13 minutes in a garden

This is Chris's day off and, since it wasn't raining, we headed up the coast to Lincoln City. May's the most beautiful month on the coast and all the rhododendrons are just coming into full bloom. We stopped briefly at the Connie Hansen Memorial Garden -- very tiny -- and slowly meandered about. A pathway leads out to a rhododendron dell; hostas grow thickly in the shade; and a bench sits surrounded by forget-me-nots and flaming orange rhodies. Just 13 minutes, but very refreshing. ©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

43 minutes at the aquarium

Car accident = doctor visits so I treated myself to a quick stop at the Oregon Coast Aquarium on my way home from the hospital. All I took was my camera with the 18-55mm "kit" lens. The best thing about this lens (other than it's very lightweight) is that it can focus as close as 6 inches. I set the ISO at 800 and the metering system at "P" (for "perfect") and had fun. The shots aren't super-great, but it was a relaxing, stress-free little interlude.

Evening grosbeak

The evening grosbeaks have arrived, joining the American goldfinches and the black-headed grosbeaks at the feeder. The first time I ever saw this bird was last year and I was stunned at how big and tropical they look -- just beautiful. I took this shot through a dirty window, using a 70-200mm L lens and a 2X teleconverter. It came out surprisingly well. ©Carol Leigh

The Art of Seeing - 090510

The first photo is an abstract image of rock patterns on the bluffs at the high tide line. The second photo shows you what the bluffs look like and what, in particular, caught my eye. The third photo, the feather, is a rather boring shot of a crow feather. But I shot it knowing that I would incorporate it later in a photomontage, which you can see here. It was a good morning, and I walked for miles. ©Carol Leigh

The beast

If you don't know the cat, you probably don't see it. But if you live with the little creep, and have for almost five years, then you DO see the subtle expressions, such as this one, which is basically Abby saying, "Sigh. Again with the camera?" You'd think that, since we've given her a swell little cat quilt, that she'd be slightly more accommodating, slightly more enthusiastic about being photographed, but nope, that ain't gonna happen. ©Carol Leigh

It's a tough job . . .

Okay, I've been practicing for my upcoming online photo class, where one segment is devoted to food photography. That means, of course, that I've got to have food to shoot. Good-looking food. And here's where Chris enters the picture. He can prepare good-looking food! So this morning's chore was to (a) check out a new recipe we found for pancakes and then (b) shoot 'em. Well, it was a smashing success, as you can see. We had to walk a bit afterwards to work these puppies off, so a quick trip to the fishing boats was definitely in order. Where naturally I had to take even more photos. Work, work, work . . . ©Carol Leigh