Kat Eye Studio

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Start Close In

A new year, a new beginning. What castles do you want to reach this year? I have my own castles, dreams that float in my heart and my head. Dreams that require plans and effort. I could set resolutions, or choose a word of the year to move toward them, but this year I decided to choose a poem.

I wrote recently about my journey, and taking the step I can see in front of me. I plan to continue with that idea in 2011, and here is the poem to inspire me along the way. It is by David Whyte from his book River Flow.

START CLOSE IN
Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.
Start with
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way of starting
the conversation.
Start with your own
question,
give up on other
people’s questions,
don’t let them
smother something
simple.
To find
another’s voice,
follow
your own voice,
wait until
that voice
becomes a
private ear
listening
to another.
Start right now
take a small step
you can call your own
don’t follow
someone else’s
heroics, be humble
and focused,
start close in,
don’t mistake
that other
for your own.

Start close in,

don’t take
the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.

Happy New Year! Today ends 9 Muses Musing with RESOLUTION. I hope you’ve enjoyed the party! Come by, link in, and see what others are planning for their year.

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Into the Sunset

We returned late last night from our trip to the Bay of Naples and Amalfi Coast area of Italy. My head is a-jumble with all sorts of images and experiences that will take some time to sort out, not to mention the gazillions of photos I took that will need to be sorted through. For today though, this image stuck out in my mind to share. I knew I would love it from the moment I saw it in the viewfinder and it didn’t disappoint. This is from our day on the Amalfi Coast, we were coming down the hillside from the small town of Ravello at the perfect time for an evening sunset silhouette.

I am happy to be back and getting into the routine again. Vacations are wonderful but “normal” is wonderful too. So glad to be back here with you all! If you’ve taken any holiday lights photos, don’t forget to head over and Share Your View. My linky is looking a little bit lonely… 🙂 I would love to see the lights in your part of the world.

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Good Medicine

Today I am not feeling so well, so I went to my photo folder with the desire to find a photo that would calm my stomach. Yes, I meant that, calm my stomach. Looking at images of beer from Oktoberfest just wasn’t going to work this morning. And I found this one, of a sculpture in Barcelona. Just lines and light and sky.

Guess what? I feel better already.

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Nature’s Paintings

Reflections are one of my favorite things to photograph. They are like nature’s paintings. Sometimes realistic in the flat calm water, sometimes impressionistic in the breeze. They are never exact, since the surface that things reflect off affects the image whether in color or shape or orientation. Always beautiful, showing us a different point of view, when we stop to notice them.

On my last trip to Burano, I got lucky. It had rained all day, all the way on our trip to Venice, only to clear up shortly after we got there. By the time I got to the island the sky was mostly blue and the late afternoon sun was lighting up the colors. That was my first stroke of luck. The second was wandering over to the pretty, off the beaten path canal I found on my previous visit, only to discover it was completely empty. No boats of any kind, because they were working on the canal and had the ends blocked off.

Oh, what luck! What joy! To have all of this color, light and uninterrupted reflections to play with. Nature’s paintings, to capture with my camera.

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Natural Illumination

Sometimes nature provides the most wonderful images, and all you just have to do is be there to capture them. As the sun dipped behind these clouds during my boat ride from Burano back to Venice, I caught these amazing rays of sunlight. It was a beautiful sight! A little treat for those watching the transition between day and night.

You just have to be there. Get out with your camera, and see what nature presents to you.

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The Coast

Aaaaah, a place that I love. The Oregon Coast. We were on home leave in Corvallis last week, visiting friends, doctors, dentists, property managers and more than a few stores. Patrick took to calling it our “restocking trip.” Very true. But one day, we got out the coast on a beautiful, sunny day. And I was reminded that with all of the exciting places we’ve visited in the last 10 months, there are still many wonderful things about our “real” home here in Oregon.