Kat Eye Studio

Archives for March 2012

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Photo-Heart Connection Feature: Cheryl

I’m counting down to the next Photo-Heart Connection with a week of features from participants in January and February. These connections touched my heart, and it is with gratitude that I share them with you. Have you tried to find a Photo-Heart Connection yet? The March link up opens in 7 days!

This photograph of the door spoke to me.
It spoke volumes.

Interestingly, when I saw and photographed the door I didn’t understand it at all.
But I was drawn to it from first glance.
I wrote about this door here.

But what I’ve found even more interesting is the process of it all.
I took 222 pics that afternoon in Old San Juan.
Then I culled it to 88.
Then I picked three possibles for a blog post.
Then this one moved to the front.

This door opened up emotions that I needed to face.
This door spoke to my heart and gave me the means to write and process deeply.

Now, days later, this door means more to me.
It encourages me that strength will be there when need and as needed.
It reminds me that life is constantly changing.
It reminds me that there is more to this door than what I can see from this view.
Each door has an inside and outside.
One door with different sides and different views.

When it is time I’ll see the other side of the door.
When it is time…

–By Cheryl at Sea Level 320

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Scooter Sightings: Too Italian

I am in love. In love with a scene that just screams “Italy” to me. I decided it was time for the monthly Scooter Sightings post so I visited my archive, discovering this image. Why didn’t I see and celebrate this image before? It has so many elements that are Italian – the texture, the niche, the scooter parked where it’s not supposed to be parked. I’m entranced by the triangle of red created between the flowers, the scooter and the candle. A perfect scooter sighting. I can’t believe I’m just falling in love with it now, more than a year after I encountered the scene in Sicily.

Scooter sightings are still pretty slim around here in Oregon, what with the SNOW and all! I did see a very bundled up scooter rider the other day, the brave soul. I’m longing for warm summer days to get out on my scooter again!

Until then, I have to manage with scooter sightings from my archive. And thankfully, I have more people sharing scooter sightings with me…

This sighting comes from Sherry, in Alvin, Texas. She says the owners were taking a motorcycle class at the Community College in Alvin. How cute is that, with the red VW bug pulling the red scooter? The only thing that would make it better is if it was a FIAT 500 instead of a bug!

Next we have these unusual sightings sent by Brianna from San Francisco, California. I asked her what was up with the typewriter, and she answered, “I was working on a photo shoot for the cover of the next edition of The Edge, a local literary publication here in Tahoe. It was a fun shoot, we just walked around San Francisco shooting this old typewriter in odd places.” A typewriter on a scooter, odd indeed!

Thanks to both Brianna and Sherry for helping me get my scooter sighting fix! Do you have a scooter sighting? Send it to me and I’ll share it here on the blog in my next Scooter Sightings post.

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Balance: Found

We finish up Exploring with a Camera: Balancing Shapes today. While this ends the discussion of balance for the moment, the topic never really goes away in photography. Balance is one of those important concepts that make the difference between a so-so photograph and a great photograph, yet it’s one that can be hard to grasp. I hope that you’ve found a better understanding through balancing shapes these last two weeks.

Balancing shapes can play out in interesting ways. The facade of this church in Bologna loomed large on the narrow street, too big to capture with my lens. I could break it down to the lines and shapes though, balancing the elements to create an unusual point of view. While it’s a simple image in terms of lines and shapes, the subtle details that I find with further examination pull me in.

When you start with a good balance of the lines and shapes in a photograph, the viewer will stay with you longer. More can be revealed, with time. Isn’t that what we want, to engage the viewer and create a connection?

Today is the last day to link in! If you’ve explored the balance of shapes, you can still share your images below. If you didn’t have time this month, visit the links of the participants, and see what they found. There is a whole lot of balancing that went on these last two weeks. Thanks for joining me in Exploring with a Camera!


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Hello… Spring?

We woke up to snow yesterday. Where we live in Oregon, snow is unusual. A bare trace of snow will cancel the schools. Snow in March? Unheard of.

But I enjoyed walking around the neighborhood, capturing the mix of the seasons. I hope the spring flowers survive!

I found this guy, waiting at the bus stop. I wonder if his bus made it on time?

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Found the Words

I found the words! I’ve been thinking about where I’ve lost my words since Monday’s post, and it turns out they weren’t gone after all. They’ve only been channeled to a specific purpose.

You see, I have this great ability to focus. It drives my family nuts. I can focus so hard on one thing that I tune the rest of the world out around me. It makes me incredibly productive when I set my mind to something, but it also makes for some unwanted side effects.

Like losing my words, for anything other than what’s in focus.

Lately, around my photography, I’ve got a laser focus on A Sense of Place. I’ve been writing and re-writing and tying it all up in a bow. I’m on a mission to put together the best class possible. That’s where my focus is, my energy is flowing, and yes the words too.

So when I talk about the class here on the blog lately, it’s not because I’m trying to advertise. It’s just what I have words for right now. I don’t have a lot of space for anything else in my brain. I’m on a deadline, now. (A self-imposed deadline for sure, but a deadline nonetheless.)

My words are found where my focus is. Whether that’s buying a new car over the weekend or working on A Sense of Place this week. It makes it a bit hard for me to blog about other random and interesting topics, and for that I apologize. The focus will lift soon, since the class is almost ready.

And the words for other things will come back. Whew.

Does this ever happen to you? Is a great strength you have ever a great disability too?

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On Top of the World

The height and vastness of the Alps is breathtaking! We had the opportunity to visit Schilthorn piz Gloria, this overlook at the top of the Schilthorn mountain. You can wander the walkways and eat in the rotating restaurant for a panoramic view. It was one of the more incredible places we ate in Europe. I’m still amazed at the view when I look at my photos.

Capturing this type of mountain grandeur with our cameras, showing the vastness, is not always easy. One way to show scale is to put an object or building up close in the foreground, like this overlook, allowing the scenery to play out in the distance behind. The lighting also serves to help contrast the near and far, since the bright light pulls you into the distance.

What do you think, do you want to learn more about capturing places? Join me in A Sense of Place. Spaces are still available! Class starts April 8.

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