Blog post #2,001: The Power of Play

I took a nothing shot of an adobe wall and turned it into this (first photo). Here’s the process I used.

As you can see, the original picture (second photo) is nothing wonderful, just something I thought I might be able to use some day. It's brown, has no contrast, and is blah.

In Camera Raw I selected “Auto.” We see more detail, lights and darks now come into play, and the color turned quite golden. (Third photo.)

I did a “Threshold” layer adjustment, added it as a layer. (Fourth photo.)

I ran through the blending modes until this happened. (Fifth photo.)

Obviously everything is all wonky, so I rotated and cropped the image to get this. (Last photo.)

I think it turned out kind of cool, especially considering what it began its life as — just a nothing shot of texture. Now I’m seeing some sort of island view, as though I’m on one island, looking across the water at another. And maybe there’s some volcanic activity going on.

I’m not going to offer it for sale on Fine Art America because I’m just not sure about it. What I AM sure about, however, is the value of wondering “what if.” What if I choose THIS picture and then do THIS and then do THAT, and oh, it looks like something else, use THAT, and hey! This isn’t bad!

The value of play, with no preconceived final result, is that wonderful and unexpected things may result. Maybe not for sale, this time, but it’s a tool I can try again some other time, with a different picture, but with this same concept.

You just never know, do you?
 Wishing you a very playful day!

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.

Latest work: "Dragonfly"

This is a blue-eyed darner dragonfly (Aeshna multicolor) who flew into my garage late last summer and then died.

He was so big, so beautiful, I took him inside, photographed him, and then brought him into the computer.

I added some of my photos of scratched and painted papers as well as a hand-painted circle to create a new “environment” for him that’s appropriate for his colors and his big-eyed view of the world.

https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/featured/dragonfly-carol-leigh.html

©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.

Recent work: "Used to Be Larry's"

Back in 2005, there was a grocery store in Tucson that had the most glorious arrows and designs and colors all over the outside.

A few years later, I returned and stopped short, appalled at how everything had been painted over and the walls were now pretty much “baby butt beige.”

I asked a passerby what happened. “Oh, that used to be Larry’s,” he said. “He sold it and the new owner repainted it.” He walked on. After a few minutes, so did I, slowly, sadly.

©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.

Latest work: "Full Moon January 2018"

As I work in my studio, I keep a small Moleskine notebook open and into it I paste little pieces of papers I’ve torn and otherwise might have thrown out. I have no plan — just arranging and gluing down paper in patterns that please me.

As I was making a handmade book about Japan, parts of those papers ended up here in my little notebook. I photographed that “collage,” brought it into the computer, and added more elements, such as my photos of old money, signature “hankos” or “chops,” and more.

A full moon appeared on the first day of 2018, and I celebrated that in this piece and uploaded it to Fine Art America.

But then, a few days later, I took it a step further. I converted the image into a more graphic and sort of sepia-toned look, which I also found appealing.

You can see both full-resolution images in my “Asian Influence” gallery at FAA here. I find it interesting to compare and contrast the two pictures, completely different from one another, yet the same.

©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.

Recent work: "Ladder in Truchas, New Mexico"

It’s fun, isn’t it, to wander around little towns you’ve never visited, seeing new things with fresh eyes? So while in the small town of Truchas, I walked up and down the roads, just to see what I could find. 

 

This ladder was just the best! It leaned against a textured adobe wall, everything in the shade except for the ladder and a bit of the wall. 

 

I opted for a black and white rendition (with a bit of brown toning) of my original color photo. Why? The lightest elements are the wall and the ladder. I emphasized the contrast so that the ladder and wall stand out and the rest of the scene retreats into darkness. There wasn't nearly this much drama in the original shot.

 

Wandering without expectations and then finding a small, intimate scenario, well, it doesn’t get much better! 

 

I uploaded this image to Fine Art America the first day of this year. If you'd like to see it larger and with more detail, click this link and then hover your cursor over the picture to use the 100% enlarger feature.

 

©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.

Meanwhile on Facebook . . .

Over on Facebook I have a group called "Photomotivation," and every month I post a new assignment.

This month's assignment, to counteract the gloom that often accompanies January, the assignment is YELLOW.

Participants post their photos throughout the month, some better than others, but all of them delightful and interesting to see.

These are the four that I've uploaded so far: a yellow submarine I photographed in South Beach on the Oregon coast; a gel print I made in the past two years; a humorous T-shirt I shot at the Oregon Coast Aquarium; and then a row of yellow taxi strollers I noticed in a shopping mall somewhere -- can't remember exactly where.

The group is a private one, so if you search Facebook for it, it's not going to come up, but if you would like to be a part of this, let me know and we'll get you going.

©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.

Latest work: "Dancing"

Just because I could... Trying to shake things up a bit, so I rummaged through my photos and began putting together a photomontage without overthinking it. No real thought, just doing. And this is the result. It's completely different from anything I've ever made, and I'm still wondering about it.

