Learning Techniques I Should Already Know

So, lately, I've been listening to some fantastic podcasts about Photoshop and Illustrator and all manner of designing with the Adobe products. The things I shoulda but didn'ta know could fill a house--they've filled several, several, several hours of my daily commute and I haven't even listened to half of their casts yet. (The podcasts are Adobe Creative Suite Podcast with Terry White, Photoshop Quicktips, Photoshop Killer Tips, and Photoshop User TV.)
I've been trying some of the techniques I've learned and I wanted to share some of the results:

Before Editing: Blooms, April 2011

After Editing: Blooms, April 2011

Here is one more:

Before: Heron in Profile

After: Heron in Profile

Geez. Not perfect, but goodness I'm enjoying playing around. I'll post more pictures as I learn new techniques and practice.