Old images, new eyes

I'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 you move on to more current photographs, forgetting that maybe you have a treasure trove of older images, just waiting to be polished off, dusted off, and presented on the shelf.

Both of these pictures were taken in the little town of Cerrillos, on the Turquoise Trail south of Santa Fe. Old images. New eyes. Good stuff. ©Carol Leigh

Things that fall out of books

I found them in Santa Fe, stuck them into a book to dry, then rediscovered them yesterday. Aspen leaves. Reminders of fall in other places. I took a simple photograph. Very shallow depth of field so that just the middle of the leaf, where it meets (becomes) the stem is in focus. Meanwhile, we have 30mph winds and rain and hail and one rumble of thunder which sent the cat under the bed for hours. ©Carol Leigh

Positive thoughts in Santa Fe

It's all good. ©Carol Leigh

Mixed messages in Santa Fe

St. Francis church in black and white

The sun was so harsh and the shadows so bold, I decided to work with the contrasty conditions rather than against them. I turned the original color images into a more cooler-toned black and white look. Two views of the same architectural detail, one vertical, one horizontal. To see a more subtle photomontage of this church, click over to my photomontage blog here. ©Carol Leigh

On the low road to Taos

We stopped at a number of places along the low road to Taos. The milagro-encrusted cross was nailed to the side of a fruit stand. The old screen door/porch we saw at "Gasoline Alley" near Embudo. And "Ristra #58" was tucked away in a corner in Ranchos de Taos. As usual with me, no big vistas, just lots of details. It's a flaw. ©Carol Leigh

Santa Fe color

Ohmygosh. I am swamped. I am sinking in a sea of photos. Preparing for my macro photography class, I have pictures everywhere depicting depth of field, composition, set-ups, lenses, before/after, lighting, and I still haven't finished downloading all my New Mexico shots. Why? Because I have run out of room. Yes, I have external drives hooked up all over the place (five on this computer alone, three more on the older computer), but I'm wary of just dumping pictures here and there. Plus, not all five drives can be plugged in at the same time. I'm not going to go on. It's too screwy and it's not entertaining for you to read.

And then I went to the aquarium yesterday. So I've got those pictures to deal with.

In the meantime, here are two photos that somehow survived the treacherous journey from laptop to DVD to computer. Like salmon swimming upstream, trying to avoid the bears, here they are — a couple of colorful photographs from Santa Fe.

And now back to sorting and deleting and selecting for the macro class. ©Carol Leigh

Sculptures, galleries, and leather in Santa Fe

I'm home now and beginning to look at some of my photos. I'm transferring them from my laptop into my "real" computer, deleting and tweaking as I go.

Two large bird sculptures adorn the entry to Santa Fe's new convention center. A purple gallery door is open to give us a peek at a painting inside on Canyon Road. Also on Canyon Road, a pot sits in a gallery window. And finally, a close-up of detail on a leather jacket in a shop on the Plaza. ©Carol Leigh

Yeah, but how's your camera?

While photographing in the red rock area near Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, I tripped on a rock(probably a red one) and went crashing to the ground. My left leg was kind of shredded. Lots of blood. Lots of drama. A day later and I still hurt. But the blood no longer runs down my leg, which is a good thing.

The camera? (And I know that's what you're really concerned about.) Well, it still works. But to see my photos on the LCD screen I have to ignore the raggedy "X" mark that's permanently scratched on it. I need this camera to demonstrate certain things at my upcoming macro class on the 10th, so I can't send it yet to Canon for repair.

Wish I'd photographed my damaged leg at the height of its yuckiness. But nope, a search for water and bandages was foremost in my mind. So here it is. A photo blog post that is photo-free. [And wouldn't you know? It's gotten more comments than my posts that actually contain photos! There's a message here somewhere . . .]

More from Santa Fe

Fresh bell peppers at the Farmers' Market in Santa Fe, aspens just beginning to turn color, and mailboxes off Canyon Road. Now off to Durango, Colorado.

Details, New Mexico

A door at the Santuario de Chimayo gleams in low light, while the church at Ranchos de Taos appears a reddish-peach due to recent rains. And finally, a cranky-looking pottery bird looms large in a shop. Warm and sunny all day. Long day for everyone. ©Carol Leigh

Yeah, but it's a DRY rain . . .

After a critique session, we headed back to the Plaza to photograph in the late afternoon into twilight. Ha! We ended up huddled under an overhang watching the biggest raindrops I've ever seen pound into the pavement. Fun, however, and an early dinner was most welcome. ©Carol Leigh

Around the Plaza in Santa Fe

Our day began with a hearty breakfast and a morning spent photographing around the Plaza. We're working on incorporating bold shadows in our photos (last photo) and people (first photo -- ha!). Fun stuff for everyone. ©Carol Leigh

A quick walk around the Plaza

I did a quick walk around the Plaza this morning to refresh my memory and, as usual, the photo possibilities made my heart pound. Although I like the first photo, I don't like that the shadows themselves are soft -- as they actually were. Perhaps earlier, more direct light might work better here. But I love the "stripes" in the photo, with the blue, the tan, and then the whitish-grey.

The shadows in the second photo look to me like the wing of a bird. I have a feeling this shot will be eventually used in a photomontage. And then the third photo, I don't know, the three triangular shapes plus the way the tip of the triangle stands out against the black window all appeal to me. There's a little triangle of sky upper right.

All were taken with the same 18-55mm lens, which is a good walking-around lens. I didn't take any other lenses with me for this quick walk -- it's good practice to work with what you have, using the particular characteristics of that lens. It was a GREAT little walk. And I got some decent little photos. ©Carol Leigh

Canyon Road

The lighting during my scouting foray on Canyon Road was beautiful. Overcast skies made the colors gleam. Due to limited Photoshop accessibility right now, I'm processing just a few shots here and there. When I return home is when the real work begins. I'm getting excited about the workshop. These folks are going to get some terrific photographs! ©Carol Leigh

Scoping out the aspens

I'm scouting out my usual locations prior to the workshop, making sure everything is still where I remember it. The aspens are just thinking about turning color. This lone leaf is covered with raindrops from last night's rain while white tree trunks gleam against a dark background. Both shot with an 18-55mm lens. My only Photoshop program in my laptop is Elements 5, so I'm not spending much time tweaking these in the field. When I get back home, however, watch out! ©Carol Leigh

Santo de Chimayo

It often takes a while to process a photograph. Last fall I saw this carving outside a window in Chimayo, New Mexico. A hand was missing, the window was spattered with dirt, and the lighting wasn't ideal, but I knew there was a photo lurking in there somewhere. So yesterday I pulled it out, dusted it off, added a hand, and brought out more of the texture in the wood.

Some might say that perhaps this santo was even more charming before I cleaned it up. Well, as the self-appointed queen of all things dirty, rusty, and grungy, I can say that no, it was definitely not more charming! The beauty of photography is that we are encouraged to look, to explore, to extract, and then to process. The looking and the exploration is fun — road trip! The extraction is a challenge — to create order out of chaos, to consider what is and what might be. The processing brings everything together, involving memories of your exploration, your feelings at the time the shutter clicked, and then tapping your skill in presenting to the world your little slice of life, and, in this case, a little slice of the woodcarver's life. ©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