I used pictures of a building in Portland, Oregon's industrial district (the brickwork), a mannequin that was standing on a loading platform (Portland again), a portion of a vintage postcard that depicted Long Beach, California (the "dancing" sign), graffiti arrows, a parking sign from Cambridge, England, and I don't remember now where the star thingy came from.

Interested in feedback, if you care to comment.

©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.

First picture sold on Fine Art America

Photograph of a collage that incorporates vintage papers, Japanese calligraphy, torn cardboard, and a red button.

Back in February of 2012 I signed up with Fine Art America to offer my pictures for sale. The process is that you produce a high-quality JPEG image, upload it to FAA, put in keywords and a description, and then you wait for the money to pour in!

Ha!

But I was lucky. A few weeks after signing up, I sold this picture. I had uploaded it February 7th and it sold on February 28th.

I didn’t sell anything else until sometime in May. And it was a greeting card. I got a dollar. (I know better now and have adjusted my mark-up accordingly!)

What’s my point?
Talent and tenacity.

FAA isn’t exactly a get-rich-quick income stream. It requires good art and staying power. 
Today I have 1,700 pictures with FAA (24 pictures per month, if you're counting). I had intended to have at least 3,000 by now. The key thing is that I am undeterred. I keep on submitting pictures.
 
Another key thing is that a lot of my work is simply different. I have no idea, when I’m making it, if it will sell. But if it pleases me (and I’m hard to please), then up it goes.
 
I invite you to see this picture on my FAA/Pixels website here:https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/featured/red-sun-collage-carol-leigh.html?newartwork=true
 
I also invite you to ask me if you have any questions about marketing your own work through Fine Art America (also known as pixels.com). Just leave your question/questions below in the comment box. I'm happy to give you a hand.

©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 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.

Recent work: "Active Verbs"

I was having fun brushing black ink onto old papers, brought them into the computer, chopped them up, reassembled them, and created this primitive-looking piece. Individual squares are also available on Fine Art America. They're an effective way to add abstract warmth to a room or a hall.

©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. 

Not your grandma's flowers...

We all love flowers, but . . .
We've seen so many pictures of them, from almost every photographer, that maybe we've become jaded.

An orange California poppy? Yawn.
A pink rose?
A sunflower?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. What else ya got?

When I was teaching photography, I did have my students shooting flowers. And one thing I emphasized was backgrounds, how the color and texture of a background can make a flower photo look dull or exciting.

Here is the same flower in front of three different backgrounds. The colors pop, each showcasing the flower in a different way.

I took this concept one step further for my final images, adding texture and a somewhat painterly look.

These ain't your grandma's flowers.
They're different enough to catch your eye, to make you stop, look, and linger.

These pictures make me happy.
And if they make you stop/look/linger, as an artist I'm even happier.

If you'd like to see my collection of colorful flowers, all done in this particular style, I invite you to visit my "Flowers -- Outrageous Colors" gallery here:

https://carol-leigh.pixels.com/collections/flowers+outrageous+colors

 ©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. 

Happy New Year 2018!

Such a luxurious time of day – morning. No responsibilities for at least a few hours. A time to sit on the couch, sipping coffee, planning, plotting, feeling all things are possible.

May we all feel that all things are possible. Happy New Year!

 ©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. 

Happy New Year!

Christmas snow

first snow
   the neglected yard
   now perfect

      -- Elizabeth St. Jacques

 ©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.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing us all peace, love, health, and happiness this year and every year.

©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.

Latest work: "Nautical Paint Job"

Well, it's not exactly my latest work...

I have a file called "works in progress." And this one was begun toward the end of January this year. It's been sitting there all this time, patiently waiting for me to either finish it or trash it.

I decided to finish it, and I uploaded it to Fine Art America yesterday. That brings my total offerings on FAA up to 1,697 pictures. I joined them in February of 2012.

I enjoy the sales success I'm having with them, but I also appreciate having a challenge, a daily reason to keep on creating, an incentive. Would I have done all this without having a sales outlet? Yes. But maybe I wouldn't be so driven. Maybe. I will never know. And that's okay.

©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.

It's Annual Crossword Puzzle Day!

Today is officially CROSSWORD PUZZLE day! This date in 1913 the very first crossword puzzle was published in the New York World newspaper. So whether you do them with a pencil and a very large eraser, or a big fat Magic Marker, take a moment today and fill in a few blanks.

And here’s a photo of mine that appeared on the cover of a New York Times crossword puzzle compendium some years ago. Ta da!

©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.

Latest work: "With a Touch of Red"

My photographs of old papers, scratched and inked papers, Japanese book pages, and a scrap of red come together nicely in this photomontage.

©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.

Eight years of December (part 2)

Continuing on from my previous post, these pictures are from Decembers of 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.

The mastodon postcard is one of my favorites and was fun to put together in 2013. All the "bits" came from my own collections of postage stamps, stickers, and more. Well, except for the mastodons, which I got from public-domain clip art and then colored and softened to blend in with the rest.

A close-up picture of my grandmother's silver bracelet forms the focal point of a photomontage I made in 2014.

