Kat Eye Studio

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My Journey with the Photo-Heart Connection: A Guest Post by Gitanjali Rawat

Today continues a series of guest posts from Photo-Heart Connection participants. I invited them to write a post sharing what the Photo-Heart Connection meant to them this year. For the next few days I will share these very special answers with all of you, celebrating the first year of the Photo-Heart Connection. Enjoy!

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I take photographs with my heart. I always try to capture anything that moves me and speaks to my soul. I also try to express my feelings in words, a huge reason why I started blogging more than a year ago.

Hearing of Kat’s Photo-Heart Connection deeply intrigued me because the concept was so similar to what I had been trying to do with my blog ever since I started it. I remember reading more about it and feeling absolutely determined to participate in the next one. I’ve been a regular ever since I started a few months back. It has been an intensely satisfying experience for me and I cannot wait to start afresh in the New Year!

I look at my photographs with new eyes now and I also look within searching for stories and emotions behind my images. While writing my post, I sift through words searching for the ones that match what I am trying to say. I edit to my heart’s content, tapping away at my laptop oblivious to everything around me. I cherish interacting with my fellow Photo-Heart Connection bloggers. I always come away feeling inspired and encouraged. At the end of it, I cannot wait for the new month to start all over again.

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Every month is an opportunity to do some much needed soul searching. Uncannily, emotions that I’ve been trying to disguise come straight to the forefront and I have no option but to address them. It always leaves me feeling better. I feel that the quality of my posts has vastly improved in the past few months thanks to this practice.

I sincerely feel that continuing to participate here means an endless road of self-discovery. Thank you Kat, for this wonderful opportunity every month. I love being here. 🙂

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Gitanjali (known as geetlee in the blogging world) is a blogger from San Francisco, California. She loves taking pretty pictures and tinkering around endlessly in Photoshop. Her blog captures her life and travels around North America. You can find her blog here.

Thank you Gitanjali for your lovely words about the Photo-Heart Connection. It’s amazing the positive boost it can give you, isn’t it?

Join me for another guest post tomorrow! And don’t forget the other things going on in the Kat Eye Studio:

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A Year of Photo-Heart Connection: Guest Post by Bo Mackison

A couple of months ago, I put out a call for guest posts to the Photo-Heart Connection participants. I asked them to write about what the Photo-Heart Connection meant to them this year. For the next few days I will share these very special answers with all of you, celebrating the first year of the Photo-Heart Connection. Enjoy!

City Shadows

Tree Shadows © 2012 Bo Mackison

One of the reasons I participate in Kat’s monthly Photo-Heart Connection is it offers me a monthly routine, that of looking through a month’s worth of photograph to see what it is I have been photographing. It encourages me to ask myself questions about my photography, and then answer those questions. Sometimes the obvious reason, the initial impulse to take a photograph, is only part of a more in-depth story. When I choose the photos which have a true “photo-heart connection” I always discover new reasons for taking certain photos, reasons not immediately obvious.

Pink Queen Anne's Lace

Pink Queen Anne’s Lace ©2012 Bo Mackison

When I looked through my entire set of Photo-Heart Connection photographs – there were 10 in total – I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I chose a wide variety of photographs using many different techniques. It was a heart-pleasure to realize my photography has developed from my original emphasis – taking macro-botanical photographs – into a block of work that encompasses many styles and techniques. It re-enforced my premise that taking photographs on an almost daily basis, a continuous practice of the craft, feeds not only the passion I have for photography, but also improves my craft and broadens my experiences.

Savanna-Sabula Bridge III

Savanna-Sabula Bridge © 2012 Bo Mackison

I continue to shoot my first love – macro-botanicals. But I also shoot many landscapes, captured moments in time, abstract studies, architectural photos. There are photos that focus on composition, shadow play, mood, light, color. There are photos taken with a deliberate set-up using my DSLR; there are photos taken with my iPhone using the Hipstamatic or Snapseed apps. There are photos straight out of the camera and there are photos which I have intentionally used post processing software to achieve a certain look or feel.

