Kat Eye Studio

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Italy in my Pocket

A Walk on Time, Ravenna, Italy

A Walk on Time, Ravenna, Italy

I’ve been thinking a lot about Italy lately. I find little pieces of evidence of my time in Italy various places. In my wool coat, out for the winter, I have found a few pieces of Italian memorabilia. A couple of Milan Metro tickets, a British penny, some pistachio shells. I feel them there. I take them out and look at them, and then put them back. Yes, crazily enough, even the pistachio shells. I put them back.

They all have memories for me. The pistachio shells remind me of the winter night we all went into Milan and wandered around, Brandon hounding us for a snack until we stopped at a kiosk and bought the pistachios. Then, what to do with the shells… We would collect them up in pockets as we walked around and then drop them in a trash can. Apparently I forgot a few, lingering in my pocket. In my pocket they will stay.

The Metro tickets may have been from the same night, or some other time. We used the Metro all the time when we wanted to go into Milan. The tickets were stuck everywhere… they became bookmarks and notes. My son has piles of them saved up. I have two in my coat pocket now. Where I slip my hand in and remind myself I lived in Italy for a while.

The British penny must be from my visit to London last winter, where I met up with my fellow muse Kirstin and had a fabulous weekend wandering around with my camera. What a joy that was, to connect with her and her family in person. I’ll keep that memory safely tucked away in my pocket too.

We find our lives are filled with these little memories, tucked away to be discovered again and again or in plain sight to remind us often. Our house is a veritable story book, the items “before Italy” and “from Italy” blending in to this “after Italy.” The physical space we live in has changed as we shift the elements in our lives to encompass our experience. My style of clothes has changed. My photographs have changed. It’s all a reflection of the personal changes that living abroad has brought. They are the concrete reminders that we did live in Italy. Our time there was real.

If it weren’t for the contents of my pocket, I’m not sure I would believe it anymore.

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Curving Around: Opposing Lines

As participants share their Opposing Lines in Exploring with a Camera, I’ve come across a question: Do curves count as opposing lines?

My answer: Absolutely!

Consider today’s photo, the lines of the metal siding lead you up to the sign, but the curve of the lines in the sign leads you right back down again through the photo. Helen also shared a wonderful photo in the link up with lots of curves as opposing lines.

So many great examples of opposing lines shared so far! Galina’s bridge shot captures the principle perfectly, and I enjoyed this one below by roses4donna, shared in the Flickr pool.

Boardwalk

How is your search for Opposing Lines going? It’s not too late to link in, we have another whole week in this exploration!



FYI - Links will be moderated. Please use a permalink, ensure that your linked image is on topic, and include a link back to this site in your post through the Exploring with a Camera button (available here) or a text link. Thanks!

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The City’s Forest

Architectural Salvage, Philomath, Oregon

Architectural Salvage

Perhaps it’s just because I enjoy framing street scenes, or perhaps it’s because the latest Find Your Eye lesson is on starting a series, but I stumbled on a new series topic in my photography last week: The city’s forest.

I first noticed an interest in capturing these trees planted along the street when we visited Hood River, Oregon a couple of months ago. I was attracted to the light and shadow. The shape of the tree contrasted with the shapes of the architecture. The interaction of these bits of nature brought into our hard, urban world. It’s as if we know we need the trees at some deeper visceral level, so we mark out spaces in regular intervals along our streets to make room for them. They shelter our path from the sun in the summer and the rain in the fall. They provide color and beauty. They are silent witnesses to the lives bustling under and around them. They survive and thrive, even where we neglect them.

Sheltering the Abandoned

Sheltering the Abandoned

Can you imagine our neighborhoods and towns without these trees? I can’t. Or maybe I can, but I don’t want to. I am always sad when a tree lining a street dies or has to be cut down. The trees we plant are physical extensions of the heart of a place, and something changes when a tree is lost.

I’m on the hunt now, to capture the city’s forest. To celebrate the life of these trees in manmade places.

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Everything, and a Sink

And the Sink

Have you ever heard the phrase: Everything but the kitchen sink? This photo made me think: Everything and the kitchen sink. (Except it’s a bathroom sink. But it’s a sink so I hope you’ll spot me the flexibility in phrasing.)

