Daily walk: frozen foliage/frosty ferns

My "walk around the block" isn't a "block" at all, but rather a long road. And my photo subjects are pretty much limited to nature. For someone who enjoys shooting fishing boats, buildings, cars, signs, etc., this is challenging.

I go out, usually with my iPhone or my pocket-sized little Canon, and see what I can find.

It's been cold and frosty here of late (seems like the entire United States is cold and frosty), and was surprised to find ferns still in a tropical green color. But not surprised to find big-leaf maple and alder leaves huddled together, each with a crisp and icy patina.

Soon the blackberry vines will begin leafing out in their quest to take over the world; new green buds will appear on trees; and one day, when I least expect it, a baby bunny or two or four will appear out in the yard and the cycle will begin again.

©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.

Twilight Walk

Yesterday was an astonishingly hot day here on the Oregon coast. Our little weather station showed that at one point it was 93 degrees outside and 82 degrees inside. Now for us, accustomed to highs of around 59 degrees outside, this was amazingly hot! Humidity was way down, too, down to around 20%, so no, this wasn’t like Louisiana hot and humid, more like Palm Springs hot.

Just after sunset I took a slow, contemplative walk around our block. No camera. The robins — seemingly the first birds up in the morning and the last to bed in the evening — were making their loud, final squawks.

There was no wind, so it was easy to hear all the frogs, frogs I never think about except on quiet evenings like this. And it’s somehow reassuring — hearing frogs at twilight — figuring as long as we can hear frogs, everything’s going to be all right.

And then, as I rounded a bend, I stopped to watch a hummingbird moth, looking eerily like a small hummer, working the bright blue lithodora flowers. Wings a total blur, a slightly spread “tail” like a hummingbird. How can an insect and a bird appear so similar? Be so similarly designed to effectively accomplish the same goal: sip nectar from flowers? Amazing. So amazing I simply stood and watched until it finally noticed I was there and moved on.

I moved on as well. A thoroughly delightful walk filled with beauty, quiet, and wonder.

Yes, it was hot here on the coast yesterday. But oh, what a lovely twilight!

©Carol Leigh

A walk around the block . . .

It's been awhile since I walked around my block with a camera, just seeing what I could see. But this morning it was very pretty out -- no rain, just a heavy mist that made everything gleam. I didn't take a tripod, I didn't take my Canon gear, but instead grabbed the (red!) Panasonic Lumix G2 and a 45mm-200mm lens. Let me show you what I found and why I shot what I did . . .

My favorite photo is the first one. The woods were dark behind the chair, which made it really stand out. I liked the little horizontal lines on the left that contrasted nicely with the vertical elements on the back of the chair. Clean, simple, graphic.

The next two shots are of a weathered mailbox. I liked the aged texture and will probably use these photos in upcoming photomontages. Or not. We shall see.

There was a huge pile of tree trimmings along the street and I liked the silvery grey-green colors of the spruce branches, so moved in as closely as I could. Just up the street from the pile of branches I spotted moss growing on the bark of a tree. Again, the woods behind the tree were dark, enabling me to show the moss more clearly than if the background had been light and bright.

A couple of trucks featured colorful tail lights, so I filled my frame with color and abstract lines. And that's it! I won't show you the photo of the enormous slug I encountered, nor the pine trees with the telephone wires behind them, nor the out-of-focus metal number on a telephone pole, nor the giant black stink bug that moved way too fast for the shutter speed to stop his travels, but you get an idea of what I saw.

I did bring home a cluster of alder catkins and a pretty leaf to photograph with a macro lens for a project I'm working on, which will result in more sharply focused, more professional-looking images, but for now I'm happy with what I did get.

Next time? I'll bring a tripod, a close-focusing lens, clippers, and a bag to bring home extra treasures to shoot in a more controlled environment.

There's nothing better to help you notice little things than to take a walk around your block and see what you can find. I know, I know . . . your block is a boring block and there's nothing to shoot there. But if you meander about, looking with new eyes, a new attitude, I'm sure you'll find something that will surprise you.

©Carol Leigh, who specializes in seeing and who has a new online class coming up to encourage you to do just that -- to SEE.