Kat Eye Studio

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Into the Wilderness

Images of this place, Vintgar Gorge near Bled, Slovenia, have been popping into my head recently. Honestly, I hadn’t looked at them since downloading them from my camera last summer. But the were filed away in my head somewhere, and lately they call to me. “Come back,” they whisper, “Revisit us. We have something to show you.”

I have moved into a new phase of my creative journey, I have moved into the wilderness. I hesitated on the threshold of this new land, of the unknown, for a while. But my journey calls me onward, and so I move into the uncharted territory. I’ve been acting with confidence in this new territory for the last week, forging ahead, diving into new things with a sense of purpose and as if I know the outcome, as if I know what I’m doing.

But today, I feel fragile. I feel alone in the wilderness. The fears are coming up. The realization that this is a journey that only I can travel, and that I truly don’t know where it will end. There are places that I hope it ends, but life has a way of offering twists and turns when you least expect it. I can only move forward, one step at a time. I will have to face my fears, be lonely at times.

Today’s image does have a message for me, I just had to be ready to hear it. It shows me that there is a path in this wilderness. There is beauty. It might look rugged at times, I might not be able to tell exactly where it leads or how long it will take, but I will get somewhere. And in the process, I get to experience this beautiful place and all it has to teach me. It tells me that it’s ok, to rest for a moment and acknowledge the feelings inside. When I take the next step I’ll be refreshed and ready to go.

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Nature always wins

It must be spring, because I am seeing flowers everywhere. Flowers on the bushes and trees, flowers for sale from street vendors, flowers on our balcony. I love it. These flowers for you today are with some Roman ruins of Ostia Antica near Rome. Ostia was the first colony of Rome, a port town on the Tiber river. We spent a day exploring these interesting pathways and buildings.

Seeing the spring flowers in the setting of the Roman ruins makes me think. Everything man builds, once complete, starts to decay. It’s amazing that, two thousand years later, even this much of the Romans remains with us. But in nature, there is an ongoing cycle of renewal. After the darkness of winter comes the flowering of spring. After a severe forest fire comes the new trees. Nature’s creative energy always wins. It wins over these ruins, where the plants and trees have taken root and have been transforming the place back to a natural state. While for man, our creative endeavors begin a slow decay as soon as they are completed, we are constantly fighting nature.

Just something to make you think…

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La Piccola Rana Rossa

That means: The little red frog. These little guys were one of the exhibits at the Acquarium in Genova. They were really tiny. I loved the bright little spots of color among the green leaves and brown soil, so delicate looking. I’m not usually a frog person, but for some reason this image got stuck in my head the other day, and I had to share it.

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Into the Fog

This morning I wasn’t feeling good, I am in the midst of a cold. Again. My plan was to walk Brandon to school and then come home, not go for a walk in the park today. Then Patrick said, “You should take your camera.” I looked outside at the thick, thick fog and said, “You’re right.” So I ended up going for a walk anyway to take some photos. I’ve loved the fog on my morning walks in Parco di Monza and haven’t had my camera with me, but today I did. And I feel better for the walk and the creative energy. Thanks Patrick!

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Black & White

I’m feeling black and white, after more snow photos that just called out to be converted to black and white yesterday. So I decided to change my blog design to match my mood! There are bonus photos today, because I couldn’t decide which one of these to post. Yesterday, after the snow, we went for a walk in Parco di Monza and these were my favorites.

One of the fun things about Parco di Monza is that in some places, the trees were planted with such a perfect symmetry. It’s unnatural nature, and works in a photo like this.
I can’t decide which of these next two I like best, they each give a different feel. I like that they both give a better idea of how big these trees are, relative to the people! Which one do you like best?
I like the different elements in this one, near, far, random, ordered…
My new favorite of Patrick and Brandon, my snow men!

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Snow, A Day Ago

Brandon and I went out for a short walk in Parco di Monza yesterday morning. Me, to take some photos; Brandon, to make some snowballs. It was a black and white day in the park. Even though I converted this photo to black and white, the original does not look much different. I love this path, lined by the trees. So peaceful.

I hope we get a lot of snow this winter, since we don’t get much normally in Oregon. We just need to find an ice scraper for the car, they don’t seem to exist here and we’ve tried a few places. This morning Patrick scraped the car windows with a big lego!