Burlington Northern Train Cars Dwarfed by Kansas Grain Elevators

Burlington Northern © 2012 Bo Mackison

But all of the photos had an underlying connection – they were either story-tellers or memory-triggers. I think that is what truly turns a photograph into a heart-connection photograph – the emotional response. Sometimes this connection is easily seen by other viewers, but often the connection is on a more personal or private level.

And that is a great thing to recognize – that ultimately I take photographs that speak to me on many levels and that are meaning-makers for me.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and artist addicted to exploring sacred spaces, traveling to new places, being inspired by the natural world, and creating meaningful art, Her photography goal for 2013 is to create a hand-made, limited-edition art book including some of her photographs. Bo lives in Madison Wisconsin and Tucson Arizona. Her website and blog is at Seeded Earth Studio and you can find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks so much Bo! It was fabulous to hear about your experience with the Photo-Heart Connection.

Join me for another guest post tomorrow! And don’t forget the other things going on in the Kat Eye Studio:

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Photo-Heart Connection: November

There is a sense of Emerging.

Moving from one place to another.

Emerging

Coming from a place of certainty. Knowledge. Moving toward something new.

And at the point of Emerging, there is clarity. I see the detail of the moment. I see behind me, my journey to this point.

I cannot see the future, still. It is murky. But it doesn’t matter.

What matters is here. Now. This clarity, at the moment of Emerging.

This image wraps up my month. It has been an month of intense self-reflection. Of looking back to see where I am now. You may not believe it, but almost a year and half after moving back from Italy, I finally feel here. I am in this moment, in this place, settled. Emerging from my past into the new. This has been coming out in my home, in my art, and in my plans for the next year. My craziness in September and October was like holding my breath and powering through. November was a release of long held breath. Breathing deeply, sitting quietly and finding clarity. Emerging seems to be the perfect word.

What did November bring for you? What came out in your Photo-Heart Connection this month? I look forward to reading your experience this month. The linky is open through December 7.

And don’t forget about my invitation to write a guest post on your experience with the Photo-Heart Connection! If you want to participate, they are due December 15. I haven’t received any yet, so you have an excellent chance of being chosen. 🙂 You can find all of the details in last month’s post here.



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Photo-Heart Connection: October

Who am I?

I don’t recognize my reflection here. That’s me, but not the me I know.

There is something different. Different in the silhouette, different in the frame. I love it. I fear it.

Gah. Change. Why is it so fun and exciting, yet so hard at the same time?

I love this new direction in my photography. I love the painterly mood and emotion that I am evoking in my images. Within myself. It’s not about perfect focus or the place I am right now, but the feeling. The impressions of light and shadow and color and how they convey a sentiment beyond what is physically there.

Yet I am scared, too.

Scared because I thought I had myself all figured out as an artist and this is so radically different. I don’t know where this will lead. I’m not sure how it all fits together within my self. Within my heart and soul.

Exciting. Scary. The raw material for a period of growth. I don’t know who I am at the moment, but I’m moving ahead anyway. I will continue to reflect, and figure out how the pieces fit as I go along. Learn to recognize myself again.

This month I’ve been exploring some new directions with my photography, and it turns out the top images for my Photo-Heart Connection were all painterly in feel. Whether from my mobile camera or from my dSLR camera, these were the ones that called to my soul. I’ve always thought my painting and my photography would come together someday. I just never thought it would be like it’s happening right now. I’m reveling in the excitement but also stunned at the fear that it’s evoking in me. The questions. The rules and the “shoulds” it’s revealing, about my art and who I am as an artist.

I didn’t want to do the Photo-Heart Connection this month. I was really resistant. I think, deep down inside, I didn’t want to face my fears. But that’s what the Photo-Heart Connection does. It cracks you open and lays you out for the messages your heart has for you. It’s a powerful thing.

For that reason, I’d like to do a series of guest posts at the end of the year. I want to hear how the Photo-Heart Connection has impacted you this year. How did you approach this monthly practice? How has it fed your personal growth? Has it changed your photography? I would like to know, and I think others would too. We learn from each other, in this community of kindred spirits. Here are the submission guidelines:

  • To be eligible, you must have participated in the Photo-Heart Connection at least 3 times throughout the year.
  • Write an original (unpublished) piece about how the Photo-Heart Connection has impacted you this year. Length is up to you. Use as short or as long as you need to communicate your experience.
  • Send it to me by December 15 at kat [at] kateyestudio [dot] com.
  • Include a few of the images you selected from your Photo-Heart Connection practice this year, and a 2-3 line bio with links to your blog/site/social media.

