Poppy pods

I placed a vase of poppy pods on the flatbed scanner. Kind of a neat look! ©Carol Leigh

Another store closing . . .

An antique store up the road is closing. Heavy sigh. I shoot through the window from the outside at some bottles she still has on the shelves inside. ©Carol Leigh

No rain!

Our first rain-free day in what seems like forever, so we headed up to Newport to run some errands and enjoy the day. The "Kylie Lynn" fishing vessel heads out of the harbor and the shady side of a colorful building in Nye Beach looks particularly good. ©Carol Leigh

Yeah, like we need another cat photo on the Internet

At the end of the day, when I realize that no, I've not yet shot my "photo of the day," it's good to know I have a trusty cat to turn to. She's sitting on my desk. Getting in the way of everything. ©Carol Leigh

At the last minute . . .

This is one of those "last minute for the daily blog" desperation photos. At least it's kind of colorful . . . ©Carol Leigh

Abby in the box

Some art supplies arrived today via Priority Mail. Abby snuggled down in among the packing paper. What is it with cats and boxes? ©Carol Leigh

Pigeons in Santa Fe

I'm preparing a lesson in line and design for an upcoming 30-day class and so worked on this shot a bit. Although it was taken in Santa Fe, New Mexico last September, it wasn't until yesterday that I felt it was right. ©Carol Leigh

Oriental poppy

I was experimenting today with Channel Mixer in Photoshop. So much to learn. So little patience. ©Carol Leigh

From the spice drawer . . .

Chris made chicken noodle soup tonight while I scurried about with a 50mm f/1.8 lens and an extension tube. His soup came out better than my photo! ©Carol Leigh

Rock studies . . .

Since the van's probably toast, we rented a car today and began looking at used cars. Ick. So then I went back to the beach I discovered on Tuesday and tried some more rock studies. Although the day was overcast, the rocks are dripping wet and just a bit too shiny for what I'm looking for. Still, can't beat spending an hour on a beautiful beach searching for colorful abstract patterns! Life is good . . . ©Carol Leigh

Stayin' alive . . .

I knew immediately that the SUV was going to hit me straight on, so I slowed as much as possible and huddled up against the guardrail. Luckily her car began to spin, cutting her speed. The impact was huge, however, and my van is now totalled. Firemen got me out. Incredibly, neither she, nor I (nor my camera) were seriously injured. In the blink of an eye. . . ©Carol Leigh

A new beach reveals new possibilities

I had a rather interesting day today. Wanting to get out and shoot some more sand and rock studies, I headed for my favorite beach. Its little parking lot was full, so I went up the road to another beach. Even though the light was way too contrasty, I was still able to take some beautiful photographs, and can't wait for the next overcast day so that I can do it right.

On my way home, a car headed in the opposite direction took a curve too fast, skidded, the driver overcorrected and as a result her SUV slammed head-on into my van. I could see it all begin, I slowed down, moved as far right as I could, then waited for impact. We both walked away, relatively unscathed. Police told us that along that particularly dangerous stretch of road, most head-on impacts result in both drivers being killed.

Mortality looms its head and I thank whoever was in charge this afternoon for letting me walk away from this. I hate to think that these not-quite-the-way-I-want-them photos might have been my last!

Spirals

In my current online photo class my students are working on photographing spirals. I try to shoot right along with 'em, and so took this photo of a sea shell. ©Carol Leigh

More sand and rock studies . . .

I love this sort of photography, looking about, finding patterns, lines, curves, compositions, etc. out of seemingly nothing. How many people passed these things before I did, never giving them a second glance? Too bad. ©Carol Leigh

A morning at the beach

There was a low tide this morning plus bright overcast light, perfect for me to go out and photograph sand and rock studies. I have learned, living here on the Oregon coast, to make my schedule flexible enough so that if the weather is good, to fly out the door and shoot. Rain's on its way, so the timing was great. ©Carol Leigh

Boing!

When you take a clock apart, cool things leap out! This big old spring was a pleasant surprise. I photographed it in front of a red piece of fabric, but didn't quite like it, so I toned the picture in Photoshop to give it a colder, more (appropriately) metallic look. My current online class students are working on spirals. Who knew all you have to do to find one is open up an old clock? ©Carol Leigh

Corn muffins!

