Latest work: "Dappled Crow in Blue"

When you're sitting in the car, holding a camera, and a crow's on a fence right in front of you, well, what would YOU have done?! This guy was quite handsome and made a fine silhouette.

There are a number of photos contained in this one picture. All were taken in Port Townsend, Washington and then I added strips of dusty pink, orange, and turquoise to echo the colors in the background peeling paint. So much fun to do, so difficult to describe . . .

I've uploaded this image to Fine Art America, where you can see it much bigger and at a higher resolution. Here's the link directly to it.

P.S. Wishing a good morning to Shirley, my friend in Bend.

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.

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.

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.

Morning coffee

Still can't figure out what birds we have nesting out front. They look almost small flycatcher-ish, but they don't fit the descriptions I'm seeing in my bird books. I am befuddled. Which in Japanese is 混乱し, but I don't know how to pronounce that . . .

It's been a very long day.

 ©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.

Latest work: "Crow Walking the Line"

My Drobo is full again. So I'm going through my photo files and getting rid of all the extra stuff I don't really need. It's tedious, but the fun thing is that I'm coming across pictures I'd forgotten about, such as this crow walking along a very thick mooring line in Newport, Oregon. There are boats behind him and beautiful bokeh glints of sunlight on the water.

And then I found a picture I'd taken of a weathered old buoy. I grunged it up some and included it here. I like the warmish combination of blue and brown colors.

I also like how sharp the crow is, how I can see the hairs under his chin, as well as the sunflower seed he has in his beak.

Apparently it pays to clean house every once in a while . . .

©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.

Latest work: Summer Thrush

This is definitely not a typical bird “identification” image since I’ve changed the colors and the look completely of a thrush I photographed in Cambridge, England. I rather like the feeling of warm, bright sunlight and the touch of blue I created along the wing.

 

©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.

Uh-oh . . .

Hide the bunnies!

A glimpse of movement, something large this morning. A barred owl lands on a pine tree branch, much to the dismay of five or six robins. And a hummingbird. Hummingbirds ALWAYS check out the owls!

©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.
 

Slogging along . . .

The "art" thing has been a bit off of late. It happens. It's disconcerting. But I know it won't last. I just keep slogging along and eventually something will click.

And that's what happened here. A slog. But no click (alas).

From the mid-80s, when I became involved in photography, I worked full-time at a variety of jobs. Jobs specifically selected so that I could leave the work at the office and come home to do what I really loved.

So I would get up early, work on photography/writing, go to my job, come home and work some more on photography.

The up-early habit has stuck. I've made it my time to experiment, to work on photos, and just see what happens.

This is what happened this morning and it has potential, but the heron just isn't sharp enough. Even when giving it a sort of painterly look, it's not cutting it. There's an annoying shadow across his tail. And he doesn't really fill the frame.

I photographed him in Florida, many years ago, and so I like the colors in the top image, which give it a subtle Florida vibe. But then I also like the subdued browns, beiges, and greys in the second version.

The picture looks okay seen small like this, but when I blow it up to 100%, nope, the lack of sharpness ruins everything.

This is what I mean about "slogging along." It's fun, I'm learning things, but there's no click here. Not yet.

©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.

Warning: photo of bird who "has ceased to be"

In our yard we have what we call "The Orchard," a small plot of ground that has a few apple trees in it and a couple of rose bushes. It's fenced all 'round to keep out the black-tailed Columbia deer that hang out on the property.

It's hard to mow in there and as a result, it had gotten rather weedy. I entered to do some gardening and noticed a dead towhee on the ground at my feet.

You might think "ick" and want to turn away, but I found him fascinating. The bird had been "no more" for some time, and all that remained was a skeleton, feathery wings, and tail.

Insects had done their work and moved on, leaving this guy quite bald, empty-eyed, and all his ribs intact. Since the "orchard" is fenced, no animals could get in there to do damage to the bird's body.

There was no sign of foul play, no pile of torn off feathers that you might expect to see if a hawk had gotten him. I think he simply died of old age, fell to earth in the orchard, and, before he could begin pushing up daisies, I found him and brought him into the studio.

This is him, "lying in state." After I took this shot, I ran a little monofilament line through a couple of his ribs and hung him up over the light table, where I'm hoping to photograph him seemingly "flying."

Creepy? Yeah, I can see how you might think so. But he's rather mummified, has no smell, isn't leaking any bodily fluids, nor are insects interested in him.

When I've finished my photography, then what? Well, I'll bury him under a tree. Or a rhododendron bush. Or maybe under some Shasta daisies.

©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. 

