Kat Eye Studio

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Technicolor Skies

We have been having some gorgeous mornings lately. Technicolor blue and yellow and pink skies. I am torn between being out, hiking and photographing, and staying in, journaling and editing. There are only so many free morning hours. This morning was an “in” morning, but I saw the pink skies out the window and found myself wishing I could be two places at once.

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I’m a bit out of sorts these days… My Smartphone Art workshop was last weekend (workshop report to come!) and there is always a void after completing a big project like that for the first time. Always a period of “Now what?” I have a number of possible things on the list, and the fall eCourse Journey of Fascination is coming up in September, but I’m really in an indecisive swirl. I’m telling myself to go play a bit more, see what bubbles up to the top, but it’s hard for me not to just jump on the next idea that comes along.

So I’ve armed myself with a few new apps to play with, and am looking through the list of random errands I need to run, and I’m trying not to overcommit in my desire to be doing something, anything, with intense focus. In writing this I’ve just realized: It’s so much easier for me to manage one big thing than lots of little things. I’m comfortable with intense focus to reach a goal where I’m not with scattered actions that don’t feel like they are moving me ahead.

But, I think I’ll stay here in this soupy mess of random actions and small projects for a while. I’ll enjoy the technicolor skies and the fleeting summer days. Somehow I know, it’s the little things I should be doing right now. No matter how uncomfortable it makes me.

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Go Play

Anyone who has a kid has said those words. Anyone who has been a kid has heard those words.

Go play.

Or some variant on the theme… Go outside and play. Get off the computer and play. All the same.

So, the parent says the words. What happens next? First, there is the initial whining. Followed by wheedling. Which may require repeating the phrase in a more stern tone of voice.

GO PLAY.

Eventually, the child goes off and figures out something to do. With my son, the next thing I know, I might find him curled up on the couch with a book. Or gluing popsicle sticks together to make a dam for some water experiment he’s planning for the backyard. Or drawing a subway map of his Minecraft world because his friends can’t find their way around when they meet up virtually. It always makes me smile to see the creativity that results when I say the magic words, Go play. Not to mention, he’s a happier and more fun person to be around after he’s gone off to play for a while.

When I was a kid, I didn’t think these words were for my own good. I thought they were just to get us out of my Mom’s hair. And, being a Mom myself, there is definitely an element of truth to that, but it’s not the whole truth. I say the words because I know that beyond the whining and the wheedling lies a world of creativity. A world of using his brain in different ways. A world that my son won’t tap into unless I set some parameter and make him move outside of the box. It works. Like magic.

So, now that I am grown up, who tells me to go play? Who tells you? Now that we’re adults, and we choose what to do with our time, what makes us move outside the box and forces us to think differently?

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That’s a tough one.

Talking to my sister this weekend, she was telling me she needs to slow down in order to deal with some health issues she’s got going on. Being cursed blessed with the same “do it all” gene I have, “slowing down” is really hard for her. I joked that she needs a doctor’s prescription to tell her to sit and read for an hour every day. That may be the only way she can give herself permission to rest.

It got me to thinking… Are we still looking for the authority figure to tell us to go play? Do we really require a doctor’s note, or a teacher’s homework, or a manager’s assignment, or a spiritual leader’s practice, to tell us to do something we know is good for us?

It’s crazy, but maybe we do. Sometimes, we may still be waiting for someone else to help push us out of the box into something that is good for us. Someone to tell us that it’s ok — go play.

What do you think? How do we, as adults, give ourselves permission rest or play when we need it? How do we force ourselves past our own whining and wheedling when it comes up? I’m not sure. I don’t have answers here, I’m looking for your input.

What gets you to go play?

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What You Don’t See

Ahhhh, summer.
Sitting in the backyard, watching evening come on.
A peaceful moment.

Is that what you see in this?

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I see that, but it’s not quite the whole picture. What you don’t see is that the fence is about to fall down, and it’s been that way for years. You don’t see the power lines and drive-through coffee place behind our house, along with the sound of the traffic on a busy street. You don’t see me, laying on the couch, binge-watching Arrested Development because I was so worn out from my seven mile hike that morning. Yes, I’m proud of the “seven mile” part of that, but the rest could all be cut.

So that’s what I did. I saw this potential photo out the back door and went out and framed it the way I wanted to see it.

I do that a lot. I focus in on what I do want to see, the good stuff, and ignore the rest. It helps me in creating photographs, because I’m always evaluating what should be in and out of the frame. The more I can get rid of distractions or unneeded elements, the better the photograph. It helps me in life too, because I focus on the many things I really want to do and the few things that need to be done regardless, and release the stuff that doesn’t really matter. The fence is falling down? OK. It hasn’t fallen down yet. It’s not a danger to people or property. So I’m not going to worry about it. When it does fall down, we’ll take care of it. It’s out of my mind otherwise.

Some might call this denial, or turning a blind eye to reality.

I call it a philosophy.

You see, I believe you can focus on the good stuff, and be happy, or you can dwell on the bad stuff, and be forever depressed. It’s all in where you choose to look, and what you choose to see. We always have choices. Sometimes I can’t help but see the bad stuff, and then I still have a couple of choices to make: Does it need to be dealt with, and does it need to be dealt with NOW? Sometimes, the answer is, Yeah, I need to deal with this now. But many times, the answer is: It’s not so important right now. Or even, it’s not so important ever.

This doesn’t mean I don’t see or deal with real, hard, painful, messy things, ever. I do… when it’s important. But it doesn’t have to be all the time. It doesn’t have to be “just because” it’s there. It doesn’t have to be a way of life, always down in the muck. Thinking, If I just do this one last, hard thing, I will be happy. That doesn’t work.

