tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49317974389478666432024-03-12T15:52:18.569-07:00Carol Leigh Daily PhotoCarol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.comBlogger407125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-9661503082211231082010-03-20T05:13:00.000-07:002010-03-20T05:13:09.868-07:00WE'VE MOVED!My "daily photo" blog ends today, but continues on in my "Carol Leigh" blog at http://carolleigh.blogspot.com. Be sure to change your bookmarks, your Google Reader settings, your RSS feeds, etc. and we'll continue to stay in touch. Two blogs was ridiculous -- less is more. -- Carol LeighCarol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-9555720202602258092010-03-17T13:34:00.000-07:002010-03-17T13:34:42.088-07:00Love on the beachYou never know where you'll find a heart . . . And I'm sure we'll be seeing this one again since I brought it home with me. ©Carol LeighCarol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-62827495826604328202010-03-15T18:52:00.000-07:002010-03-15T18:52:52.893-07:00Fleur d'LeighChris brought flowers home yesterday and so this afternoon I decided to do some photography. I put them up on the kitchen counter and used window light coming from my right to illuminate them. A PhotoFlex diffusion disk/translucent reflector softened the light a bit. I used a 50mm lens and an extension tube, the lens set at f/1.8 for minimum depth of field. Lovely colors. Wonderful guy for Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-21213950451320597772010-03-12T17:21:00.000-08:002010-03-12T17:21:21.905-08:00Boats and waves
A quick stop at the fishing boats, where I photographed primarily texture to use in my photomontages. But across the way, the yellow fishing vessel Desire gleamed brightly against a cloudy grey sky. And then on the way home, we stopped at Seal Rock because the lighting was so dramatic and the waves were really snarly. I used a quarter-second exposure to create these two shots. They're not Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-24625860331176543902010-03-12T16:57:00.000-08:002010-03-12T17:22:03.150-08:00I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille ...
I wanted to check out an art gallery showing in Newport today and afterward I walked over to the ocean overlook where invariably there are lots of gulls, all looking for handouts. If my lens had focused closer than four feet, I could have gotten even closer to this guy -- he was fearless. ©Carol LeighCarol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-37844205340453162282010-03-10T18:30:00.000-08:002010-03-10T18:30:58.539-08:00On the living room floor
I was experimenting with various textures today and created these two images, one using an algebra book as a background and the other using a dryer sheet that I'd soaked in coffee. Abby's eyes grew wide when she saw the feather, but stayed back when I asked her to. For a change. P.S. The Sacramento Bee interviewed me this afternoon regarding California's wildflower season and asked about where Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-46284183321297478732010-03-07T05:22:00.000-08:002010-03-07T05:22:50.647-08:00It's the journey, not the destination...I took a day for myself yesterday, traveling some back roads of Oregon, on my way to an art show featuring recycled materials. Well, the art show was everything that made me uncomfortable -- crowds of people, small spaces, congestion, inability to really see the art, and cellphone talkers blocking corridors: "I'm here at the end of the hall. Can you see me now? No, as you're facing the FRONT of Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-31267431905976728182010-03-05T15:30:00.000-08:002010-03-05T15:30:38.138-08:00Alders in winterWe took a little drive this morning. Not much to shoot, but I did like how the alders this time of year are all bare and white on the hillsides. The scene was too messy for a "straight" photograph, so instead I set my shutter speed to 0.4 seconds and moved the camera up (or down) during the exposure to create a blurred impression of the scene. ©Carol LeighCarol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-74483356631004809712010-03-03T12:43:00.000-08:002010-03-03T12:43:59.367-08:00Old images, new eyesI'm currently teaching a class in how I do my photomontages, so I'm poking around in older photographs, looking at what I've done in the past with new eyes today. These two from New Mexico caught my attention, not for photomontages, necessarily, but because I never processed them. That happens all the time, doesn't it? You go somewhere, return home, process the most obvious, the "best," and then Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-9452193098066422952010-03-03T08:57:00.000-08:002010-03-03T08:57:02.494-08:00Same birds, different day A few days ago I downloaded the new version of Topaz Adjust, Topaz Adjust 4. I opened it up and it looked quite different and so set it aside until yesterday to play with it. Remember the high-key birds from a few days ago? The second photo shows you what I originally did. I then applied the Topaz Adjust 4 "Dark-Ghost" (or maybe it's "Ghost-Dark" -- can't remember) and cropped the photo down Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-45777021151820086562010-03-02T09:44:00.000-08:002010-03-02T09:44:57.611-08:00High-key birdageThis bird was photographed in the fog to begin with, so it didn't take much to pare it down to next to nothing. The original version of this photo is on my blog here: http://carolleighdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2010/01/75-minutes-on-beach.html ©Carol LeighCarol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-58680750772445994182010-03-01T09:40:00.000-08:002010-03-01T09:40:50.451-08:00More "stupid" bird photosI'm having fun processing these bird photos. As I mentioned in a previous post, I inadvertently underexposed them by 2/3 stop. They were also in very blue, shady lighting. Here's how I created this effect: I imported the file into Adobe Camera Raw. I slid the "clarity" slider all the way to the left and the "exposure" slider all the way to the right. Brought them into Photoshop and that's it. Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-24003924241645417922010-02-27T14:32:00.000-08:002010-02-27T14:32:52.547-08:00Stupid is as stupid does . . .It was quite the morning for stupidity. I mis-read the tide table, not only the high/low tide part, but also the date! So when I headed out for a quick walk on the beach this morning, I figured the tide was going out. Wrong. It was almost at its height! I managed to stay dry and cut my walk short. At least I wasn't out there during the tsunami!
