Kat Eye Studio

  • Home
  • Portfolio
  • Books
    • Art with an iPhone
    • Digital Photography for Beginners
  • Workshops
    • Mobile Photography Workshop Series
    • iPhone Art Workshop
    • Out of the Box Composition Workshop
    • Photography & Creativity Talks
  • Free Resources
    • Mobile Tutorials
    • Exploring with a Camera
    • Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap
  • Blog
  • About
    • Artist Statement
    • Background & Experience
    • Contact

April 10, 2015 by Kat

Guest Post: Photographing Pets with your Smartphone

Today we have a guest post by photographer Jolanda Boekhout from The Netherlands. Jolanda and I first met through Big Picture Classes in 2010 and she has participated in four of the five Liberate Your Art Postcard Swaps. I was marveling over her postcards, where were images of her cats she posts on Instagram, and asked her if she would share about her 365 project and how to photograph pets with your smartphone. Welcome and thank you, Jolanda! I’m inspired to go photograph my pets now.

A 365 with My Cats

I started a 365‐project with my iPhone for the first time in 2012. Since that moment I haven’t stopped shooting daily, addictive as it is. Sitting on the couch on New Years’ day morning 2014 with my three cats around me I already knew my word for 2014, ‘quiet’, but I still had no clue what my 365 photography project for 2014 would be. I jokingly asked my partner Eric what he thought of me following the cats with my camera for a year. He didn’t think it would be interesting or challenging enough. Boy, how wrong he was.

All is Quiet

All is Quiet

So I started this adventure with Tara, Blackie & Piet… with a little doubt in my heart. Would my photos be diverse enough to make the project interesting? Would my cats be bored with me after a while? Would I feel bored with shooting the same photos over and over again? How could I think all these disturbing thoughts! After a few days I got more and more excited. My cats have such an interesting and adventurous life!

Quite the Adventurer

Quite the Adventurer

Working with your own animals can be challenging, in spite of what Eric said. Animals have a mind of their own. You can’t ask them to sit and pose in a certain way, well you can ask, but the outcome won’t be like you have in mind. :‐D. Registering a habit you love on photo needs a lot of patience. You need to have your iPhone close all the time, and it can take a lot of photos till you’re satisfied with the result.

The reward came with photos that made my heart sing. A photo of the contentment on Piet’s face while sitting on my lap, the details of the beautiful and characteristic coloring of Tara’s fur and Blackie’s mischievous actions made me feel full of love. Working together and watching them being patient with me filled me with emotion. Some photos made me laugh and some made me cry of love. But all of my photos are special in one way or another, like my cats are special.

The Outside Office

The Outside Office

I ended the year with sadness in my heart. How could I stop photographing my beautiful friends? I haven’t stopped. I’ve set a goal for myself to shoot 365 photos for Tara, Blackie and Piet so that I can create a 365‐book for each of them.

All of my 365 photos I share on Instagram as @jofabi (and Flickr and Facebook ). Tara, Blackie & Piet have their own hashtag (#tarateetje, #apeknapie & #sweetpiet.).

What made a 365 with my cats priceless? With so many photos of each of them I’ve been creating a beautiful memory, in experiencing the adventures in their lives in an active way, but also with a beautiful collection of photos.


How to photograph your pet with your iPhone…

There are several things you need to remember when photographing your pet, in general and with a phone.

The basics: Be patient | Shoot | Practice

First of all you need to be aware that photographing your pet takes patience. Shooting your pet with your DSLR or your phone doesn’t make a difference in that. Photographing your pet with your phone has the advantage that you’ve got your phone close all day long. Don’t give up too soon if you don’t get the result you want right away. Give it time. And always be sweet with your pet.

Observe your pet with different eyes. Connect with your pet and try to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. Once your pet is accustomed to you and your camera being close all the time he or she will take you on a beautiful journey.

