Kat Eye Studio

Archives for January 2012

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The Also-Rans: Getting Ready for the Photo-Heart Connection

As we approach the first Photo-Heart Connection link up tomorrow, I’ve been getting ready. I’ve been going through my photos from the month, looking for the one I feel the strongest heart connection. I thought I would share my process with you today, as prep for the link up that opens tomorrow.

When we get down to it, what is a photo-heart connection? A heart connection is, for me, a reaction that bypasses my brain. It’s not about what I think of the image, or how technically good it is. It is not about how others will react to it. It is how the image makes me feel. When I have a heart connection, I feel it in my body. There is a little jolt, that tells me of a strong connection. Have you ever noticed how we feel emotions in our body first? Even though we will have thoughts that accompany emotions, they arrive split seconds later. I want to tap into the signals from my body, before my brain starts to filter, and then explore what I find through this process.

Here’s how I prepped to find my photo-heart connection this month:

  • Throughout the month, I saved a low-res copy of the files I worked with into a specific folder. This way, I had all of my January photos in one place to start the process. I didn’t save every picture I took in January here, just the strongest ones. The ones I cared enough to share on my blog. I will always want to share photos with a heart connection. I also included images from my archive I worked with this month. I don’t care what year they are from, I want to learn by this process without putting too many rules on it.
  • I found a time with no distractions to start the process of review. It is important to be focused and without distractions – if you hurry through this process with limited time, or have interruptions, you are not going to be able to notice the reactions in your body that tell you of the heart connection.
  • There were 44 photos in my file for the month, and I went through and viewed the photos one by one. I noticed my reaction for each. It was pretty clear in this first round, which were at the bottom with no reaction and which I felt something for. From this, I created sub-file with the one I felt any sort of reaction. I was down to ~12 photos.
  • The next round was a little harder. I had to spend more time noticing how I felt in my body with that image, what emotions came through. Even though I cycled through the images several times, this round still wasn’t too hard. I got it down to a final four photos that created the strongest heart connection for me.
  • Finally, I went through the final four very slowly. I let each one sit on the screen, alone, for a while. I first noticed how I felt, then I asked myself what this image was telling me. This was where I let my brain come into the process a bit more, I wanted to understand why the heart connection was there. As I did this, I noticed that there were two that felt stronger to me. As I slowly considered both, it became clear to me which image was my top photo-heart connection for January.

I thought I would share the 3 runner-up images of my top 4 today along with the process. These images are from different times, of very different subjects, evoking different responses within me. Two were taken this month and one in June 2011, so it’s clear that time of capture is not a factor here. The message I read from the heart connection with each was very different. All of these are great images, some of my recent favorites in fact, but they weren’t my strongest heart connection.

I wanted to share these today to remind you it’s not the strength of the image, in purely aesthetic terms, that matters in this process. It’s the not the date of capture, it’s not the composition, it’s not technical perfection. It’s the strength of the heart connection. It’s what you can learn about yourself, through the photos that speak to you.

I was surprised with the photo that had the strongest photo-heart connection for me this month. I can’t wait to share the image with you, and what I learned from it, tomorrow.

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Where I Am

Whoever you are
whatever you are
start with that,
whether salt
of the earth
or only
white sugar.
— Alice Walker

I picked up a sort-of new book this morning, Open Mind: Women’s Daily Inspiration for Becoming Mindful. After finishing Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance in 2010 I have been searching for another “daily meditation” type of book that would inspire me through the year. I’m terrible at reading these types of books daily, actually. I tend to pick them up every so often and read a week’s worth of entries, if they capture my attention. Some never stick with me at all. So I started this new book in early January but hadn’t kept up with it.

I found myself reaching for it this morning, and the quote above is where I started. Appropriate, no? It was as if the book was saying, “I forgive you, don’t worry about reading me daily, you’ll get what you need.”

I took today’s message to heart. Start wherever you are, with who you are, and move forward. We can all change from there. If we don’t acknowledge our starting point, accept where and who we are in this moment, are we really able to make fundamental changes in our lives? Will we see the good of ourselves in the future, after the change, if we don’t see the good in ourselves today?

We may not yet be where we want to be, the “salt of the earth” as Ms. Walker calls it, but there is value, still, in where we are, even as “white sugar.”

Whether it’s in your photography or your life, start today by accepting where you are. Spend a moment to appreciate who you are, right here and right now. Acknowledge the value that already resides within you.

That’s what I’m doing this morning. Maybe tomorrow I’ll work my way onward and outward. Today appreciating myself for where I am, with all of my quirks and imperfections, is enough.

PS – Only two days to the first Photo-Heart Connection link up! Are you getting ready?

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It’s Almost Time!

It’s almost time to get started with the Photo-Heart Connection! The first link up, covering your January photo with the strongest connection, will be open February 1 through 7. Only 4 days away! I can’t wait!

Not sure if you are participating? Want to hear where the idea came from and learn more? Take a listen to this interview.

PS – Don’t assume from the images in the video that you have to use photos with hearts in them to participate. We just used my recent Evidence of Love portfolio along with the interview.

