Kat Eye Studio

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Hebden’s Bridge

Of course Hebden Bridge has a bridge. The town is in a valley, with many streams and rivers running together. It has many bridges. But “the” bridge of Hebden Bridge is this one, the “old” bridge. It’s just over 500 years old. There probably was a time this was the only bridge across this waterway. It’s hard to imagine, with the town built up all around.

Since I read about bridges non-stop to my son when he was a 2-year-old, I recognized the type of bridge as a stone arch with pointed abutments, which not only help reduce the wear and tear of the water on the bridge supports but provided places for pedestrians to pull out of traffic when a cart went by.

There is no cart traffic across the bridge these days, only pedestrians. I was struck with how steep it is. You literally have to climb up, over and down this bridge.

Now it’s a gathering place for the ducks, and a nice place to pause and take in the view as you walk about the town.

The town is quite fond of their old bridge, and I can see why. With time and use this bridge has earned it’s place as the icon of Hebden Bridge.

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Photo-Heart Connection: September

No Parking.

Such a definite statement. No ifs, ands or buts. Just “No Parking.”

Do you notice how nicely it is said though? A painted sign against the stone. The beautiful flowers along the wall. It seems to be saying, “No Parking. But really, why would you want to park here anyway, blocking this beautiful scene? Enjoy the flowers.”

I like this straightforward, yet pleasant message. No apologies, no beating around the bush. How often do we want to say “No” to something, yet we feel awkward saying the words or obligated to answer with something else. We feel as if we must explain.

But really… would a simple, pleasant, confident “No” work? I’m thinking maybe it would. We should not feel uncomfortable using it more often. With a smile and with an attitude of respect for the person we are answering. Like this “No Parking” sign, maybe we can make our answer of “no” something beautiful rather than something we would hide in a dark alley.

“No Parking.” I am happy to oblige. How about you?

This image is from the town of Haworth and it jumped out at me when I was going through my photos the other day. The message was just so clear. So this month I didn’t end up going through all of my September photos for the Photo-Heart Connection. I have them with me on the trip and planned to, but I didn’t need to. This message came to me beautifully gift wrapped with pots and flowers and a birdhouse. A “no” never looked so good. It reminded me that we can make an answer someone might not want to hear in a strong, confident and respectful way. And when we do, it changes everything.

What is your Photo-Heart Connection this month? I would love to hear. Bring on those strong, confident messages!



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Hello from Hebden Bridge

Have you ever visited someplace new and felt like it was coming home? That’s how I feel here in Hebden Bridge! I don’t know if it’s because I’m back in Europe for the first time since moving from Italy, or if it’s because I visited with several friends today, but I feel at home here. It’s a lovely little town! I love the stone buildings and the colorful doors.

My journey was fairly uneventful and luckily enough the rains stopped before I arrived. There were many places in the Yorkshire area that were flooded and travel was interrupted for many people on Tuesday, but there were no interruptions to my travel on Wednesday. Thankfully, this time Hebden Bridge did not suffer any flooding. They’ve already been flooded twice this year, and you can see the evidence in the storefronts that are being cleaned out and the sandbags at the doorsteps, ready to be put in place.

Well, I’m off to bed… It’s 11pm here. Jet lag hasn’t been a problem for me yet. I wonder when it will catch up with me? Oh, and I tried Wensleydale cheese for the first time today. Yum. Fabulous!

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I’m Off!

Today’s the day! I’m travelling to the UK. I’m off to find out what’s behind the red door of adventure. I’m eager to get back across the Atlantic. This is my first international travel since returning from Italy over a year ago, and I wonder what new things I will discover?

I’ll be blogging from the road, so you’ll get updates here and there about my experiences.

In the meantime, I have a few Kat Eye things to share…

  • I am excited to be the “Flickr Photo of the Month” for masteringphoto.com with my photograph “Scwinn Approved.” You can see it here.
  • Visit Grow Soul Beautiful, a lovely new site dedicated to the mind+body connection of yoga and photography, for a chance to win a space in the upcoming October/November Find Your Eye course series. Also Sherry Galey, one of my participants in the summer course series, wrote a lovely (and unsolicited) post on her experience with the Find Your Eye e-course. I hope you will follow Sherry’s advice and join us for this next journey!
  • This month’s Photo-Heart Connection will be from England. I wonder how that will affect my connection? Join me October 1 through 7 with your Photo-Heart Connection too.

I think that’s it! You’ll next hear from me on the other side. Yay!

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Tomorrow’s the Day!

The Photo-Heart Connection link up for April opens tomorrow! Plan some time to revisit your photos from April, to find your heart connection. I wonder what my heart connection will be this month… will it be an image like this, from Korkula? A city scene from San Francisco? I never know until I go through the process. You and I will both find out tomorrow!

If you haven’t participated before, all are welcome. You can join in once or every month – no expectations or commitments.

To participate, follow these easy steps:

  1. Choose your Photo. Review the photos you worked with in the last month, either new or archive, and find the one with the strongest connection to your heart. Not sure how? Read here.
  2. Write from your heart. Looking at this photo, start to write. See what comes from your heart. There is a message in the image for you, if you open yourself to it.
  3. Share online. Pair your photo and words somewhere online where others can read it, and learn from your experience.
  4. Link in. Visit my blog between the 1st and 7th of the month to link in your Photo-Heart Connection. Connect with other participants by visiting the links.

You will find a great community of kindred spirits, waiting to meet you in the Photo-Heart Connection. See you tomorrow!

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Filled with Intention

This morning, I continue to ponder the difference between intention and expectation, and the relationship between the two. I continue to seek a way to maintain the space created by letting go of expectations. With all of the random thinking I’ve been doing around this topic, I might have found a way.

Here are my thoughts:

  • Let go of the expectations. No easy task, here. But it’s the starting point. Identifying the expectations that are driving you in a direction, examining them and letting them go if they do not serve you. I started with this, in Lessons from Abroad: Letting go of Expectations, but I didn’t know where to go next.
  • In the space created, explore how you want to feel. Maybe it’s a feeling of peace. Maybe it’s acceptance of what is, or love for the world around you. For me, there is always this desire for balance. I have so many different sides to me, always pulling me different directions. I somewhere gained the expectation I should choose among them, but I have come to realize I am not complete without any of them. I’ve become clear: A feeling of peaceful, joyful balance is what I desire.
  • Fill the space left by letting go of expectations with the intention to feel as you desire. Intention becomes the mirror for evaluating actions. As I set out on a path, I reflect the path against my intention (non-physical feelings) instead of comparing it against some expectations (physical outcomes). If the action fits with the intention I continue; If it doesn’t fit, I change course. The path is guided by the intention, in the moment. I lose the rigidness of a predetermined plan.

I’m liking this sequence. Instead of holding the space left by letting go expectations empty, I’ve filled it with something. But that “something” allows me the space, flexibility and non-attachment to outcomes I am seeking. With my intention filling the space and becoming the guiding factor, maybe I can avoid getting myself into the same situation again. That darn situation of letting expectations for outcomes drive me. Or maybe I can avoid getting myself into the same situation as quickly – I seem to keep coming back to this place so I can only hope that someday I will truly learn and move on.

Thanks for joining me on my journey, no matter how many times I might circle back around to the same place. Especially thank you for your comments; they have been invaluable. Each one is like a spark of thought being shared across a distance. I take the thoughts from you and add them through my own, weaving them together in different ways until they bring me to a new place of understanding. That we can do this with miles of distance between us is testament to the power of human connection. But that’s a topic for another day…

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