Making yourself ‘invisible’ is a great way to get surprising images. Try to focus your attention on anything but your pet and press the button when your pet settles down and thinks you’re not watching.

Invisible

The Box

What I love about animals is the look on their faces when they are focused, on you or an imaginary prey. This is the moment that you can tap your point of focus, the eyes for instance, easier because you’ve got some extra seconds. A phone doesn’t focus as fast as a DSLR so you need to get creative with your pet.

Do Not Look at Me

Do Not Look at Me


Sometimes I choose photos that are not in focus. Some of the actions of my cats make it impossible to focus. Having patience with yourself is important in those moments. And accidental shots, which for me are mostly out of focus, can be really beautiful. I often remind myself that a blurry photo tells a story too. What I look for when choosing my daily photo out of a couple of blurry photos is a nice composition or an expression or pose that says it all.

Missed you too Blackie

Missed you too Blackie

And what I always like to photograph is my sleeping cats. Be as silent as possible, study your pet and try a different vantage point (from above or lie flat on your belly).

Drop of Sunshine

Drop of Sunshine

When you get the hang of following your pet with your phone after some time you can start to add some extras to your photos. Play with composition, light and shadow or lines and shapes. Catching lens flare, which is really easy with a phone, is adding a dreamy, playful or funny tone to a photo.

6 Collage 91 289 357

Be aware of the background in your photo. Choosing the right background, which can be any part of your home without daily life clutter, can add peace to your photo. But deliberately photographing your pet in your daily clutter can tell a story just as much.

When starting to follow your pet daily with your phone think about what you want to remember. Maybe a habit, daily rituals, sharing cuddles, an action with a favorite toy and your interaction with your pet. Once you start you’ll be inspired by the day.

A Windy Morning

A Windy Morning

Xo
Jolanda
Instagram: @jofabi, Flickr, Facebook

Thank you so much Jolanda!! Visit here for more mobile tutorials!

Filed Under: Mobile Tutorial, The Kat Eye View of the World Tagged With: guest post, iPhone, Jolanda Boekhout, mobile tutorial, photographing pets, smartphone

August 7, 2014 by Kat

Gatherings through the Lens: Guest Post by Holly Clark

Today I’d like to introduce you to Holly Clark! I met Holly through Mortal Muses, the collaborative photography site I was involved with several years ago. I don’t think we were ever Muses at the same time, but we’ve gotten to know each other through a mutual love for all things photographic. Her work is beautiful, and her enthusiasm comes through in all she does. Give her a warm welcome!


The past few months have been busy for me and it feels like summer has somehow passed me by. August. Already. How did that happen? Part of the illusion was created by the late arrival of temperatures here in the Northeast. For the first time in years, we didn’t turn on our air conditioning until the beginning of June! Work has been busy from mid-May straight through until now, which when you work for yourself is a blessing indeed, but it certainly left the garden in shambles! Luckily I was able to find a few evenings to relax amongst friends celebrating whatever was on hand.

Gatherings_KatEyeView_2

In early May it was the annual Kentucky Derby where a group of us gathers to bet on the horses, mix mint and bourbon and catch up on each other’s stories from the past year. In February, we lost our close friend –who ran the “bank” – to pneumonia, so this year’s celebration was in his honor. I took over the betting running the bank and I think I did Eric proud.

Gatherings_KatEyeView_3

We sipped juleps, ate burgers, talked nonsense and lived in the moment enjoying the camaraderie of this year’s gang.

Gatherings_KatEyeView_4

In June we gathered with friends to watch the USA’s opening world cup soccer match with some friends. Lee’s a British expatriate, now American, who’s built his own English pub in his basement to remind him of home! Not only was his bar fully stocked, but he had craft beer on the tap and willingly poured us all a tall, delicious pint while we shouted at the TV and cheered on the game.