Latest work: "Coastal Crow"

There was a pair of crows that hung around our house on the Oregon coast. I loved seeing them interact, one sidling up next to the other, head down, wanting to be groomed. Or flying past, sticks in their beaks, as they built their nest in a tree on the next block.

I would sometimes give them some of Abby's kibble, tossing it down from the front deck as they stood in the driveway below. As I came out the door, they would immediately fly over to see what I had.

They say crows recognize faces; they remember those who have done them wrong and remember those they feel comfortable around. Shortly before we moved, I took a few final photos of them and I love how this one looks. And, like a crow, I will remember them as well.

 ©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. Thank you!

Great blue heron

I was walking along the docks in Newport, Oregon and photographed this great blue heron all hunkered down, standing in the shallows. I liked the rather high-key, minimalistic look, and so I exaggerated the effect in the computer, creating a simple, almost Japanese feel to the scene. I like this soft, painterly look.

©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. Thank you!

Wish you were here . . .

I found a photo I took in Florida what, three years ago? It's a grackle, I believe. I used a photo of torn black cardboard from a book cover for the branch. I added stars courtesy of NASA, and, when seeing the stars, I felt that the bird was gazing rather wistfully into space. So I added some faux planets (rusty metal circles) and then put in a subtle postcard background to finish everything off.

Now my feeling is that of a bird, or a being, wishing a loved one were with him, or wishing that a deceased relative weren't gone. Or a friend. Anyone. There's a certain pathos to the picture, I think.

Then you know the trite things we write on postcards? "Beautiful weather! Wish you were here!" (Or, as Jimmy Buffett might say, "The weather is here. I wish you were beautiful.") So I created a second version (for Fine Art America) with the words "Wish you were here" down at the bottom.

The second version officially makes me a crass commercial photographer . . .

©Carol Leigh

Latest works . . .

I've been generating a prodigious amount of work lately with no lack of ideas and with the luxury of having a decent amount of time to create. I'm not sleeping much at all (which isn't good), but I'm loving what I'm doing.

What I especially love is the surprise, the way images turn out that bear no resemblance to my initial concept(s). I try an effect, something bizarre happens, and so I run with it, often tossing it out later but that doesn't matter -- it's the process that's important, and everything I discard gives me a stronger foundation for future images. (Did that make any sense? Am I taking myself way too seriously?)

As I'm working, I'm constantly uploading my pictures to Fine Art America, where I currently have slightly more than 800 available. And sales have been good. I'm excited at how well I'm doing there, and am extremely grateful.

Here are five examples of current images. The prayer flag project continues. I'll probably upload one more "set" (three individual images plus a triptych) and then, even though I've got many more for this particular series, am going to change the look, see if I can come up with a completely different series of them.

Old papers, cement, my own sketches, lines, and marks are forming the backbone of what I'm currently doing. I'm also looking at previous "failures" and seeing if there's anything I can do with new eyes and more skills to create something better.

It's 3 a.m., 19 degrees outside, Chris and the cat are sound asleep, and here I am in my little office, bleary-eyed but very pleased with how things are progressing. Wishing you equal pleasure in your work, whatever it is that is capturing your heart, but hoping you are sound asleep right now and that your weather is a bit warmer than we're having here.

©Carol Leigh

It's a good day to . . .

. . . flaunt your colors, baby!

Transmogrified photo of graffiti detail. ©Carol Leigh

Raven on Blue

A bit of corvidosity to begin my day! ©Carol Leigh

Turtledove

Photographed at a botanical garden on Maui. The treatment I gave it makes me think of a Polaroid transfer. ©Carol Leigh

Sold!

It felt great to wake up this morning, check my e-mail, and see that these three pictures sold yesterday at Fine Art America. Every artist wants their work to be seen, including me, so it's gratifying that (a) someone actually LOOKED at these, (b) wanted them to be a part of their life, and (c) paid their hard-earned money to obtain them. I am so grateful. (And, yet again, thank you Kathleen A. for sending me such wonderful papers to use for the first image.) ©Carol Leigh

Looking Seaward

Yup, another crow! ©Carol Leigh

Great Blue Heron

Chris isn't overly fond of this shot, but there's something about it that's appealing to me. I turned my color photo into a black and white image, simplified it using some Topaz effects, and then toned it. I like the way the right-hand side is blown out and how the bird faces into that blownoutedness. Chris says it looks "too contrived." I value his opinion, but right now I'm sticking with this one. What do you think?

©Carol Leigh

Hummingbird

Pretty light on this back yard hummingbird this evening! ©Carol Leigh