Kat Eye Studio

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A New View

One of the things I loved about Barcelona was the modern architecture. Such wonderful, creative buildings around the city. A feast for the eyes, with the lines and the reflections. Such a wonderful contrast of old and new in this place. It was a nice break from the older, historic architecture I love and have been photographing so much this last year.

Another new “view” today is my blog redesign! This is the project I’ve been working on here and there, using the technical side of my brain for a creative purpose. I’ve tried to make it easier to find posts by labels and also to bookmark or share. Let me know what you think… what you like and don’t like. I want to make this a place you like to visit, so please let me know!

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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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Colors of Nice

Apartment windows in the old city of Nice, France.

As I sort through my photos from Nice, I’m seeing a trend. My photos of our short time in Nice are all about color… the blue of the sea, the warm pinks and yellows of the buildings, the green of the palm trees and the plants, the bright colors of the flower market, the shades of the special soaps, the deep blues and bright yellows of Chagall paintings. So many brilliant colors, all in one place! Not gaudy overwhelming color, but natural, like the plumage of a parrot. All tropical and sunny. Maybe it was the sun and the spring feel of the weather that drew me to the colors, but I think maybe it’s just the personality of Nice.

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Arched Entryways

This arch is an entryway into the castle ruins of Rheinfels castle in St. Goar, Germany. This is one of the medieval castles of the Rhine River Valley, and you can go inside and explore the ruins a bit. It is very cool to get an idea of what life was like in these castles, it seems like a hard life of defending your territory, cramped and not-so-sanitary living. Not as romantic as we make it out to be today!

I liked this photo because of the scale. You can see Patrick and Brandon inside the arch, and get an idea of just how big it was. They needed to be able to ride through on horseback with flags, etc. so it had to be tall. One more use of the arch, not as decorative as the Rennaisance arches in the Italian courtyards, but interesting just the same.

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Arches with a Fountain

This photo is of the Palazzo della Ragione with the fountain in Piazza delle Erbe in front, in Padova (aka Padua). I spent a fun day there with my sister, on our tour of the Veneto in November. This town is full of arches, there are all of these covered arcade walkways along the streets. It was a sunny day when we were there, but I bet everyone is thankful for them when it rains.

I had an amazing realization about arches this morning… Of course it’s not just me, there are lots of arches all over the place because it’s part of Rennaisance architecture and Italy is where the Rennaisance happened. Whew. Glad I figured that one out.

But yesterday’s post also made me realize that I do show a selective view of the places we visit in my photography. Do you notice graffiti in my photos very often? No, but there’s lots of it here in Italy. Patrick mentioned it in his blog post yesterday. So the photographer does impose his or her preferences in the photographs. And, apparently, I prefer arches, with no graffiti!

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