Chris made corn muffins for breakfast this morning. There were two left over, so I took them into the studio to shoot. A fun but fattening morning. ©Carol Leigh

Quick trip up the coast

We had some errands to run up in Lincoln City, so I took a few drive-by shots en route, the best of which (which isn't all that good) is this photo of a lone tree on a windswept bluff. And then a stop at Road's End to watch the waves while a gull watched us, hoping for a handout. Cold, cloudy day and then the rains really hit on the drive back. The best part of the trip is that I found two more oil cans to add to my stash! I anticipate great things from these finds. ©Carol Leigh

Curves

Experimenting a bit, having fun on a blustery day. ©Carol Leigh

Oil can du jour . . .

It's rainy and nasty out so I fired up the flatbed scanner and set the oil can on top of it. Voila! My photo of the day. Here's another oil can photomontage. ©Carol Leigh

It's snowing on the Oregon coast . . .

And here's what our "decklet" looks like in it. Beautiful to watch and luckily it doesn't stick long, doesn't last long. ©Carol Leigh

Frosty morning

Things were extremely frosty again this morning, and I particularly liked how the wild strawberries in front of the house looked. ©Carol Leigh

M is for Mailbox . . .

In keeping with my resolution to "shoot early, shoot late" this year, I was out this frosty morning with a macro lens, taking a walk around the block. Most of my photos weren't sharp and so I dumped them. But I like this "M" I found on my neighbor's mailbox, especially the way the water droplets are still clinging to it, yet dripping down here and there. Walking around the block may not sound exciting as a photo shoot, but when you're up early, when there's interesting light, when you open your brain to whatever comes along, there's art to be made. ©Carol Leigh

Hearts and cement . . .

I was playing around with the flatbed scanner today and ended up shooting some hearts and cheesecloth. When I combine that photograph with a picture of a crack in the cement floor of my garage, weirdness abounds. ©Carol Leigh

Sand and rock studies . . .

This afternoon I had a brief window of opportunity to go back to the beach at low tide (this time with a tripod) and shoot some sand/rock studies. With a forecast of rain, I knew I didn't have much time. Photo tip: Tripods sink into wet sand, thereby completely negating the benefits of using a tripod! I looked for firmer sand and did what I could. Got back to the car just as the rain hit -- perfect timing. Great afternoon. ©Carol Leigh

15 minutes on the coast . . .

As we drove south to Yachats this evening, I shot a "drive-by" of Alsea Bay looking west; the bridge railing blurs in the immediate foreground as we go. A finger of fog is coming into the bay, past houses on a sand dune spit on the right. In the second photo, a fishing boat makes its way north as gulls take off from foreground tidepools. The third photo is a "sweep" shot of the ocean; the light on the fishing boat turns into a dotted line during the half-second exposure. And finally, another drive-by of the mouth of the Yachats River as we're moving slowly southeast, away from the setting sun. All photos taken within 15 minutes. How the light can change! ©Carol Leigh

Esssssss

On my walk around the block this morning I noticed how weathered my neighbor's mailbox is getting. (If she ever moves, I would LOVE to have her mailbox!) Her last name ends in "S" and that's what I zoomed in on. I darkened the edges a little bit so that the "S" would stand out more, but that's about it. ©Carol Leigh

Goldie

I was experimenting with taking pictures without looking through the viewfinder. My neighbor's cat Goldie came along and so I just pointed and clicked. Definitely not the sort of photo I would have ordinarily taken, but I find it appealing nevertheless. ©Carol Leigh

Oil can . . . first in what promises to be a long series

I have fallen in love with old oil cans. Seriously. Their shapes. Their patina. Their form/function characteristics. I love them. I found six in an antique store the other day and bought them all. Luckily they're relatively inexpensive. But oh, they're gorgeous. Here's the cutest one. Shhhh, don't tell the others . . . ©Carol Leigh

Ona Beach

I know that I and maybe just three other people like these "drive-by" shootings, but the thrill has not dissipated at all since I began doing them a couple of years ago, and so they continue. I've learned to look for distinct shapes, shapes that are easily identifiable in all the blur, and that's what I find every time we drive past Ona Beach between Waldport and Newport. Here the sky/ocean blend together in a strip of blue, the white sand forms a second layer, and then the dark ground acts as a base from which the trees rise. The cool thing is that each shot is unique. I could not take this same photograph again if I wanted to. Everything depends on the speed of the vehicle, the bumps in the road, the light, and the shutter speed. Fun stuff! ©Carol Leigh