And then I inadvertently set my exposure Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-39591961911872966672010-02-27T06:29:00.000-08:002010-02-27T06:29:35.717-08:00What's a daily photo blog without a daily photo?All photographic energies right now are going into creating and explaining my photomontage process for my class that begins on Monday, so "regular" photography seems to be on hold for the moment as I continue to critique students' work in my current class, create videos, combine photos, create lessons, and more. My camera is getting a rest while I am getting none. Right now, however, I wouldn't Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-68925047611066244182010-02-21T14:09:00.000-08:002010-02-21T14:09:53.584-08:00No parking . . .Lines in a local parking lot. Who says you have to go far to create interesting photographs? ©Carol LeighCarol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-75388647457106579562010-02-20T13:56:00.000-08:002010-02-20T13:56:24.411-08:00A good morning on the beachI've been really sick. And I'm sick of being sick. So today I pretended I was well and went to the beach to photograph. I think it worked. I faked myself out and am now ready to roll.
The bluffs that I photograph are incredibly colorful. Even more so when they're in the shade, which is when I do most of my shooting there. My "technique" is to walk along the shade of the bluffs on the first half Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-73704453050545784252010-02-20T05:09:00.000-08:002010-02-20T06:36:13.479-08:00And the sea turned silver . . .My last evening in southern California. A very pretty sunset in Encinitas as the sky briefly turned orange and then the sea turned silver. It was a great trip, and I thank everybody who joined me for making it so much fun. And to my gracious and oh-so-patient hosts, you made me feel right at home and so welcome. Thank you. ©Carol Leigh
Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-35941185300061114042010-02-19T10:37:00.000-08:002010-02-19T10:37:37.553-08:00Another drive-byShot through the windshield yesterday. 200mm lens, 1/4 second at f/25, ISO 100. ©Carol LeighCarol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-42182444697007299492010-02-18T14:17:00.000-08:002010-02-18T14:18:39.527-08:00Photo surprisesI like to be surprised, and while riding as a passenger in a car, shooting through the window, I've got nothing BUT surprises! We had an appointment inland this morning and en route I photographed (1) the pink and blue colors of sunrise at Ona Beach, (2) the soft pastel pink, purple, and green colors of trees in the distance, and then (3) bright sunlight coming through a line of trees.
This is Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-20190399374736813252010-02-18T04:50:00.000-08:002010-02-18T04:50:44.310-08:00Mission San Juan CapistranoAlways a pleasure to shoot. ©Carol LeighCarol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-4865469945122527482010-02-16T14:06:00.000-08:002010-02-16T14:07:56.838-08:00Light and shadow
Outside Mission San Juan Capistrano, cactus plants grow against the mission wall. Bright sunlight created beautiful shadows which I incorporated into the compositions. And then inside the mission grounds, I liked the way bold shadows sliced across a warm yellow wall and added mystery to a deep-set window. ©Carol LeighCarol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-86334055063024765572010-02-16T08:28:00.000-08:002010-02-16T08:28:03.784-08:00Takes my breath away . . .A morning spent at a nursery in eastern San Diego County always produces cool results, although most of my photos were primarily of texture and tree bark (don't ask). Old cars and trucks and their attendant rust and peeling paint make me hyperventilate. And a display of wrenches sits gleaming with beautiful patina on an old wooden shelf. Suitcases packed into the trunk of an old car provide a bitCarol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-79697888608851370332010-02-14T19:21:00.000-08:002010-02-14T19:21:27.433-08:00Riding the train between San Diego and San Juan CapistranoIt was a challenge photographing from the train window, and most of what I shot was awful: burred images through a dirty window. But the view from the train is unique, and so (to me) the pictures were interesting anyway. Here the train is zooming over a lagoon near Carlsbad and I like what I was able to create -- scenery with a sense of movement as well as a bit of clarity. Hoo ha! ©Carol LeighCarol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-36862810358385710642010-02-14T11:08:00.000-08:002010-02-14T11:08:22.207-08:00Santa Fe Train Depot, San DiegoTrain depot in San Diego, California. I used an 18-55mm lens and ISO settings ranging from 100 to 500. ©Carol Leigh
Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931797438947866643.post-41185020753251478472010-02-12T17:23:00.000-08:002010-02-12T17:24:38.655-08:00It's a wild life in La JollaIt was a sunny day in Portland when I arrived at the airport, but we had to wait 4 hours for a window of opportunity to land in San Diego, where it was POURING. I photographed this stack of La Jolla newspapers that featured a downed palm tree blocking the street.
A family of three sea lions lounges on the rocks at The Cove and a pelican lazily flies past. And then the last photo shows three Carol Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17795175430154077595noreply@blogger.com0