Awake for a wake . . .

Wake off the coast of British Columbia, long after sunset. Ahhhhhh! ©Carol Leigh

Long exposures and the sea

Long exposures taken (1) from the Balboa Pier, (2) at Martha's Vineyard and (3) again at Martha's Vineyard. I'm loving the look! ©Carol Leigh

Lost in the woods . . .

While on Martha's Vineyard, I got up before everybody else and went off through the woods to try to find the beach. I had a vague idea of where it was, but figured, how hard could it be to find? Luckily I had my camera and my cellphone with me.

I found what looked like a large pond and a canoe launch, but no "beach." I turned to go back to the condo, but paths and dirt roads tend to look different when you're heading in the opposite direction. I knew I was on the wrong path, but it seemed to be taking me where I wanted to go...

Luckily it was kind of dark in the woods, enabling me to take some tree "sweeps." Then I moved on.

I emerged on a road that had houses on it and up ahead was a group of children and a mom waiting for the school bus. Aha! I could ask mom for directions. But nope, the kids got on the bus and mom was back in the house long before I could get to the bus stop.

Swallowing my pride, I called the condo. "I'm lost. Come get me!" Hysterical laughter at their end. I found an address, they followed GPS coordinates in the car, and found me right away. Ah, technology — the camera for enabling me to amuse myself for awhile, the cellphone to call for help, and the GPS unit to actually find me, miles from where I thought I was.

Kind of a pretty picture though, isn't it? ©Carol Leigh

Quansoo Beach

While on Martha's Vineyard, Chris P. took us to a delightful location: Quansoo Beach. As the sun was going down, I tried shooting some "sweeps" of the beach. It was amazing to see the difference it made as I faced west versus east. Toward the west the colors were vibrant and golden while toward the east the colors of the sky, the water, and the sand were darker, more subtle. The resulting photographs really emphasize the difference 180 degrees can make! ©Carol Leigh

First three from Maui

We returned home a few hours ago from a delightfully relaxing time on Maui. As I begin processing my photos, I'll share some of them with you. The morning of our first day, I stepped out onto our sixth-floor balcony. Little lights lined the pathway below, trees grew in a receding line along the beach, and Molokai (topped with a layer of clouds) showed hazily in the distance. I purposely  moved the camera during the exposure to achieve this eerie shot. (Basically, it's my answer to "No time to set up the tripod, how can I handhold this and make something interesting?")

A child's flip-flops caught my eye as we walked past a swimming pool.

And a tropical plant against a pale wall glowed in the even light of a little courtyard.

My sincere thanks to two friends who made it possible for me and Chris to have a vacation we will never forget.

©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

Soft Florida greens

While moving photos around in the computer I came across these three, made in Florida a few years ago. I was struck by the soft green colors in all three. The first one is an agave imprint; when the leaves begin unfurling, the design of one is imprinted on the one below. The result in this case is the impression of three thorns.

The second two photos were created by panning the camera slightly as the wave hit the beach.

Serene colors, a serene morning. May you have a serene day. ©Carol Leigh

Rest area photography ...

Stuck outside of Memphis right now waiting for vehicle repairs to be made. But before our vehicle broke down, we stopped at a rest area alongside the freeway where I worked on tree "sweeps." Love the muted winter brown colors. ©Carol Leigh