In 2015 I brought a delicate leaf stem into the house to take a close-up that features negative white space as much as it does the yellow leaves.

And finally, in 2016 I created a bunch of boat collages using scraps of paper left over from larger collages. I photographed them using my iPhone and then applied an app to make them look rather fanciful. I was pleased at the time, created maybe 50. I couldn't figure out what to do with them, however, so they're just sitting patiently in the computer, waiting for me to make a decision.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, peace and kindness in the coming year.

©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.

Eight years of December (part 1)

Blogs are sort of like scrapbooks, you know? Keep at them long enough and you have a visual record of your life.

"Remember when we went to Florida and encountered no-see-ums for the first time?" Or, "I miss Dungeness crab season on the Oregon coast and all that activity, don't you?"

So I looked at the pictures I've posted in my blogs each December, going back to 2009. I selected one photo for each year.

And in '09 there was a big freeze on the Oregon coast, where water oozing out of the bluffs next to the ocean turned into frozen waterfalls. It was magical! And COLD.

Sanibel Island in Florida was NOT cold in December of 2010. This couple was hunting for shells and I liked their silver hair, their matching jeans, new sneakers, and especially her vivid red sweater. I purposely used a slow shutter speed to blur them into unrecognizability yet capture their togetherness as they both bent forward a bit looking for beach treasures.

In 2011 I was making weird things, using photos of (in this case) ice and clock parts. The preoccupation with time remains with me, although I seem to have no concept of it in real life.

And finally, crabbing season about to begin in 2012. All the boats along the docks in Newport, packed with crab pots and colorful buoys... So much going on, so much color, so much activity, and so much at stake for these folks, where a successful haul means a good Christmas and a strong financial start for the coming year.

Four more photos coming up in the next post. Fair warning!

©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.

Morning walk

Yesterday's walk ended up in our yard, where there, on the wood pile, I noticed turkey tail mushrooms (Trametes) growing on a log.

According to Google, these fungi are edible and can be made into a tea. Well, I'm neither that fond of mushrooms nor of tea to risk dying just because "Dr. Google" says it's okay. The turkey tails will remain unmolested there on the woodpile for years to come.

(Photographed with an iPhone.)

©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.

Morning walk

We live in a rural environment, not a regular "neighborhood" with sidewalks and such. We can't see our neighbors (neither from the street nor from our house), so going for a walk is rather an adventure.

(This first picture shows you moss (Usnea longissima) and lichens growing on tree branches right next to our road, which angles away in the upper right part of the frame.)

This morning I heard tree frogs, a chickaree (Douglas squirrel), a pileated woodpecker, and chickens.

I thought the chickaree was chattering at me, so I chattered back and moved closer. Usually they're higher up, on a tree branch, but this one (hidden from view) was down low and didn't move off as they usually do. Suspicious behavior.

A sudden flapping of wings and crackling of brush silenced the chickaree as a large bird zoomed away, leaving behind a pile of grey feathers. I didn't see the bird, but it was either a hawk (we have sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks) or an owl (we have great horned and barred owls). I apparently disturbed its breakfast.

The chickaree hadn't been worried about me at all. It was keeping its eye on the predator and warning everybody to WATCH OUT! A warning I obviously missed.

I moved on, ending up photographing some big-leaf maple and alder leaves, adorned by a little crown of oakmoss lichen (Evernia prunastri). A good walk, indeed.

©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.

Hawaii in black and white

There's a lovely grove of trees in Kilauea, on the island of Kauai, that are a delight and a challenge to photograph. While gazing at the scene, I decided to concentrate on these two trees in the immediate foreground. They lend themselves beautifully to a black and white treatment: bold forms and good contrast.

Someone commented in another forum that the trees look like a couple dancing the tango. And now that's exactly what I see every time I look at this!

Tropical scenes are usually all about luscious color (and hooray for that), but often there are little black and white nuggets quietly waiting to be discovered.

©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.

A week on Kauai

Just returned from a delightful week on the island of Kauai with good friends of like minds and interests.

We photographed like crazy, laughed like loons, explored, lounged, ate, read, and people-watched.

Here you see a house in Hanalei -- "Surfboard House" -- which caught our eye (naturally) and was fun to photograph.

Lush foliage both at the resort and in the town of Hanapepe practically gleamed in the overcast light we had most of the time.

And finally a view of Kalapaki Bay, photographed with an iPhone and intentional camera movement and slow shutter speeds.

I am so grateful to have been able to do this, and to return home with a few decent shots.

©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.

Happy Thanksgiving!

So grateful to have you all in my life. Have a very happy day!

©2017 Carol Leigh

Around the house . . .

There's a small pottery bowl sitting on a cabinet where I put little treasures, including a rock I wrapped in Japanese paper and added a metal button. Thank you, June, for the bowl. I love it still.

©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.

Latest work: "Lone Tree Sunrise"

A solitary tree alongside Bellingham Bay, Washington, up close to the Canadian border. Photographed with an iPhone and then processed in Photoshop. Across the bay is the Lummi Reservation and Lummi Island.

©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.