sand

October 1, 2013 by Kat

Photo-Heart Connection: September

The world does not exist, beyond the edge of the frame.

There is only this place. This time. These lines, of my choosing.

Why does there need to be anything else? Throw your worries away. Shrug off the burdens that are carried on your shoulders. Within this frame, they don’t exist.

There is only this place. This time. These lines, of my choosing.

With this month’s Photo-Heart Connection, I’ve realized that one of the personal themes I’ve been exploring the last couple of months is my role as a photographer. How I, as a photographer, can see and shape the world around me. How I have a choice. It started with exploring the role of the photographer in the creation of a photograph, then moved on to my discoveries about myself as a photographer, then through my personal journey as an artist, and now today’s Photo-Heart Connection. All have been leading to me to this place of deeper understanding about myself as a photographer and an artist: Everything is of my choosing, from picking up the camera in the first place to presenting it here. It is incredibly powerful to realize the control being a photographer grants me! When there are things outside my control, I still have this ability to gather up pieces of the world, completely of my choosing.

What does your Photo-Heart Connection have to tell you this month? Share it with us here.

September 10, 2013 by Kat

Something a Little Different

I’m off in Eastern Oregon this week, for a photography excursion with some members of the PhotoArts Guild. Eastern Oregon is quite a bit different than western Oregon, you’ll note as I share photos. You drive over the Cascades and enter the “high desert” – quite an arid place.

This one of the dunes is my favorite from yesterday, edited on the fly in the car. We completely missed a restaurant dinner, we were so entranced with the evening light on the dunes. Good thing I packed peanut butter and jelly! We all agreed, though: It was totally worth it.

May 29, 2013 by Kat

Low Tide

I don’t get out to the coast nearly often enough. I tell myself this every time I visit. Having grown up landlocked in Colorado, there is always this amazement that I can go to the ocean, to the edge of the continent, in an hour’s drive.

Last weekend was a very low tide, and I went out with other members of the PhotoArts Guild for a Friday morning trip. Up well before dawn, we met at 5am to head out in the drizzle. We were back before I needed to be at work. You can’t beat that!

While I took my big camera, I left it in the car and carried only my iPhone. I could always go back if I decided I wanted my dSLR. (I didn’t.)

I found myself mostly interested in curves. The curve of rock carved by time…

The pools of water…

The sweep of sand and sea (my favorite of the day)…

And the curve of the stranded, waiting for the tide to come back in…

These aren’t my usual subjects, but it was a fun morning, nonetheless. It was great to get out to a new place, with people who know where to go. Great to talk on the drive and get to know the other members better. Great to share online and see the other points of view, after the excursion.

Have you joined a local art or photography group or club or guild yet? You should. Don’t be intimidated – there is always room for one more. You never know where you might end up going, once you join in.

March 8, 2010 by Kat

Leave Only Footprints

“Take only pictures, leave only footprints.” Haven’t we all heard this little saying about spending time in nature? But as I went through my pictures from Corvallis this weekend I thought of this in a new way… maybe that’s what we are doing in life. We leave only footprints in the lives of those around us. The pictures I take are only a visible reminder of the footprints my friends have made on my soul. Thanks to each and every one of you for the things you bring and the place you have in my life!

February 23, 2010 by Kat

Ode to Sand

Oh, the wonders of sand.
So much fun to dig in and pile up.
To scratch and to shape.
To feel between your fingers and toes.
To run free as the breeze on.
Beautiful, marvelous sand.

Our little buddy Beckett, playing in the sand on the Oregon coast. Is there anything more fun than sand to a little boy?

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