Kat Eye Studio

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A Week of Lights

Since we’re experimenting with the Lights of Night in Exploring with a Camera this month, I’ve decided this week I will share night shots to get you in the mood. This last weekend, I got up early on Saturday morning to go out and practice some night photography. Armed with my tripod and my new cable release, I was ready. I experimented with bulb exposures (a new one for me) and was reminded that patience is key. Everything, from setting up to taking test shots for exposure, takes longer with traditional night photography.

I also learned that I could only take it for so long. After a while I abandoned the tripod, leaving it tucked out of the way on the sidewalk (because no one was around at 5am), put on my “night lens” (35mm f/1.4) and went back to handheld. And was so much happier!

Handheld, ISO400, 35mm, f/1.6, 1/60

I’ve known this for a long time… Something about using the tripod disconnects me from the creative process. It disconnects me from the intuition that tells me when I to the camera to my eye. It’s more calculated and less responsive. There are times you absolutely MUST use a tripod to get the image you want, but if you are disconnected from the image at the end, is it worth it? I’m not sure it is to me. Maybe I just need to walk around with the camera in my hand for a while, and then go back for the tripod when I’ve found an image I can’t get any other way.

I will continue playing with the tripod… because I love the Lights of Night. And I’ll continue to push the limits of handheld night photography too, because that’s the best of both worlds, to me.

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Exploring with a Camera: The Lights of Night

Welcome to December’s Exploring with a Camera! This month we’re going to be exploring the Lights of Night. It’s the perfect time of year to get out and play around with some night photography, since there are such short hours of daylight here in the northern hemisphere and all of these extra holiday lights hanging around.

I’m going to do something a little different this month. Instead of having a whole new Exploring with a Camera topic, let’s refresh on a few oldies but goodies on the photography of night and lights. Be sure to read all the way to the end because I’ve got an extra-special bonus that I want to be sure you don’t miss!

December’s Fog, Benton County Courthouse in Corvallis, Oregon

Night Photography

Tony’s Studio, San Francisco, California

You can revisit Exploring with a Camera: Night Photography to take a look at the basics of night photography. In this article, you will find tips on everything from the blue hour, reflections, and color cast, to handholding your camera for good night shots without a tripod. It’s based on all of my “lessons learned” from wandering at night on our travels around Europe, where I discovered the fun and beauty of a city after dark. These tips are timeless… The techniques I share on getting good night/low light images while hand-holding the camera in this post are ones I still use today.

Holiday Lights

Tree Lights, Albany, Oregon

In Exploring with a Camera: Holiday Lights, I focused in on the specifics of capturing those holiday lights. Revisit this post to get some ideas and tips on capturing city lights, bokeh lights, and twinkle lights. I also take a look at capturing lights in a different way with reflections and shadows, and address the awful “ghost lights” you might sometimes find in your images upon review.

Creative Lights

Exploring with a Camera: Creative Lights will give you a few ideas beyond the basics! Visit this article to learn about layering in and out of focus lights for an interesting view, using zoom to create cool effects, and capturing the funky hologram effect I’ve shown above. These ideas lead you to more abstract creations with the lights of night.

An Added Bonus

I’ve got an added bonus for you too! In my next email newsletter, which should arrive in your inbox on Sunday, I’ll have a PDF with even more tips on night photography. One of the photographers in our local PhotoArts Guild, John Ritchie, is an accomplished night photographer. Take a look at this gallery to see his night photography work.

Last year, John combined his lessons learned on night photography with a tripod and my tips on handheld night photography to create a tip sheet for our guild. He’s graciously allowed me to share it with you all. It’s a fabulous resource! It will arrive with the next Kat Eye News so be sure that you are signed up.

Are you ready to get started? I am! I’m planning to go out in the early hours of the morning this weekend and capture the lights of night. I’ve just purchased a cable release this week and I’m ready to carry my tripod around to play with some new techniques I’ve learned from John.

You can share your explorations with us here through the end of December. Go through your archive, or go out and try something new. Share your city lights, home lights, indoors or out. It doesn’t have to be holiday-related, anything goes as long as it’s the Lights of Night!


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The Power of the Portrait

There is power in a good portrait. When it’s done right, you can see into the soul of the sitter. You can see the beauty of who they are inside. It can change your perception of a person. It can change their perception of themselves. I was once again reminded of the power of the portrait at Saturday’s Help-Portrait event in Corvallis.

Saturday I was up early in the frosty morning with the other volunteers to set up for this year’s event. At 7am we met to haul all of the equipment up the steep flight of steps of the Corvallis Odd Fellows Hall: Photography gear, computers, printers, props, food and drinks. We turned the spacious hall into a temporary studio for three photographers, two hairstylists and hospitality space for the clients to wait. We had a separate room down the hall for the four of us who were doing graphic design, editing and printing the photos.

Over the course of the day, we served 139 people in 87 sittings. Each of them left with an 8×10 print and a CD of their images, to print more if they chose. They also left with a smile on their face after seeing the portraits printed on the page. We also printed one copy with the Help-Portrait logo, and asked that they share their story by writing on the portraits. You can see a few of the portraits pictured below.

This day could not have come off without the efforts of all of the volunteers, pictured below. This is a completely volunteer and self-funded event. While Help-Portrait is an international organization coordinating the day, purpose and marketing materials, they don’t provide funding for the individual events. Many thanks also go to the Corvallis Odd Fellows Hall for their donation of the space and the other sponsors of our day. The full list of sponsors is on Jones Oliver’s blog, here. Jones was our tireless leader, coordinating the event for the second year.

