A walk around the block . . .

As soon as I pointed my camera upward, the crow on the wire took off. Bright sunlight glaring off some of his feathers makes them look white. You never know, sometimes, what you're gonna get . . . ©Carol Leigh

A walk around the block . . .

First of all, hello to June, Gisela, and Jill, who called me from a cafe in North Carolina just before I was headed out to walk. Crazy ladies . . . but I digress. This is a twig from a cedar tree (I believe) -- the road was littered with them. Since it was pouring rain during my walk, I didn't stop to shoot right there, but brought the twig home where I'd be warm and dry. The background is an old math book that I got at an antique mall -- bought it specifically to use the cover as a background and to use the pages in collage work.

I tweaked this picture a lot, clarifying and unclarifying it, blending the two, sharpening parts, then adding darkness around the outer edges. It's not a photomontage, but it comes kind of close. What I like is the overall richness of the colors, the warm fall look. ©Carol Leigh

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

A walk around the block . . .

Uh-oh. My "skinny" jeans don't fit and so as of yesterday have begun eating less and exercising more. (Novel concept.) On this morning's walk, I stopped by the woods where the lighting was rather challenging. In one instance the sun was peeking through the trees and at another location it was very shady.

I experimented with stopping my lens down to a small aperture so I could turn the sun into a little starburst. (1/10 second at f/14, 55mm lens). The photo seemed too stark, so I warmed it up with a slight sepia look and then softened it with a bit of blur.

In the shady part of the woods I experimented with moving my camera up/down during a 0.6-second exposure at f/13, again with a 55mm lens. I did a couple of other things that I'm waiting until next year to show you in my weekly Photomotivation tutorials/assignments. Are you on the list to receive the info when it comes out?

In addition, after my walk I brought a leaf indoors and created this little photograph of it: http://carolleigh.blogspot.com/2009/09/turning-over-old-leaf.html I think it's beautiful.

2010 is going to be a very good year for photography. Especially when I can fit back into those jeans. ©Carol Leigh

Heathers in bloom

My neighbor Tracy has a beautiful collection of heathers growing in her back yard. On our walk around the block she invited me back to take a look. Good thing I had my camera with me — the heathers were in full bloom.

I liked the pattern the different varieties made, and so, during a 1/6-second exposure, I moved my camera up and down to blur the colors together, hoping that they wouldn't blur so much that they completely blended. This shot shows the distinct colors nicely. ©Carol Leigh

A walk around the block . . .

It was a foggy morning but Tracy's Fuji cherry tree looked pretty good in full bloom. ©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

A walk around the block . . .

On our walk this morning, Chris found a twig that had two pine cones attached. "You've trained me well!" he said. "This would be good to photograph." One of the many reasons I love this guy. ©Carol Leigh

A walk around the block . . .

On my walk this morning I loved how this white clematis glowed against a very dark background. A 28-135mm IS lens captured it surprisingly well. ©Carol Leigh

Rhodies be a'bloomin'

Our neighbor, Gene, has beautiful rhododendron bushes in his front yard, all in bloom right now. I used my "walk around the block" 18-55mm lens for this one. ©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

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

Goldie in the window

I made a quick stop during my walk this morning and photographed my neighbor's cat Goldie as she looked at me through a dirty and rain-speckled window. The cat's orange, but I turned the shot into a soft black and white image which I think is more flattering to her. I was tempted to clone out each and every water spot on the window glass, but figured no, I actually DO have a life, and left them all in. Cute cat. This afternoon she helped us install a new bird feeder that Chris made. ©Carol Leigh

Arrrrrr . . .

Took a walk around the block this afternoon and saw a flatbed trailer on a side street with the word "Trailmaster" on the side. The "R" looked particularly good, ensconced in rust as it was. I'm sure this "R" will show up in a photomontage someday . . . ©Carol Leigh