Kat Eye Studio

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Create to Live

This has become one of my favorites from my most recent trip to Venice. Late at night, in Piazza San Marco, this artist had his paintings set up to sell. In the image, I love how the light just pools around the art, an island in the darkness. The artist is there too, a part of it, slightly visible at the edge.

Isn’t that how art is too? No matter what we create, it may be a representation of some other physical thing, but we are there too. Art is a reflection of us. You cannot separate the creator from the creation, the artist from the art.

And so I am in this image too, as the artist. I am the one who sees these moments. I am the one who looks longingly at these street artists, whispering inside, “I want to do that. I want to create for a living.” Set aside my American-dream culture to say that maybe it doesn’t matter if I have a big collection of stuff, maybe just creating is what life is about. Creating something good, something to be proud of, something that touches others in a positive way. Live to create, create to live.

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Quiet and Empty

What a difference a few hours makes! During the day, this location in Piazza San Marco by the Doge’s Palace is brimming with people. People in line to tour the Basilica, people shopping at the overstuffed souvenier carts, people wandering around taking photos. But just a few hours later, near midnight, it’s almost empty. How wonderful for me!

Recently, my husband asked me why I don’t like people in my photos. Sometimes I will patiently wait for minutes for just the right shot, as people move in and out and through the frame I’m trying to capture. He and my son have to wait patiently too, until I’m ready to move on. They are good sports, I must say!

But there is a good reason for it. What I’ve discovered in my photography, is that I like to provide a place for the viewer in my photograph. A place for the imagination to wander. If there are clearly other people in the photo, if they are the subject, then the viewer might just see those people, and their experience, from the outside. If it is of an empty place, the viewer can participate in the photo… project themselves into the place, let their minds wander, imagine themselves there or create new story in the place. We all have a unique vision to show the world, this one just happens to be part of mine right now.

So, today I ask, what story do you see in this photo? Have you ever had that experience with a photograph before?

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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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Heading Home

After a long day of work, a gondolier heads home in Venice. The first of my night images from our one-night trip to Venice this week, this was one image that I knew I would love when I took it. As with any image, I hoped it would turn out well, but you can’t always tell at the time. I’m sure there will be more photos that I missed, and more that surprise me as I go through them. In the meantime, here’s the sneak peek for a Friday – have a great weekend!

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Follow your Bliss

This may not look like a blissful photograph to you, but it is to me. Photographing Venice in the day is wonderful, photographing Venice at night is blissful. I’m so excited to be going back for a one night visit for a special session of night photography, I’ll be absent here for a couple of days. After the last visit I knew I had to get back for this while I’m here in Italy. It called to me.

What about you? Do you follow your bliss? Do you feel the little tugs on your heart that pull you in a certain direction? How do you respond?

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The World at Night

It’s a different place, the world at night. Sometimes quieter, sometimes rowdier, definitely different. I’ve never been a night person before, but lately I cannot get enough of night photography. On our last trip to Venice I had the opportunity to get a few night shots like this one, and it wasn’t nearly enough. I’m craving more! We are going back again soon, so I can wander around late into the night to capture this very different mood of Venice. I love it.