Happy Saturday! I’ll be away from the blog for most of this week, unplugging for a new perspective. Photo-Heart Connection for July will open on Wednesday, August 1. Please join me then!
Reflected in my Work
When we create a work of art, we put a little piece of ourselves out in the world. Creation is expression of self; a reflection of self. As photographers, we often capture reflections of ourselves without intending to. Here is one such case for me… I loved the texture of the door and lock in this empty old theater in Astoria, Oregon. In the first image I captured, I was reflected in the door window. I noticed and moved to get another shot without my reflection, but in the end, it was the one with my reflected silhouette I liked best.
When I saw the image, it was a visual reminder that we are reflected in our work. The way we see the world, the things we choose to photograph, even the way we frame them are unique to us. Over time, we create a body of work that is an expression of who we are. We can also see our change and growth over time. It’s pretty darn cool to have that epiphany and discover yourself in your artwork.
I don’t know what my love of capturing old textured buildings and door locks says about me, but I know it does reflect a part of me. Maybe some day I’ll figure out what exactly that part is trying to say.
Taking Risks
Risk has been much on my mind lately. You can take risk across all areas of your life: Professionally, personally, artistically. Or you can avoid risk, wrap ourselves up in a cocoon of perceived safety, trying to avoid any downside. But with real risk, there is always a downside, to go along with the upside of real reward. With real risk, something of real value must be put on the line. That could be something tangible, such as money, or intangibles like time, reputation, or even ego.
There have been some big issues at my corporate job, as I alluded to last month, and the situation has only grown bigger as some deadlines loom. This has gotten me to thinking about risk… We are dealing with these big issues because we took big risks. We took big risks, seeking big rewards. When you take big risks, they don’t always work out positively. Were there mistakes made along the way? Sure. Hindsight is always 20-20. Is it a failure that things aren’t working out as planned? I don’t think so. We are still much further along the path to achieving our goals than we would have been. The issues are more about responding to new information as it comes in, rather than completely starting over. The only real failure is if you fail to learn from the situation.
I think of risk as flipping a coin. There are two sides to that coin – heads or tails. There is no inherent “good” or “bad” in a getting a head or a tail, it’s just the outcome of the toss. If we took uninformed risks, there would be an equal likelihood of either result with the toss of our coin. You can move the odds in your favor though, by being smart about taking risk. Smart risk taking involves getting as much information as you can, making a decision and committing to a path. It involves keeping your eye on the situation as you move forward and making adjustments as necessary. Smart risk taking is like working to change the results of the coin toss to be heads more often. But it’s still a coin toss, and it still could come up tails. That’s always a possibility with real risk. If there were no possibility of the coin coming up tails, you aren’t risking anything.
And if you aren’t risking anything, you are not growing. Growth, be it in business or in life, requires risk. It requires stepping out of the comfort zone, moving into an unknown space. Even though I talk about taking “smart risks” and getting the information to move forward, you will never, ever have all of the information you want or you need. If you are taking real risks, you will never have a perfect record in the outcome. It’s called the “unknown” for a reason. You have to take the information you have, along with your desire to reach out for that big reward, apply judgment and intuition, and then go.
We often shy away from risk, because we are scared of failure. We don’t want the discomfort or pain of a “bad” result. So we stay stuck. We don’t move forward, we don’t expand, we don’t grow. We don’t reap any new rewards. We might tell ourselves we are waiting until that next piece of information comes in, for that next door to open up, for the perfect moment to step out… but the reality is there will never be a perfect moment, a perfect opportunity, a perfect decision. While we hesitate and wait, we shrink. We may try to avoid risk at all cost to avoid pain, but life has other plans for us. Life hands us things to which we must respond. Things like health issues, loss of a job or loss of loved ones. We are much better equipped to respond to the pain and discomfort of these unforeseen events if we’ve been pushing ourselves out there, taking risks and learning to deal with the downside.
I’m living the results of real risk right now… At my corporate job with the resolution of these issues, sure, but that’s only one tiny example in the course of my life. There are so many places along my personal journey and career I’ve taken risks and they’ve paid off: Taking the assignment in Italy, sharing my art and my heart here online, starting Kat Eye Studio. Those are just a recent few. If I look back at my life journey, I can see every big, important, positive change in my life has come when I’ve taken a risk. A real risk, where something of value is on the line, and I’ve stepped out into the unknown.
