On vacation . . .

I'm on vacation, but it's a "working" vacation. I'm between classes and so have given myself permission to slow down, reflect, and play with photos. I continue putting together my series of e-zines on composition, line, and design. I'm also experimenting with various Photoshop processes, so you may see a lot of weird pictures emerging as a result (fair warning!). My "Faux Poste" concept continues to evolve. And I want to do more physical collage work.

Actually, this "working vacation" isn't much different from my regular life. It's the mindset that's changed. I'm not feeling pressure and frantic-ness, but rather a certain serenity and calm mixed with an underlying determination. By deluding myself with the title"working vacation," I calm down yet still feel I'm "working." Ha! Don't you love it when you can fool yourself, know you're fooling yourself, but enjoy being fooled?

Oh, and this number "6?" I shot it on a train car on the Oregon coast last week. I like how when they painted the number, they left the underlying numbers underneath. I intensified the colors and softened the photo using Topaz, but then, using a layer mask, let the original "band" containing the number/underlying numbers show through.

©Carol Leigh, a fool's fool . . .