Kat Eye Studio

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Welcome to Number 53

This is why I love wandering around places. Sometimes you come across a scene that just says, “Hey, life is good.”

Closed doors can provide all sorts of things… barriers to entry, privacy, protection. The idea of a “closed door” is often negative. But somehow, this door manages to switch it up and convey a welcome and a love of life that reaches out to connect with my heart.

Even though actual people aren’t usually in my photos, yesterday’s images being the exception and not the rule, people are still in my photos. They are there through the things they leave out or behind to show that they exist. That they love. That they want beauty and joy and happiness in their lives.

This is a universal truth, across places and cultures. We all want beauty and joy and happiness in our lives, don’t we?

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Lettere

Sometimes I marvel how the human brain works. I wanted a mail-related photo for today’s Liberate Your Art Swap update post and I thought of this photo. I remembered taking this picture in Venice, although I had never done any editing on it. I thought I took it when we were there with my husband’s parents. So, with nothing other than that to go on, I went into Lightroom and went directly to the November 2010 folder, the month we visited with his parents. Yep, there it was! Pretty darn cool the way the brain works, isn’t it? And the way Lightroom works too. Even though my photos are still not keyworded (although getting better – this folder now has keywords for Venice!), I can find things relatively quickly.

So with that… on to the update! As of this morning, there are 255 artists signed up for the swap! Yeah! If the participation rate is the same or better as last year, I should meet my goal for increasing participation this year. And, there are still a couple more weeks to sign up! I’m going to keep sign up open through July 15. After that, I figure it’s getting to late to get everything together with creating and mailing postcards. Thanks to everyone who has been sharing about the swap – there is still time to share!

A few more envelopes trickled in this week, doubling my total of envelopes to 8. I’m also keep track of where they are coming from, so that will be fun to give an update on as I receive more. From the comments in the Facebook event, lots of people are getting ready to send their postcards in, so the rush is on it’s way. How fun!!

If you haven’t ordered your postcards yet, I received a code from Moo this week: Enter the code POSTSTICK at checkout by midnight PST 4th July 2012 and you will receive free shipping (cheapest shipping option only). Order must include at least one pack of Postcards and/or Stickers. I don’t know if that will work in conjunction with my link that gives 10% off for new customers, but it’s worth a try if you haven’t ordered yet and were planning to use Moo.

One more reminder: Photo-Heart Connection link up for June opens this Sunday, July 1! I can’t wait to see what’s connecting with you this month. See you then!

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A True Photo-Heart Connection

Meet Toan Lam. Founder of Go Inspire Go and writer for the Huffington Post and Intent.com, Toan and I first met in an online interview for Tea with Toan several months ago. We felt an instant connection as we chatted, discovering we have very similar philosophies. We both believe individuals have the power to make the world a better place; you only have to recognize your power and tap into it. Find your passion and act on it.

Toan interacting with San Francisco street art

When we discovered I was heading to San Francisco, his town, we made plans to meet up in person. Toan and I, along with his friend Erin, spent a morning together during my visit. We wandered the streets and they showed me their city. They took me on my first visit to Chinatown, where Toan introduced me to Boba Tea.

Colors and Textures of Chinatown

We hunted for interesting street art, and Erin led us to a famous piece by Banksy.

Up close and personal with Banksy street art, protected by plexiglass.

We checked out the view from Toan’s apartment, seeing his incredible view.

Toan and Erin, with Toan's incredible view

We climbed the hill to the Coit Tower, sharing a peaceful moment looking out over the Bay Bridge. They experienced my obsession with scooter sightings, as I stopped to photograph every scooter along the way.

Scooter Sighting: San Francisco

Running through our fun trek around the city was a serious conversation on inspiration, life, and doing what we love to do. For Toan, that love is sharing people’s stories and helping others to use their powers – resources, talents, network – to help others. Toan’s background is TV journalism and through Go Inspire Go he provides a multimedia platform to tell the stories of “regular people” who are making a difference in small or big ways. For me, that love is helping others find a connection to heart and soul through photography. We both feel immense gratitude for having discovered something that we feel called to do. Our lives are better for it.