This is my second year participating and it was just as rewarding as the first. I can think of no better way to use my photography skills than to give back to the community like this.

Do you participate in Help-Portrait this year? How did your event go? If you didn’t participate this year but would like to know more for next year, visit the Help-Portrait website to find an event near you. Next year’s event will be December 7. Mark your calendar now!

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Affinity

Is it wrong to have a favorite tree? For some reason it feels a bit like saying you have a favorite child if you have more than one. Unfair to the other trees.

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But unfair or not, I do have an affinity for this tree. It’s just off the parking lot where I work and I’ve photographed it many times over the last couple of weeks. It has the most interesting branches, and a clear view behind it. I love those seed pod things (sorry, not a botanist) hanging in the top branches like a decoration. They seem a bit like tree jewelry to me. A little something extra that makes this tree unique.

So tell me: Do you have a favorite tree?

A quick reminder today… It’s the last day to link in to the Photo-Heart Connection for this month. I talked earlier this week about belonging, and if you are looking for connection and a place to belong, there could be no better place than with those participating in the Photo-Heart Connection. Such a lovely group of kindred spirits! I encourage you to visit and get to know them, if you haven’t already.

Have a lovely weekend!

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Finding the Time

It’s been one of those weeks. It’s Wednesday and I’m already tired. Lots of meetings in the evenings, lots of meetings in the mornings. Quite unusual for me. I like to keep my time free, so I’m not rushing around from place to place.

I’m discovering an interesting thing of late though: Even with my busy schedule, I find myself creating every day. More consistently than ever before. Almost every morning these days, you will find me stopping to take a photo or two. I’ve had to start leaving earlier to work, because who knows what I will find between my front door and the door of my workplace? A rainbow! A reflection in a puddle! A bare tree! Everything I see has so much possibility.

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Almost every evening, you will find me sitting down and playing with the new photos I’ve taken, even if only for a few minutes. I’m learning this new medium, exploring the possibilities. I have lots of experiments that no one will ever see. They are hideous. But that’s ok, because I’m also creating quite a few nice images that I love, too.

What’s changed for me? I’ve never been one for 365s or other time-based art projects, since I get too obsessive about meeting the goal and lose sight of the purpose. I know this about myself. Most of my creativity with photography has been in burst mode. All at once, capture a bunch of images, like when I travel. All at once, edit and play when I’m ready. It’s worked and I’ve loved that method of creating.

Somehow, with mobile photography, it’s becoming a daily practice, like my journaling and writing have been for a long time. Nothing I track obsessively to meet a goal, just something I do because I love to do it. Because I’m a happier, more grounded person when I do it.

With mobile photography, it’s always there, always available. It doesn’t take the forethought of bringing the “big” camera or hauling it out of the bag. It doesn’t take the time sitting at the computer to upload, edit, and share. I can do this all from a coffee shop or my comfy chair (even this blog post – from my iPad!). It feels like a daily practice should feel. Accessible. Natural.

I’m excited for this shift. Not only a new medium, but a new approach. A reminder that I can always change my methods as new possibilities come along. It doesn’t have to be painful or dramatic; it can be a natural, comfortable evolution.

It can be as simple as following my joy, and finding the time to create even when my calendar tells me I have none. It’s surprising what I can find when I want to.

Off to get ready for my morning meetings now… Have a great day!

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A Sense of Belonging

[F]itting in is one of the greatest barriers to belonging. Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be in order to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are.
— Brené Brown in Daring Greatly

Are you trying to fit in anywhere? Have you noticed yourself shifting or adjusting, thinking, If I just do this, I’ll fit right in. I do it all the time. It seems to be my go-to thought process in any new situation. It’s like survival instinct, learned in junior high: Assess the situation and see what needs to happen to fit in.

In our world of always connecting and social media, it’s easy to want to fit in. I mean, it’s all right there in hard, cold numbers: Followers, Likes, Comments. It’s easy to get sucked into the vortex, using those numbers to feel accepted and valued. But if we drive ourselves for likes, comments, followers… are we trying to fit in or are we finding we belong? My thinking: Anytime we do something with the intent to get someone else’s approval, we are trying to fit in. When we do something for our own reasons, and then get some positive feedback and approval, we belong.

With joining Instagram I’ve gone through this full cycle all over again. A new platform, starting from zero. Hey, I’m a numbers girl. They attract me, and it’s easy to watch the numbers. The follower count. The number of likes. It’s easy to start to assess what gets the most likes and what doesn’t. To let that sway my creation.

But when I take a step back and ask: Do I create for others or do I create for me? The answer is always, unequivocally, for me. And when I do create for myself, and when I connect with people who like my work, it’s with a sense of belonging and not fitting in. Because I’ve put my real self out there, when I do find connection and acceptance, it’s much more meaningful. No more trying to fit in. Junior high is long over.

This lesson has come back to me so many times in the online world… From Facebook friends, to blog comments and hits, to followers on Twitter and Instagram. None of them matter. My worth is not wrapped up in a number. I have learned, over and over, that I would rather have 2 engaged and real connections than 20,000 likes. Maybe it’s not the smartest business or marketing thing to do, but it’s the only way I know to live with myself. It’s the only sustainable choice for me. And, at times, it’s scary as hell.

Brené Brown states it so very perfectly, this difference between fitting in and belonging. It makes me take a hard look and ask myself, “What am I trying to do?”

My answer is to sit up straighter, take a deep breath, and commit to being myself. Thanks for being here with me as I continually search and find the center of who I am through my creativity. I hope you feel that you belong here too.