I love the randomness of this collection. Another of my favorites from my outing to Philomath on Friday, I had much success finding photoographs along the outside of the Architectural Salvage store. I’ll have to go back and visit when it’s open sometime, I bet there are even more opportunities for random goodness to photograph inside.

All of the photos of this series have been edited using Lightroom 3, I’m now using Lightroom exclusively for my editing to learn the software. I’ve got my Scott Kelby book open on my lap and I’m flipping back and forth as I have questions. I’m learning a ton.

I am in love. Absolute, and total love, with Lightroom. What a fantastic piece of software for editing and organizing photos. It’s intuitive and powerful, and I’ve been in desperate need of the organization piece. I’m getting lost in all of the editing possibilities, and it’s just plain fun. I’m not sure why a photographer would bother with Photoshop! (OK, not totally true, I know I will still use Photoshop Elements for layers, but I’m enamored at the moment so I’m allowing myself to be dramatic.)

Here are a couple of videos I’ve watched that help explain why you would use one or the other, via Kent Weakley and Adorama TV. (The Adorama TV video is the one I watched first, and it helped me decide to go with Lightroom as my next software, but Kent’s is a nice overview and is shorter.) You can substitute “Photoshop Elements” for “Photoshop” in any of these conversations, both integrate with Lightroom the same way, I’ve found. How awesome is that?

Maybe, just maybe, with the combo of Lightroom and Photoshop Elements, I’ve discovered I have everything and the kitchen sink. I’m one happy gal.

Disclosure: Links to Amazon are affiliate links.

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Window to the Morning

Window to the Morning

Window to the Morning

What can a window tell you about a person? This one tells me of someone who loves color. Someone who uses their only east-facing window to catch the morning light, nurturing as many plants as possible. It doesn’t matter that the view out the window has a cable running through it. It doesn’t matter that the building has a few flaws. Using what is there to the best effect, that is what matters.

I captured this image on my photo walk in Philomath on Friday. It caught my eye as this spot of bright color on an otherwise empty east-facing wall. I thought about cloning out the cable, but decided that’s part of the charm of this window. The color and life amidst the imperfection.

We all have views like this. Both the real and the figurative windows of our life look out on imperfections. This image reminds me, it’s what we do on the inside that matters, not the view we see. Do we use the light we have? Do we add color and life where we can? Do we create a view we want to see, while accepting the one we don’t?

Yep, windows can tell you a lot about a person. What would yours tell me about you?

Linked in to the Creative Exchange today.

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Texture Heaven

Heaven, I’m in heaven…

Yesterday was a glorious texture day! A couple of weeks ago my friend Julie emailed me, asking if I wanted to go for a photo walk. After coordinating a bit, we settled on yesterday morning. We got out early, just as the morning sun was burning off the fog, and headed to the small town of Philomath. This little town of 5 or 6 thousand is a couple of miles from where I live. We drive through it all the time to head to the Coast and I always say, “I need to come back here and photograph.” So glad I did!

I realized as we were walking around I’ve traded in the stone and stucco of Italy for the brick, wood and corrugated metal of small town USA, but it’s texture all the same. I’m still looking for the “real life still life” scenes that catch my eye. The image above of the bucket is my favorite of the day. The colors and textures are perfect, and that lovely morning light! Heaven.

Julie and I ended our photo walk with a coffee and a chai to warm up, and agreed we need to do this more often. It was so much fun to go out with another photographer! We can’t wait to share the photos and see what we each captured, the differences in our point of view. I loved capturing her in action as well. Oh, the things we photographers do.

But wait! There’s more! I have a bit of other news today, the winner of the set of “Texture” postcards from the Exploring with a Camera: Found Texture link up is… Dina of 4 Lettre Words! Dina is a regular participant in Exploring with a Camera and Ashley Sisk‘s Scavenger Hunt Sunday and I’m excited to send these to her. Thanks to all of you for your participation! Even though our link up on texture is over, I hope you continue to seek texture. You know I will!