Mike Raymond manages to capture a lot of personality in this close-up portrait of a  bird. The sharpness in the bird’s face keeps our attention locked right there, daring us to blink first.

 Are these the tears of a clown? We like that while the sad clown in visible in each of the drops in Douglas Conrad’s photo, he’s perfectly captured in just one.

The title adds just the right amount of whimsy to this sweet shot by Anne Fatooh without distracting from the bud’s interesting shape.

We love the texture in this beautifully lit shot by Doris Pacheco. The scene calls to mind many fun summer days gone by.

The shallow depth of field in Dick van Swieten‘s charming shot brings us right into the world of the model train. We can’t help but wonder what the men off to the side are chatting about.

There’s something a bit alien and mysterious about these frost-covered needles set against an icy blue background in this photo by Brian Phillips.

Anton Prestele sets up a lovely still life in this homage to passing time. The contrast between the sharp watch hands, the soft flower petals, and the textured background holds our attention.

Dan DellaChiesa does a wonderful job of capturing the simple time-worn beauty of everyday objects in this photo. We love the texture and off-center focus.

The very selective focus in Tammy McChesney’s photo effectively draws our attention to the beauty of the pencil’s woodgrain.

Winner: The visual tension between the in-focus barb in the foreground and the hazy path and mountain in the distance creates a wonderful sense of longing in this well-composed shot by Lori Ziegenhagen.

Congratulations to all our winners! And stay tuned. We’ll be announcing the winners for our April Animals Photo Challenge soon.

Now on to May! The theme for this month’s Photo Challenge is Architecture. Take a closer look at the buildings, homes, and other structures around you this month. Try to see them in a new way. In particular, keep an eye out for interesting angles, repeating patterns, and unusual perspectives.

In the newsletter, Rick offered some wonderful links to tips for shooting interesting architectural shots, and I think they’re worth repeating here in case you missed them:

• How to Photograph Architecture (Exterior) (Photo.net)
• 10 Tips for Shooting Architecture (ShotAddict)
• A Guide to Architectural Photography (Photography Mad)
• 9 Architectural Photography Tips (Digital Photography School)
• How to Photograph Interiors (New york Institute of Photography)
• 8 Tips for Taking Interior Shots Like a Pro (Photo Tuts+)

Good luck!

To participate in the May Photo Challenge, simply upload your image to either the PET Subscriber Gallery or the Elements Village Gallery between May 1st and June 1st. Please be sure to place the phrase“Photo-Challenge” exactly as shown (without the quotes) in the Keywords field if uploading to the Elements Village Gallery, or in the Caption field if uploading to the PET Gallery. If you’re having trouble figuring out the process (and trust me, you wouldn’t be alone), check out our new Contests page, which offers more detailed instructions, as well as screenshots.

The cover photo for May/June is from subscriber Dan DellaChiesa. Congrats, Dan, on a lovely shot!

This past week, we also sent out the April Letter from the Editor email, which includes notes about our new email notifications system–check out the “Get PET Site Updates” box on the bottom right side of this window–and the magazine mailing schedule for the rest of 2012.

If you have your email preferences set so that you don’t want email from us, you can find the April edition on our From the Editor home page. If you didn’t get the email, check to make sure that it didn’t get trapped in your junk folder, or double-check to make sure that we have your correct email address on file, by logging into the site and clicking on the Profile link next to your username above.

Hello, kitty by bloomgal, on Flickr

For the month of April, your challenge is to capture a good photo of the furry, feathered, or scaly members of your household. Don’t have an animal friend at home? Take this as an opportunity to visit a local zoo, aquarium, or dog park—or to simply take a long walk with your eyes open to the tiny creatures all around us.

In many ways, photographing animals isn’t all that different from taking human portraits. You want your subject to be sharp—especially the eyes—and the center of attention in the shot. And ideally, you want to show off your subject’s personality.

Of course, photographing pets and other animals does present a few particular challenges: Most don’t take direction well; they often move in unpredictable ways, and they have a tendency to lick the camera. (A fast shutter speed and ample light can at least help you with two of those issue.)

Here are some additional tips and inspiration for photographing animals:

• The Digital Photography School website offers a couple of helpful tutorials, including How To Photograph Pets and 9 Pet Photography Tips
• Lesa Snider’s article 3 Fast Fixes for Pet Photos (January/February 2011) shows you how to solve some of the most common problems with pet portraits, including glowing eyes, problems with fur, and blurry details.
• If you’re not sure how to best take control of your camera’s shutter speed, Ben Long walks you through the basics in Steady Your Shots (July/August 2010).
• One of my favorite animal photographers, Tim Flach, has a knack for capturing animal portraits that feel intimate, familiar, and entirely alien all at the same time.
• We’ve featured Carli Davidson’s Shake series before, but it’s always worth a chuckle.

To participate in the April Photo Challenge, simply upload your image to either the PET Subscriber Gallery or the Elements Village Gallery between April 1st and May 1st. Please be sure to place the phrase “Photo-Challenge” exactly as shown (without the quotes) in the Keywords field if uploading to the Elements Village Gallery, or in the Caption field if uploading to the PET Gallery. Remember that photos should be taken within the challenge month.

