Saturday, March 31, 2018

Playing with color and texture . . .


I'm constantly shaking things up a bit, experimenting with techniques and concepts, and right now it's primarily about adding more color, more depth, and more texture to my images.

I make a LOT of gelatin prints, eventually cutting them up to make envelopes, cards, collages, etc. In this case, I added two cherry tree leaves I'd pressed flat in Oregon. They fell out of a book last month and inspired me to work with them. The result is certainly colorful, kind of busy, but kind of fun.

And then yesterday I opened a photo I'd taken in Portland's industrial district, a photo of three bolts and their shadows. It was a cool shot to begin with, with a bright yellow strip at the very top, but I wanted more.

I added a hand-painted number 4 (see it there on the right?), a photo of some dumpster grunge (that's where the blue is coming from), and more of my hand-painted papers to create smudges, lines, and texture elsewhere.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.

Appropriate for Easter . . .

We visited friends last week who raise Beveren rabbits. Oh, my! There were nine or ten of them, some babies, and they are constantly in motion. I got down low to photograph this beauty head-on.

Such a wonderful afternoon/evening, on many levels.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Happiness for just $3.00 . . .

While roaming around exploring last week, we stopped at a junk store because, well, you just never know what you'll find.

These four things are what I found:

An empty glass Tiger Balm jar that I don't know what I will do with, but it has Chinese calligraphy on it and it's weathered and worn. It's cute.

Old "Par Avion" postage stickers. Woo hoo! I will use these in collages and photomontages.

An old, faded, sepia-toned photograph of a Japanese building. This, too, will eventually find its way into a collage or photomontage.

And then a ragged, tattered old book that had been sitting out in the weather until it was aged to perfection! Lots of collage possibilities in all its stained and torn pages.

The key words here are "possibilities" and "optimism." I see these things, feel the adrenaline rush, and just know they'll be useful in the near future.

And three bucks is cheap for a bit of hope and happiness, right? Right?

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Latest work: "One Particular Harbor"

This is what I've been working on the past few days and which finally came together this morning. Comprised of reflections of masts at the harbor in Port Townsend, Washington, bits of metal, pilings at low tide in Oregon, a piece of hand-painted paper, a funnel, and more. Often when I think I'm totally at a loss, I just keep working and SOMEthing eventually happens. For which I'm grateful.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.

Around the island . . .


At Lone Lake on Whidbey Island, I looked out the car's sunroof to see this cute little heart-shaped cloud floating around. Naturally, I had to photograph it.

And then at the Edit shop in Langley (hello, Holly!) there were these oversized Scrabble tiles out front in the grasses. And yes, naturally, I had to photograph them as well.

It was a good day!

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Around the island . . .

It was cold here on Whidbey Island today, especially for this owl in Langley!

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.

It's a good day to . . .

. . . just say HOWDY!
. . . pretend you're a cowboy!

Metal shipping container found in Port Townsend, Washington.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.

Friday, March 23, 2018

Buena Vista Cemetery


Buena Vista Cemetery (1856) in Port Gamble sits up on a little hill with views off into the distance. Such a lovely, serene, quiet location. It is sad, however, to see how headstones are broken, tops lopped off, and animal heads missing/defaced.

The trees in and around the cemetery are beautiful, however, and so I concentrated on photographing them rather than the headstones. The tree here is a prime example -- an interesting shape, a pretty silhouette.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

The beauty of a sharp lens


A kingfisher sits on a boat rail, feathers all ruffled up. I then zoomed in to 100% and was amazed at the clarity. 70-200mm Canon "L" lens.

(Note: these are purposely low-resolution images, as are all pictures I post to the web, so they may not look super-sharp if you enlarge them.)

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your kindness.

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Local color . . .



Fishing boats in Seattle, Washington. Love the colors, love the textures, love the bright, sunny day most of all!

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your kindness.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

In the studio . . . old papers and a bird nest

Cleaning up the studio, still, and I wonder how this bird nest would look on these old Japanese papers. Well, pretty damned good! So I take some time, take a few shots, and then move on.

Nothing says I HAVE to clean the studio. But something says yes, you HAVE to take this photograph! Always lean toward “yes” seems a good motto . . .

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your kindness.

Monday, March 12, 2018

Latest work: "Centered Within Chaos"

Hand-painted and inked papers come together in this deceptively soft picture. The sgraffito Enso circle links soft colors with bold and dark scribblings.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your kindness.

Friday, March 9, 2018

Recent work: "Peeling Paint and Rusty Metal"

I see the beauty in the everyday grunge of industrial aging. It’s the beauty of time passing, and if we’re not alert, we miss it.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your kindness.

Thursday, March 8, 2018

It's a good day to . . .

. . . get a grip! I wish I knew what it was that shouldn't be dropped on its end, but all I was concerned with at the time was how quietly amusing the warning was.

Photographed at a boat yard in Port Townsend, Washington.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your kindness.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Recent work: "Raven Astoria"

This is a mixed media piece that combines my photos of the back end of a fishing boat, spilled paint, depth markers, a mast, scuffed and scraped paint, and more. Most of the photos were taken in Astoria, Oregon, and a couple on the Oregon coast.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your kindness.

Monday, March 5, 2018

Two more from Mt. Vernon


When it's a bright, sunny day, I look for shadows, and although I loved a close-in shot of this tree, I liked including the shadows in this one.

And then, walking back to the car, I photographed some doors and windows on an old warehouse that was across the street. Not content to leave well enough alone, I made this image, which is faithful to the original but totally different. The complementary blue/orangish-brown colors are appealing, as is the fact that the doors/windows are the same yet different.

A good day all 'round.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your kindness.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

A trip to Mt. Vernon, Washington



We made a quick trip to Mt. Vernon yesterday to check out Iskra Johnson's show at Perry and Carlson Gallery. Before the gallery opened, we wandered around, admiring all the old buildings, and bemoaning the increasing number of empty storefronts. There's a vibrancy, however, to the shops, restaurants, and offices that remain, so the allure continues.

We found this mural in a parking area (alas, parked cars obscured the lower bits), that is titled "From These Waters." A "celebration of the contributions of immigrants to our native lands." Bright, vivid, and bold -- it's fun to just stand and stare at everything in it. What you're not seeing are images of Charlie Chaplin, John Lennon/Yoko Ono, waterfalls, logjams, a steam engine, pumpkin fields, more flower fields, orcas, mountains, and a windmill.

I've followed Iskra Johnson's work for some time on Instagram and am drawn to it primarily because of her love of industrial images and by her techniques. She's a kindred spirit, and it was great to see her work printed BIG. The show opened yesterday and runs for a month -- worth seeing if you're in the area. Here's the link to her website. And here's the link to the Perry and Carlson gallery and shop.

And finally, a good place to eat is Third Street Cafe, featuring fresh northwestern seasonal cuisine. I had an omelet with caramelized onions and chevre; Chris had a cheeseburger. Both excellent. Here's a link.

After a couple of weeks of freezing and below-freezing temperatures, walking around town in 50-degree sunshine was a luxurious treat. Seeing Iskra's art and having a delicious lunch were big bonuses.

Wishing my northeast friends warmer, sunnier weather as well.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your kindness.

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Latest work: "Going Wherever It Leads"

Created in the early hours of this morning.

Hand-painted papers come together to create a soothing abstract image.

For me, it conjures up tropical waters, distant islands, traveling without a plan, the spirit of exploration. But that’s just me! Others may see something entirely different.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your kindness.