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Wrapping up Windows

Today we wrap up Exploring with a Camera: Windows. It’s been great to see all of the wonderful windows you have captured! I think that windows must be as unique as people. I will never get tired of photographing them!

I thought I would share this triptych of Burano windows, to close out this exploration. A triptych is a fun way to tell a story, or in this case, create repetition with a variation on a theme. I love how the shapes of the windows repeat, as the colors and textures vary.

You can still link in your window photos today. Be sure to visit the links too – lots of inspiration to be found in this group!



One final note - Exploring with a Camera will now be posted monthly, in the middle of the month. Next up: Photo-Heart Connection on February 1!

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The Tao of Photography

I’m a bit sad this morning, because I finished a good book, Tao of Photography: Seeing Beyond Seeing. I enjoy my contemplative reading in the morning, with a cup of Hot Cinnamon Spice tea. It’s even better when it’s an inspirational book related to photography like this one. I hated to see it end.

The book equated what the authors call “conscious camerawork” with the principles of the Taoist philosophies of Chuang-Tzu. While I have not studied these principles before, I have found that my approach to photography fits much of what they describe: Photography as a way to be more conscious in the world; a way to be in the moment, even a form of meditation.

I’ve thought of photography as meditation before. I’ve tried traditional meditation once or twice, attempted to sit and clear my mind of thoughts, but did not have much success. Yet when I am in the moment with my camera, my mind is clear. My presence is wholly there. I see things differently. Ordinary can become extraordinary.

Case in point, this image showing the detail of a painted newspaper box contrasted with a tile wall. It took working the scene with my camera to notice the details of the handpainting. To see the contrast of the color, the lines and the textures. A moment of meditation, finding an amazing detail in the every day world. How had I not seen this before? I had walked by here many times.

For me, photography is more about process than end result. I hesitate to admit the number of photos I take and don’t review. Or if I review, I don’t edit. Why? Because I got what I needed from the process at the time of capture. A brief moment of intentional consciousness, provided by the process of photography. That I get some wonderful images out of that process is a huge bonus, but not always the goal.

Tao of Photography talks a little bit about this, near the end:

Shocking as it may sound at first, the art of living and the meaning of life both lie in the sheer experience of beingness, and can be reached by simply allowing oneself to be and to relax into the ceaseless process of life. When a photographer comes to experience the intrinsic existential richness and beauty of life by practicing conscious camerawork, the goals of achieving artistic “perfection” and “immortality” may lose some of their appeal.

Maybe this is part of what I’m looking for with the photo-heart connection. It’s not about the end result, a perfect image, but the way I feel all the way through.

What about you? Is photography about process or end result for you?

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A Visual History Lesson

Where did we get our collective photographic vision? Have you ever thought about that? It comes from the images we see every day. It comes from the photographers who came before us. They paved the way. So many photographers braved the criticism of being different to change and expand the visual language that we all use so easily today.

On Saturday, as part of an “art outing” in Portland, I visited an exhibition of 48 of Robert Frank’s polaroids, from the 1970’s to the present. The polaroids were slightly enlarged prints of polaroids, maybe six inches (15mm) on a side. The subject matter might be considered mundane… a tea cup on a table, a plant in a window, a tree in a parking lot. The type of thing that can be seen on instagram every day. So why is this exhibit important?

Robert Frank’s work is significant because he expanded the accepted view of photography, starting with his groundbreaking work The Americans in 1955. It was much criticized upon its release for it’s casual, snapshot-ish style of photography and the unvarnished view of American life. He view was different than the currently accepted point of view at the time – both what a photograph should look like and how America should be viewed. This polaroid exhibit is no different. He shares a different view on photography, and everyday life, in his images. There’s a great article in the Portland Oregonian on this exhibit and Frank’s influence on photography.

Visiting this exhibit led me to learn more about why this photographer matters. It helped me learn a little bit more about the history of photography, how we came to the visual language of today. I can see the impact of Frank’s vision, in my own work and all around me. His work has influenced us all, and we probably didn’t even know it. This is how I like to learn about art history, a little bit at a time, by seeing the work – in person – and then learning more. The knowledge sticks with me in a stronger, more visceral way than if I read it in a book.

Seeing and studying this exhibit reminded me I had seen another exhibit of Robert Frank’s work at the Tate Modern in London a while back. The exhibit was a selection of contact prints from the 28,000 photographs Frank took on his roadtrip across the US, 83 of which eventually made it into The Americans.

The memory of that exhibit came back to me strongly this week. It was a powerful experience, to be able to see the raw material of another photographer, a groundbreaking photographer. Most of the time, we only see the finished work. We don’t get to see what went into making it, all of the concepts tried and rejected. What resonated with me was how he studied a subject for three or four frames and moved on. A few compositions, different orientations, and then he was on to the next subject. It’s very similar to how I photograph, and that was validating.

I also love that he culled his images down from 28,000 to 83 for the book. To do that, he had to be relentless in defining and refining his vision for the project. I believe we can learn from this too. We can improve our photography by whittling down to our very best.

As I learned more about Frank this week, I’m reminded that there is so much to learn from the photographers who have come before us. I don’t think I’ll embark on a big project of studying photographic history, that’s not my style. But I’ll keep learning – one article, one exhibit, one experience at a time.

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