Kat Eye Studio

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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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Your Autobiography

I paint the way some people write their autobiography.
The paintings, finished or not, are the pages of my journal
and as such they are valid.
— Pablo Picasso

Paintings, photographs, words. Does it matter which? No, they are all an expression of ourselves, the autobiography we are leaving behind.

What does your autobiography say?

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Crossing Cultures

Where to start on San Francisco? Without a doubt, my favorite part of the city was Chinatown. Wonderful alleys to wander, with infinite interesting details to frame.

The mixture of the common and the unusual was a delight. I loved the cross of the cultures to be found in Chinatown. Seeing the different languages made me feel as if I were traveling abroad, and I found myself surprised when I would enter a store or a restaurant and someone would speak to me in English. In the two years I lived in Italy, I developed some deep-rooted associations between traveling outside my culture and language: If it’s not my culture, they won’t speak my language. It was interesting to see this assumption tested so obviously in a US environment.

The sights, the sounds, the details, and the textures of Chinatown made it my kind of place. We found ourselves wandering here, for at least a little while, on most days of our trip. I just wanted to drink it all in with my camera.

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Continuing the Balance

We continue to study the balance of shapes in Exploring with a Camera this month. I’m curious what you all think of this exploration, since there haven’t been too many participants as of yet, which is unusual. What is holding you back?

Today’s image is from Portland, captured after I visited the Mark Rothko exhibition at the Portland Art Museum a few weeks ago. While visiting the exhibition I fell in love with this painting, No. 8. I sat and looked at it for a long time, wondering what it was that attracted me so deeply. It was partially the colors, but upon further contemplation I realized it was also the balance. This painting perfectly balances color, shape and line. Of course! I would love that in painting, as much as I love that in photography. Mark Rothko’s paintings distill this balance down to essential elements. With his paintings you are not distracted into thinking it is “of something,” as you would be in a photograph. You can see the balance for what it is. I love that!

So, how are you doing with balance? I would love to see. I would also love to hear what you are struggling with, if this topic doesn’t connect with you. Maybe we can explore that together.


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A Deep Breath

It’s funny, I feel as if I am surfacing for air today. After being pulled down into the Spiral of Creativity with A Sense of Place I am able to take a breath after the launch of registration. I’m always amazed at how this spiral works. How it catches me up sometimes in the currents of creativity, and how much effort and focus it takes to complete something. I’m not done, but I’m in a calm pool for the moment, floating along and catching my breath.

Today’s photo is what I needed to pause for calm, to catch my breath. The color, the simplicity, a frame of beauty found in an alleyway. A respite in the spiral, before I dive back in. Do you ever get pulled into the Spiral of Creativity? How do you catch your breath when that happens?

Today is the last day for linking in to February’s Photo-Heart Connection. I can’t believe it’s been 7 days already! There are such beautiful connections this month. Thank you so much for sharing them, and for visiting each other and connecting at a heart level. I love seeing these heart connections form. There is still room for you to join in today.

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Scooter Sightings: Keeping Cool

Here it is, the end of February, and I almost forgot the monthly Scooter Sightings post! What is wrong with me! I think the problem is there haven’t been many real scooter sightings lately. My husband said he saw a classic Vespa around town, but alas, I was not with him at the time. I’ve been getting the urge to ride my scooter so I wish the warm weather would hurry up and get here!

Today’s scooter sightings image is from Pavia, a small university town southwest of Milan. This beautiful scooter was parked in the shade at the edge of a courtyard, where students were studying at picnic tables under the trees, trying to keep cool. This was before my scooter obsession so I didn’t study the scene the way I would like to now. I can imagine the creative possibilities here with this red scooter!

I’m happy to share some scooter sightings from other readers too.

This one comes from Robin of Gotham Girl Photography, she found it in New York City. I would be in heaven with that color combo along with the vintage scooter. It’s a made-for-Kat scene!! Thanks for sharing this, Robin.

This pink cutie comes from April of My Captivating Images. April wrote, “This is Katie. She is one of my repeat clients and she is so much fun to photograph. She is always up for anything that I want to try. This particular session was suppose to be her Prom session. The only day we could get our schedules together was on Prom day! As luck would have it, it was pouring! It was too late to try to reschedule though so we were brave and went out into downtown Greensboro, NC. looking for overhangs and any other type of cover we could find. We came along this pink Vespa that just spoke to me. It just matched her dress and playful personality so well. So I headed into the salon to ask for permission to use it. I love the results. Sometimes you just have to accept what you have to work with and use your creativity. Sometimes you just have to accept that the weather isn’t going to co-operate (just be sure to protect your camera!). Sometimes you just have to accept it and make it the best you can. And guess what? Sometimes it far exceeds any of your “normal” work!”

I totally agree with April!! (And I want that pink scooter.)

If you have a scooter sighting, take a pic and email it to me! I’d love to share your scooter sighting here.

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