo of something that looks like a circle or a collection of circles. However, there is a lot of room for creativity this week if you want to create a circle to photograph. Some ideas include:

READ MORE →

2019 WEEK 35: In Your Backyard

“The world is a mystery. This, what you’re looking at, is not all there is to it. There is much more to the world, so much more, in fact, that READ MORE →

2019 WEEK 32: Artistic Triptychs

Earlier this week I was asked to create a triptych from one of my photos and as I did some research to make sure I did it “correctly”, I realized READ MORE →

2019 WEEK 28: Wabi-Sabi

This week’s theme falls under the umbrella of “words/concepts that have no English equivalent.” Wabi-sabi is a new concept for me, so I had to do a bit of research to gain a modicum of understanding about it. One definition: “Wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature, of accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death… it reveres authenticity above all.” (click for references) READ MORE →

2019 WEEK 26: Water

It’s been a while since we’ve focused on water (no pun intended). A year ago I posted a challenge for B&W – Water photos. This week there are no restrictions READ MORE →

2019 WEEK 23: Joy

This week we will be focusing our photographic intentions on the emotion of JOY. Perhaps most obviously, you might capture an expression of joy on a person’s (or animal’s) face. Or you might capture an image of something that brings you joy. Or create an abstract image that evokes joy.

For inspiration, you might look for poems or quotes that include the word joy. You might also look for things that symbolize joy. For example, colors, flowers, animals, etc. all have aspects related to joy. READ MORE →

2019 WEEK 21: Bokeh Panoramas

Thanks to Stephanie Adams for suggesting this week’s theme. This week we will be combining two recent challenges – Stitched Panoramas and Bokeh! – to create an image that has READ MORE →

2019 WEEK 17: Stitched Panoramas & Vertoramas

This week your challenge is to create a stitched panorama or a vertorama (vertical panorama). I am emphasizing “stitched” because in a future challenge I will be building on that READ MORE →

2019 WEEK 14: Titles

We’re taking a different approach to the photo challenge this week. I recently returned from a photography workshop with Colleen Miniuk-Sperry where my personal challenge was to be more creative READ MORE →

2019 WEEK 12: Window Reflections

I’ve been known to lament window reflections as having ruined a photo, but every so often I find reflections that add an important compositional element. That’s what we’re going for READ MORE →