Words to live by

But we also talked about the difficulty that comes along with following a path that is not mainstream. When you are building something completely new, there is no map. You can only follow your heart. Sometimes there can be a struggle with the idea of making a business out of a passion, because when you love and believe in something so much, you want everyone to have a piece of it. It is so valuable, you want to give it all away. This is the opposite of the business world, which is all about selling, monetizing and commercializing.

End Commercial? I see a mixed message.

We talked of how to find a balance between the two, and the examples we see around us of people doing it every day. The key is simple: Know your heart, follow your heart and trust that it will carry you in the right direction.

We found our heart...

Putting that key to use is not always simple, but it’s easier when you have the inspiration of people like Toan to help you along the way.

My morning with Toan reminded me of my own passion, my own power. His energy, enthusiasm and belief in the connection with the heart to inspire change is contagious. I came away reconnected and inspired to do what I am here to do.

Our morning together was wonderful. We walked. We talked. We photographed.

And found a true photo-heart connection in the streets of San Francisco.

Learn more of Toan’s story and see his post inspired by our morning together on the Go Inspire Go blog today.

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Sharing the Love

Happy Valentine’s Day! I used to dislike this pseudo-holiday. I saw it as a marketing-created day, where it was all about selling stuff. A day made for couples, excluding everyone else. Then, I turned it around and began to look at it differently. What if we look at is as a day for sharing our love with the people we care about, no matter their relationship to us? A chance to pause and say, “I care about you. You mean something to me. You are valued.” I saw so much worth in that. Forget the diamonds and chocolates and flowers, just focus on sharing the love.

This video, Evidence of Love, is made to do just that – Share the Love. I want it to bring warmth to your heart and a smile to your face. Feel free to pass it on to those you care about, remembering this quote: “Love grows when shared.”

I’m SO excited to also share, there is an interview on the Photo-Heart Connection posted today on Go Inspire Go. A video interview. If that’s not out of my comfort zone, I don’t know what is! But it was really great fun to have Tea with Toan Lam, the creator of Go Inspire Go, and share my love and excitement for the Photo-Heart Connection. I invite you to come by and visit.

The final sharing of today – who won the Market/Wheels Giveaway? Out of 31 comments, the winner is #11 Holly (aka soupatraveler). Congrats to Holly! She’ll receive the matted print of her choice from my RedBubble shop.

Thank you all so much for your thoughtful feedback on the Market/Wheels series. It was very interesting to see which images resonated with you! The leading images were, by a large margin, Mobile Display and From Water to Wheels. Runners up were Carriage Display, Creperie, Merchant of Venice, A Bite or a Bike, Waiting for a Sale, Offerta and Classic Italian Transport. I look forward to doing my final selections and getting ready for the exhibition in the next couple of weeks. Next time you see this series, it will be hanging on the wall of The Arts Center!

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day! Share the Love!

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Evidence of Love

It’s here! Today I’m sharing a new portfolio, Evidence of Love. I started this project early on in Italy, with this picture from Bergamo. When I took the photo, I didn’t see the heart, I was so focused on the texture and lines. The graffiti seemed to magically appear when I edited the photo later. From that moment on, I kept an eye out for graffiti hearts and other Evidence of Love. I looked for images that showed both the emotion and a sense of place.

Don't Tread on my Heart

The new portfolio is a compilation of these images, capturing Evidence of Love from around Italy and other places in Europe. It doesn’t seem to matter where you are, you will find these declarations of love hidden somewhere. Love is a universal emotion.

Penciled In

I wanted to release this portfolio in advance of Valentine’s Day, so that you can use them to express your love too. Let’s take Valentine’s Day beyond the “couple” holiday and express love to everyone in our lives we care for, including close family and dear friends. What better way to make a heart connection? The images are available in my RedBubble shop, where you can purchase greeting cards, postcards, prints or even a calendar. Love-ly inspiration for all year long!

Which one is your favorite? I’d love to know!

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