Are you avoiding risk somewhere in your life? Are you stuck, trying to create a cocoon that will protect you from discomfort? I encourage you to take a look at those places carefully, take a deep breath, and flip the coin. Heads or tails, you learn and grow. And with growth, you always win.
Living Real Life
July 1st, our one year anniversary of moving home to Oregon from Italy, came and went with a whisper. We marked the date as a family, and talked about what we were doing a year ago, but we were busy heading off on vacation and didn’t give it too much fanfare. We have a life to live in the here and now, and Italy seems like ancient history. A year and a lifetime away.
The passing of this anniversary got me to thinking: What have I learned in this first year back? It’s been a hard year, and an easy year, depending on my point of view. There are definitely some lessons and revelations that have come with repatriation. In so many ways, our time in Italy was not “Real Life.” It had a definite start and end, and when you know you have limited time you behave differently than you would otherwise. “Real Life” continues on and on, with it’s ups and downs and twists and turns. You can put just about anything off for two years. And we did… we lived a life of travel and excitement, in the moment. We didn’t worry about saving for retirement. We didn’t worry about negotiating obligations to family and friends. We didn’t worry about long term career choices. We had two years, and made the most of it.
Returning to “Real Life,” without an end date, changes things. Some things cannot be sustained or put off indefinitely. I’d love to travel like we did for two years but the reality is we don’t have the vacation time or the funds to visit someplace new every other weekend. Or, let’s face it, the energy. But I miss the travel. Oh, how I miss visiting interesting places all the time. Seeing something new around every corner. That fueled me creatively in a way that I’m not sure I’ll see again. And that’s ok… that’s what made the time so special.
Beyond the financial though, there are personal things that I put off too. The old saying, “wherever you go, there you are,” is very, very true. You can fool yourself for a while in a new situation, thinking things are different, but sooner or later you realize that the issues you face come from within and they will be there no matter where you live. So while I focused on this wonderful personal growth that came from my creative journey while in Italy, that was only part of the story. My journey must continue to address the issues I tabled or ignored for those two years. The thing about personal growth is that you don’t always get to pick and choose the direction you grow, like I did during those two years. Sometimes “Real Life” chooses for you.
It turns out that’s fine though, because I’ve also learned another important thing about growth. It stays with you. What I learned and gained from the connection to heart and soul has not left me in the return home, because wherever you go, there you are. It works both ways, positive and negative. When change is real and true and internal, it’s with me always. My fears about going back to being the person I was two years ago were unfounded, because the place does not make the person. Our experiences in a place and time shape us and leave us indelibly changed.
I see that in my art too. My photography was changed by my time in Italy, and it has changed as I return home. There are things that I have carried through: my love of real life still life, texture and history. Among my subjects you’ll still see potted flowers, peeling paint and interesting door locks. There are changes though, because my environment has changed. The materials and scenes that make up my life are different now, and since my photography is a reflection of the world around me, it’s had to change. I still love scooters, but the sightings are fewer and far between. I’ve found new subjects that intrigue me, things like mail boxes and brick buildings. I’ve created new images that I love just as much as some of my old ones. And there is so much more that I’ve been able to do since returning home. Without the cultural and language barriers, I’m learning to be an artist in the real world as well as the online world. I’m exploring new realms of photography, through print and presentation in exhibitions. I’m moving in new directions, influenced by all of the places and experiences that have come before.
Porch Flowers, Astoria, Oregon
The lessons of the last year have not been easy. At times I’ve been filled with such longing and sadness it’s overwhelming. And then, at times, I’m grateful to be where I am and leave that time behind me. I’ve had to learn balance in a new way with starting a creative business and finding the time for Kat Eye Studio, my corporate job, my family, friends and, oh yeah, I need to still practice and create my own art too. I’ve had to let go of unreasonable expectations and take each day, each hour, each moment… one at a time.
It might be that the biggest and most important lesson of the past year is that I am still finding my way. I will always be finding my way, no matter where I am. And I have to find my own way: in art, business, life. No one else’s path is going to work for me. I can learn from other’s experiences, from my past experiences, but I am the one who must choose the direction I move ahead in the future. The journey that came before influences where I go next, but my past doesn’t decide my future. I decide my future, a moment at a time. I am the one living this “Real Life” in real time.
There is no where else I would rather be, than where I am right now.
