Kat Eye Studio

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Window to the Heart

I’ve been struggling for the last week, with this whole hibernation thing I’ve got going on. I went from crazy-busy-overwhelmed to almost nothing on my plan. It feels really weird. It feels like something is wrong. I was looking forward to this time, when my commitments eased up and I would have space to breathe. Instead of enjoying it, I’ve been fretting. Argh. What is wrong with me?

Deep down, I know the problem. I’m a “doer” – I like to have a goal, a plan, to be moving forward. To sit and be free of a plan is uncomfortable to me, especially after months of intense activity. This is definitely an area for my personal growth.

One evening last week I got together with some friends, and talked about it. They all agreed, I need this time of nothingness. I need to just sit with it and see what comes. This is how new ideas are born. That night, as I was getting ready for bed, this thought popped into my head: Your photos will show you the way. They always do.

The truth of that thought instantly resonated with me. For it has been my photos that have shown me the way, every step of my creative journey. It is my images where my inner heart is revealed, sometimes in surprising ways. So that’s what I will do: Focus on my photography. From there I’ll find the way through this time of hibernation, to whatever new adventures lie beyond.

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Together we can do anything

Yesterday I had the amazing opportunity to work with a fantastic group of photographers and volunteers for Help-Portrait. Help-Portrait is a “global movement of photographers using their time, gear and expertise to give back to those in need.” The idea is for photographers to find people who would not otherwise be able to have portraits, take and print their portrait and give it to them. The movement is all-volunteer, spanning 56 countries and with 101,596 portraits given to date.

In Corvallis, the local crew photographed 142 people in 75 sittings. There were 21 volunteers: 4 photographers shooting, 4 graphic designers (that’s what I did) and lots and lots of volunteers helping as assistants, with check-in, hospitality, food, etc. The day was an all-volunteer event, with support from local businesses who donated food, printing, and publicity, and the church who allowed us to use their space.

In the “graphic designer” role, I edited and printed the photos after the photographers completed their work. I got to sit with the clients and help them choose their portraits, hearing a bit of their story. I listened to what brought them there, what they were going to do with their photos, and learned a bit about who they were. Both through their words and through the images.

Here are a few images and stories from my day. (The clients and photographers have signed releases to allow these to be shared.) There was also an article in today’s local paper, the Corvallis Gazette-Times, where you can read more stories.

This beautiful woman was one of my first clients of the day. She quiet and nervous to have her photo taken, you could tell. She told me how she was working hard to get custody back of her kids. I see confidence and strength in her photo, I believe she can do it.

Photo by Helen Hilman

This is “Pops.” He is a self-designated mentor to the youth in the homeless community, trying to help them stay out of trouble. He was such a personable and happy guy, it was clear from his interactions that everyone who knew him loved and respected him.

Photo by Jones Oliver

This gentleman talked of his 16-year-old daughter, whom he hadn’t seen in 9 years. He was going to send his portrait to her as a Christmas present. He told me they were in contact, and he hoped to see her this year.

Photo by Jones Oliver

This group of friends was so excited to have their photo taken together. They met in a 12-step program, and their friendship is helping them with recovery. One of the girls said they will use the portrait to remind them of what they will lose, these friendships, if they don’t stay clean.

Photo by Jones Oliver

This was Luke, the last client of the day. He was a quiet guy, didn’t have too much to say. I love the confidence that shows in his portrait though. It makes me want to know him better.

Photo by Jones Oliver

Throughout the day, I heard so many times…
“I hate my smile.”
“I hate my hair.”
“I hate having my pictures taken.”
Yet again and again I saw images of beautiful, strong people come through on the screen. I told them all, “We are all our worst critics! You look beautiful, just look at the picture. The people love you will be so happy to have this.” And it reminded me that I have the same thoughts, and should take my own advice.

In addition to the stories I was privileged to learn, there were so, so many others. Individuals with beloved pets, families with children, new little babies, friends, grandparents with grandchildren… all who would not have a portrait any other way. So many people said they would be giving their portraits as gifts this year, since they had nothing else to give.

This day was a reminder of what photography can bring to people’s lives, as part of sharing their stories and seeing their worth. Everyone was so grateful and happy to have the opportunity to get the portraits. This is something that we who wield cameras and share photos all the time can easily take for granted.

Here is the crew that put on the day in Corvallis, those of us who were there at the end of the day. There were many other volunteers who came for part of the day and who were no longer around. Most of us in this photo were together dawn to dusk yesterday. I was honored to work with this group. This day was a reminder that when working together, we can do anything. I’m definitely “in” for next year’s event!

