Kat Eye Studio

Archives for October 2010

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Marking a Milestone

Last Sunday was my birthday. 40 years old! With the craziness of my life in that moment, it just wasn’t on my mind to write about it here. I’m not a big one for birthdays, perhaps because I spent my childhood not celebrating them (religious reasons) and perhaps because I feel uncomfortable with the attention. It’s just another day to me. But a milestone birthday is not to be ignored by family and friends, and I was celebrated. 

Part of “sorting the piles” this weekend included looking at all of the birthday cards I received. Sometimes I save them, sometimes I throw them away – but this was my 40th, I felt the need to do something with the cards. I decided to create a fun collage with the images from them, and cut out the words that spoke to me, which turned into the poem. In the back I tucked the personal notes people had written. This is why I needed to get organized, so I could be creative again! Creating a fun marker for this milestone, with the bits and pieces of my family and friends mixed in, was a joy.

My friends in Corvallis planned a suprise party while I was there, which was a bit foiled by the fact that I disappeared from the face of the earth in the time they were trying to get me to the location of the party. In reality I only turned off my phone for a couple of hours for a massage appointment (wouldn’t you turn off your phone?) but it was quite funny the voice messages, emails and Facebook posts that happened in that time. You can see below that I made it, although late, to my own surprise party. It was a great evening of laughter and friends, margaritas and Mexican food, along with the perfect cake made by my friend Becky!

I am truly happy to be 40 years old. I feel like there is so much ahead of me, and I’m no longer weighted down by trying to be something I’m not. I’m just happy to be… me.

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What Inspires You?

Maybe it’s light coming in through the window, maybe it’s color, maybe it’s a wonderful quote. What is it that makes you want to perfect your craft, become a better person, explore new things? We all have different sources of inspiration. I was inspired a few weeks ago by this random composition in my window after I was done playing around with capturing the plant shadows. Lines and light and plants peeking out, it was interesting to me.

Today I’m musing on inspiration over at Mortal Muses. We’re in the second day of 9 Days of Inspiration, with lots of giveaways – every day! Come on over and comment to enter. Also visit our More Musing site, where today’s post of Muse University – a repost of this week’s Exploring with a Camera on Rain – has an awesome giveaway for rainy day photography! Every day for the next 9 (well, now 8) days you will see inspiring posts from amazing women around the internet on the More Musing site in addition to the usual daily inspiration from Mortal Muses. Hope to see you all over there.

Today’s update on the piles: Thanks for all of the advice yesterday, last night I took it easy and just talked to a friend, then put my feet up and watched a movie and read for a while. Today the piles are slowly disappearing as I work through the house, but I’ve also made pancakes with my son and done some other organizing, so it’s all been good. In the words of one commenter: What needs to get done, will get done, with plenty of time. 🙂

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Curly Fence

Yesterday I started to look through my photos from the Portland Photowalk, and here is one of my early favorites, of a beautifully curly fence. I still need to finish reviewing photos and write up a post on the Photowalk, it was so much fun!

I am feeling so behind this week… even though I got back home a week ago, we went to Venice for the weekend and had house guests here for most of the week. There are piles everywhere in my life – on my desk, on my bedroom floor (suitcase is still not unpacked!), on my “to do” list, in my email inbox, in my google reader… everywhere. I don’t like this feeling, to be honest. This weekend I hope to get things under control. Anyone have suggestions for me?

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Exploring with a Camera: Rain

 

With the change in seasons, in the places I’ve lived the last 12 years or so, we wave good-bye to the consistently sunny days and welcome the wet. Rain will be a consistent part of life for the next few months as winter comes on, with the occasional break in the monotony for snow or sun when we’re lucky. A rainy day is a great time to curl up under a blanket, with a book and a cup of tea. It is also a great time to get out and photograph!

 

A while ago I wrote a blog post that said when life gives you rain, you should take photos anyway. Today let’s explore the ways to capture the beauty to be found in the rain…

 

The light is completely different in the rain. First off, it’s usually cloudy during the day, which provides softer, indirect light. Second, the wet surfaces reflect the light in completely different ways than dry surfaces. The photo at the top of the post is a good example of this – the leaf and the stones are highlighted by the reflections of the light. What would be an interesting composition for it’s contrast when dry, gains even more interest for the way the individual elements stand out from the light on the water.

 

This photo from Orvieto, Italy is a daytime example of how the wet ground reflects the light, drawing your focus along the ground from the bright doorway in the top left down toward the scooter in the bottom right.
The wet ground in this photo of Bath, England at night serves to contrast and highlight the row of benches along the sidewalk. As I mentioned in my Exploring with a Camera post on Night Photography, wet surfaces at night can add much needed light for taking photos at night.

Not only is the light reflected, but you can great image reflections as well with a smooth surface or a puddle. The thin layer of water on this smooth concrete makes a wonderful mirror for the leaves on the ground.

This puddle in Piazza San Marco in Venice serves to reflect the geometry of the famous tables and chairs, making a more interesting composition than the tables and chairs alone.

