Calligraphic weed

Yesterday I spent a few hours just photographing textures. And then I saw the weed. I liked the way the leaves splayed out, looking almost like a Japanese Kanji character. And it looked especially nice against this textured wall.

The photo was taken in color, but I felt that the color took away from what caught my eye to begin with: shape and form.

I turned the photo into a black and white image, but it felt cold. I toned it brown, then dialed back the toning to give it this warm black and white look.

What you do not see is my frustration at leaving my tripod's quick release at home, so my shooting was hand-held. The weed was in a photographically inaccessible place. So I picked it and then looked for a good spot on a wall where it could stand out.

I had one lens with me -- 18mm-55mm. So in this shot I'm holding the weed against the wall with my left hand while (having set the lens at 18mm to get the entire weed), composing and focusing and clicking the shutter with my right hand.

It wasn't easy. But if it were, everyone would be doing it, right?

Answer: No, Carol. Everyone else would have remembered the damned quick release so they could do it properly with a tripod, cable release, and maybe even a reflector. Duh.

©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.

Daily bit of creativity, #019: Faux Cyanotype Weeds

Just playing around a bit with some weeds that I scanned and then placed on paper I'd stained with ink. I kind of like how the brown paper and its stains look sort of like a blue sky and strange clouds.

Nothing ultra-spectacular, just a bit of experimentation to keep me from doing what I really should be doing!

©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.

Walk Around the Block . . .

Photos found during my frequent forays around the block...

The three birdhouses we've had outside for the past 10 years are slowly falling apart, but I still like how they look. The hydrangeas are becoming raggedy, but this clump still glows in the early morning light.

The blackberries up the street continue to blossom, the berries rapidly ripening, the last of the season. A rock rose in a neighbor's yard looks pretty good; our rock roses froze two years ago and haven't quite made it back yet.

And finally another weed. Actually, it's the same weed you saw a few days ago, this time photographed on a different day, under different light, with a different camera/lens combo.

Fall is quietly arriving here on the Oregon coast, after about four weeks of summer . . .

©Carol Leigh

Late summer weeds . . .

Warm days, very little (if any) rain, but the weeds are looking good! ©Carol Leigh