Kat Eye Studio

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My Journey with the Photo-Heart Connection: A Guest Post by Gitanjali Rawat

Today continues a series of guest posts from Photo-Heart Connection participants. I invited them to write a post sharing what the Photo-Heart Connection meant to them this year. For the next few days I will share these very special answers with all of you, celebrating the first year of the Photo-Heart Connection. Enjoy!

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I take photographs with my heart. I always try to capture anything that moves me and speaks to my soul. I also try to express my feelings in words, a huge reason why I started blogging more than a year ago.

Hearing of Kat’s Photo-Heart Connection deeply intrigued me because the concept was so similar to what I had been trying to do with my blog ever since I started it. I remember reading more about it and feeling absolutely determined to participate in the next one. I’ve been a regular ever since I started a few months back. It has been an intensely satisfying experience for me and I cannot wait to start afresh in the New Year!

I look at my photographs with new eyes now and I also look within searching for stories and emotions behind my images. While writing my post, I sift through words searching for the ones that match what I am trying to say. I edit to my heart’s content, tapping away at my laptop oblivious to everything around me. I cherish interacting with my fellow Photo-Heart Connection bloggers. I always come away feeling inspired and encouraged. At the end of it, I cannot wait for the new month to start all over again.

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Every month is an opportunity to do some much needed soul searching. Uncannily, emotions that I’ve been trying to disguise come straight to the forefront and I have no option but to address them. It always leaves me feeling better. I feel that the quality of my posts has vastly improved in the past few months thanks to this practice.

I sincerely feel that continuing to participate here means an endless road of self-discovery. Thank you Kat, for this wonderful opportunity every month. I love being here. 🙂

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Gitanjali (known as geetlee in the blogging world) is a blogger from San Francisco, California. She loves taking pretty pictures and tinkering around endlessly in Photoshop. Her blog captures her life and travels around North America. You can find her blog here.

Thank you Gitanjali for your lovely words about the Photo-Heart Connection. It’s amazing the positive boost it can give you, isn’t it?

Join me for another guest post tomorrow! And don’t forget the other things going on in the Kat Eye Studio:

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A Year of Photo-Heart Connection: Guest Post by Bo Mackison

A couple of months ago, I put out a call for guest posts to the Photo-Heart Connection participants. I asked them to write about what the Photo-Heart Connection meant to them this year. For the next few days I will share these very special answers with all of you, celebrating the first year of the Photo-Heart Connection. Enjoy!

City Shadows

Tree Shadows © 2012 Bo Mackison

One of the reasons I participate in Kat’s monthly Photo-Heart Connection is it offers me a monthly routine, that of looking through a month’s worth of photograph to see what it is I have been photographing. It encourages me to ask myself questions about my photography, and then answer those questions. Sometimes the obvious reason, the initial impulse to take a photograph, is only part of a more in-depth story. When I choose the photos which have a true “photo-heart connection” I always discover new reasons for taking certain photos, reasons not immediately obvious.

Pink Queen Anne's Lace

Pink Queen Anne’s Lace ©2012 Bo Mackison

When I looked through my entire set of Photo-Heart Connection photographs – there were 10 in total – I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I chose a wide variety of photographs using many different techniques. It was a heart-pleasure to realize my photography has developed from my original emphasis – taking macro-botanical photographs – into a block of work that encompasses many styles and techniques. It re-enforced my premise that taking photographs on an almost daily basis, a continuous practice of the craft, feeds not only the passion I have for photography, but also improves my craft and broadens my experiences.

Savanna-Sabula Bridge III

Savanna-Sabula Bridge © 2012 Bo Mackison

I continue to shoot my first love – macro-botanicals. But I also shoot many landscapes, captured moments in time, abstract studies, architectural photos. There are photos that focus on composition, shadow play, mood, light, color. There are photos taken with a deliberate set-up using my DSLR; there are photos taken with my iPhone using the Hipstamatic or Snapseed apps. There are photos straight out of the camera and there are photos which I have intentionally used post processing software to achieve a certain look or feel.

