I didn't know how happy I'd be to get through February, but I'm so... well ... relieved. While March in Western Washington is pretty wacky, the signs of spring often reveal themselves all throughout the land.  We get sunny beautiful days like the photo on the far right taken on March 5th.  And, we get snow (ridiculous) like we did earlier this week.   

So I decided to go at the Photo A Day challenge that @FatMumSlim is hosting Instead of waiting until the end of the month to showcase the photos on my blog, I'm sharing them with you in 5 day segments.  Mind, I'm sharing them daily on the :: Calm Under Tension :: Facebook Page and also on my Pinterest Board MarchPhotoADay.   

One thing I notice that I've begun to do with composing these photos is that I take a bigger picture with my normal iPhone camera, then crop it with Typo-Insta or PicFX.  Then, as @Fatmumslim suggested, I bought PicFrame to play around with layouts and frames to show before/after.  I am also really working on having a single subject and very clear focus on the object and minimizing the background distractions.  These apps have made it possible for me to do that.  Now I find myself just wanting to go out at compose more photos, then play with the apps and see what I can create.  

Here's something else to consider.  Have you noticed how many businesses, designers, and brands are adopting the look and feel of instagram (and the aforementioned) type photo results?  No?  Well, look at what Gudrun Sjoden, colorful and delightful Swedish fashion designer has done with her Blue Shanghai collection.  Pretty neat, huh? 

On February 2nd, through the joys of a friend of a friend's post on facebook I saw Teesha Moore's post about this February Photo A Day challenge hosted by @Fatmumslim, an Australian blogger who takes the most interesting photos.  I was intrigued and decided to play.  I needed a bit of a challenge to inspire my "quick and dirty" photography skills as I prepare for teaching my Quick & Dirty Photography workshop.  

For the FEBphotoaday challenge, 1,314 people signed up.  That's right, one blogger has inspired almost 1500 people to take one picture a day.  How amazing is that?!  And I'm half way round and right side up ;) the world from her. 

Little did I know that this challenge would teach me how to turn the mundane into the artistic, the ordinary into extraordinary. Also, prefer to show off tidbits that come across artistic than to show you a full image of my front door.  For example, for 2-9, the theme was, "Front Door".  Instead of showing off my front door, I chose to show you the front door of a really neat salvage store in Portland, OR called The Rebuilding Center.  

Normally, I wouldn't have thought folks would find interest in it, but if you enjoy Grimm (episode: Of Mouse and Man)  and you've actually scoured the corners of this store like I have, you'd like knowing that the entrance to the place is way artistic and an example of using salvaged materials to create art.  

Below is my collection of photos for February's challenge.  As I went through each day of the month of February, I pinned them to my FebPhotoADay2012 Pinterest board and on the :: Calm Under Tension :: Facebook page.  I have played with Typo-Insta before, but this really got me working through the app.  I learned lots of ways that I do and don't like pictures edited. I love having text on a photo, and I found that I can capture and create art on the fly with ease!  I've enjoyed the challenge and playing with Typo-Insta on my phone so much that I'll play again in March.    Won't you join me and expand your skills?