Kat Eye Studio

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Anchored Walls

We are still studying windows in Exploring with a Camera, and this week I realized I neglected to mention one important way I use windows in my photos: As an anchor.

I love the texture of walls, but having an image of a textured wall without any other context is not so interesting. Including a piece of a window, door or some other architectural element helps provide context. The corner of the window in the image below “anchors” the wall in reality, so you know what you are looking at.

I’ve enjoyed seeing the windows shared so far! Have you had a chance to explore windows yet? You have another week to join in!


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Trust and Belief: The Lessons of a Twitter Hacking

A few days ago, I had my Twitter account hacked. I could have kicked myself, because after the fact I realized that I was a willing participant to the hacking. After living in a world of internet spam, with all of the suspicious emails, tweets and blog comments I see all the time, I finally fell for one. Ouch. A blow to the pride for sure, but it taught me a thing or two about myself. About trust and belief.

So, how did this happen? First, I got a direct message from someone I know. I don’t follow a huge number of people on twitter, and while some of them are big names who don’t know me from the next person, many of them are people I’ve interacted with online or in person. This message came from someone I know, have met in person and exchanged emails with. A friend. So the first step in my downfall was receiving the message from someone I trust. It gave it a credibility it otherwise wouldn’t.

The second, and more insidious piece, is how I believed the message. I’ve never fallen for wiring money to Africa, or making thousands of dollars working from home, or the latest pharmaceutical scam. But this message preyed upon my vulnerability, saying, “You seen what this person is saying about you? {Link} terrible things.” I believed it. I clicked the link, “logged in” to twitter and willingly gave up my password. Why? Because I’ve always had this underlying fear that sometime, somewhere, someone was going to say terrible things about me on the Internet. It has to just be a matter of time, when you put yourself out there publicly like this, right? I realize now this wasn’t just a fear they preyed upon, I carried it around so long it became a belief. I have been sure that it would happen. Steeling myself against the day when it would come. So in my head I said, “Yep, it’s finally happened.” And I clicked the link.

I have to admit the smarts of these hackers, preying on our trust and belief like this. I have to admit chagrin, that I’m not as savvy against hackers as I thought. The hackers only took advantage so far. My own belief helped them the rest of the way.

I apologize if you got the same twitter message from me this week, I hope you saw it for what it was and didn’t click the link. I hate to think that I might have lost the trust of others in this way. But I did learn one important lesson out of all of this. I’ve been carrying around a belief that needs to go. No one has said terrible things about me yet. Maybe someone will someday, maybe they won’t. There is no point in believing it will happen. That just makes me vulnerable, to my own insecurities and hackers alike.

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Unusual Weather

While some of you live in places where you get tired of the snow in winter, I don’t live in one of those places. In the Willamette Valley of Oregon we rarely get snow. It’s mostly rain, rain, rain.

But on Sunday morning, we woke up to snow on the ground and big, fat flakes falling. I could not miss this photo opportunity, so my son and I went out and put fresh tracks in the snow. In a short while the snow stopped and the sun came out as a break in the clouds moved through, creating some lovely photo opportunities, like the one below.

The snow came and went for a day or two and now we are back to rain. Serious rain. This is a good thing, since we have had a very dry winter so far. Dry and clear is nice for the humans here in the winter, but not so good for the land. I don’t mind the rain right now, it’s been a while and I like the sound of the rain outside while I’m safe and warm inside.

Somehow though, it’s not as exciting or as magical as waking up to the world covered with a quiet blanket of snow.

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Getting Creative

This weekend I had the fun of getting creative with my camera. I took a “Creative Camera Techniques” class at Newspace Center for Photography in Portland. The class involved a lot of techniques for getting blurs and images that are more painterly and less literal. It was fun to get out of my comfort zone, and even more fun to go with a couple of new photography friends from my area. It’s so nice to have local photography friends!

Here are a few of my favorite images from the day…

Creating blur with long exposures.

Moving the camera during a long exposure created "shelves" of light.

Plastic over the lens creates neat effects.

Painting with light. A projected screen saver is behind, creating a silhouette.

Painting with light to create a silhouette.

By far, my favorite was the light painting. There were so many possibilities I could see for this technique, especially in the dark of winter. I left the class with an arsenal of new, fun techniques to explore. Most techniques I had read about before, but hadn’t tried. It was great to have the nudge to try something new. I’ve always been a big believer in play and experimentation as a tool for learning and creativity but have been too busy doing other things. The class reminded me how important it is to let go and just play!

How about you, have you been out playing with your camera lately?

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Evidence of Love

It’s here! Today I’m sharing a new portfolio, Evidence of Love. I started this project early on in Italy, with this picture from Bergamo. When I took the photo, I didn’t see the heart, I was so focused on the texture and lines. The graffiti seemed to magically appear when I edited the photo later. From that moment on, I kept an eye out for graffiti hearts and other Evidence of Love. I looked for images that showed both the emotion and a sense of place.

Don't Tread on my Heart

The new portfolio is a compilation of these images, capturing Evidence of Love from around Italy and other places in Europe. It doesn’t seem to matter where you are, you will find these declarations of love hidden somewhere. Love is a universal emotion.

Penciled In

I wanted to release this portfolio in advance of Valentine’s Day, so that you can use them to express your love too. Let’s take Valentine’s Day beyond the “couple” holiday and express love to everyone in our lives we care for, including close family and dear friends. What better way to make a heart connection? The images are available in my RedBubble shop, where you can purchase greeting cards, postcards, prints or even a calendar. Love-ly inspiration for all year long!

Which one is your favorite? I’d love to know!

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Weekend Away: Powered by Orange

Since orange became my power color while living in Italy, I love the idea of being “Powered by Orange.” Here in Corvallis, home of Oregon State University, much of the town sports these “Powered by Orange” signs in support of the university whose colors are orange and black. A fun discovery upon moving back here!

And I just noticed, another window image! They are popping up everywhere for me these days.

For “Weekend Away,” I take a little blogging break and share random photos captured in my travels.