Gatherings_KatEyeView_5

In July one of my closest girlfriends had us over for dinner to celebrate my birthday, always a treat once you’ve passed the big milestones. 41 couldn’t have started better with big hugs from little girls and tasty hors d’oeuvre with a lovely South African white wine.

Gatherings_KatEyeView_6

Gatherings_KatEyeView_7

We grilled. We talked. We played, and each one of us received a pink princess sticker to place on our shirts. I even had my own hand-made place card and a red-velvet cake! I’m keeping my fingers crossed this birthday wish comes true!

Gatherings_KatEyeView_8

Gatherings_KatEyeView_9

Each gathering was a well-earned escape from the busy months surrounding them. A good reminder for me of what’s truly important: celebrating life’s gatherings both big and small with the characters that make them special. I’m sure you’ll agree that these treasured memories are picture-worthy moments to be relived again and again. By now, my friends are used to me raising my camera to shoot at a moment’s notice. From the dainty details to the unscripted moments I couldn’t expect, I try to capture everything. Despite how random my shooting might seem, I shoot with and open heart and with purpose, as these are the memories I want to hold onto forever.

How about you? Do you shoot the special occasions of your life too? Do you also shoot with a plan? It is absolutely possible to capture your memorable moments and take captivating photos of the faces you love and the places you’ll never forget. Join me August 28th at Big Picture Classes where I’m teaching an exciting new 4-week workshop called Gatherings through the Lens.

The pre-classroom is now open where I several lessons available immediately to start you on your journey. During our time together I’ll cover weekly topics on portraits, details, actions and candids along with insight from expert guest photographers sharing their perspective on capturing all of life’s events. I hope that you’ll join me, and I can’t wait to meet you in class!

Happy Snapping,
Holly

You can see more of Holly’s gorgeous work here.

Filed Under: The Kat Eye View of the World Tagged With: ecourse, guest post, photography class

July 12, 2013 by Kat

A Sense of Place: Guest Post by Lynne Foerster

A few weeks ago we wrapped up the Instructor-Led version of the A Sense of Place eCourse. To encourage the participants to follow through and complete a final project, I offered up guest post slots on my blog. The content was wide open, whatever they were inspired by from the eCourse. I’ve enjoyed sharing the posts from class participants this week, and today is the last. Please leave lots of comment love for the guest authors!


A Sense of Place: Mesa Verde

The Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings in Colorado are some of the most intriguing places I’ve visited. Viewing and wandering around in these ancient dwellings gives one the sense of how this group of people lived from 500 BC to 1200 BC, how difficult life was, how challenging each day might have been for them. One stands in the midst of the ruins that have survived for thousands of years and marvels at the genius of the builders, to have their creations survive for so long in the elements. It’s truly an awe-inspiring place.

Collage

You can find more of Lynne Foerster’s work on her Flickr photostream.


Would you like to share an A Sense of Place guest post? You can too! The only requirement is that you’ve taken the eCourse, either the Instructor Led version or the new On Demand version that is now available. Contact Kat for the rest of the details.

Filed Under: The Kat Eye View of the World Tagged With: A Sense of Place, guest post, Lynne Foerster

July 10, 2013 by Kat

A Sense of Place: Guest Post by Carolyn Phillips

A few weeks ago we wrapped up the Instructor-Led version of the A Sense of Place eCourse. To encourage the participants to follow through and complete a final project, I offered up guest post slots on my blog. The content was wide open, whatever they were inspired by from the eCourse. I’m excited to share the posts from class participants this week. Please leave lots of comment love for the guest authors!


Influenced by A Sense of Place

I have always said that photography was not only a hobby, but was inspirational for my textile, felt and mixed media work; however until recently I would have been hard put to provide concrete examples. It wasn’t that this wasn’t true, just that whilst I knew the connection was there, it was rather nebulous. It has also been clear for a long time that my favourite subjects for photography are nature and architecture, and I have slowly dawned to the realisation that I am drawn to taking photographs that are about odd little details; close up or different angle shots; vignettes; or whole subject; rather than landscape or postcard images. I felt that Kat’s ‘A Sense of Place’ course would not only encourage me to develop my own style and interests in place, but would challenge me to look deeper and see how I could use that to approach those things, like the aforementioned landscape, that I find much harder. I also hoped that I would start to see a stronger and less tenuous link to my other creative work.