Today’s prompt for Many Muses Musing is TOGETHER. The next prompt is GREETINGS. Come visit to see the giveaway for today, and join us with your stories and images.

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Odds and Ends

You never know what odds and ends you are going to find, as you wander around. Like these milk containers, spotted around southern Oregon – a truly American thing! I didn’t see one of these around Europe. Or maybe I needed to go further into the countryside to find them.

I have a few odds and ends to share here too:

  • Our holiday celebration, Many Muses Musing, starts tomorrow on Mortal Muses! Every day for the next couple of weeks we will have a NEW holiday prompt word and a giveaway. There will be lots of great giveaways and it’s a fun and FREE way to celebrate the holidays with your camera. Visit today to get tomorrow’s word, and visit Mortal Muses every day during this time to link in or comment to enter the giveaways. You’ll find me linking in and visiting as much as I can! We did this last year too and it was great fun.
  • Today is the last day to enter the giveaway of two spots in Find Your Eye: Starting the Journey over at The Creative Exchange! Lisa will be drawing for winners this evening her time (she’s on the East Coast of the US) so don’t delay in entering.
  • I’ve done a couple of audio interviews on the Find Your Eye course series. If you are looking to hear more about the courses and how they got started, or maybe if you want to just hear what I sound like, you can visit the Find Your Eye overview page here. It’s very odd to hear yourself recorded, but I love these courses so much the interviews were easier to do than I thought!
  • Just in time for the new year, I’ve added a calendar to my offerings on RedBubble! I’m super excited to be able to offer calendars with my photos now too.  Visit here to see what I’ve chosen to include in this calendar.

That’s enough about odds and ends from me, do you have any odds and ends to share? Leave a comment if you do!

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Lanterns & Lights

This week I went exploring our little downtown area looking for holiday lights. These lanterns outside of a sushi place caught my eye, and I was delighted to find the holiday lights in the window as I moved closer. A bit of compositional play ensued. That’s the best part of going out exploring, when you find a scene that inspires you to play!

The red lanterns on this restaurant also reminded me of our travels around Italy. You see, we were always on the lookout for red lanterns along the street while we travelled. Why? They typically indicated a Chinese restaurant. I know, I know, Italian food is amazing. There are so many regions and so much variety to Italian food. My challenge to you: Try eating it for every meal for a week or two straight and see if you don’t want a little variety. There is not much variety in ethnic food available in Italy unless you are in a big city and know where to look. Chinese is the only ethnic food you can regularly sometimes find. And the Chinese food in Europe is awesome, a bit different from the US and we loved it.

When we saw the red lanterns during our explorations of the day we would mark that spot to come back later for dinner. We all had our favorite dishes and would rate that dish from one place to another. I would get to enjoy a nice pot of tea, another thing without much variety in Italy. It was always a welcome break from the usual and a yummy meal.

I don’t think I’ve even had Chinese food since returning home, I’m still trying to get my fill of Mexican food. Maybe we’ll follow the red lanterns here, and head out for some Chinese this week. It was fun to have these memories come back, as I looked for holiday lights.

Exploring with a Camera: Holiday Lights continues for another week. What are you finding? Go out exploring and then link in to show us. A little story about your photo is always fun to share too!



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Town Trees: Ashland

Against the Wall

Almost a month ago I discovered a new series to capture, images of trees that line the streets of our cities and towns, bringing a little bit of the forest to our concrete-and-asphalt world. I’ve decided to call this series “Town Trees.”

I found several Town Trees when we visited Ashland, in southern Oregon. This first one is my favorite. I love the shape of this tree, it looks like it has it’s hair all mussed up, maybe it hasn’t had a trim in a while. I love how it’s grown up right against the wall, standing straight with good posture. There were several of these in a row, sentinels guarding the parking lot along the side of a building.

Green and Gold

The colors here caught my eye, how the green and gold in the tree repeated in the windows and their reflections.

Capped

I wonder who thought to plant a tree under an awning? Maybe it was never supposed to grow this tall, but someone should have realized that this is Oregon and trees seem to grow bigger here. Maybe it was supposed to be cultured by a gardener to stay small, but someone cut the landscaping budget. Whatever happened, the tree is thriving and continues to reach for the sky. I love that.

These Town Trees all seem to have personality of their own, don’t they? I think this is going to be a fun series to capture.