Kat Eye Studio

Archives for December 2012

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A Week of Lights

Since we’re experimenting with the Lights of Night in Exploring with a Camera this month, I’ve decided this week I will share night shots to get you in the mood. This last weekend, I got up early on Saturday morning to go out and practice some night photography. Armed with my tripod and my new cable release, I was ready. I experimented with bulb exposures (a new one for me) and was reminded that patience is key. Everything, from setting up to taking test shots for exposure, takes longer with traditional night photography.

I also learned that I could only take it for so long. After a while I abandoned the tripod, leaving it tucked out of the way on the sidewalk (because no one was around at 5am), put on my “night lens” (35mm f/1.4) and went back to handheld. And was so much happier!

Handheld, ISO400, 35mm, f/1.6, 1/60

I’ve known this for a long time… Something about using the tripod disconnects me from the creative process. It disconnects me from the intuition that tells me when I to the camera to my eye. It’s more calculated and less responsive. There are times you absolutely MUST use a tripod to get the image you want, but if you are disconnected from the image at the end, is it worth it? I’m not sure it is to me. Maybe I just need to walk around with the camera in my hand for a while, and then go back for the tripod when I’ve found an image I can’t get any other way.

I will continue playing with the tripod… because I love the Lights of Night. And I’ll continue to push the limits of handheld night photography too, because that’s the best of both worlds, to me.

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Exploring with a Camera: The Lights of Night

Welcome to December’s Exploring with a Camera! This month we’re going to be exploring the Lights of Night. It’s the perfect time of year to get out and play around with some night photography, since there are such short hours of daylight here in the northern hemisphere and all of these extra holiday lights hanging around.

I’m going to do something a little different this month. Instead of having a whole new Exploring with a Camera topic, let’s refresh on a few oldies but goodies on the photography of night and lights. Be sure to read all the way to the end because I’ve got an extra-special bonus that I want to be sure you don’t miss!

December’s Fog, Benton County Courthouse in Corvallis, Oregon

Night Photography

Tony’s Studio, San Francisco, California

You can revisit Exploring with a Camera: Night Photography to take a look at the basics of night photography. In this article, you will find tips on everything from the blue hour, reflections, and color cast, to handholding your camera for good night shots without a tripod. It’s based on all of my “lessons learned” from wandering at night on our travels around Europe, where I discovered the fun and beauty of a city after dark. These tips are timeless… The techniques I share on getting good night/low light images while hand-holding the camera in this post are ones I still use today.

Holiday Lights

Tree Lights, Albany, Oregon

In Exploring with a Camera: Holiday Lights, I focused in on the specifics of capturing those holiday lights. Revisit this post to get some ideas and tips on capturing city lights, bokeh lights, and twinkle lights. I also take a look at capturing lights in a different way with reflections and shadows, and address the awful “ghost lights” you might sometimes find in your images upon review.

Creative Lights

Exploring with a Camera: Creative Lights will give you a few ideas beyond the basics! Visit this article to learn about layering in and out of focus lights for an interesting view, using zoom to create cool effects, and capturing the funky hologram effect I’ve shown above. These ideas lead you to more abstract creations with the lights of night.

An Added Bonus

I’ve got an added bonus for you too! In my next email newsletter, which should arrive in your inbox on Sunday, I’ll have a PDF with even more tips on night photography. One of the photographers in our local PhotoArts Guild, John Ritchie, is an accomplished night photographer. Take a look at this gallery to see his night photography work.

Last year, John combined his lessons learned on night photography with a tripod and my tips on handheld night photography to create a tip sheet for our guild. He’s graciously allowed me to share it with you all. It’s a fabulous resource! It will arrive with the next Kat Eye News so be sure that you are signed up.

Are you ready to get started? I am! I’m planning to go out in the early hours of the morning this weekend and capture the lights of night. I’ve just purchased a cable release this week and I’m ready to carry my tripod around to play with some new techniques I’ve learned from John.

You can share your explorations with us here through the end of December. Go through your archive, or go out and try something new. Share your city lights, home lights, indoors or out. It doesn’t have to be holiday-related, anything goes as long as it’s the Lights of Night!


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It Comes Together

Isn’t it fun when something new comes together in your art? It’s like all of the preparation and experimentation and play lead you to this place where everything just clicks. There is a moment of “a-ha!” and you discover that you have a new process. That happened for me this week!

I think I discovered it on Saturday, when I created this digital painting:

I loved it. Absolutely loved it. And so I tried something similar with the next one:

And, oh my goodness, if I didn’t love that one too! And then I realized that I had discovered a new process. A certain type of photo, a certain sequence of editing, and I could get these gorgeous tree paintings. I’ve been experimenting all week and starting to learn what does and doesn’t work for the aesthetic I want. I’m playing within this process with variations.

I just can’t get enough! I find that after my dark, moody binge a couple of weeks ago I just want this color. And texture. And light. It feels like freedom.

Happy Paint Party Friday!!

I normally don’t post twice in one day but things got away from me with getting new eCourses ready for registration this week! Here’s what’s going on…

  • Fuel Your Creativity, a one-week eCourse to kick off the new year with a creative burst, is open for registration. This is not a photography course. Everyone is invited!
  • An all-new eCourse in the Find Your Eye series, Journey of Fascination, is open for registration too. This series will run January/February.
  • December’s Exploring with a Camera will post tomorrow! Visit Friday and see what we’ll be studying this month.

Whew. I think that’s all for now…

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It’s time for a Journey of Fascination

The course was inspirational and confidence building. It seems each of us have what is needed to be whatever our heart desires, we just needed a facilitator to draw it out.
— Find Your Eye Participant in 2012

It’s time for a new journey. A Journey of Fascination. I am adding a new course to the Find Your Eye series in early 2013, and you are invited to join the journey. The series begins with Starting the Journey from January 20-31, 2013, and then continues with the all-new Journey of Fascination from February 10 – March 9, 2013. Registration is open now.

