Kat Eye Studio

by

Real Life Still Life

Everyday, we walk by countless places that people live in, work in, shop in, play in. We don’t even see these places most of the time, they are just part of the background noise of our every day lives. The good thing about travel is that it makes you more aware of what’s around you, you are open, receptive and seeking. You are actively seeing what is someone else’s background noise, what they don’t even notice anymore. The little details of real life that are fantastic still life compositions, if we just notice them.

This real life still life was found in a back alley in Murten, Switzerland. My son and I were wandering around the town on our guidebook walking tour, and I caught this flash of blue in the corner of my eye. Not one to miss out on a possible color photo opportunity, we headed down the alley to investigate and found this wonderful little place, where someone had clearly set this scene up with artistic intent. I loved taking pictures here, but this is my favorite of them all, because it just shows the whole scene as created by the artist.

How many people do you think see this, being tucked into a back alley? How many of those people don’t even notice it anymore, as part of the background noise in their everday life? It’s a good thought to ponder as we go through our everyday. See if you can find a real life still life, accidental or intentional, in your background noise. You don’t have to take a picture, just notice it. It takes active looking, an awareness that requires to you be in the moment. You can’t be thinking about where you are going, what tasks you need to get done next.

I think you might find it a refreshing, positive experience. And you may find you enjoy the places you go, the things you see every day, just a little bit more. Let me know how it goes.

+ + + + + + +
So excited, today is my first post over at Mortal Muses! We are currently musing on Reflections. You all know that’s a favorite subject of mine. 🙂  And come back tomorrow for a new Exploring with a Camera –  I can’t wait to share it with you! It’s a good week, all around.

by

Mail Time!

Wouldn’t you love to get mail in a door like this? I know I would! I loved all of the door letter slots I saw Bath, adding to the door personality. The ones marked LETTERS are cool, but kind of humorous to me. What else would the slot be for? Milk delivery? I found it interesting that much in England is labeled or named. Many houses don’t just have an address, they have names like “Victoria House” and “Park View” etched in stone above the door. So I guess it’s only fair that the mail slot has equal labeling importance.

And today, it is important because it’s Postcard Drawing Day!  Many of you think that today is a holiday in the US because of Labor Day, but this is the real reason, so you can all be online to find out if you won, right away. Too bad I don’t speak enough Italian to convince the government here we need a day off for this momentous occasion as well. 🙂

And the winner is…. Lisa, of the White Cotton Tee photography blog, aka L Gordon on Flickr. There were 42 entries, after eliminating the duplicates and unidentifiable Anonymous “Happy Sunday” comment. And Lisa was number 6! Congrats Lisa, send me your snail mail address and the postcards will be on their way to you.

But, you are all winners, do you know why? Because if you commented to win, I will send you your very own postcard with a personal note. Just send me an email at kat[at]kateyeview[dot]com, identifying your comment and include your snail mail address. Who wouldn’t like some mail from Italy? I might even have to order more postcards, perhaps with a window theme as requested. Everyone deserves some happy mail! I enjoyed reading all of the comments and appreciate the participation in this first-ever giveaway of mine. (And don’t worry, I promise your personal information will never, ever be shared. I will send the postcards and delete all info!)

Another piece of great news I am excited to share today is that I’ve joined the Mortal Muses photography site as one of the nine muses. There is a post from one of the nine muses each day, with their photo on the current theme and one from the Flickr pool, where you can participate by uploading your photos for the next theme. I was so excited to see my photo selected a couple of weeks ago in the black and white theme, and now I get to wax poetic once every nine days and be part of this wonderful team of photographers! Come on over and start participating with us.

One final shout out today… My 9-year-old son and I are participating in the Wish.Play.Create playgroup in the wishstudio. You can still join in too! We just finished up the Week 1 project yesterday, Mixed Media Love by Shona Cole. We had fun together playing with paints and coming up with the poses to go with the artwork provided in the class. Brandon said I had to use my own pictures, I couldn’t use him, so I had to get in on the fun more than I had planned. I’m glad I did, because this finished card perfectly expresses how I’m feeling right now.

 Up, up and away, borne on the wind of creative dreams.

by

Good Design Finds

I love it when we come across some good design in our travels. A store or brand that really has a unique look and also displays it well. The Aqua chain of stores we ran into in Croatia fits my “good design” definition perfectly. Everywhere along the Croatian coast, you find these stores where you can buy everything from pencils to tableware to bath towels with their signature design. I loved it! I add Aqua to my list that includes Pylones and Campo Marzio Design as great, unique design finds here in Europe.

by

The Blue Coast

We just got home from a weekend in Nice, France with a little side trip through Monaco on the way home. (Sometimes I get a kick about the things I write here, do we really get to do all of these cool things?) It is clear how this region gets it’s name of “Cote d’Azur” in French, or the Blue Coast. Just look at that water! This is of the Monte Carlo hotel overlooking the Sea in Monaco. More pictures to come this week!

by

Deep Blue

So pretty, so painful. Why is it, that nature’s way of warning you of danger, poison, etc., is often also beautiful? Sometimes colorful, or in the case of these jellyfish at the aquarium in Genova, just elegant and beautiful. An interesting paradox.

by

Color is like Music

“Color is like music, it uses [a] shorter way to come to our senses, to awake[n] our emotions.” I quite can’t read the name of the quote’s author in this photo, but I loved the quote and the color of this house in Burano. I’m sure every tourist that walks by it takes a photo of this. It captures your eye.

But, fun picture aside, I agree with the quote. I have been toying with this idea that there is a “soul language” that each of us has, a language that is a shortcuts our brain circuitry to our heart and soul. It gets past all of our outer layers of shoulds and shouldn’ts, our learned responses and expectations from our family, our friends, our culture, whatever. To a place where your response is truly you.

My soul language is visual imagery. Whether it be color, composition, light… It’s one of the reasons I love photography and painting and any other type of visual art. It speaks to me.

A while ago, I was reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and feeling guilty. She loves the Italian language just for it’s sound. Came to Italy to live and learn and experience the language (ok, and the food). There are lots of people who do this, so my brain was asking me, “Why aren’t you so excited about learning Italian? Here you are in Italy for two years, every opportunity to immerse yourself, but you aren’t taking advantage of it!” Complete guilt mode. Then I realized – that’s not my soul language. Elizabeth Gilbert is a writer, words and language are probably her soul language, not mine.

I can immerse myself in the art and visual beauty of Italy and get just as much out of the experience, because it’s my soul language. What’s yours?