The art of seeing . . .

On my walk this morning I passed by the empty lots where I've found some pretty good weeds from time to time. The first photo shows you what the scene looks like. The second photo shows you what it looks like IF YOU'RE INSANE! I moved the camera up/down during the exposure. Taken with the lens set at 55mm, 0.8 seconds at f/29. ©Carol Leigh

Weeds

It was very foggy this morning during my walk around the block, and the weeds in an empty lot looked rather good -- colorwise. To blend the colors even more, I moved the camera up (or down, can't remember which) during the exposure. The exposure was 0.6 seconds at f/29 on a lens set at 27mm. Not the best shot in the world, but whaddaya expect? They're weeds! ©Carol Leigh

Yet another dandelion

Beginning with a dandelion puff and a piece of blue fabric, I used a macro lens, various extension tubes, and a close-up diopter to move in tight. My online class is working on the color blue at the moment, so I thought I'd join in and created this. ©Carol Leigh

More dandelions . . .

The seeds on this dandelion puff pretty much all blew off in the wind before I could get it home, so I made do with the few that were left. The first two shots were taken with a 100mm macro lens plus some extension tubes and then toned slightly blue in Photoshop. They had a bluish cast to begin with, so adding a bit more blue seemed appropriate. The third shot was taken with a 50mm lens and a couple of extension tubes. I used a flashlight to give the center portion a bit of a glow. ©Carol Leigh

Allergies?

I post this photo not because it's good, but because it's incredible. I've been photographing weeds and I noticed, after I bumped one, the substantial shower of pollen that came down. So, during a 1/25-second exposure, I shook two stems of weeds and captured the pollen fallout. No, nothing's in focus, but man, check out the pollen! Now I see how people who are allergic to this stuff are made miserable. Luckily I'm immune, because I now have a little studio that's packed with pollen. ©Carol Leigh

Out in the weeds

Down the street there's a vacant lot and growing there right now are salal, berry bushes, and lots of weeds. I don't know what kind they are, but they look really pretty -- at least they do to me -- so, yup, gotta see what I can do with them. The first photo is an overview of what they look like. And then I began working with a 100mm macro lens, various and sundry extension tubes, a two-element close-up diopter, and even a teleconverter. I've shot a couple hundred images so far and haven't begun to scratch the surface. I'm working with very shallow depth of field, using apertures between f/2.8 and f/4 primarily. More to come. Fair warning! ©Carol Leigh

Dandelions yet again . . .

I think this is gonna be it for the dandelions for a while. At least, this is it for the daily photo blog. Time to show you all something else. What will it be? Darned if I know tonight . . . tomorrow's another day. ©Carol Leigh

Dandelions again . . .

The beauty (and the curse) of photography is that everything is always in flux. Your skills change, your way of seeing changes, your interests change, your equipment changes, computers and software change, your proficiency with computers and software changes. What seems to remain constant is the sheer delight in seeing or creating something incredibly beautiful and/or different. Whether I'm photographing rusty oil cans or dandelion puffs, clock faces, cats, or sunsets, the common denominator is finding the beauty in everything. Here's wishing you the ability to do the same. ©Carol Leigh

Dandelion part deux

At 6:50 this morning I figured I'd spend about 20 minutes photographing a dandelion. More than an hour later I came up for air. I'm trying to create images that reflect the light and airy nature of these beautiful weeds and so am purposely overexposing my shots and purposely using very shallow depth of field. The gear? Various combinations of a 100mm macro lens, extension tubes, and a two-element close-up diopter. ©Carol Leigh

Dandelion

A new opportunity, and they've been here year after year, and I've never REALLY taken the time to photograph them. After all, they're just weeds . . . ©Carol Leigh

A walk around the block . . .

I spotted this blade of grass last week and vowed to photograph it. What caught my eye was the sharp angle as well as the complementary red and green colors. This morning I finally took the photo, using a 100mm macro lens and a Nikon 6T close-up diopter on the front. Simple color palette, simple composition, almost Asian in its look. ©Carol Leigh

Leaving the nest

I picked up this dandelion puff on my walk this morning and was taken by the way one little seed was ready to drift away, yet still clung to the "mother ship." I didn't have a macro lens on the camera, so did the best I could with the 18-55mm I did have. This is worth doing again "for real," in the studio. Once the rain stops I think I'll head out and gather a few more and see if I can replicate this concept, using more appropriate equipment. ©Carol Leigh

Purple Twilight

This photo wasn't taken today, but was processed today. I'm behind in backing up my photos and came across this picture taken in Santa Fe in September. At the time I shot it, I liked how the pampas grass looked against the adobe wall. The grasses are lighted by car headlights as well as a spotlight coming down from above. I darkened the scene somewhat and enhanced the natural purple color. Yellow + purple = complementary colors. Works for me! ©Carol Leigh