Exploring with a Camera: Signs
It’s time for July’s Exploring with a Camera – Yay! This month we are going to explore Signs. Not signs as in symbols or messages from the universe, but signs as in those things printed on placards, streets, building walls, etc. that give us information. Have you ever noticed all of the signs around you? They are everywhere. I started paying close attention to signs a few weeks ago and have been amazed at the variety and of types and uses of signs. There is much here for us to mine photographically!
A building wall in Astoria, Oregon
Types and Uses of Signs
To prep for this topic, I started observing and categorizing the types and uses of the signs around me and that I’ve captured in the past.
Signs are used to inform…
Hot Dog Stand in rural Oregon
to educate…
A little bit of history about Astoria, Oregon
to direct…
Rainy day in Portland, Oregon
to warn…
Greenwich, England
to advertise…
Milan, Italy
to identify or specify a location…
Madrid, Spain
Do you start to see what I mean? I bet you can add even more to this list. Signs don’t have to have words either. Symbols often work just as well for their intended purpose.
Restaurant Sign in Madrid, Spain
Train Station Warning in Bacharach, Germany
Relative to Place
Signs are one of the “aspects of place” we talk about in my class, A Sense of Place. The language, imagery and surroundings of a sign all give you an idea of where the photo was taken. The signs can be the main subject or part of the background, but either way they are great indicator of place, providing the viewer clues to the location.
Lausanne, Switzerland
Chinatown in San Francisco, California
Signs can also highlight cultural differences. Instead of the bright green, reflective street signs we have in the US on every street corner to make things easy for navigation, the Italian street signs are often small marble placards on the side of a building. Impossible to use for navigation in a vehicle, but they look much more beautiful. A definite clue to cultural differences between Italy and the US.
Varenna, Italy
Modified Signs
A sign is created and placed with a specific purpose, but the age-old tradition of modifying signs to give them a different meaning is wonderful for photographers. The best modified signs are often more subtle than the typical spray-paint graffiti. These signs make you look twice!
All around Europe you will see these stickers on “Do Not Enter” signs. I especially loved this one, where the guy is “carrying” papers tucked under his arm along with the bar.
Bologna, Italy
On a family bike ride recently, I came across this modified sign telling visitors to GO AWAY. My husband and son continued to ride ahead, eventually noticing I was gone and wondering what happened to me. “Just a funny sign I had to photograph,” I explained to their worried faces when I caught up, “Sorry!” To my surprise, they hadn’t even seen the sign that stopped me.
Rural Oregon
Artistic License
We can create some wonderful images with signs, changing the sign’s intended meaning as we frame the photograph. I often like to capture one or two words of the sign with some other context to create a new story.
By framing this image with only the word “ART” and the open door and stairway visible behind, I intended the message, “The door is always open to art.” I think the sign actually said, “Art Studio.” Capturing the full sign would have eliminated this message.
The “Dream More” was added by some creative person to the exit sign of a parking lot. By framing it without the giant “Exit” to the right of the arrow, I focus in on the message of the added text.
One of the most fun ways to use signs is to capture humor or irony. The viewer has to look at the whole and then digest the contradictions within the frame to get the message. Of course, you as the photographer have to see it first, to create the image!
Yellowstone National Park, Montana
Chinatown in San Francisco, California
We can also create new messages during our post processing, combining images or words from various signs. These words both came from an old Levi Strauss ad on the side of a building, but by capturing them individually and combining them in my post-processing I create a new message.
Are you starting to see the photographic possibilities with signs? Chances are, you already have photographed many signs in different contexts, without even thinking about it.
We’d all love to see how you use signs! Go out on a photowalk or look through your archive and then come back and share with us your use of signs. I can’t wait to see what you’ve got!
Spinning Around
Do you know the difference between a Carousel and a Merry-Go-Round? Yeah, me neither. My husband claims it’s that carousels have only horses and merry-go-rounds have other animals. A quick search on the web shows some claim the difference is in the direction of travel – clockwise or counter-clockwise. Yet another online claim was that one runs by electricity and the other does not. Wikipedia says they are the same. So… I’ve decided it’s worth no further time trying to figure it out. They are just pretty and fun to photograph! I played with panning on this one found in Seaside, Oregon.
This image also captures how I feel since returning from my trip. I’m spinning around, running in circles, with too much to do. Is a vacation worth it when you have so much to do when you get back? While in the state of relaxation on the trip and immediately post-trip I definitely think “Yes!” Now, a few days later, I’m not so convinced. I’m overwhelmed.
So I give myself a pep talk. Deep breath, Kat. Make a list, prioritize and do only what must get done right now. Maybe I should plan another vacation…