Archives for June 2011

June 18, 2011 by Kat

Summertime in the ‘Hood

I’ve always love the number of bicycles you see here in Italy. I love seeing old ladies in their skirts on bicycles, with the basket full of groceries. I love seeing people riding in the rain, holding their umbrellas. I see people riding while talking on cell phones every day. Bicycles are a normal form of transport here. Just another way to get around the busy streets.

And, on summer time weekends, wow. Bicycles galore. I captured this last summer in Milan, on a summer Saturday when the bicycles were out in force. We see a lot of bicycles by our house on the weekend, since we live right near Parco di Monza. Without much green space in the greater Milan area, a day spent biking and picniking in Parco di Monza is a nice treat. The park is packed on summer weekends, the paths clogged with bicycles and strollers and rented carrozellas (a multi-person pedal-powered cart sort of vehicle/bicycle that a family can fit in – I’m not sure what they are called in English).

This weekend we are going to visit a few haunts a last time. Brave the crowds and rent a carrozella in Parco di Monza, pick up some of the chicken strips that Brandon loves at the Saturday market, head into Milan to climb the Duomo and explore the countryside by Lake Como. One last look around, close to our home for the last two years, before the movers come on Wednesday to pack up our household goods.

And next weekend, our last weekend as residents of Italy, what will we do? Visit Venice. I can’t leave Italy without a last trip to my beloved Venetian lagoon. There are two places on earth so far that never fail to inspire me photographically: Venice and the Oregon Coast. (Well, maybe I should add Parco di Monza too, given how often I share photos of the park here.) It’s amazing how completely different these places are and yet they are so inspiring to me. Thankfully, I’m headed back to one of my photographic loves as I move. I have no doubt I will find more places too.

How about you, do you have a favorite place? One that never fails to inspire you in your art?

June 17, 2011 by Kat

Welcome Home

This light says to me, “Welcome home.” It doesn’t matter that I wasn’t actually staying at this hotel in Inverness, Scotland, I still found myself welcomed by the warm light shining out into the evening. This is a favorite time of day for photographs for me, with the contrast of cool blue outdoor light and warm yellow indoor light. It always makes me feel like there is a warm, safe place to go.

Yesterday I was on Mortal Muses, with a companion “square format” version of this same door, asking the question, “What light welcomes you home?”

I would love to hear your answer today.

June 15, 2011 by Kat

I’ve Found my Eye, how about you?

Here it is, a quintessentially Kat image. It’s got color, texture and is a scene that shares the spirit of place. It’s the beauty that exists in the everyday world around us with no intervention. This image is from the port of Fira, on Santorini island in Greece. It’s at the bottom of the long path that the donkeys and their handlers take, carrying people up and down the steep hillside between the town and the port. It’s where the handlers sit and chat, but they were elsewhere at this moment. Perfect for me.

So many good things have come out of my time in Italy, and one of the absolute best has been finding my “eye” or photographic style. I was never so empowered as when I finally cried, “Yes, this is me!” I realized I am an artist, I have a voice and a vision to share with the world through my photographs.

I believe we all have a voice and unique vision to share with the world in our photography, and I want to help you find yours. I’ve developed the Find Your Eye class series to do just that! Registration for the next class series will start in early July and the first course will start late July. Today I’m giving you the details on the first two classes below, and the same information is available here. If you want to be notified when registration opens, I’ll announce it here on the blog or you can sign up for my newsletter to have it direct to your inbox. I hope you’ll join me in taking the next step in your photography, to Find Your Eye. (And if you’re not interested, no worries! My blog, Exploring with a Camera and all of my normal stuff will continue on as usual. The Kat Eye View of the World will not become a forum for incessant advertising for my classes. I have too much other good stuff to share!)

The Journey to Find Your Eye

Maybe you’ve been photographing for a while and you love it, but you wonder if you have a “style” to your photography. Maybe you see glimpses of your “eye” in your images, but find it elusive. You read interviews with photographers saying you have to find your own style. But how? The Find Your Eye: Journey is here to help! Instead of teaching you the technical basics of your camera or photo processing, this course series enhances the personal expression and creative connection you find in your artistic practice with photography.

We start the series off with the two week Starting the Journey foundation class where I’ll introduce you to the basic tools and exercises used throughout the course series. You’ll set up the tools of photojournal and inspiration file, then use them for the photojournal prompts and eye development exercises which help you look within as well as explore the world around you. By the end of this short course, you’ll have a good start on recognizing your eye and you’ll have the foundation you need to take any of the other courses in the series. Starting the Journey is a low time and money commitment, why not try it out and see if you want to continue the journey to Find Your Eye?

Find Your Eye: Starting the Journey

Duration: 2 weeks

Dates: July 24 – August 6, 2011

Lesson Frequency: 2 per week

Cost: $29

Registration will open in early July. See FAQ for logistics information.

Once you’ve started the journey, you are ready to explore new horizons and deepen the understanding of your style. The four week Find Your Eye: Journey of Recognition class continues with photojournal prompts and eye development exercises, all designed to help you dive more deeply into experiencing the environment around you as well as understanding what calls to you. By the end of the four weeks you will have developed a much greater sense of your own unique photographic style. Along the way you’ll have a fun, nurturing community of classmates from around the world to help you learn, share and grow your creative expression.

Find Your Eye: Journey of Recognition

Duration: 4 weeks

Dates: August 14 – September 10, 2011

Lesson Frequency: 2 per week

Prerequisite: Starting the Journey

Cost: $69

Registration will open in early July. See FAQ for logistics information.

