I get this all the time. "What the heck are you shooting?" "Why did you take that picture?" "What are you gonna do with that?"
And I completely understand. Here's my thought process.
We were poking around a boatyard/dump/repair facility in Anacortes, Washington and I saw a weathered wall with grungy stuff running down it, with scrapes and scratches and bits of paint.
Adrenaline rush!
I knew there was something there that I could use later, but I didn't know why or what. I just knew it was important.
Click.
My first go-round with the elements in that top picture turned into this vivid blue and red picture that could easily have been an old metal sign, perhaps a graphic element on the side of a weathered fishing boat. To create it, I took my original photo and simply added more lines, some color, and part of something else that I don't remember now.
Colorful grunginess. That's why I like the second photo. It's almost an oxymoron.
I came across the top photo again another day and wondered what else I could do. I copied it, flipped it, put in a bit of color here and there, and added the two yellowish vertical elements on the left.
I felt the arrow had to be pointing toward something, so I added a photo I'd taken of some rivets in Oregon.
But then the bottom right seemed empty to me, so I added a photo of some lettering I shot on the side of a Willys Jeep on the Oregon coast. Done!
And now you know why I get up so early in the morning.
©Carol Leigh
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