I plan to select 5 to 6 posts from the submissions and will let you know by 20 December if you are selected. I hope you will consider participating. I’ve found the Photo-Heart Connection practice to be powerful and I know, from reading your posts each month, that many of you do too.

So what’s your Photo-Heart Connection for October? It’s time to share with us here. Link up remains open through November 7.


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Photo-Heart Connection: August

Behind the scenes he worked. Starting hours before the performance, the guitar tech began getting ready. The performers were nowhere to be seen, but he was there. Gently unpacking and prepping the guitars, his hands steady and sure.

The sun went down and the lights came on. The performers took the stage. Throughout the performance he stood at the ready. Knowing what song came next, what each guitarist needed. Everything flowed. He knows his job and does it well. You can tell, because no one noticed him there on the side of the stage.

There are so many roles like this in our world. So many people behind the scenes, making things work smoothly. They are skilled. They love what they do. They make a difference to those around them.

So today I’m thinking about how we often notice only the headline act. We see the artists on stage, in the spotlight. But they wouldn’t be there, successfully doing what they do, without the backstage artists that make everything work. I’m thinking about the people in my life who are backstage artists for me in different ways. I owe them my notice and my thanks.

My Photo-Heart Connection this month is from da Vinci Days, an annual festival of art, science and technology here in Corvallis. I had the good fortune to be the Main Stage photographer for the headline night of the festival, where I got the backstage view and prime locations to photograph the performance. I am honestly surprised at picking this one as my Photo-Heart Connection. It was a tough month to choose. I had a lot of photos; many with a strong heart connection. At one point, as I was narrowing the field down, I had to stop and go do something else to clear my thoughts and emotions.

In the end, it was the hands that drew me in. As I looked at the guitar tech’s hands, I remembered how this guy did his job, quietly and confidently. He didn’t really talk to anyone that I saw. He was just always there, doing what needed to be done for his band. Such a simple photo of hands, teaching me a bigger lesson. Reminding me to watch for those backstage artists in my life and thank them.

What did you discover in the Photo-Heart Connection this month?


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Sit a While

The lodges in National Parks I’ve visited are always similar… rugged timber construction, fabulous locations and a place to sit and enjoy the view. There is always a row of chairs, rocking or otherwise, placed where you can sit and just be. Notice how they are empty? Not so many people take the time to do that. We keep busy. Have to see this, do that. Fill up our time.

I am struck by these images of inviting but empty chairs. Where are all the people? They were certainly around, but not sitting. I wasn’t sitting. The empty chairs perfectly highlight what I just read in The Practice of Contemplative Photography this morning:

[W]hy can’t we relax when we have nothing to do and enjoy a little bit of space in our lives? The problem is we are afraid of our own hearts. There are many, many things we haven’t wanted to look at. The heart is so sensitive, so ready to resonate with the world, that we keep it covered, fearing we won’t be able to stand being touched. It might be too intense. We might be overwhelmed. We can’t affort to open up, because who knows what we might feel. It seems safer to armor the heart, even if that shields us from the vitality of life… When you have nothing to do, whatever accumulated agitation, restlessness, or existential anxiety you might have begins to surface. You become aware of feelings that are normally submerged. Boredom is the forerunner of this distress and a signal that you should seek some diversion to hold your heart at bay.

This rings true… it’s hard to sit a while and just be. It’s hard to open that channel to our hearts. We don’t know what we might feel, so it’s better to keep it wrapped up safely and covered with all of our busy-ness. That’s why the Photo-Heart Connection has become so important to me and many others. It may not be sitting quietly with our selves while looking at a fabulous view, but it is a process that allows the heart to open. It allows us to feel the messages that are there for us, just under the armor we’ve created by filling our lives with things to do.

Today is the last day to link in to the Photo-Heart Connection for July. I invite you to sit a while today. Enjoy the view. Connect with your heart, and the hearts of others in some way. Join us.

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