We love the way the steam catches the light in this cozy photo by Deborah Funk. This looks like the perfect way to settle in after a cold day.

The creative editing in Steve Rich’s photo shows us the secret world hidden away in Grandpa’s workshop. We’re betting many joyful afternoons have been spent inside.

With lovely natural light and crisp details, Lee O’Kelley manages to convey both the mundane aspects of daily life and a sense of intimacy.

The warm glow in Mary Ryan’s inviting entryway fills the image with a sense of anticipation and makes a lovely focal point.

There’s something so sweet and a touch sad about this box of outgrown shoes, shot by Susan Horn. The cracked texture complements the photo beautifully.

Diane Hansen’s well-composed shot seems to be inviting us to settle in for a while. The reflection on the table and the shallow depth of field add to the visual interest.

We’d love to come home to this spot every day. The buildings’ artificial lights offer the perfect counterweight to the setting sun in Richard Black’s stunning landscape.

Diana King offers a unique perspective on the comforts of home with this evocative shot—making the viewer a participant in this moment of relaxation.

Winner: This photo by Peter Welch calls to mind the sense of anticipation and comfort we feel coming home at the end of the day. The richly saturated colors and the brightly lit house waiting at the top of these old cracked steps all make for a great shot.

Crystal Forest by Monteregina on Flickr

For March, try to examine the world around you from a new perspective. Whether it’s a flower, a bug, or a line of freshly sharpened pencils, see what details stand out to you once you get in close. This is also a great opportunity to practice playing with abstract shapes and colors to create an interesting composition.

When thinking about your shot, here are a few things to keep in mind.

• You don’t have to have an DSLR with an expensive Macro lens to take great close-up shots. In fact, most compact cameras offer a Macro mode that will let you focus from a very short distance.
• When shooting up close, sharpness matters. I recommend using a tripod if you have one. If you don’t, try to find a way to brace the camera to make it more stable.
• If your camera lets you manually control focus, turn this feature on. This will let you be more precise about which part of your object is in focus.

Need a little inspiration? Check out this Flickr collection tagged with keyword “close-up” or Web Design Ledger’s “40 Amazing Examples of Macro Photography.”

The Details

Any subscriber can participate in the monthly P.E.T. Photo Challenge. In addition to photographs, you can also submit collages or other images you’ve created in Photoshop Elements. Submissions must follow a few simple guidelines:

• You must take the photo within the challenge month (after all, there’s not much challenge in digging through your library to find an old photo).
• You must own the rights to any image you submit. (If you use third-party frames or embellishments, please make sure this usage is allowed under the sale terms.)
• You are encouraged to interpret the theme creatively, but keep in mind that photos that seem entirely unrelated may get overlooked.

You can submit your entries to either the P.E.T. Gallery or Elements Village Gallery. When uploading your image to the Elements Village Gallery, please enter the phrase “Photo-Challenge” exactly as shown (without the quotes) in the Keywords field. For the P.E.T. Gallery, please enter “Photo-Challenge” in the Caption field when uploading the photo.

When the month is over, we’ll showcase our favorite entries on the website. A few entries may also be featured in the magazine. (You can see the top picks for all of our past photo challenges.)

Good Luck!

Congratulations to all of our Top Picks! I think each of our finalists makes great use of the black-and-white format—with a strong contrast in tones, excellent composition, and a simplicity that beautifully showcases the photo’s subject.

Don’t forget that our February Photo Challenge is still going on. The theme is “Home.” All submissions need to be in by March 1st.

The HDR effect beautifully accentuates the interesting textures and industrial grime in Karen Newman’s factory scene. We almost feel like we’re there.

The repetition of the hanging lights and architectural elements makes for a compelling composition in this image by Gregory Roche.

This pet portrait by Gayle Barrett is well composed and beautifully lit. We love the rich range of tones—such as the white whiskers against the dark backdrop, and the lush fur—as well as the cat’s intent gaze into the negative space. The interplay of light and shadows behind the cat’s head also helps the overall movement within the frame.

The infrared effect in this photo by Marni Bradford creates a wonderful balance between the dark texture of the old house and the bright, fluffy foliage around it.

We love the contrast between the soft background and sharp foreground details in Richard Black’s close-up shot. The branch in the upper left adds just the right amount of visual tension.

With the approaching train and dramatic contrast between highlight and shadow, this photo by Anton Prestele feels like it’s from another era. Our eyes can’t help but shoot down those diagonal tracks to where the train is emerging from the fog.

This simple scene by Dorothy Ford perfectly showcases the graceful curve and subtle texture of the leaf. This is a very well-conceived shot right down to the shadow below the leaf.

There is something very peaceful about Christell Faul’s image of migrating birds. We like the repetition of the birds and tree branches against the bright swirling background.

With the conversion to black and white and the antique border around the edges, Betty Eich adds a sense of authenticity to this image of Civil War reenactors. We also like the photo’s composition and shallow depth of field, which keeps the focus on the shooter.

