Frank Lloyd Wright with a Japanese Vibe

One photograph, two different versions. My first (and so far only) visit to Kyoto was overwhelming. Everything new yet familiar, but mostly new. My photography style was definitely familiar, as I moved past the big scenes and instead concentrated on the more intimate views.

Walking past a building, I was struck by the strong, linear look of the facade. Horizontal bits were supported and connected with sturdy vertical elements. Those straight lines were softened somewhat by the wave-like designs on the overhangs.

So when I was processing this picture, I was struck by how it had a Frank Lloyd Wright “prairie style” feel — all those long horizontal lines.

Then I wondered how the picture would look if I “squarified” it, reduced it down to its bare bones by cropping out what might be the non-essential elements.

Well, hello. When I look at the square version, and soften my gaze, the image brings to mind torii gates, which seems appropriate given that the building is Japanese after all.

Which one do I like more? It’s a toss-up. In a way, the horizontal picture brings to mind tatami mat floors, looking down on them from above. And the right-left movement is languid and serene, which can be considered a Japanese vibe.

The square picture is much more straightforward, no room to dally here, but definitely has a Japanese torii gate feel to it, structured yet elegant.

So there you go. Japanese/prairie fusion.

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 Ford . . . an old one

A couple more images from the old cars we saw on our exploration to Port Angeles. Unless tended to daily, old cars just don't stand a chance against the environment here in the Pacific Northwest. And for a photographer like me, that's very good news . . .

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.

Artistic slumps

For me, the only way to work myself out of an artistic block is just to keep working, not worrying if what I'm making is awful, doesn't work, and/or is total garbage.

The key is to keep on creating, experimenting, asking myself "what if?" Easy for me to say. Harder to do without getting bummed out, thinking I'm a terrible artist.

Here's a series of four pictures I made this morning, going from the original to three other versions.

What's my point? We all go through this. We all get down on ourselves, seeing what everybody ELSE is producing, seemingly effortlessly, so what's wrong with ME?

And even though you see me posting decent pictures all the time, and you think it's easy for me, and OMG, look at the VARIETY of what I create, it's kind of a facade. I have a lot of images to draw from. And I DO create almost daily. But trust me when I say I'm in a huge slump right now.

My computer is full, my DROBO is full, my external drives are rapidly filling up, and I cannot add more drives because I've run out of USB ports. THE COMPUTER IS SLOWING DOWN AND I'M TIRED OF JUST SITTING HERE STARING AT A MONITOR!

See what I mean? You may be facing all these same challenges PLUS you may have a job to go to, kids/grandkids to take care of, or health issues. So you may be even more depressed than I.

My only suggestion is to just keep working. Do not quit. Eventually you'll emerge out the other side, creating interesting, wonderful, and unique art.

That slump is going to come around again though. But next time maybe you (and I) will be better equipped to deal with 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 understanding and kindness.

Around the island . . .

Off for a little drive this past Sunday to check out a couple of things.

First of all, because the lighting was good, I wanted to photograph an old red barn -- just bits and pieces and details -- and this rusty hinge caught my eye. Whenever I find the color red, weathered wood, some white trim, peeling paint, and then rusting metal, well, it's time to slam on the brakes and see what we can photograph.

I also had spotted a beautiful madrone tree a few weeks ago, so made sure we stopped for that as well. Again, the lighting was perfect, the results good, so this has become a new project -- to photograph madrone bark around the island. Luckily there are lots of madrone trees to choose from.

Then on to Lavender Wind farm, which looked great. My friend P. works there a couple days a week, so I'm SURE she's instrumental in making sure all is trimmed, weeded, and just perfect. Lavender Wind isn't a huge, sprawling place, but rather a somewhat intimate experience, with fields of lavender big enough to be impressive, but not so big as to be intimidating. The people there are friendly, the flowers are amazing, the gift shop fun to browse (we brought home a bouquet of dark, indigo-colored lavender stalks plus some catnip for Abby).

Here at home the rabbits are multiplying like, well, rabbits, and these two were hoovering up birdseed we had scattered below some trees (for the quail, the towhees, the juncos, chipmunks, chickarees, and squirrels). This picture was taken from above, through a dirty window, in low light. Not a good shot, but a decent depiction of who we have living on our property.

A terrific day. May we all have such quietly wonderful excursions.

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.