Kat 1

A Sense of Place got me thinking much more about the images I take and why I take that particular image as opposed to a different one. It encouraged me to try different ways of looking at a subject, but to follow my heart and instinct. It also made me think much more about themes and similarities between photographs taken in different places or at different times. This has inspired me to go and take more thoughtful photographs and ones that have meaning for me. Kat is excellent at making us think, at bringing creativity rather than a technicality to photography and this is what inspires me. I think that often there has to be meaning to an image, layers of possibility, the hint of a back story, the element of mystery or a sense of a pause in time for an image to become something more and to ‘grab’ me and I feel this is where creativity comes in.

Kat 2

For our final project Kat asked us to take on a ‘pulling it all together’ project, taking a series of photographs and thinking about the whole series and how it was to be put together. She mentioned photo books, videos, slideshows, blogs, and exhibitions amongst other ideas. This came at a crucial time for me as the day before I read the final lesson I had been taking part in an art fair. During this I spoke to lots of people about my textile and mixed media work. Later that day I then spoke to some friends about where I wanted to go next and was pushed to widen my vision! When I read Kat’s email and pdf the two suddenly jumped together and made a much bigger whole, and I saw a project that is much bigger than anything I have ever attempted and both exciting and frightening at the same time.

Kat 3

I have been taking a series of photographs that look at derelict and decaying buildings, both in rural and urban settings. There are still a few places I want to visit and photograph, although my ‘decay inspiration’ file of edited photographs currently has 65 images in it. These are all currently feeding into some planned textile and felting work which is at sketchbook and test piece stage. I want to end up with a selection of 24 printed and mounted images each named with a haiku. These will fit alongside a series of 2D and 3D mixed media and felt pieces, such as this test piece…

Kat 4

The art work for the project is all inspired by the colours, textures and themes I am seeing in the photographs. Themes of rejection and abandonment, revelation and reclamation and much more. This is not going to be a project that can be finished in a month. I suspect that it won’t be finished in 3 months. It is very much still in the planning stage, although the photographs are the first step and some of them are the ones I have included here.

Kat 5

Carolyn blogs at Mess, Muddle and Fun the title of which sums up her attitude to creativity. She is an everyday creative, a felter, an artist who still feels odd using that term, and believes that everyone has a creative seed somewhere inside and the best thing to do with it is enjoy it – covered in paint if possible.


Would you like to share an A Sense of Place guest post? You can too! The only requirement is that you’ve taken the eCourse, either the Instructor Led version or the new On Demand version that is now available. Contact Kat for the rest of the details.

Filed Under: The Kat Eye View of the World Tagged With: A Sense of Place, carolyn phillips, guest post

July 8, 2013 by Kat

A Sense of Place: Guest Post by Ghita Katz Olsen

A few weeks ago we wrapped up the Instructor-Led version of the A Sense of Place eCourse. To encourage the participants to follow through and complete a final project, I offered up guest post slots on my blog. The content was wide open, whatever they were inspired by from the eCourse. I’m excited to share the posts from class participants this week, and today is the first. Please leave lots of comment love for the guest authors!


A Sense of Place: Sorø Abbey Church

Kat Sloma has generously suggested her participants in the wonderful class A Sense of Place to make their final project into a blog post on her blog. The idea inspired me to go deeper with a bunch of photos from a certain place and try to put together the knowledge and inspiration, I’ve got from the class.

Recently I visited Sorø Abbey Church and was impressed by it’s beauty and age. Sorø Abbey Church is one of the largest medieval churches in Denmark. It was built by the Cistercians in the last part of the 1100s. The church remains an excellent example of early brick Gothic architecture.