You have to be happy first, regardless of all of the muck. And to be happy, for me, often means ignoring the muck. I watched this great TED talk this week, which helped me realize my approach to life is not just denial but a healthy outlook. Take a quick watch – it’s 12 enjoyable, laugh-filled minutes:

Aha, I thought. I’ve shifted the way I frame the world over the last few years, allowing myself to focus on the positive, and it explains a few things. It explains why I’ve been happy at my job, while other people around me are swirling in the worry and stress of what might happen. It explains why I was so much happier when I stopped watching the news a few years ago. It even may explain why my art comes out the way it does – usually positive and showing the beautiful in the world around me – even when there is a fence falling down, or power lines, or a traffic-filled street. I just cut out the stuff I don’t want to see.

You might think I’m lucky, that this is just naturally the way I’m wired. I think that is partly true, but it’s also true that I’m wired for achievement. For accomplishment. For seeing the work that needs to be done and making sure I do the work first, check it off my list, and then focus elsewhere. It’s taken a conscious effort on my part to shift toward focusing on the good stuff first, and ignoring the muck.

I want to see the good stuff, so that’s what I choose to look for. That’s what I frame with my camera, that’s what I write on the blog, that’s what I share with you.

And what you don’t see? That stuff… it doesn’t even matter.

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Summer Oak (A Mobile Tutorial)

I feel as if something has broken free inside, and I can create new work again. I’m not sure why… Maybe it’s getting through the drought of July, or maybe it’s completing the materials for my Smartphone Art workshop next weekend. Maybe it’s settling in to my new job at work, or maybe it’s playing with some new apps. Whatever the reason, it feels like some sort of release or relief — and I’m creating again.

My attention has turned back to the trees in recent days. In spite of the leaves, I find myself entranced with them. I feel like I’m learning to see them with their leaves, or maybe through their leaves. I look to see the real tree inside.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a mobile tutorial, so I thought today I would step you through the creation of this image, Summer Oak. Captured last week on a hike, I edited it this weekend and liked how it conveys both the delicacy and strength of the tree. Isn’t that the essence of a tree? A fleeting, transitory crown of leaves, but a strong core that survives.

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*Sigh.* I love trees.

OK, enough tree philosophy for one day… On to the edit! We start with original image, captured using ProCamera and exposed for the sky. The tree and leaves end up in silhouette.

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The first step is using Snapseed. I converted to black and white and increased brightness. I wanted to pull out the dimension in the trunk, and allow the leaves to blend into the sky a bit, giving that ephemeral quality to them.

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Next, I played with the black and white version in Distressed FX. This first output becomes the base of the edited image.

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This second Distressed FX version is used to blend with the first…

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… and here is the output after blending in Image Blender. Along with the subtle texture, I like how the color shifts from a strong gold to a warm tan.

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Side Note: My apologies, I don’t ever remember my blending modes a day or two later! I barely remember them 15 minutes later. Because of that, my smartphone art ends up being a truly unique creation in the moment, which is part of what I love about it. So you’ll have to live without the detail of blending modes, and experiment for yourself!

Next, I took the original gold output from Distressed FX and ran it through Autopainter II chalk filter.

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This was then blended with the image-in-progress. It’s a very subtle blend. I was not looking to eliminate the photographic nature of the image, but to add some depth of color.

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Next is an edit of the black and white version in Portray. You can create some wonderful looks in this app, like this delicate ink.

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The portray output was blended onto the image-in-progress. I wanted to use the Portray version to make the original more soft and subtle, but I couldn’t get the right blend. Here’s and intermediate blend which was saved…

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…and then blended back onto the version three images above. This was what I was going for with the original Portray blend. Sometimes you have to take a couple of intermediate steps to get the effect you want.

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Here’s where a new app comes in! I’ve been playing with SketchMee, an app that creates pencil drawing effects. There are a lot of control settings with this app so it’s fun to play with the different variations and see where it might take your image. This app slightly resizes the image, to give it the edgy border you can see.

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I discovered a cool effect from the resized SketchMee image when you get into blending: double exposure. I played around with the sizing further using the Arrange function in Image Blender, to get the double exposure effect that worked best. This was the last step, so here’s the final Summer Oak image again:

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Summer, tree, art… it’s all good, isn’t it?

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Dear Winter Trees

It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, and I wanted to let you know that you are on my mind. I’ve been missing your interesting shapes against the sky. I find myself seeing glimpses of you in your summer cousins. You know, the ones with fewer leaves? I see you in their branches and shadows. And I miss you more.

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Don’t get me wrong, I love summer and don’t want to hasten its end. I love the long days of light, the heat, the fresh fruits and vegetables, running around with bare feet, wearing sunglasses and crop pants, and no homework. There is too much good in summer to hurry it along.

But the summer trees? Not as interesting as you. All their best features are hidden by their summer finery of leaves.

So know that when the time comes for you to return, at least one person will be rejoicing. I’ll be excited to see you this fall, with my camera in hand. I already have big plans for us.

Yours,
Kat

My latest article, Smartphone Art 2: Improve your images with basic editing, is up on the Seek Your Course blog now. Stop on over to get an overview of basic photo editing, selective adjustments, and how to find and choose apps. Let me know what you think!

What else do you want to learn? I’m prepping for my Smartphone Art workshop here in Oregon in a couple of weeks and starting to think about an online class. Now is the perfect time to let me know what you want to learn. Where are you having trouble? What makes you say, How did she do that? Drop me a note.