Kat Eye Studio

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Fundamental Shift

I came to a surprising realization this morning, that somewhere, sometime in the last year I have made a fundamental shift. I can see this shift in several ways…

In my photography, I have moved from the idea that I’m just capturing our travels to share with family and friends and remember later, to the idea that I’m creating art.

In this blog, I’ve found my voice, sharing my unique vision of the world around me and my creative journey.

In my self, I have moved from identifying myself as an engineer (my day job for the last 18 years) to identifying myself as an artist.

I am an artist.
Photography is my medium.
I have a unique vision to show the world.


Wow, that feels great to put out there. This is an exciting realization for me. I hope you continue with me on this journey, because who knows where it will lead.

(Photo is the entrance to the Marksburg Castle, outside of Braubach, Germany in the Rhine River Valley.)

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Architecture as Art

The attic of Casa Battlo, one of Antonio Gaudi’s houses, is a magic place. All arches and light. Gaudi was an amazing architect of the Modernista age in Barcelona, he was able to create such a wonderful feel in the spaces he designed, even in something as mundane as an attic where only the servants would go. He was an artist, and his canvas was the buildings and spaces he created.

The feeling of light, design, art inside Gaudi’s Casa Battlo was reminiscent for me of visiting Frank Lloyd Wright’s Gordon House in Oregon. It’s like you enter the space of genius. These places make me look at architecture differently, not just from the outside but from the inside too. And then I wonder why most of our buildings are boxes with holes in them for light, when we could have spaces like these.

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Contrast

Behind the Basilica di San Francesco (Basilica of St. Francis) in Assisi is this courtyard. I’m not sure if it’s a cloister or what exactly it is, but it’s a beautiful little place full of contrast. I like the contrast of lines and curves, sun and shade, near and far, bright color and subdued neutral. See how many contrasts you can find in this one image!

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City Portrait

I tend to like these photos through gates and arches and doorways. It’s as if the city itself is both the frame and the subject. You get a sense of being outside and looking inside, but the twist is that you are already inside, just by the nature of seeing through the arch. Enjoy the perspective, and the little view of the duomo piazza in Brescia.

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Shapes of Light

Steps of a castle entrace at the Bled Castle in Slovenia.

This is a type of photo I’ve noticed catches my eye, as I go through and sort photos and pick my favorites for the blog. This kind of photo I would categorize as mostly about light, shapes and patterns. I could turn this to black and white and the photo would still work and convey a similar feeling. These images are often relatively monochromatic to begin with.

This is in contrast with the other type of photo I often share, in which COLOR plays a huge role, like yesterday’s soaps from Nice. Yes, light and shapes and patterns are still important in these photos, but turning them to black and white would completely lose the feel and story.

Just a little observation on my photography for today, that’s what I love about doing this blog. It helps me to see things in a slightly different way!

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Beautiful Brescia

A hidden courtyard invites you to stop for a moment in Brescia, Italy.

Brescia is a medium-sized Italian town about an hour from here. Yesterday morning I had my Italian driver’s test (I passed!) and then we headed out for a sunny Saturday in Brescia. Just a new place to explore. Brescia has it’s own personality, with many of these hidden courtyards, large doors with stone arches and rock walls partially stuccoed. Every time I start to think, “I’m taking the same picture, over and over again, just in a different place,” I realize the subtle differences that give each town it’s own sense of place in the world. These little details are what make each town we visit more than just a point on the map, more than just the same thing over and over.

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