SONY DSC

Walking around on my own with my camera, I was drawn into the atmosphere and the presence of history. Three Danish kings are buried here. For centuries it has been a center for the influential noble White-family, including the famous Bishop Absalon. He was engaged in the building of the church, but died in 1201, the same year the church was finished. Of course he is also buried here.

SONY DSC

My attention was especially drawn to the choir seats. They put a smile to my face, because they are full of engraved names and images dating hundreds of years back. I can imagine bored pupils and monks making the graffiti of that time. Guys like Jacob and Sveno Mathhiae from 1694 suddenly felt very present.

SONY DSC

Experiencing a place like this through the lens always make me look for small details, a fact the class clarified for me. And this huge church is a haven of details. For instance I noticed angels in several places. Below are some from the altar and another one on a very old carved wood door, quite similar in style.

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

The fact that this church has been here for more than 800 years is awe-inspiring. It has experienced the transition from a Catholic abbey church to a Lutheran parish church. There is a timeless feel to many of the objects, which I tried to pass on in the images.

SONY DSC

I actually visited this church some years ago, but had no memory of the place. Bringing a camera this time made a huge difference. I had a deeper connection with the place and explored the place in a much more focused way, allowing myself to be drawn to all kind of images, I’m sure will stay with me.

SONY DSC

My name is Ghita Katz Olsen. Since 2011 I’m head over heels in love with photography. I live in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, Europe. You can view more of my work on my Flickr photostream.


Would you like to share an A Sense of Place guest post? You can too! The only requirement is that you’ve taken the eCourse, either the Instructor Led version or the new On Demand version that is now available. Contact Kat for the rest of the details.

Filed Under: The Kat Eye View of the World Tagged With: A Sense of Place, ghita katz olsen, guest post

January 23, 2013 by Kat

The Nature Mystic: A guest post by Jack Larson

Today’s post is by Jack Larson, a local photographer who shares my love of both trees and creating impressionistic images with his camera. He’s been sending me images and techniques via email since we started exploring Artistic Blur, so I asked him to write something to share with you all too. Jack’s enthusiasm always makes me smile. Enjoy!


Kat asked me to do a guest blog on “Artistic Blur,” the theme of this month’s “Exploring with a Camera” series. I am drawn to artistic blur, or what I would call “artistic effects”, for two reasons. First of all, we are drowning in gorgeous photographs. For the Fine Art photographer, a fundamental question is, “How do I create a photograph that we all have not seen a hundred times before?” Part of the beauty of the techniques that Kat mentions in her essay, plus some other techniques, is that no matter what the quality of the results, these techniques create unique outcomes that even the creating photographer cannot repeat. I like that.

Secondly, Kat mentions being drawn to “Impressionistic” photographs. I am what one might call a “nature mystic.” When I am in the field, I feel pulled through the lens into a mystical union with whatever is in front of me. Impressionistic photographs are the best that I can come up with to express what I feel at the deepest level. And I am always way more concerned about what my heart and soul feel than what my eyes see. In this, a word about Zen. Although I am not a Zen practitioner, Zen is the spiritual tradition that lies at the foundation of my photography.

Oh yes, there is a final reason for being drawn to these techniques; they are fun. If you don’t like to play, and play without concern about particular results, this kind of photography probably is not for you. But if you do like to play, you are in for a ball. Astonishment and surprise are around every corner. Try to hang on (and enjoy the ride).

