Fun Photography in San Diego

We visited friends in San Diego last week and went wandering around Barrio Logan. I'm fond of seeking out small details within large murals, and came up with these two jaguar images, almost hidden within the surrounding swirls and sweeps of color. Amazing artwork and incredibly fun to shoot. Especially with friends.

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.

Squarification . . .

This image (called "Dotted Squares") was created by using some of my hand-painted monoprints and then juicing them up a bit in the computer. I like the warm tones and the repeating square thingies (made by using the rectangular end of a makeup sponge).

I usually also see if the image can be turned into a square. Sometimes a square is better, sometimes it's just different, and sometimes it doesn't work at all.

In this case, I like the square version better, but it doesn't really matter. I'm fond of my whole concept and this gives me two images to upload to Fine Art America, not just one.

©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!

Blending Modes and Format

When I create my photomontages, I invariably place one image over another and then run through the blending modes. What I'm looking for are those happy surprises, where colors change, certain elements go from light to dark and vice-versa, and maybe the entire feeling of the piece changes. Happy surprises make my day, and that's what happened here.

This image is a combination of three abstract bits of a wall. Using one blending mode, I get the turquoise version. Using a different blending mode, I get the darker blue version. I like both of them equally.

But then, once I've finished making whatever it is I've made, I often check to see how it looks as a square. Sometimes I like the square better, sometimes I prefer the full format. In this case, I show you what the square format looks like compared to the full format. And, once again, I like both of them equally.

What's my point? When making photomontages such as these it pays to experiment, and running through the blending modes, all of them, is a simple way to surprise yourself. And then, what the heck, crop your image into a square format and see how you like it. If it looks great, then bonus! You've surprised yourself twice! A great way to begin your day.

©Carol Leigh