Last week's challenge was to create a panoramic, which is a series of photos pieced together using Photoshop or unbelievable skill (probably both).

   Katie Stewart sent me this photo taken at Rocky Point Park near the Northshore roundabout. "I went out on the furthest rock and had to be careful because I was holding my digital and film cameras." said Stewart. A risky maneuver, but she got the shot(s)!

   A frequent destination of photographers in the area, Rocky Point Park features tons of opportunities for panoramic shooting such as the lake, as Stewart did, or not too far away there is the railroad - a particular favorite of mine.

   Stewart edited the colors using Photoshop editing software. If you missed last week's quick lesson, when you open Photoshop, go to File > Automate > Photomerge. From there you can choose which pictures to piece together, and it will do it for you. Afterwards, you should probably Flatten your Layers so you can edit the panoramic as a whole, without different exposures in each section. A quick fix for this is Ctrl>Shift>L which will automatically adjust Levels. Of course, to get your own artistic style, you should always edit these manually to get just the right color or contrast. But if you're in a hurry, Auto Levels works well about 85% of the time.

   Stewart is in Mrs. Robbin's 1st block Photography class with me. She has a real knack for capturing happiness in people. She said that "shooting this panoramic was really hard for me, because I'm so passionate about shooting people, portraits." Stewart would like to go into photography for a career, perhaps family portraits or wedding photography.

   "It's all about putting yourself into it," Stewart said, "making each photo meaningful by shooting people you enjoy seeing."

   For Stewart, I suggested taking a look at local photographer Julie Roberts' work. She did my brother's wedding last May, and she is obsessed with catching people right in the middle of laughter. She also has a thing for bringing out eye color, like me. Browse some of her gorgeous photos at...