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April 30, 2013 by Kat

The Workshop Report: Las Vegas

Sunny skies. Palm trees. A group of photographers gathered. Lots of interesting things to photograph. Is there a better way to spend a Saturday? I’m not sure if I can think of one! On April 13, I spent the day with five wonderful photographers at Selah {an art salon} in Las Vegas, Nevada for my one-day A Sense of Place workshop.

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First off, Selah is in a gorgeous, refurbished old house near downtown Las Vegas. The light, the architectural touches, and the colors just make this space a great environment to enjoy a creative discussion. Walking in to the house, you feel soothed and refreshed. Ready to learn!

We started the day in the classroom, talking about the concepts of Photography of Place. We explored our individual philosophies and the kind of things that make up our unique sense of place. We looked at the ways to photograph places, from icons to small details. My workshops are very much a small group, discussion type of workshop. I don’t stand up and present material from a powerpoint presentation on a projector. We sit around a table and talk about the material. Everyone has something valuable to share.

Photo by Sabrina Cofield of Selah

Photo by Sabrina Cofield of Selah

Before heading out for the day, we had an amazing lunch! Fantastic, healthy food was catered for us, to fuel us up for the photowalk.

Photo by Daria Riley of Selah

Photo by Daria Riley of Selah

After sitting inside and talking for the morning, we were ready to head out into the gorgeous sunshine and explore downtown Las Vegas. What an interesting place! Downtown Vegas is being revitalized so there is a lot of construction going on. Wandering around, you find a little bit of everything to photograph. There is something for everyone, regardless of your photographic interests.

We found vintage neon signs…

Vegas Blues

Photo by Rainie Martinez

… and interesting modern architecture. (Channeling my inner Brenda here!)

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We could photograph close ups of desert plants…

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… and wonderful little scenes that are unique to this place.

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We encouraged each other to find interesting angles and explore new subjects.

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It’s always interesting to take people who live in a place on a photowalk around their own city. Most of the places we walked, the locals had never been! It reminds me that we don’t need to travel a long way to explore someplace new, we just need to get out and explore our own area. No matter where we are, we photograph with our own sense of place. The more we cultivate our sense of place close to home, the better our experience will be in new places. And our photographs will be truly our photographs, not a replication of what others have seen and experienced in the place before.

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After a pause at a coffeeshop for a cool drink, we photographed our way back to Selah and wrapped up our day. It was a truly wonderful experience to meet and talk photography with these lovely women! Joining me for the day were Rainie (who travelled with me from Oregon), Erin and Trisha from Las Vegas, Cindy from Arizona and Daria, one of the Selah owners.

Right to Left: Rainie, Erin, Trisha, Kat and Cindy. (Photo by Daria Riley of Selah)

Right to Left: Rainie, Erin, Trisha, Kat and Cindy. (Photo by Daria Riley of Selah)

A huge thank you to Daria and Sabrina of Selah for inviting me to bring this workshop to Las Vegas. They were wonderful hosts and I hope to go back and teach there again!

And when I do, I hope you will join me there too.

The weekend also included a night photography walk on Friday evening. More on that tomorrow!

Filed Under: The Kat Eye View of the World Tagged With: A Sense of Place, Las Vegas, Nevada, on-location workshop

April 18, 2013 by Kat

Reset Button

Ahhhhh… Re-entry into daily life. It is nice. Someone asked me yesterday what my upcoming travel plans were and I was startled to realize that I don’t have anything planned until July. Even more startling, I was happy about the next trip being a few months out.

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I guess that means it’s time to re-enter and recharge. And also reinvent. I’ve discovered that every time I come out of a very busy period of life, I have the opportunity to hit the reset button. To say to myself… OK, how do I want to do things now? What do I want to do differently? Being away from a routine gives me the opportunity to redefine the routine.

Lots of “re” going on in my brain right now… Re-entry, recharge, reinvent, redefine.

Hang on for the ride. Things may become a bit jumbled around here as I hit the reset button.

Filed Under: The Kat Eye View of the World Tagged With: Las Vegas, mobile photography, Nevada, palm tree, tree

April 17, 2013 by Kat

Stay a While

Let’s take a trip back in time, shall we?

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Let’s jump into the convertible, donning our cat eye sunglasses and wrapping our beehives up in scarves, and drive to Vegas.

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I know a place our two we could stay.

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Let’s splurge for a room with a color TV and air conditioning.

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After a few days, we’ll head home. Sunburned and less a few dollars in our pockets. But smiling all the way.


We stayed in downtown Las Vegas at the El Cortez Hotel, now on the national historic register as it’s the oldest casino still standing, since 1941.

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I loved being in the older part of the city. I could not get over these hotels that looked like just like something out of the 60’s, complete with their neon signs and some still advertising RCA color TVs. Every image just screams for vintage processing, doesn’t it?

I could also not get over the light. Even in the morning, there is an intensity to it like nothing I’ve ever seen. Some of the images I captured look more like they were lighted by flash than the sun.

Downtown Las Vegas was a great place to be, considering I wasn’t interested in gambling or shopping. I was happy to wander around the streets and capture these hints of the Las Vegas of 50 years ago.

Filed Under: The Kat Eye View of the World Tagged With: hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, sign, vintage

April 16, 2013 by Kat

Me and the Palm Trees

Wherever you go, there you are.

I had a wonderful weekend in Las Vegas, talking Photography of Place and exploring a new city.

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And what did I mainly photograph? Trees. Palm trees against the Las Vegas architecture. Shadows of palm trees. Palm trees against that amazing sky.

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What else could there possibly be to photograph in Las Vegas, but trees?

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I have to smile. Wherever I go of late, I find myself amongst the trees.

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Filed Under: The Kat Eye View of the World Tagged With: Las Vegas, Nevada, palm tree, sky, tree

January 16, 2013 by Kat

Join me in Vegas this Spring!

So, have you been wanting to dedicate a weekend to photography? Maybe get away for a day or two? I’m coming to Las Vegas this spring, and I want YOU to join me!

Selah {an art salon} is opening in Las Vegas and they’ve invited me to bring the 1-day workshop A Sense of Place to their creative studio. I’ll be teaching there on Saturday, April 13th. Yay! You can find out the details on their blog here.

Vegas-Featured copy

But wait, there’s more…

You can get inexpensive flights to Vegas from anywhere in the country, so it’s the perfect place for a weekend getaway. Let’s make a weekend of it! Register for the A Sense of Place workshop at Selah, get yourself to Vegas, and then let’s add some fun activities and make it a Kat Eye Studio weekend from April 12 to 14. Here’s what I have in mind:

  • Friday Night: Evening Photowalk. Hello, Night Photography! Could there be any better place to capture the lights of night than Vegas? Let’s have some fun!
  • Saturday: A Sense of Place workshop at Selah, 9am to 5pm
  • Saturday Evening: No-host Dinner. Let’s relax after our workshop day and have a great dinner together! I bet we have a lot to talk about…
  • Sunday Morning: Coffee and Critique. We’ll meet for our morning coffee or chai, and talk about what makes a good photograph. Bring a print of your work!
  • Sunday Afternoon: A visit to a gallery or art museum? Another photowalk? What do you think we should do? I’m open to ideas!

I will let you know when registration opens on Selah site and will keep you posted on the weekend details as they firm up.

So, what do you say? Want to join me in Vegas???

A quick note – Today is the last day to register for the Find Your Eye: Journey of Fascination eCourse series. Class starts January 20.

Filed Under: The Kat Eye View of the World Tagged With: Las Vegas, Nevada, on-location workshop, Selah

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