tree

April 18, 2013 by Kat

Reset Button

Ahhhhh… Re-entry into daily life. It is nice. Someone asked me yesterday what my upcoming travel plans were and I was startled to realize that I don’t have anything planned until July. Even more startling, I was happy about the next trip being a few months out.

I guess that means it’s time to re-enter and recharge. And also reinvent. I’ve discovered that every time I come out of a very busy period of life, I have the opportunity to hit the reset button. To say to myself… OK, how do I want to do things now? What do I want to do differently? Being away from a routine gives me the opportunity to redefine the routine.

Lots of “re” going on in my brain right now… Re-entry, recharge, reinvent, redefine.

Hang on for the ride. Things may become a bit jumbled around here as I hit the reset button.

April 16, 2013 by Kat

Me and the Palm Trees

Wherever you go, there you are.

I had a wonderful weekend in Las Vegas, talking Photography of Place and exploring a new city.

And what did I mainly photograph? Trees. Palm trees against the Las Vegas architecture. Shadows of palm trees. Palm trees against that amazing sky.

What else could there possibly be to photograph in Las Vegas, but trees?

I have to smile. Wherever I go of late, I find myself amongst the trees.

April 11, 2013 by Kat

It’s All Connected

Today is the day! My pink suitcase and I head out on another adventure, this time to Las Vegas to teach A Sense of Place at Selah. And also do some other fun things… like travel with my girlfriend Rainie, photograph the Vegas lights at night, and get to know some new creative peeps! I can’t wait. There is still room in the workshop and the extra activities, if you’d like to come join us. I would love to meet you!

This travel is the closing chapter of a month and a half of trips… Singapore, Spring Break, Vegas. I’ve noticed I do this: pack a whole bunch of trips and activities together in one short, and crazy, period of time. I did it last fall too, with travel for my brother’s wedding, England and then Vancouver all in a month and a half.

Do I do this on purpose? I’m starting to wonder. I can’t say it’s bad necessarily, looking back I see my mobile art renaissance coming out of that period of time last fall. Who knows what will happen this time? One thing I have learned: It all comes together, in some way, in my art.

The other thing that came out of last fall’s trip to England was a desire to have an easier way to connect without a computer. I had such a struggle with sharing and connecting during my England trip! Through the iPhone and iPad I now have a system, and today I’m sooooo thankful. Last night my son called me down the hall in a concerned voice, “Mom! Your computer has an error! It says the fan has failed and you need to service your PC!” Needless to say, the PC was shut down immediately. So now I’m without my desktop PC until I can fix the fan, which won’t be possible until after my trip. I’m relieved I have other options to connect now, so I can keep in touch with my classes and drop a note to you all today on the blog.

So, looking back I can see: Good things come out of the experiences of crazy times. And in then next couple of months, when my pink suitcase is put away for a while, I’ll figure out what new growth and inspiration has come from this recent time. Right now all I can do is live it and enjoy each moment as it comes.

April 4, 2013 by Kat

The Elusive Landscapes

Landscapes have always eluded me. I could appreciate the awesome landscapes of other photographers but could never create them myself. So I focused in on the smaller scenes and details, and left the landscapes alone. Occasionally trying, and failing, to capture what I felt in the scene.

So it came as a surprise a few months ago when I found myself capturing more landscapes. What was going on?

With the “Blown Away” image I shared last week, I finally figured it out. The difference now is that I’m not trying to capture the “landscape.” There is no goal to fit in the entire scene or capture the grandeur.

What I’m doing now is photographing trees, in context. I’m thinking: How do I best capture this tree and it’s surroundings? How do I best convey it’s loneliness or it’s beauty or it’s light? It all stems from that effort. That I end up with a photograph that can be categorized as a landscape is incidental.

Could it really be so simple? I think maybe it is. Landscapes may not be so elusive after all.

Thanks to Brenda’s Photo-Heart Connection post for reminding me of this “aha” moment. I love how the PHC community inspires and grows together! You can still join us this month, the Photo-Heart Connection link up is open until April 7th.

March 27, 2013 by Kat

Blown Away

I forgot to mention… I’m taking Spring Break away from the computer! I’ll be back here next week with new and interesting photographs. See you then!

March 11, 2013 by Kat

Botanic Beauty

On Saturday morning I was up and out early to meet up with some other photographers in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. I had mentioned I was interested in photography at work, and was introduced to Kok Hing (in white, below) who arranged for an outing with some of his photography friends. They go out every Saturday to photograph different things, and this day it was macro bugs in the gardens. It was great fun to meet them and learn more about their photography. It made my trip that much more interesting.

Of course, for me it was trees. Turns out I enjoy photographing trees with leaves too. And the leaves themselves. And the flowers. It was all good! I would like to get back over to the gardens again before I leave, if I can. Maybe an early morning excursion is in order.

Enjoy a bit of the beauty of the gardens with me today!

As a side note, the iPhone is really a wonderful tool for travel photography and sharing. All of the images I’ve shared of the trip so far, and the blog posts, were all created with my iPhone. It’s a powerful tool and I’m finding it a great companion for travel along with my dSLR. I wouldn’t want to be without either one!

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