Kat Eye Studio

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The Birth of a Series

Walking down a side street in Parma a couple of weekends ago, I happened on this lovely scooter. Of course I had to stop and photograph it, trying out several angles and compositions. Good thing it was a pedestrian zone, as I kneeled in the street for quite some time waiting for people to walk by so I could have an empty sidewalk. Every so often a scene like this will grab me, and not let go until it has its way with me. I’m always content to just follow the photographic muse when that happens.

When I got home, realization dawned on me. This image is the second in a series. Even though I didn’t plan it, the photo is a perfect complement to Where Fiats Retire, an image from Sorrento I shared a couple of months ago. Similar processing (read below for details) and I was good to go.

I’ve never had this happen before, an image come along months later that so perfectly pairs with an earlier shot. And not just any previous shot, a favorite. I loooooove that Fiat shot. Guess what? I looked through my images and there is another shot in the series, which I’ll share tomorrow. I wonder how many more are hidden there? Will they start appearing to me more often?

I guess this is how a series is born. I had no idea!

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A quick reminder – today is the last day to link in to Exploring with a Camera: Breaking the Rule of Thirds. Tomorrow morning I’ll draw for the winner of my giveaway as will Tammy at Bliss and Folly. Take a look at all of the wonderful images shared and be sure to link yours in too!

Photo processing in Photoshop Elements 8:
1. Cropped out some distracting info on the right edge.
2. Ran Pioneer Woman Seventies Action.
3. Added a Hue/Saturation Layer, and increased Hue to +5 and Saturation to +16 to increase the color of the  scooter back a little bit brighter.
4. The wall behind the scooter was too similar in color to the scooter, competing for attention. I added another Hue/Saturation Layer with Saturation set to -27, and used a layer mask to only apply this change to the red wall.

Here’s the original, straight out of the camera, for comparison:

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Tomorrow, Tomorrow

I love ya, tomorrow. You’re only a day away…


Do I have you singing the song from “Annie” yet? I hope so! Tomorrow is the start of Find Your Eye, and it’s only a day away! I’m so excited. I chose this picture from Bologna today on purpose. I loved the row of scooters, just repeating off into the distance, but this first one had it’s own unique touch – a yellow daisy in the windscreen. Just like all of us, who are unique and have our own little touches to share with the world in our photography. It’s not too late to join the class if you are interested.

If the class is not for you, lots of great stuff will be going on here in the The Kat Eye View of the World! I’ll be back with regular posts next Tuesday, giving you a first look at our trip to Spain and Portugal. Exploring with a Camera returns this month on a regular schedule after a holiday hiatus, and I’m bursting with ideas. In the last week I’ve also posted on monochromatic color at Mortal Muses and on my 2010 Word of the Year at Christine Kane’s blog, stop by and see me there too!

Sing with me now…

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow. You’re only a daaaaay aaaaa-waaaaay!

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When life gives you rain…

Take photos anyway! This photo is from a back alley in Orvieto, a hill town in Umbria. I love the old scooter, the textures of the wall, the greenery and the reflections of the wet ground. A peaceful little scene, I can almost feel the cool, damp air.

The two days we spent in Orvieto on our April were rainy. I found that I wasn’t as inspired to take photos – have you ever tried to take good photos with a two handed camera while holding an umbrella? Not the easiest thing to do. But the photos I did take, I find that I like. They have a very different mood than the sunny, perfect weather photos. Maybe even a little more character.

As we travel around, sometimes only a day or even less visiting a new place, I have to make the most of that time. Regardless of the weather, my goal is to capture some essence of that place. I don’t have the luxury to visit again and again, to study a certain place in all light, all weather, all seasons. And you know what? I find that’s ok. I’ve learned that when life gives you rain, you take photos anyway.

As usual, another life lesson we can take beyond photography or our other creative endeavors. Today, here in Italy, it is rainy. I think I’m going to make the most of it!

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One Red Scooter

I’m home! This morning (night, depending on your time zone!) I flew through Amsterdam on my way home to Italy, so I decided to post this picture from Amsterdam. This is one of the images I created to decorate our living room. I love the red scooter! A line of scooters parked is sooooo European. Everywhere here, nowhere in the US (at least that I’ve seen, maybe someone from the big city can enlighten me). I want a scooter now. A red or orange or pink one. But I’ll probably just settle for taking pictures of them!

Now that I’m back in Italy I’ll get back up to speed on my photo a day. I was just waaaaaay too social in Corvallis! Almost every minute was scheduled between work and shopping and visits with friends. It was a ton of fun! More to come on thoughts about the visit when I’m lucid. Right now I just want to crawl into bed…

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