Kat Eye Studio

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Spaces & Places

I’ve got places and spaces on the brain this morning! This morning I started the “Creating with the Environment” chapter in Trust the Process by Shaun McNiff. He talks about our physical spaces and response to places in the creative process. I love this line:

We create together with our physical environments and don’t always appreciate how their qualities contribute to our expression.

True for any type of artist, but even more so for photographers. For many of us, the physical environment is the raw material of our creation. We capture and compose from the environment. Like today’s photo… While the owner of the house created this beautiful space on the porch to sit and relax, I captured it to share the idea of cheery relaxation with all of you. Someone else created the place, but I create with it too. So very fun.

Since I love to explore and photograph places, my environment has become my creative fuel. We really explored the concepts behind creating with places in A Sense of Place, the 8-week course that just wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. It was awesome! I love how much I learn by organizing my thoughts into a class and sharing them with a group. I am in awe of how much I gain from the discussion and interaction with the course participants. This week I read the feedback from the class participants, as they shared their impressions of the class. I get a little giddy sometimes, realizing that these ideas of mine have made an impression on someone else too. You can read a few of the comments, newly added to my class information page here. Pretty darn cool that I can do something I love so much and have it resonate with others too! How lucky am I?

I can’t wait to run A Sense of Place again, in spring of 2013. Until then, I’ll continue exploring the spaces and places around me. They are the fuel of my creative expression. What fuels you?

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On Top of the World

The height and vastness of the Alps is breathtaking! We had the opportunity to visit Schilthorn piz Gloria, this overlook at the top of the Schilthorn mountain. You can wander the walkways and eat in the rotating restaurant for a panoramic view. It was one of the more incredible places we ate in Europe. I’m still amazed at the view when I look at my photos.

Capturing this type of mountain grandeur with our cameras, showing the vastness, is not always easy. One way to show scale is to put an object or building up close in the foreground, like this overlook, allowing the scenery to play out in the distance behind. The lighting also serves to help contrast the near and far, since the bright light pulls you into the distance.

What do you think, do you want to learn more about capturing places? Join me in A Sense of Place. Spaces are still available! Class starts April 8.

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Exploring Places

Preparations for A Sense of Place are moving along quite nicely! I’m so excited to share this class. When I observe from afar and take myself out of the work of it for a moment, it’s fascinating to watch a class go from a seed of an idea scribbled on paper, to an organized outline, to a finished product that will allow me to share these ideas with others. It’s also been an interesting opportunity to discover new things in my own photography, as I revisit old favorites. This dragon from the Dragon Bridge in Ljubljana, Slovenia was one of my recent rediscoveries. I love him! I can’t believe I forgot about this image.

Are you still debating on taking A Sense of Place? Here’s an interview with me on the course, if you would like to know more. I hope you’ll join us! A great group is forming up, and we are going to have a fabulous time exploring places.

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A Sense of Place Registration is Open!

It’s time! Registration is open for my newest class offering, A Sense of Place.

This brand new, eight-week course will help you discover your own Sense of Place – a grounding in the way you explore and encounter the world around you with your camera.

Like all of my courses, it encompasses both the photography aspect which has you looking out at the world in new ways, as well as looking inside yourself to define the aesthetic you want to capture as you explore places.

You can find more details on the new course, including a week-by-week outline and course logistics information, on the course description page here.

Photography of places is one of my favorite things. I’m very excited for this new course, and I can’t wait to share it with you! I hope you’ll join me and discover A Sense of Place.

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