Daily bit of creativity, #003

With this daily “creativity” thing I’ve (perhaps foolishly) started, I was poking around a bunch of cellphone photos, pictures I took of Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse in Nova Scotia last year. I’d tweaked this picture a lot in-camera, so now it was time to bring it into Photoshop on the desktop and see what else I could do.

This is what I made this morning. I also (again, perhaps foolishly) uploaded it to Fine Art America because hey, why not? I like this picture (today). But I can see how some (or most) people might not. I mean, what the heck are those boxes in the sky? And what about those red thingies in the lower right?

I believe that artists have to make work to please themselves. If someone else likes it, well, then BONUS!

So that’s my daily bit of creativity for today. Hope you enjoyed seeing it.

©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.

Point Wilson Lighthouse

Early morning clouds at the Point Wilson Lighthouse, Fort Worden State Park, in Port Townsend, Washington. Nice bit of sunlight coming in from the right.

©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.

Around the island . . .

We had a lot of business errands to take care of yesterday, but in between we managed to do a little exploring. And yeah, these are all with my iPhone app du jour, Camera Awesome, with the Lone Star effect.

The view of the wharf from Front Street is always a favorite of mine, this one taken from above Mosquito Fleet Chili Restaurant.

We also meandered a bit around Fort Casey, where I found a terrific "Dangerous Drop Off" sign to shoot, along with a couple shots of the lighthouse.

I've purposely been leaving the DSLR at home, forcing myself to shoot with the iPhone, but I'm missing the big camera. Never thought I'd say it, but I miss not setting up the tripod, carefully composing, changing f/stops, over- and underexposing, all the fussy things one does with a 35mm camera.

Of course, I can be fussy with the iPhone as well, but, probably because I don't know it as well, I don't find it as satisfying as the 35mm. And since there are things that I want to photograph and create a series, a "serious" series, the iPhone right now just doesn't cut it.

It's fun, though! And I'm taking some satisfying shots, perhaps an eventual series will emerge, but I want the quality and the ability to enlarge that my Canon gear gives me, rather than the small, limiting size of the cellphone.

So until someone invents an inexpensive, lightweight, pocket-sized, huge-sensored camera that shoots RAW, with an 18-600mm f/1.4 zoom lens, I've resigned myself to once again begin carrying the DSLR and all its attendant gear as well as the iPhone . . . sigh.

©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!

Latest work: "Bandon Lighthouse"

This is one of my favorite lighthouses on the Oregon coast, perched at the mouth of the Coquille River in Bandon. When I was working on this image, I had it blown way up on my computer screen. Imagine my surprise when, way out in the distance I could see a bald eagle perched on a driftwood log! Because the picture has been completely redone, the eagle can no longer be seen, even as a white speck. But you and I will always know she's there... ©Carol Leigh

Two if by sea . . .

These are two photos I recently processed and uploaded to my artist website at Fine Art America. I like the soft, warm qualities of both of them. The top image is Mukilteo Lighthouse in Washington, and the bottom is Cape Neddick Lighthouse or "Nubble Light" in York, Maine. My plan is to continue this series, all in this same style. ©Carol Leigh

It's National Lighthouse Day!

As important as lighthouses are, wouldn't you think they'd merit more than just a day? This is Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City, California, taken a few hundred yards away from some rowdy folks who were probably NOT celebrating "Lighthouse Day." When I heard "yeehaw!" and the sound of breaking bottles, it was time to pack up the tripod and leave. ©Carol Leigh, quietly celebrating the holiday at home with a spouse, a cat, and a flashlight . . .

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

 Lighthouse detail. ©Carol Leigh