Click and Drag This is the classic technique to create an Impressionistic look. I came across it first in the work of William Neill (the outstanding Yosemite photographer). Most cameras will do this (I use a Nikon D700). Set your camera to its smallest aperture and to its lowest ISO. This will enable you to use a slow shutter speed. If you cannot get a slow enough shutter speed for the effect that you want, put on a polarizer, or better yet, a variable ND filter. Then, hand-held, click the shutter and after a fraction of a second (this fraction of a second will create some definition in your subject); drag the camera in the direction that you want the blur to go (in the two examples, I clicked, held, and then dragged up). Check your results in your LCD. When you start doing this, you probably will find that you need to drag either slower or faster. As with all of the techniques, this one involves developing skill. If you fail at first, so what; do it again, modifying your technique. You can play with dragging the camera in all sorts of directions. If you want a pure abstract, don’t hesitate once you click the shutter.

Click & Drag, #1

Click & Drag, #2

Zoom I rarely use this, but it is great for giving a sense of speed. I use a tripod because of the control that it gives me in stabilizing the camera and lens. The way that I do it requires a zoom lens. Use pretty much the same settings as for Click and Drag. You can start with either the wide end or the telephoto end of the lens. When you click the shutter, zoom the lens to the opposite end. Then try it the other direction. You need to have your focal point set to the center of the apex of the zoom effect. More often than not, I end up needing to crop the image in post processing. The skill is in how far to zoom, how fast to zoom, how much to not zoom during the exposure to give definition. The toughest part is in getting the apex of the zoom where you want it.

Zoom #1

Zoom #2

Dancing (or Heebie-Jeebies) There is a feature in many Nikon DSLR cameras that allow you to take multiple exposures (up to 10) that are blended together in the camera after the last exposure is taken. You do this hand-held. You go to the feature in the Shooting Menu and set the number of exposures that you want to blend. Take an exposure; move the camera slightly and take the second exposure; move the camera again and take the third exposure; and so on. After the last exposure, wait, and voila! magic. This technique takes a fair amount of skill to get the results that you want.

Dancing #1

Dancing #2

Pin-wheel This technique also requires a camera that blends multiple exposures. You also need a zoom lens with a lens collar (the collar is attached to your tripod; this allows the camera to turn freely while the lens is stable). The wider the range of the zoom, the more fun. You set the Multiple Exposures feature to 10 and the lens to its widest focal length. The focal point needs to be constant throughout; this creates the center of the pin-wheel effect. Take a shot; twist the camera slightly and zoom slightly further out and take a second shot; keep doing this so that when you take your 10th shot, the lens is zoomed as far out as it will go.

Pin-wheel #1

Pin-wheel #2

Shooting Through This technique is something that I rarely use. When it works, it is very cool. You want part of what is in the frame close to the lens, and the part that you want sharp some distance away. A large aperture works best. Like the other techniques, experience is invaluable.

Shooting Through #1

Shooting Through #2

Filters and White Balance settings Although this does not all fit under the category of artistic “blur”, it is something that you can do in-camera to create an artistic effect. There are various filters that you can put on your lens: infrared, blur (not only blur filters, but you can smear vaseline on the front of the lens); etc., etc. You also can set your White Balance to create effect (in daylight conditions, a Tungsten setting will create a blue caste).

Singh Ray Gold-N-Blue filter

Singh Ray Gold-N-Blue filter

Tungsten White Balance

Tungsten White Balance

There are all sorts of other things that you can do to be creative in the capture phase of photography. These are simply the ones that I use. I would recommend checking out Tony Sweet’s books or tutorials.

Next month, you will be looking at creating artistic effects in post-processing. All of the above effects can be created in post-processing. I am not one who thinks that we need to do everything in-camera. Post-processing is as much a part of my creative work as it was for those who worked in a wet darkroom (such as Ansel Adams). Remember, play, play, play; and have fun!!

Filed Under: The Kat Eye View of the World Tagged With: artistic blur, Exploring with a Camera, guest post, Jack Larson

Next Page »
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Upcoming Events

Books Available

  Digital Photography for Beginners eBook Kat Sloma

Annual Postcard Swap

Online Photography Resources

search

Archives

Filter

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Upcoming Events

© Copyright 2017 Kat Eye Studio LLC