You will be able to register for both Starting the Journey and Journey of Recognition together for $83. That’s a 15% savings over registering for each course individually.

Your registration gives back! 10% of all registration fees will be donated to a great cause. I’m excited to once again support Nest, which has the wonderful mission of helping women in countries around the world make a living wage through traditional arts and crafts. Not only do you get to learn something new, you get to support others. How great is that!

Have questions? Drop me a note kat [at] kateyestudio.com and I’ll answer them for you.

Here’s what past students, just like you, have said about the Find Your Eye course:

I really enjoyed this course so much! There was a convivial, friendly tone that made it easy to feel a part of the group and to share photos, knowing there would be no negative judgment. Instead, there was such kind, positive support. In addition to your photographic expertise, […] what stands out for me in this course is your accessibility and personal interest in each of your students.– Christianna Pierce

I felt like I was face-to-face even though we were all miles apart. Your course was of high quality and you engaged with your participants so we were encouraged to participate and could learn from each other. It was a like a real classroom not online material we had to muddle through on our own. — Terrill Welch

It’s a fantastic, amazing, beautiful, enlightening process… [The photojournal prompts] gave me a lot to think about in regards to my work. I loved the eye development exercises. They really broadened my view of what I see through the lens and life in general. — Annie Kelleher

I loved the photojournal prompt section. It was enjoyable looking at everyone’s different perspectives and styles and made me think more about why I take photos and what I look for when I aim my camera. The eye development exercises were a great opportunity to consider the way I see the world through my lens. I liked that I could work through exercises at my own pace and alter them however I want to.– Stephanie Sadler

[The photojournal prompts are] not something I would have done on my own, but now it’s something I look forward to doing. I think journaling and writing is an important part of learning about ourselves as artists. I liked how [the eye development exercises] got us looking at different things and trying new subjects. I can tell a lot of effort went into this on your end. It was well thought out and well structured. — Marji T.

My favorite thing about the course was seeing the photos and reading the words of teacher and participants. It was helpful to see different styles, interests, perspectives… and to know a bit about the photographer (at this time in her life/photo journey). I felt encouraged… never ignored… even though my experience was limited and my equipment less advanced than others. — Sharon B.

See more student comments here.

Sign up for the blog newsletter (on the sidebar) to be the first notified when registration opens!

June 14, 2011 by Kat

Creeping Along

I found this snail on a windowsill in Ravenna, creeping along going nowhere. He made me smile, with his fake flowers happily blooming regardless of the weather. I also liked the repetition of shape, in the tea pot just barely visible in the window. Have you ever noticed the similarity in shape between a teapot and a snail? I hadn’t, until this photo. Thanks to my camera and the awareness it gives me, I now have this little tidbit filed away in my brain. As of today, you do too.

Yesterday’s post, I noticed, was my 600th post on my blog! Wow. I don’t know why that number strikes me, it just seems BIG. So I decided to celebrate that milestone by posting a photo of a snail planter full of fake flowers. The appropriate celebration of 600 posts, don’t you know. All the blogging milestone books say so.

But seriously, instead, how about giving away a few things today? That seems appropriate too! Here are the winners of my LAST giveaway from Italy. There were 49 entries, and numbers were drawn by using the random number generator from random.org:
#13 – Kristen of K. Laudick Photos wins the lens cleaning cloth from Ravenna
#48 – Pam from Utah wins one of the sets of notecards from Florence
#20 – Diana of Diana Mulder Mixed Media Artist wins the other set of notecards from Florence
#23 – Jo of Jo Murray – Art wins the postcards
I’ll be contacting you all for your addresses. Give your congrats to all of them!

Thanks so much for all of your support and participation here at The Kat Eye View of the World. Who knew that this little blog that I started to keep family updated about what was going on with us in Italy would end up with 600 posts. Well, 601 today. Amazing.

June 13, 2011 by Kat

A Night at La Scala (An iPhoneographic Essay)

A warm summer evening. A ticket to see the orchestra in Milan. A last item checked off of the “To Do” list.

Last night, I made my second visit to Teatro all Scala, the world famous opera house, to listen to the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra. Conducted by Nicola Luisotti, they performed Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1 in B flat min. Op. 23 with Alexander Toradze on piano, and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B flat maj. Op. 100.

I stressed a bit about what to wear, even though I know people show up in everything from jeans to floor length formal gowns. I settled on a skirt, digging out some nylons and my spikiest of heels. It is Milan, after all.

I found my seat on the main floor, fifth row, on the right.

I watched the boxes slowly fill, and captured some of the details of this historic opera house.

As the orchestra took the stage, I watched as they chatted and warmed up. But when the conductor and the soloist arrived, that’s when I put my camera away and closed my eyes.

I traveled with the music, letting it take me where it willed. From colored ribbons of music that dance together to images of something real, I felt the music resonate in my body and let it guide my imagery. I saw a sunrise, a stormy sea, a stream dancing through a beautiful glade. I soared to great heights over a landscape, and watched dancers swirling around at a fancy ball. This is how I experience music. When my eyes are open, I get easily distracted with watching and thinking. When my eyes are closed, I am fully in the moment. The amazing experience of live orchestral music, and how I respond, is something I have discovered during my time in Italy. One more beautiful thing to take home with me.

The orchestra completed, and after much applause, the patrons spilled out into the warm summer night. I looked around, trying to take it all in. Already a beautiful memory, the evening for me at La Scala.

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I’m linking in to Creative Every Day, The Creative Exchange and Phoneography this week. Thanks for coming by!

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