What I'm working on: PHOTOMOTIVATION

I’ve got a private group going over in Facebook called Photomotivation, where I give the group an assignment every month, they post their pictures, and we comment and offer suggestions, joke around, and in general have a casual good time.

The folks in the group are primarily my former students and their friends, and during the 22 months I’ve been conducting the group, we’ve gotten to know one another in a delightful way.

This month the topic is “More is More.” Where maybe one oil can can look good, but a grouping might be even better. Or where one postage stamp with a giant bug on it can be impressive, but three postage stamps with giant bugs on them might be even more impressive.

By the way, if YOU would like to be a part of this group, the web address is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/photomotivation/ The group is a private one, so just click where it says to become a member and you’ll quickly be added to the mix. It’s free. It’s fun. It’s informative.

Here are some examples I’ve posted this month.

Postage stamps from Burundi are pretty dramatic. One bug alone is impressive. Three bugs and you've got an infestation!

One oil can looks pretty cool, but the family portrait I find a bit more interesting.

The single pen nib is competently photographed, but the treatment I subsequently gave it makes a dramatic, slightly mysterious image, doesn't it?

One buoy on top of a pile of others implies more while focusing attention on the one. The second version of the shot isn't necessarily better, but it tells more of a story, especially with the crab pots in the background.

And then while we always see just one viewing scope, a two-fer is unusual and catches our eye.

Finally, one of these colorful toothbrushes might be a fun photo, but a grouping like this has a bit of absurdity and humor to it.

Anyway, that's the concept this month. Want to be a part of Photomotivation? Follow the link above.

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.

From color to black and white (parts 6 and 7 of 7)

There's a challenge going around in my corner of Facebook at the moment where someone challenges someone else to create one black and white image a day and to post it on Facebook. The "rules" are "no people and no explanation." Well, here's the explanation.

I took this picture of an agave stalk in 2006 and turned it into this weird color. Today, I'm not sure why! But I wondered how it would look if I converted this blue horror into black and white.

I like the black and white version much better, but going back to the blue version, I noticed how the background was out of focus, but there was a shadow back there that echoed the same angle as the (and I don't know the scientific word for it) thing sticking out on the right.

The lights and darks in the background are interesting, add depth and interest and mystery, yet aren't overly obtrusive.

And then there was the great blue heron landing on a piling in South Carolina. The picture could have been sharper, but I loved the outstretched wing, the beak, the lower legs. They all angle sharply from right to left.

Intuitively I allowed more room in the left two thirds of the photo, room for the concept of horizontal movement to establish itself.

But what about the subtle lack of sharpness? I gave the image a soft, painterly look (lemons/lemonade) and also toned it a warm pinkish color. But would that translate to black and white?

I think it does. It's light, soft, and it keeps me looking. Is it better? I really don't know.

This black and white challenge was indeed challenging. The benefit of participating in it was it encouraged me to look at my (and everyone else's) pictures with new eyes and to experiment. Always a good thing.

©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.

From color to black and white (part 5 of 7)

There's a challenge going around in my corner of Facebook at the moment where someone challenges someone else to create one black and white image a day and to post it on Facebook. The "rules" are "no people and no explanation." Well, here's the explanation.

I fell in love with this cellphone app and used it a lot before it died, and the creator never updated it. Alas.

The beauty of the app was how it created a watercolor-ish appearance to the subject matter, a sort of painterly look that was soft and textural.

I would walk around the house with the cellphone, just searching for something to shoot.

My Oregon neighbor Juanita gave me this fishing net float, made of soft green glass. It sits in a powder room window, next to a sea-glass aqua bottle, a bottle that has feathers in it.

In hindsight, maybe I should have removed the bottle to the right of the float, but I do like the mystery of it.

The scene looks good in black and white as well as the sepia. Can't decide between the two which one I prefer, but I'm leaning toward the sepia version.

©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.

From color to black and white (part 4 of 7)

There's a challenge going around in my corner of Facebook at the moment where someone challenges someone else to create one black and white image a day and to post it on Facebook. The "rules" are "no people and no explanation." Well, here's the explanation.

I  found this bit of architectural detail in Balboa Park, San Diego. When processing the image, I toned it, and was quite pleased with the result. Seeing the black and white version, I'm finding the B&W more appealing. But why?

It's stronger. It has more depth. There's more contrast between light and dark. And it shows more details, brings out the artistry of the builder/designer/artist more than the softer, more ethereal look of the original.

©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.

From color to black and white (part 3 of 7)

There's a challenge going around in my corner of Facebook at the moment where someone challenges someone else to create one black and white image a day and to post it on Facebook. The "rules" are "no people and no explanation."

This is one of my favorite photographs. We were in a Chinese restaurant, waiting for our food to arrive, so naturally I took out the cellphone to find something to shoot.

At the time, I was enamored of a particular app (alas, it's no longer available, no longer works) and was delighted to see the textured sepia image it created. I was equally delighted to see how well the image works in black and white.

©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.

From color to black and white (part 2 of 7)

There's a challenge going around in my corner of Facebook at the moment where someone challenges someone else to create one black and white image a day and to post it on Facebook. The "rules" are "no people and no explanation."

For my second photograph, I selected this picture, also taken in South Carolina. Whereas a number of people really liked my first picture, not many liked this one. And I can understand why.

As a black and white it looks even weirder than it does in color. I like both versions, however, and it doesn't bother me that it was less popular than the first. Also, by looking at it in black and white, I think it might just work in a photomontage of some sort. We shall see.

What is it? I was standing on a grassy bank, looking across a bit of water, to a pier. It was the almost Roman numeral-ish look of the pilings that caught my eye, not the actual pier itself.

©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.

From color to black and white (part 1 of 7)

There's a challenge going around in my corner of Facebook at the moment where someone challenges someone else to create one black and white image a day and to post it on Facebook. The "rules" are "no people and no explanation."

Sounded good to me: a new way to look at my images, no "people" photography (yay), and no need to write anything.

The second part of the challenge was to nominate someone ELSE to do the same thing. And so it would go.

Here's the first picture I attempted, a color image I'd taken in South Carolina a few years ago. I had toned it and applied a painterly look to it. Would this work in black and white? And why?

I was pleasantly surprised how nicely this image turned out once I removed the color. The lights and darks in the trees stand out more. The mysterious things in the distance show up more as well. And the dark tree trunks stand out better.

Which version do I prefer? Hmmm... I'm going to say the black and white version. And I never would have created it had I not been "challenged" on Facebook.

©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.