Uh-oh . . .

Methinks Gull #2 has no idea what's going to happen when Gull #1 goes #2! Have they learned nothing from pigeons?! ©Carol Leigh

Stormy seas in Yachats

©Carol Leigh

You'd think gulls would have better depth perception

Long story ... Many, many years ago I was photographing in Pacific Grove, California. In a parking lot there were ground squirrels among the rocks that caught my eye, and, of course, the ubiquitous gulls. I had some bread in the trunk of my car and began tossing bits up into the air so that the gulls would soar up, hover, and I could photograph them against the sky.

It wasn't easy. I'd toss, lift camera, manually focus, click, then toss again. People began watching, gathering about. So I started showing off, holding a piece of bread in my hand, having the gulls swoop down and snatch it away. A near-sighted gull missed the bread and bit my thumb. Blood ensued. The crowd, knowing the show was over, moved on, leaving me alone in the parking lot wrapping Kleenex around my thumb. The scar remains, a reminder of younger, more foolish days, and of my timidity in not asking someone else to toss the bread for me.

In Yachats the other day, a car drove into the parking lot and two men got out, clutching bags of bread. The gulls immediately began gathering. The men tossed most of the bread onto the asphalt, but now and then would throw bits up into the air. Aha! I'm being given a second chance! I start shooting and then asked if they'd toss the bread up into a certain spot for me and could they get the bird(s) to hover a bit. Well, sure! And then one of them began holding the bread up and having the gulls snatch it from his hand. And wouldn't you know? I hear "ouch!" and the guy's shaking his hand.

Concerned citizen that I am, I immediately went over, asked if he was okay, did he need a Kleenex, and then showed him my scar. There we were, two kindred spirits, two fools in a parking lot. And my photos? Well, they're not so great, but I do like this one. Which was the last one before the guy got bitten. ©Carol Leigh

Quietude

In a couple of hours our workshop group is going to be photographing at a local marina, a seemingly nondescript place that I find extremely peaceful just before sunrise. Here's what we saw last week on a foggy morning. It'll be interesting to see if there's a different feel and look this morning, which may be very clear (surprise!). ©Carol Leigh

Major monochrome ...

It's the nature of the Oregon coast to provide a lot of photo opportunities for monochromatic images. I.e. it's often foggy! During my recent workshop here, we had lots of chances to shoot under overcast skies. In the first photo, I exaggerated the overexposed look in post-processing by sliding the clarity slider more toward the left and the exposure slider more toward the right. This is a painterly effect that I'm very wary of using, but it seemed to work in this instance.

And then it just wouldn't be a coastal shoot without the ubiquitous gull. This one stationed himself on a rock wall, and didn't move from his spot at all as we photographed him. I purposely overexposed these two photographs for a more high-key effect.

More monochrome to follow ... ©Carol Leigh

Typical coastal shot

A strong line-up of posts, a gull, and Yaquina Head in the background. A photo of rust creates the look of jagged offshore rocks. ©Carol Leigh

End of the day

Sunset and gull. ©Carol Leigh

Gulls in Clouds

©Carol Leigh

Two Gulls

A gull painted on a fence in Newport, Oregon caught my eye. It apparently was painted a very long time ago -- both it and the fence are weathered and worn. I gave him a mate and then created a background from a lichen-covered boulder I photographed on the Maine coast. Bicoastal gulls . . . Not yet for sale. ©Carol Leigh