Kat Eye Studio

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Photo-Heart Connection: September

No Parking.

Such a definite statement. No ifs, ands or buts. Just “No Parking.”

Do you notice how nicely it is said though? A painted sign against the stone. The beautiful flowers along the wall. It seems to be saying, “No Parking. But really, why would you want to park here anyway, blocking this beautiful scene? Enjoy the flowers.”

I like this straightforward, yet pleasant message. No apologies, no beating around the bush. How often do we want to say “No” to something, yet we feel awkward saying the words or obligated to answer with something else. We feel as if we must explain.

But really… would a simple, pleasant, confident “No” work? I’m thinking maybe it would. We should not feel uncomfortable using it more often. With a smile and with an attitude of respect for the person we are answering. Like this “No Parking” sign, maybe we can make our answer of “no” something beautiful rather than something we would hide in a dark alley.

“No Parking.” I am happy to oblige. How about you?

This image is from the town of Haworth and it jumped out at me when I was going through my photos the other day. The message was just so clear. So this month I didn’t end up going through all of my September photos for the Photo-Heart Connection. I have them with me on the trip and planned to, but I didn’t need to. This message came to me beautifully gift wrapped with pots and flowers and a birdhouse. A “no” never looked so good. It reminded me that we can make an answer someone might not want to hear in a strong, confident and respectful way. And when we do, it changes everything.

What is your Photo-Heart Connection this month? I would love to hear. Bring on those strong, confident messages!



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Brontë Country

I’m in “Brontë Country.” The moors of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are very near the town of Hebden Bridge. A short drive away is the Brontë Parsonage, where sisters Emily, Charlotte and Anne lived and wrote their books. Today I went to visit this beautiful countryside, the Parsonage and the town of Haworth with my friend Rhiannon, who came down from Scotland for my visit.

It’s quite a sad story of the sisters Brontë. So much talent, and they all died so young. I think now that I’ve visited their home and seen the countryside, I need to read Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre again. There is something about having seen a place that brings a story alive for me.

On a happier note, walking up the hill through Haworth was quite nice! It’s a beautiful street filled with potted plants on colorful doorsteps. I am in my element!

The first workshop is tomorrow. Wish me luck!

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Hello from Hebden Bridge

Have you ever visited someplace new and felt like it was coming home? That’s how I feel here in Hebden Bridge! I don’t know if it’s because I’m back in Europe for the first time since moving from Italy, or if it’s because I visited with several friends today, but I feel at home here. It’s a lovely little town! I love the stone buildings and the colorful doors.

My journey was fairly uneventful and luckily enough the rains stopped before I arrived. There were many places in the Yorkshire area that were flooded and travel was interrupted for many people on Tuesday, but there were no interruptions to my travel on Wednesday. Thankfully, this time Hebden Bridge did not suffer any flooding. They’ve already been flooded twice this year, and you can see the evidence in the storefronts that are being cleaned out and the sandbags at the doorsteps, ready to be put in place.

Well, I’m off to bed… It’s 11pm here. Jet lag hasn’t been a problem for me yet. I wonder when it will catch up with me? Oh, and I tried Wensleydale cheese for the first time today. Yum. Fabulous!

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I’m Off!

Today’s the day! I’m travelling to the UK. I’m off to find out what’s behind the red door of adventure. I’m eager to get back across the Atlantic. This is my first international travel since returning from Italy over a year ago, and I wonder what new things I will discover?

I’ll be blogging from the road, so you’ll get updates here and there about my experiences.

In the meantime, I have a few Kat Eye things to share…

  • I am excited to be the “Flickr Photo of the Month” for masteringphoto.com with my photograph “Scwinn Approved.” You can see it here.
  • Visit Grow Soul Beautiful, a lovely new site dedicated to the mind+body connection of yoga and photography, for a chance to win a space in the upcoming October/November Find Your Eye course series. Also Sherry Galey, one of my participants in the summer course series, wrote a lovely (and unsolicited) post on her experience with the Find Your Eye e-course. I hope you will follow Sherry’s advice and join us for this next journey!
  • This month’s Photo-Heart Connection will be from England. I wonder how that will affect my connection? Join me October 1 through 7 with your Photo-Heart Connection too.

I think that’s it! You’ll next hear from me on the other side. Yay!

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The Journey Continues

Camera. Italy. Me.

These things together may not have been the very start of my creative journey, but they certainly were the things that launched me high speed down the path. Somehow in the last few days I came across this photo in my archives and my heart leapt. There it is, laid out in a picture… cameras, Italia and me. Taken in the Alinari Museum of Photography in Florence in 2011, somehow this image speaks volumes to me about my time in Italy. My creative journey with the camera.

I’ve been back from Italy for over a year and my journey with the camera continues. The Corvallis Fall Festival this weekend was another step along the way. It was a successful weekend for me. Not just in sales (although that part went surprisingly well), but in learning, in getting to know my fellow members of the PhotoArts Guild, and in pushing through my fears of having my work “out there” in the public.

I learned a ton… preparing my photographs for sale, how to set up a booth, different ways of display… the list will continue on. While this was my first year participating in the PhotoArts Guild booth, for the four other photographers it was their second year. They had learned a lot and made substantial improvements to the booth to make it bright, open and accessible. Not bad for what could be begged, borrowed and bought used! We were also lucky to have beautiful weather the whole weekend, which always helps a festival like this.

I also learned that you cannot predict the public reaction to anything. There were certain photos that many people would spend a long time studying, but no one ever bought them. There were photos that generated a lot of interest in the form of conversation and questions, but no one ever bought them. In previous years, cards were the big money maker they told me, but this year fewer cards were sold and more prints were sold. Go figure.

So, how do you know what people want? You don’t. How do you predict and prepare? I’m not sure you can, other than to have a variety of options to offer. Sometimes people come to the festival with an agenda, something specific they are searching for. Sometimes people come to the festival as a way to get out and do something for the weekend, with no intent to buy. Sometimes people connect with the art you have to offer, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they have money to spend, sometimes they don’t. Responses to art are subjective. There are too many variables to predict an outcome.

After all of this, you are probably wondering: Will I do it again? Yes. It’s the next step on my journey. And now that I’ve taken the first step, gotten over the initial fears and investment, I’ll continue to move forward down this path to see where it leads. Not at a sprint, mind you, but at the pace that works for me. It was fun!

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The Benefits of Space

As we finish up this month’s Exploring with a Camera: Allowing Space, I can see that we’ve all learned a lot. We’ve learned how space can give you room to breathe in a photograph. How the subject can be highlighted and enhanced by the space we allow around it. How a simple, open composition can lead to strong emotional impact.

Many of us have also drawn parallels between our photography and our lives with this exploration. We’ve noticed how allowing space can make room for other things to grow in our hearts and minds. I especially love how Gina put it: “Allowing space in our hearts, homes, and minds is really one of the keys to happiness.” Yes! Whether it’s physical space in our environment, space in our schedule or just space in our thinking processes, it’s all beneficial to us.

Let’s all take a deep breath, allowing space in our bodies as air fills our lungs, and enjoy the benefits of space in our lives, in any way, today. You can still link in your photographs through the end of the day. I’d love to see what you have found in this exploration!