The participant quote I’ve shared above really expresses what the Find Your Eye series is all about. It’s about building your confidence. It’s about inspiring you to be who you are in your photography. Finding your eye is no more complicated than that. Yet it’s still not easy, either. That’s why I’ve created these courses: to help you make the journey. The journey is your own, I just shine a light on the path in front of you, to help you move forward. And even if you are already moving along nicely, the courses accelerate your momentum.

My own journey has been an interesting one, filled with ups and downs, fears and joy, as those of you who regularly read my blog know. These courses come out of my own experiences. I find it interesting that I’ve added one per year… Journey of Recognition came out of 2010, Journey of Inspiration came out of 2011, and now Journey of Fascination has been born out of experiences in 2012. Each course is a different journey, taking you in a slightly different direction. I love how it doesn’t matter the order you take the courses, or if you are near the beginning of your own journey with photography or well under way, they always fit where you are.

I hope you will join me in January and February on this new journey. It’s exciting to be at the cusp of sharing something new. I’ve always thought there were more Find Your Eye courses to come and now is the right time for the next one.

I love this journey I am on. I love what I get to do in these courses, as a guide and a witness. I especially love that it makes a difference in the art and the lives of the people who join me. I’m excited to share a few other comments from participants in Find Your Eye courses this year, about their experience.

I love the interaction among the participants as well as from you, Kat. The assignments were challenging and pushed us to explore new purposes for taking photographs, but to also find meaning in them. [T]he level of interaction in this course is so much deeper and open than any other online courses I’ve completed.

I loved learning in a group, knowing there were others on the journey too and we could explore this passion for photography together. And my other favourite thing was having assignments which gave us plenty of direction but also opened up all kinds of creative possibilities.

I’ve done many classes and this one was the best, because it was a small group and because you, Kat, always give feedback and follow the group. It’s also unique, because it pushes you forward as a photographer.

[This course is unique because of] the great interaction around photo images. We all had a chance to learn from others because we paid attention to what everyone was doing not just on our individual work. It wasn’t only about feedback from you, Kat (which was very appreciated), but we seemed to get a lot out of feedback from everyone and you had an opportunity to react to some of the feedback, too. It was a group experience.

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Fuel Your Creativity: New eCourse Open for Registration

It’s time for something new! Let’s ring in the New Year with a burst of creativity. From January 6 – 12, 2013, join me for Fuel Your Creativity, a one-week prompt class designed to get your creativity flowing.

We all love creating, don’t we? It’s fun and exciting, when things are flowing naturally. But they don’t always flow, do they. Creating does not always come easily. It takes fuel. The fuel for our creativity has two parts: raw material and energy. Every experience you’ve had, idea you’ve read, interaction you’ve experienced becomes raw material which helps fuel your creativity. In order to create, turn the raw material into something new, you need creative energy.

In this daily prompt class, you will focus on finding the fuel for your creativity, through awareness of your surroundings and awareness of yourself. Each day for seven days, you receive a simple exercise via email. Through the exercises you find raw materials in your everyday life and get your creative energy flowing.

Each day we’ll also come together in a discussion group, sharing our experiences and our creations, to further boost the fuel for your creativity. There is nothing like the group dynamic to enhance creativity, is there? This will be the only time this year I offer this course as an instructor-led group course, after this it will only be offered as individual self-study, so don’t miss out on this opportunity.

Doesn’t this sound like a fun way to start the New Year? Learn more and register here. I hope you’ll join me! I’m so excited to share this with you, I can’t wait to start the New Year this way.

If you’re a Kat Eye News subscriber, watch this Sunday’s newsletter for a special offer on this eCourse, just for you. And if you’re not a Kat Eye News subscriber, now is the time to sign up!

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The Power of the Portrait

There is power in a good portrait. When it’s done right, you can see into the soul of the sitter. You can see the beauty of who they are inside. It can change your perception of a person. It can change their perception of themselves. I was once again reminded of the power of the portrait at Saturday’s Help-Portrait event in Corvallis.

Saturday I was up early in the frosty morning with the other volunteers to set up for this year’s event. At 7am we met to haul all of the equipment up the steep flight of steps of the Corvallis Odd Fellows Hall: Photography gear, computers, printers, props, food and drinks. We turned the spacious hall into a temporary studio for three photographers, two hairstylists and hospitality space for the clients to wait. We had a separate room down the hall for the four of us who were doing graphic design, editing and printing the photos.

Over the course of the day, we served 139 people in 87 sittings. Each of them left with an 8×10 print and a CD of their images, to print more if they chose. They also left with a smile on their face after seeing the portraits printed on the page. We also printed one copy with the Help-Portrait logo, and asked that they share their story by writing on the portraits. You can see a few of the portraits pictured below.

This day could not have come off without the efforts of all of the volunteers, pictured below. This is a completely volunteer and self-funded event. While Help-Portrait is an international organization coordinating the day, purpose and marketing materials, they don’t provide funding for the individual events. Many thanks also go to the Corvallis Odd Fellows Hall for their donation of the space and the other sponsors of our day. The full list of sponsors is on Jones Oliver’s blog, here. Jones was our tireless leader, coordinating the event for the second year.

This is my second year participating and it was just as rewarding as the first. I can think of no better way to use my photography skills than to give back to the community like this.

Do you participate in Help-Portrait this year? How did your event go? If you didn’t participate this year but would like to know more for next year, visit the Help-Portrait website to find an event near you. Next year’s event will be December 7. Mark your calendar now!

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