Winner: Exquisite lighting and strong composition makes for a beautiful and expressive portrait by Eric Frommer. We love that the photo is perfectly sharp except for the blurred hand plucking the strings.

If you don’t receive the email by the end of the week, and think that you should have, here are three things to check:

• Is it in your Junk or Spam mailbox? We’d like to think that our newsletter is chock full of good stuff, but sadly, some mail programs or filters might not agree.
• Do we have your correct email address? Every time we send a newsletter, about 10 percent of the emails “bounce,” or are undeliverable, due to a bad or incomplete email address. You can check this (and change it) it by logging in and clicking the Profile link above, next to your username.
• Have you set your email preferences so that you don’t want to get email from us? If so, you can either read the email via the Letter to the Editor home page, or you can check the “I’d like to receive occasional information from Photoshop Elements Techniques” box on the Profile page.

If you’re wondering about the magazine, the March/April 2012 edition is now at the printer, and will start mailing to subscribers at the end of February. US subscribers should receive their copy by March 9; Canadian subscribers by March 16; and all worldwide delivery should be completed by March 25. The “second mailing” of the January/February issue went out last week to recent (late December and January) subscribers, and delivery should be complete by the end of next week. (If you didn’t get your issue, send us a note via our Contact Us page and we’ll take care of you.)

In the meantime, we’re turning our focus for the February Photo Challenge to our most intimate space: our homes.

For many of us, our homes are an extension of ourselves. But with that familiarity, comes a form of blindness. Because we know our homes so well, we often don’t truly see what’s around us—including the everyday beauty of simple objects and treasured spaces.

My son adopted this moving box as his home shortly after we moved last year.

For the month of February, train a photographer’s eye on the space you know best. Try to see it as a stranger might, including the textures, colors, and patterns. Or see if you can create an image that evokes the feelings of warmth and safety that your home gives you. If the place where you sleep isn’t where you consider home, feel free to relocate. After all, one man’s home is another man’s toolshed.

If you’re feeling stumped by this month’s theme, here are some ideas to get the wheels of inspiration turning:

steam by westy559, on Flickr

Take a photo of the spot where you feel most at home. Is it at the stove with a warm pot of soup cooking? A favorite reading chair with a cup of tea? Wherever it is, think of your shot as a portrait. That means you’ll want to pay attention to your lighting, framing, and anything that distracts from your subject.

Take a photo of your home from outside. Give some thought to the time of day when your house looks most interesting. Is it the morning light? In the evening when the lights are on? Should you see the whole thing or just an interesting detail?

Capture your life at home. What is it like to be a member of your family? Are there kids jumping on the bed? A cat asleep in the bookcase? A favorite board game?

This month’s challenge is ultimately about rediscovering the mystery in the objects most familiar to you—whether that’s an old boot, your child’s toys, or the castle at the bottom of your fish tank. Although this seems like a simple task, it’s one of the hardest things a photographer does.  Here are a few things to keep in mind as you’re framing your shot:

• When in doubt, get up close. Then get even closer.
• Clear away the clutter. Before you snap the shutter, look for anything that shouldn’t be there—an empty coffee mug, a cat’s tail, a crumpled newspaper. Make sure we know what it is you want us to see.
• Think about your light. Good light can make even ordinary objects look interesting. And when it comes to good lighting, overhead lights are usually your enemy. Look for diffused natural light (such as a window) or a nearby outlet to plug in a lamp.

Most importantly, enjoy the process!

The Details

Any subscriber can participate in the monthly P.E.T. Photo Challenge. In addition to photographs, you can also submit collages or other images you’ve created in Photoshop Elements. Submissions must follow a few simple guidelines:

• You must take the photo within the challenge month (after all, there’s not much challenge in digging through your library to find an old photo).
• You must own the rights to any image you submit. (If you use third-party frames or embellishments, please make sure this usage is allowed under the sale terms.)
• You are encouraged to interpret the theme creatively, but keep in mind that photos that seem entirely unrelated may get overlooked.

You can submit your entries to either the P.E.T. Gallery or Elements Village Gallery. When uploading your image to the Elements Village Gallery, please enter the phrase “Photo-Challenge” exactly as shown (without the quotes) in the Keywords field. For the P.E.T. Gallery, please enter “Photo-Challenge” in the Caption field when uploading the photo.

When the month is over, we’ll showcase our favorite entries on the website. A few entries may also be featured in the magazine. (You can see the top picks for all of our past photo challenges.)

Good Luck!

To help get you motivated, we’ve got a special treat for you this month. Each of our Top Picks for the January Photo Challenge will receive a free copy of The Photoshop Elements 10 Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski. This great book offers step-by-step tutorials for the most common photo-editing tasks. And Scott and Matt aren’t just wonderful teachers, they are also skilled photographers. This is a great addition to any photographer’s bookshelf.

To be eligible, your photos must be submitted by February 1st. We’ll announce the winners around February 15th. You can find all of the rules here. Best of luck to everyone!