Burlington Northern Train Cars Dwarfed by Kansas Grain Elevators

Burlington Northern © 2012 Bo Mackison

But all of the photos had an underlying connection – they were either story-tellers or memory-triggers. I think that is what truly turns a photograph into a heart-connection photograph – the emotional response. Sometimes this connection is easily seen by other viewers, but often the connection is on a more personal or private level.

And that is a great thing to recognize – that ultimately I take photographs that speak to me on many levels and that are meaning-makers for me.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and artist addicted to exploring sacred spaces, traveling to new places, being inspired by the natural world, and creating meaningful art, Her photography goal for 2013 is to create a hand-made, limited-edition art book including some of her photographs. Bo lives in Madison Wisconsin and Tucson Arizona. Her website and blog is at Seeded Earth Studio and you can find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks so much Bo! It was fabulous to hear about your experience with the Photo-Heart Connection.

Join me for another guest post tomorrow! And don’t forget the other things going on in the Kat Eye Studio:

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When Good Holiday Lights Go Bad

I’ve been wanting to get this shot for months. Since the days began getting shorter, and I began noticing the lights on my drive home from work. I love that “Books” sign with all of those books in the window! Usually there are cars parked on the street in front and three lanes of traffic passing by, so I knew I was going to have to make a special trip to capture it. I was going to have to be out some time when people were home in bed. When the streets were quiet.

4am on a Saturday should have done the trick. It was perfect… the streets were slightly damp, reflecting the red glow. The bicycle that’s usually there was still parked on the bike rack – score! There were no cars, except mine parked across the street. Just me and the shot I had been wanting.

Tripod, ISO100, 82mm, f/18, 25s

I set up, framed, captured… and then noticed the reflected Christmas lights. Argh! This store is across from our county courthouse, which was all done up in its holiday light finery. The lights were reflecting in the window, ruining my otherwise perfect shot. Just a reminder that you can’t get everything you want, especially when you are working with the Lights of Night.

Oh well. I guess I’ll just have to go out again, once the holiday lights come down. I hope the bicycle will be there next time! Has this ever happened to you?

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Color or Not?

Today we are continuing our study of the Lights of Night, this time with a tripod shot from my weekend excursion. One of the things that captivated my attention were the tree shadows. Probably no surprise, since I’ve been obsessed by trees lately! The question at the end of the day becomes… How to process them?

Do I leave them in color, with the interesting color from the streetlights…

Tripod, ISO200, 82mm, f/18, 30s

…or do I convert to black and white and eliminate the color?

I tried both, and prefer the color. It doesn’t have the same feel of night in the black and white, and I like that warm glow from the lights of night. What do you think?

While you are thinking about it, you can visit the other participants of Exploring with a Camera! And have you gotten out at night yet? Brave the weather and give it a try! Dress warmly, bring an umbrella if you need to, ask someone along as a “spotter” and get out into the night. The holiday lights won’t last too much longer! Visit the Lights of Night post for lots of links to night photography resources. See you back here!


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Night into Day

I’m taking a little break from the Lights of Night to share some of my favorite digital paintings from the last week for Paint Party Friday. I continued my exploration with the new process, moving from monochromatic paintings to multiple colors. I love the feeling in this first one, which I call Winter Fire. It does have kind of a fire-and-ice feel to it, doesn’t it? I like how the trees are just barely visible, but you see enough of them to make them out. What do you see in this painting? What is your interpretation of the scene?

Another favorite this week is a study of lines. Nature’s lines. The lines you find in nature often seem chaotic, but there is a pattern to them. I love seeing the pattern in things, whether it’s in nature or in an engineering problem. Just call me goofy!

Finally, in the spirit of the Lights of Night theme that I have going on this week, I thought I would share a digital creation that is not a “painting” but has the feel of night. This one was taken during the middle of the day, but I love that I can give an impression of night through my processing. I call this work “Night into Day.” Hmmm… maybe I should try making a painting out of this one, and see what happens!

If you want to see more of what I’ve been creating you can follow me on Instagram or Flickr. I’ve been posting new work there daily.

Happy Holidays to the Paint Party Friday crowd!

PS – Don’t miss the giveaway of a spot in my upcoming Find Your Eye: Journey of Fascination series over on the Moms Who Click blog. You can still enter!