It's a good day to . . .

. . . skydive with geckos! ©Carol Leigh

Get a grip

These three photos were taken in Hawaii, Lake Tahoe, and Oregon. Can you tell which is which? Because there's no bright light, no shadows, you can see that the top photo was taken in delightfully overcast light in Oregon. The middle photo, also lacking in shadows, but painted with a tropical flair, was taken in Hawaii, in the shade. And then finally there's one with a well-defined shadow that was shot under brutally sunny skies at Lake Tahoe.

Each image has both horizontal and diagonal movement. The handle in the first image diagonates toward the southeast; the handle in the second picture is horizontal, but the painted elements head southwest/northeast; and the bottom photo features a horizontal handle, a horizontal door frame element, but the shadow has a mind of its own.

Although I usually prefer soft light, I gotta say I'm always delighted when bold shadows created by bright sunlight add a strong compositional element.

Wishing you all good light, no matter which light you prefer. ©Carol Leigh

High-key and not so much . . .

I've been enjoying taking high-key images, and when I found this white feather, I put it in front of a white background and shot away. At the end of the shoot, I held a pale blue scarf behind the feather and, during the exposure, waved the scarf around to create a clean blue background that has a bit of shadowing in it for interest.

Why not just use blue construction paper, or fill the background with blue in Photoshop? Sure, that would work fine, too. But I find that a flat background doesn't give me the feeling of depth (and naturalness) that I want.

Of course, what often happens is that during the waving-around part, I often knock over whatever it is I happen to be photographing! No problem when shooting a feather, but when shooting my husband's favorite cordial glass, well . . . that'll just be our little secret, won't it? ©Carol Leigh

This week's forecast

Heavy sigh . . .

It's a good day to . . .

. . . chuckle a little. ©Carol Leigh

It's a good day to . . .

. . . think about composition, line and design. The second issue of my eZine, "VisuaLeigh" is out and available for just $5. Seventeen short, quick articles about designing images, finding the movement in your own work, and more.

Here's the link to my online store: http://shop.carolleigh.net/main.sc and here's a link for more information: http://visualeigh.blogspot.com/2013/05/issue-2-of-visualeigh-e-zine-now.html

And, as always, thank you for stopping by. ©Carol Leigh

It's a good day to . . .

. . . hang around in a softly faded aloha shirt.

Both of these were photographed in store windows. The first, photographed on the Balboa Peninsula, looked like it had been in the window since 1963. I photographed the red shirt in Lahaina, Maui. ©Carol Leigh

Circus 3

Maybe it's the little stripey things top and bottom, but when I created this photomontage (from photos of a metal "3," ink, and rust), I got a sort of circus vibe from it. And I don't even like circuses! (Too many creepy clowns.) ©Carol Leigh

Oil can collection increasing . . .

It probably comes as no surprise to you that I have an oil can collection. It's just a small collection, nothing valuable, but a collection I treasure nevertheless because I love photographing these things! The latest member of the collection is there in the top photo, middle can. He cost less than $8 and has a wonderful patina. A very cute little guy. Fair warning: more oil can photos will probably follow in the next few months as I have my way with these. ©Carol Leigh

It's a good day to . . .

. . . flaunt your colors, baby!

Transmogrified photo of graffiti detail. ©Carol Leigh

It's a good day to . . .

. . . wish upon a star (or three).

I have a little stash of star-shaped beads. I selected three and placed them on some paper I'd used to clean my paintbrushes. I like the warm, overall golden brown tones here. ©Carol Leigh

It's a good day to . . .

. . . wear orange shoes! ©Carol Leigh

It's a good day to . . .

. . . go birdwatching in Norway! ©Carol Leigh

Latest works

As you can see, I've been working in the square format a lot lately and I've been experimenting with bold, vibrant colors, creating abstracts that (I hope) get your attention right away. All have been created with my photos of boat textures, photos of paper I've used to clean my paintbrushes, photos of rust, and some plain texture here and there. I'm thinking these would look great printed on metal (oh, boy!).

These are named (from top to bottom) "The Deep End," "Sunstorm No. 2," "Sunstorm," and "Sky Into The Sea." Thank you for taking a look at my work. ©Carol Leigh

It's a good day to . . .

. . . learn to paint! ©Carol Leigh

It's a good day to . . .

. . . bathe with an elephant! ©Carol Leigh

It's a good day to . . .

. . . relax and hang out in the garden. (Old postcard found in a thrift shop.) ©Carol Leigh

Issue #2 of VisuaLeigh e-Zine now available!

I've finished my second issue of "VisuaLeigh" e-Zine and it's up and ready to wing its way to your e-mail box.

Issue #2 runs 30 pages and features these articles:

Composition "Bones": Shoelaces
On Seeing: View from the Couch
Light & Shadow: Car Show Shadows
Composition: Focal Points
Composition: Having an Anchor or Base
Composition: Weird But It Works
Composition: Centering/Not Centering
Bad Photo and Why It's Bad: Pumpkin Display
Lighting: Same Weed, Different Day
Photomontage: Why I Like This One ("Desert Windows")
On Seeing: What I Saw/What I Made ("Ms. Law")
Cropping Down to the Good Stuff: Orange Fender
Composition Thought Process: "Planetary Shift"
Composition: Shell Fossil
Bad Photo and Why It's Bad: Genoa Leaves
What It's Made Of: "Learning"
Composition "Bones": Balcony Chairs

Issue #2
$5.00
30 pages/PDF format

Here's the link to my online store: http://shop.carolleigh.net/main.sc

Hope you enjoy this issue! Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!

Carol Leigh

Latest work: "Year of the Rabbit"

©Carol Leigh

Buy a print. Choose from many different print sizes, materials, and framing options. Thank you for stopping by.

Train art

Nothing like poking around the railroad tracks and extracting little bits and pieces from what I find painted on the boxcars. It's grungy, dirty work, but SOMEbody has to do it! ©Carol Leigh

Latest work: "Window on South Dakota"

Various paint textures I photographed — all on the sides of fishing boats in Oregon. But then you probably guessed that! (Click to enlarge.) ©Carol Leigh

Raven on Blue

A bit of corvidosity to begin my day! ©Carol Leigh

Sea urchin close-up

Close-up of a sea urchin shell. I purposely overexposed by one stop to achieve a lighter, brighter look. (Click to enlarge.) ©Carol Leigh

Major verticality

Palm trees in front of a turquoise wall photographed in Florida a few years ago bear a slight resemblance to vertical ink lines I photographed on a torn piece of paper in California last year. Florida's more colorful, but then we'd expect that, wouldn't we? ©Carol Leigh

Latest work: "Red C Squares"

My photo of a child's block forms the basis of this piece, to which I added additional photos I've taken of handpainted paper, cement, scratched metal, handwriting, and more. ©Carol Leigh