It'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 the building. Now can you see me? I can see YOU!" God forbid that he should just shut up and walk 75 feet to his friend. But I digress.

It was enjoyable driving along, taking whichever road caught my fancy, past barns and goats and junky cars. Some of the coolest things, however, were inaccessible. And we all have been there: a barn, an animal, a scene, and there's no place to pull over and stop, and there are 12 cars behind you all wanting to go faster than you, and three miles later, when you can finally do a U-turn and go back, you're in the same damned situation, with no place to stop, cars piling up, and, well, you know.

What I ended up doing was stopping in a couple small towns, parking near the grain elevator, and walking around. If there was a railroad track nearby, BONUS! So I came home with a lot of photos of corrugated metal, texture for my photomontages, numbers and rivets on train cars, and peeling paint.This kind of stuff makes me happy, but I know it's not the most interesting for the rest of the world.

Bottom line? Other than our population is WAY out of control and we act self-centered and rude a lot of the time, it was a good day! I can't ask for much more than to be out of the house, traveling roads I've never been on, seeing, photographing, and under no pressure. We ALL could use a bit more of that, don't you think? ©Carol Leigh

Nye Beach miscellanea

After lunch we took a walk around Nye Beach, a place that Sir James would call a "target-rich environment." I found a nautical-looking door, a leather purse inside a store window, some colorful architectural detail, and some funky texture. Every time I walk around this town I find something new and different and cool to photograph.

We headed home, but at Seal Rock we had to make one more stop . . . ©Carol Leigh

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

Permission to play on Labor Day

If we don't take the time to experiment and play, well, nothing seems to move forward. So today I pulled out a photo I took at the Disney Concert Hall a couple of years ago, cropped off some of the left side, added a better sky, and turned it into a square. ©Carol Leigh

Astoria, Oregon architectural detail

Architectural detail in Astoria, Oregon. A mural on a wall, hotel windows, and the Liberty Theatre all caught my eye. ©Carol Leigh

Birthday getaway

It was more of a fun getaway than a photo trip (which is completely out of character for me) and we had a great time traveling down and up the coast for three days, relaxing, reading, sightseeing, eating, and a wee bit o' photography now and again. ©Carol Leigh

A walk around the block . . .

As I walked past her house I asked my neighbor if I could photograph the detail on her fountain. Overcast lighting and texture and a lovely face all came together well. And not a clock in sight. ©Carol Leigh