The power of wonkiness

These letters look cool together. The top one, I believe, was on the side of a fishing boat, and the lower one was on the side of a shipping container in a salvage yard in Washington.

The rusting metal, the overall texture, and how they each have similar colors is what I find appealing. And their wonkiness gives them more energy, more life, than if they'd been perfectly level.

©Carol Leigh
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.

R2D2

It's an alphanumeric kind of morning... ©Carol Leigh

What are you working on?

When you ask most artists what they're working on, they have an answer. Maybe, "I'm experimenting with encaustic painting right now," or "I've developed a different sort of glazing technique," or "I'm using plant dyes to create patterns and designs on fabric," or "I'm working on a series of collages using old player piano rolls."

When you ask a photographer what they're working on, the response doesn't seem quite as defined. "I'm trying to get out more," or "I'm playing around with a new lens," or "I'm learning Lightroom."

Is it time for us photographers to focus more sharply on what we're doing? Rather than wandering about looking for things to photograph, what if we had goals, projects, concepts to pursue? More clearly defined projects to work on?

A new year begins soon. What will YOU be doing next year with your photography? Still wandering around looking for things to shoot? Nothing wrong with wandering. In fact, I live for that. But maybe in addition to that seemingly idle wandering we would learn more, expand our vision, hone our craft by consciously looking for something in particular.

One of my goals for the coming year is to work more with extreeeeeemly shallow depth of field. My fastest lenses are an f/1.7 20mm (which focuses quite closely), an f/1.8 50mm, and an f/2.8 100mm macro lens. In addition, I've got an old Lensbaby which deserves a bit more time, and shallow depth of field is what that lens is all about.

I also have an idea for a book, a book that is handmade and will incorporate physical papers and photographs. So I'm going to be doing shooting that's specific toward the concept of the book and I'm going to have to learn how to MAKE a book!

And I also have an idea for "mail art," a series of photomontage postcards/messages that look real but aren't. And will also continue working on my letter photomontages, such as you see here.

So. I ask you today, just a few weeks away from a brand-new year, what will YOU be working on? Is 2012 the year you conquer your fear of photographing people? Is it the year you begin your "photo a day" project? The year you put together a book of your tree photos? Your "faces in nature" photos? The year you spend a month searching for compositions incorporating the color blue?

Having a specific goal will make you a better photographer. It will encourage you to look at your surroundings differently, with a different focus, a different purpose. By narrowing your vision you will actually expand it. Stick with it and by this time next year you will be a different person, a more confident photographer, and a more creative photographer.

©Carol Leigh, who is conducting an online class beginning January 1 where we'll be photographing letters of the alphabet, one a week, for six months. Could be just the perfect project for YOU in 2012!

Ask an artist ...

Most artists have an answer when asked, “What are you working on now?” This could be your answer . . .

I follow many non-photographic art blogs and was intrigued by what a bunch of artists in Australia were doing: creating a series of artworks, one letter a week, for 26 weeks. Some worked in clay, some in metal, some were calligraphers, some were sculptors, etc. At the end of six months, each participant had, letter by letter, piece by piece, created an unusual whole. Well, if it's good enough for these artists in a variety of media, then what could we as photographers do?

So I've set up a photo project for next year called "Twenty-Six in Twenty-Six." We will all, week by week, concentrate on looking, seeing, creating one photograph a week of a different letter.

Maybe you'll find an "A" on the side of a train, a "B" that you've altered using your Photoshop post-processing skills, a "C" in the way a piece of metal curves on a gate, a "D" that you've made yourself out of rocks or feathers or have drawn in the sand. Your letters can come from all sorts of places. The key is to be out there looking, creating, photographing.

If you're looking for a non-stressful, interesting, continuing project to keep your focus on photography in 2011, this will do it for you. At the end of the project you'll have a comprehensive little body of work: an entire alphabet. I'll take the best of everybody's work and will put together a magazine depicting what we've done and will send a copy to each participant. You in?

Registration fee: $62. Begins January 1, 2011. Information and "the rules of the game" will be sent to you around the beginning of December. Fun stuff! Join us! Click my online store to register. ©Carol Leigh