And while we’re talking about puddles, how about capturing some splashing through them? Of course, this image is a bit more sedate than most puddle-splashing pictures, a capture of Italian rain fashion more than splashing but you get the idea. The movement of water in the puddle along with the reflections makes the photo more than just photo of rainboots.

Out in the rain, look for ways the water moves across and off surfaces. This restaurant table was so highly polished that the rain water beaded up into interesting shapes, a nice backdrop for the flowers.

Look for the drips ready to fall…

Look for the drops that grace the leaves.

It’s also fun to capture people in the rain. They are more “anonymous” with their hoods and umbrellas, hunched up and hurrying along. I like to capture groups of colorful umbrellas, as on this bridge in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Or the lone traveller, trying to get someplace at night in Venice. People with umbrellas are quite the artistic staple, if you look at paintings through history.

Here we have quite a few different elements that I love in one rainy shot… umbrellas, multiple reflections, at night, and it’s Venice. How could you go wrong?

There are so many ways I have yet to capture the rain, these are the images I’m still looking for:

  • Looking out of a window covered in raindrops. Focus on the drops, with the scenery out of focus behind.
  • Rain spilling out of our very cool dragon-shaped rainspout or off the edges of eaves.
  • The rain in a downpour – I want to figure out how to capture the “look” of the world when you look through rain.
  • Drops of rain splashing in puddles – oh those perfect, rippling circles just tantalize me!

So, how do you do shoot in the rain without ruining your camera? Here are a few tips:

  1. Use an umbrella. If you have someone along with you, ask them to hold it over you and your camera when you shoot. If you don’t have that option (or don’t want to ask your companions to hold your umbrella every 15 seconds), a bigger umbrella works better than a small one for this “solo” technique: Rest the handle between your neck and shoulder with the umbrella resting on the top of your head. This will enable both hands to be free and your camera to be covered while you shoot. It does take some practice though!
  2. Find sheltering spots. Store awnings and overhangs, doorways, under trees, etc. can be great places to pause and have a little bit of protection from the rain while you shoot. Watch out under trees though – the drops might be less frequent but they are often bigger!
  3. Keep your camera protected between shots. Work out a system that enables you to quickly and easily but your camera in and out of your bag. I carry my camera across my body, and my camera bag the same way. I can take my camera in and out of my bag easily, so when it’s rainy I can put it away between shots but easily get it out for the next one. Another thing I will sometimes do, especially when it’s light rain, is just tuck the camera between my body and the bag. It’s mostly protected but easily accessible. When it’s heavier rain though, I keep it in the bag!
  4. Use a camera cover. You can buy rain covers for your camera, but I’ve found them to be kind of pricey and I don’t want something bulky I have to carry around “just in case” it rains. Another practically free alternative for an SLR camera is to use a plastic grocery bag (you know, the ones you get in just about any grocery store) and a rubber band. Tear a hole at the bottom of the bag near one corner, this is where you put the lens looking out. Use the rubber band to secure the bag at the end of your lens, then just wrap the bag up around the camera with the handles coming around the back. When you want to shoot, just open up the handles and hold the camera as normal inside the bag. It might look weird, but it’s cheap and easy, and a spare bag wrapped up with a rubber band does not take up much space in your camera bag.
  5. Don’t worry about a few drops of water on your camera. I don’t. A few drops on my equipment have never hurt anything – I just make sure that it doesn’t get completely wet. By keeping the camera mostly protected in the ways I’ve described above, my equipment has remained in good working order even if I shoot in rainy weather. Keep something soft and dry handy to wipe off the lens though, you will experience drips now and again!

Whatever you do – don’t just put the camera away when the clouds start rolling in. Enjoy the different photo opportunities that the rain provides.

Remember this motto – “When life gives you rain, take photos anyway!”

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Present

Present – not as in gift, but as in being in the moment. How often are we really and truly present in our every day lives? Aware of the world around us, aware of ourselves. Not often enough, I would have to say, for me. And yet, when I am present, amazing things happen. I discover more about myself. I see the beauty around me. I see different ways to interact with others. It’s as if the world opens up as a new and wonderful place to be.

So positive, and yet so hard. One of the things that I love about photography is that it ties you to the present moment. There is nothing beyond the image you see in front of you at the moment you press the shutter button. You can’t be thinking of the photo you captured yesterday, or tomorrow, when you capture the one of today. When I first saw these seed pods, while looking for pretty leaves, I thought they were ugly. But then I went back, and studied them with my camera, and discovered their hidden beauty.

Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.”           — Thick Nhat Hanh

To live life, see the beauty in life, we have to be present. A thought I will carry with me today.

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My friend Jenny, a life coach, asked me if I wanted to share my experience in Italy and how it’s changed me with her readers. I’m writing a series of articles for her newsletter and blog, about how my time in Italy has helped me to find my passion and purpose, and how I think you can apply the lessons I’ve learned to your life. If you are interested in reading the first article, visit her blog at Rising Sun Coaching.

(By the way, does anyone know that type of tree this seed pod is from?)

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