First from Santa Fe . . .

This window, on some sort of innocuous governmental building on a side street in Santa Fe, caught my eye. It looked sort of funky, out of place on an austere, beige building.

It looked old on new. So I reversed the concept.

Now it looks new(ish) on old. Yet it's still rustic enough that it looks okay.

There are hundreds of photos for me to sift through, and it's going to take a long time to become comfortable with all the various little bits and pieces I photographed before I can begin bringing them together in new and different ways.

It's overwhelming at the moment. But this, too, shall pass. May we all have such small problems!

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.

Live and in person . . .

A visit to Santa Fe, partly to see how my pictures look displayed in the new pavilion of Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.

They purchased five pictures, but we could only see four of them; the fifth is temporarily hidden behind a construction panel (but you can see it below).

My pictures are just a small part of all the art that appears throughout the new pavilion, and I'm flattered to be in such fine company -- all the artwork is bold, colorful, and striking.

It was fun seeing the pictures all together and to see them so big! Having Chris, Rich, and CJ there, too, made it even better.

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.

Latest work: "Window de Santa Fe"

I created this photomontage using a variety of pictures I took in Santa Fe. I began it a year or so ago and it's been sitting in my computer, patiently waiting for me to come back to it. And now it's finished.

Love. It.

©Carol Leigh

Quick way to intensify color in Photoshop

Let's say you took a photo and it looks really blah. There are a lot of ways to make your photo pop, but here's a really fast and easy way to do it.

In Photoshop, make a duplicate layer of your photograph. With the duplicate layer active and on top, change the blending mode to "Multiply." That's it!

Here, let me show you an example. I took a photo of a row of blue mailboxes in Santa Fe. As you can see in the original untouched photo, the photo has no depth, no oomph, no drama. So I brought it into Photoshop, made a duplicate of the original. Then changed the blending mode to "Multiply."

I might have toned down the "Multiply" effect a little bit by using the opacity slider, but that's it. Huge difference, no?

©Carol Leigh

Daily Dose of Fall #17

Aspens in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The light wasn't great and the background behind the aspens was sort of messy. What's a photographer to do? I set my ISO to 100 and my aperture to f/29. With an exposure of 1/3 second, I moved my camera upward (or downward) during the exposure, causing the colors to streak together. The result is an impressionistic look at fall aspens. ©Carol Leigh

An interesting follow-up

On August 5th, I posted a photo I took in Santa Fe at their farmers' market. Although I rarely photograph people, I liked the look on the face of this man as he watched his wife arrange flowers.

Two days ago I received an e-mail from the man's son. His father passed away last December. He saw his father's photo on my blog, liked the colors, and wanted to purchase a print. The easiest and most cost-effective way for me to do this was to upload the photograph to Fine Art America. That way he can select the size/price/format he wants and will quickly receive the photos. And if other members of his family want prints, that's easily accomplished.

I don't mean for this to be an ad for Fine Art America. What I really want to say is that I'm pleased I created something that had meaning for someone else. And now, when I return to the Santa Fe Farmers' Market, it will no longer be just a fun place to photograph, but will have an especial poignance for me, remembering the look on the man's face, standing next to his wife, surrounded by flowers.

Here's the link to my blog post: http://carolleigh.blogspot.com/2012/08/national-farmers-market-week.html

And here's the link to FAA so you can see how it's presented to the customer: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/naranjo-carol-leigh.html

©Carol Leigh

National Farmers' Market Week, Day 5

Organic tomatoes in Santa Fe, New Mexico. ©Carol Leigh

National Farmers' Market Week!

August 5-11 is National Farmers' Market Week, so go out and get your fresh veggies! I'll post a farmers' market photo every day this week, beginning with this one, taken in Santa Fe. And the faux HDR effect? Because I can!

©Carol Leigh, glad she didn't know this past week was International Clown Week (shudder) . . .

Pueblo moderne

It all began with a bit of architectural detail photographed in Santa Fe. Love the colors. Click to enlarge. ©Carol Leigh

They don't all look alike . . .

Okay, if anyone's to blame, it's Elena — she started it! I posted a photomontage of a bird I photographed in Santa Fe. Elena, Miss Smartypants, who had photographed the same bird, did her magic to it and posted it on her blog.

Well, the competition began. She then posted a photo of some birds carved on a door in Chimayo, New Mexico. I photographed that same door, concentrating on a different panel. Here's the link to Elena's version, so you can easily see what we both did. It's now official: Bird Wars 2011. What will she come up with next? Or is it my turn now?

To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, "a dove is a dove is a dove," except in the eyes of Elena and Carol. ©Carol Leigh

Take a seat . . .

Benches and chairs, all photographed in Santa Fe. The top image is weird. Because of the bench's placement, I couldn't photograph the right side of it, so I just shot the left side. In Photoshop I copied and flipped it and added it to the scene. Great shot? Nah. Fun? Yes. ©Carol Leigh

Santa Fe, continued

 

El Gato de Jackalope ©Carol Leigh

Cerveza de Jackalope ©Carol Leigh

Las Ollas de Jackalope ©Carol Leigh

Buddha de Jackalope ©Carol Leigh

La Puerta de Jackalope ©Carol Leigh

More from Santa Fe

Great colors on the front of this store in Madrid, NM

I don't know much about art, but I know it when I see it!

St. Francis statue at Chimayo

Shadows at Ranchos de Taos

Two Ravens

I was hoping to find ravens in Santa Fe and I wasn't disappointed. ©Carol Leigh

Light and Shadow

It's been said so many times, and said so much better than I can say, but the quality of the light is what delights in Santa Fe. On an overcast day, colors glow, but on a bright sunny day, the shadows become the strong components in compositions.

In the first photo, a vertical striping appears, with bold shadows alternating with warm-colored adobe walls. In the shade of that same building, a silvery-metallic tree trunk contrasts beautifully with the golden wall behind it.

During a walk around town at sunset, strong shadows create a lovely glow.

Early morning light offers our photo group a brilliant blue sky that echoes the colors of the window and the post. The post stands out most bluefully against the dark shadow.

And finally, a weathered door gleams on the shady side of a little street.

We learned to pay more attention to the light. If the sun's too bright on something, look for other things in the shadows. If the shadows are big and bold, incorporate them in your image, making them an intrinsic part of the compositional design. Over and over and over again . . . ©Carol Leigh

Santa Fe in May: Photo Exploration with Carol Leigh

May 23-26, 2011 
SANTA FE PHOTO EXPLORATION 
We've always done this photo exploration in the fall, now let's see how things look in the spring. We'll concentrate on shooting various chapels, southwestern architecture, scenic vistas, definitely the famed Plaza and Canyon Road, and much more. Limited to 8 students. Registration fee: $560

You know me, my photographic style. Let me show you how to photograph not only the obvious, but also how to look for the little details, how to create more intimate studies of this incredible place.

You can see a gallery of my pictures from Santa Fe here: http://carolleigh.net/SantaFe/SantaFe/index.html

And you can sign up for the trip here:
http://www.shop.carolleigh.net/product.sc?productId=34&categoryId=4 

©Carol Leigh