Five at Five – Ann-Christine aka Leya of Leya – To See a World in a Grain of Sand…

Fri 12th Aug, 2022

This week’s Five at Five Intro features Photographer Ann-Christine aka Leya of Leya – To See a World in a Grain of Sand blog. Ann-Christine’s About Page says:

What do you need to know about me? Not much, really. The most essential things will be clarified if you read my blog now and then… I guess you already know my favourite interests and that I am a woman. Maybe I´m a buddhist. I still avoid treading on ants.

I have some experience of life as I have already been here for the first half of it – provided I will have an average length of life. A great deal of it, so far, has been dedicated to travelling, and travel experiences will be quite apparent in many of my posts.

Five at Five Questions

When and how did you start on your photographic journey?

I was about 10-11 and my grandmother had an old “box”, a Brownie. It still worked, and I was hooked. Bought a Kodak Instamatic and took some photos of friends and nature. Most photos were useless…and the whole process cost too much for a young school girl. I got more serious about 15 years ago, because before that, my boyfriend/husband had a much more fancy camera than I could afford – or wanted. So he took all the photos from many years of extensive travels. Today I regret I didn’t buy a camera of my own earlier, because all our travels in Asia, Africa and South America are now tucked away in slides.

What subject do you like photographing the most?

Nature, flowers, close-ups and macro.

Have you been influenced by other photographers, if so by whom and why? If not, who is your favourite photographer?

I guess I am always influenced by others – bloggers and photographers. That is part of the fun – see and learn, give and take. Favourite photographers are Matthias Klum https://www.mattiasklum.com/prints and Tom Warren https://aquietpath.wordpress.com/ and https://tomwarrenphoto.wordpress.com/

What is the go-to camera equipment that you use regularly and what software do you use to process your images?

I have a Nikon d7000 that I love, but I have left it on the tripod for macro shooting – it is too heavy for me these days. I bought a mirrorless Fujifilm XT4 which is my main camera now. For processing I use Lightroom and Photoshop, sometimes Nik.

What is your favourite method of processing an image? (i.e., colour, monochrome, saturated, dreamy look etc)

My processing mainly consists of making shadows less dark, removing irritating spots and cropping. I love to try new things though, but seldom use them for my blog…Some images I make softer, because I like a smooth touch better than a knife sharp one. But it all depends on the image and what I want to say with it. I must admit I am a colour girl – monochromes are wonderful for drama and portraits (Tom Warren is a master…), but…I usually end up keeping the colours.