It has finally hit me!!!!

I have come to the conclusion that very few, and I mean very very few people post pics SOOC (straight out of camera). I have been attempting to capture the perfect shots. You know, the ones where people are like "WOW, your good!" shots. I look online at way too many photoblogs and "how to get the best shots" websites and almost all the pics make me say "WOW, why can't mine come out looking like that?". I have been really obsessing about this lately. I try and battle and fight and get frustrated because it isn't happening and then I give up and look online more as to what I am doing wrong. I stay up til 2 in the morning researching. I go to bed dreaming of pictures (and cameras not working..lol) and I wake up with utter confusion as to why I just am not happy with my photo taking skills. It has become a total vicious cycle. I woke up this morning and while laying in bed deciding if I want to start my day or not, as usual, it FINALLY hit me! Most of the pictures I see are post processed.... I have been expecting too much! Seeing pictures of storm clouds in the distance that are just a magnificent color while seeing perfectly green grass up close is not SOOC. Seeing a perfectly white shirt on a man who is standing next to a very large mural of a parrot painted on the side of a perfectly colored red brick building is not SOOC. Seeing rain droplets hitting the ground and bouncing back up and hanging in mid-air all the while retaining complete clarity and color is not SOOC. Seeing landscape photos of an abandoned farm house showing it's perfectly aged wood and wear and tear all the while keeping the perfect sky coloring and snowcapped mountain terrain interesting is not SOOC. It's all post processed. It is all tweaked to make it seem to the viewer that it is SOOC. Granted, it takes a good photographer to capture the feelings and motions in these pictures but the final photo is created in the post processing stage. I have been focusing on the wrong thing this entire time. I have been wanting perfect pictures from the click of my shutter! I have been expecting the impossible with the equipment I am working with. I have been missing what it is all about. It's not about the perfect colors, the best location or the high tech equipment for the perfect picture. It is about the emotions captured, the movement seen and the motions stopped in mid-air to create a stunning photo. It's about what you are photographing. Its about the old rusted shed that has taken a beating from too many bumps from the lawn mower. It's about the wood used to make the old outhouse left abandoned in the pasture only to become a breeding place for nasty bugs, snakes, spiders and such. It's about the concrete and paint used to create the perfect watering hole for the beautiful creatures of the air. The colors and all can be fixed in Photoshop. It can be tweaked. Where has my brain been? Why have I been so focused on the wrong concept? My obsession on perfection instead of the emotions has really sparked new motivation! No more focusing on getting the right moment to create the perfect pose. From now on, I am going to just snap away and whether the subject of my photo is ready or not wont matter. I want emotions and depth! I want sincerity and beauty…. Who cares about the colors, it’s all fake anyway!

Off to--> mow and hit the old rusted shed again<-- take more photos and then obsess about the perfect post processing action! If anyone knows of great post processing actions for Photoshop 7.0, please ... please … please help a girl out!