Kat Eye Studio

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Too much of a good thing

You know that saying…. “Too much of a good thing is a bad thing.”

So. Very. True.

Too much of a food you love, and you can get sick of it. Too much passion for something and you can get burned out.

And too much computer time can injure you. I’m struggling with a sore shoulder right now, which comes out of too much mousing on the computer. I think the straw that broke the camel’s back was the marathon editing session I did on Saturday to prepare the Liberate Your Art swap video. 215 photos that needed to be straightened and cropped. the same motions again and again. I should have broken it up a bit more. Now I’m really going to have to cut back, or I risk a permanent injury. The pain is always the reminder to cut back.

It all aligns with what I want to do anyway… Spend more time outside as the weather is nicer. Hike in the mornings. Hang out with my son. Cook more from scratch. Read good books. Capture and create images that make me pause and breathe, like this one.

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Thankfully carrying an iPhone doesn’t cause the same stress on my shoulder as carrying my dSLR, and editing on the iPad doesn’t cause the same kind of pain as mousing on the computer. Maybe there is more than just my creativity at play in this newfound love of mobile photography. Or maybe I’m just lucky that I’ve got this alternate creative outlet, or I would be incredibly frustrated at the pain and might work through it, damaging myself further.

Either way, the pain is my body screaming at me to change course. It’s just too bad I have to get to this point to get my brain to agree.

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You can’t always get what you want…

You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you just might find
You get what you need
— Rolling Stones

I’m not a big Rolling Stones fan, but the chorus is running through my head on an infinite loop this morning.

You see, yesterday I went for a walk. It was a gorgeous day, and I took a walk around the little lake on the property where I work. Inspired by my Singapore lily pad images, I wanted to see what I could capture with the water. I desperately wanted to get closer to these lily pads, to get rid of all off the surrounding stuff, but without hip waders or a zoom lens that was not going to happen. Frustrated, I took a couple of frames with my iPhone and moved on.

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I realized this morning: I couldn’t get what I wanted, but I got what I needed.

Beauty, peace, tranquility. The perfect image to edit and share today.

I hope you all have a great weekend! If you have a chance, come over and say hi to me and the Bhoomies today.

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I Will Not Take These Things for Granted

Continuing to work on A Sense of Place this weekend, this morning I’ve been exploring the big picture – landscapes and such. I love the expansiveness and peacefulness of this image, from Lake Como in Italy.

As I write this post, one of my favorite songs, I Will Not Take These Things for Granted by Toad the Wet Sprocket, is playing on iTunes. The image and the song are both a reminder to be grateful for the beauty that exists in this world around us, this day. I’ll leave you with the song today.

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From Windy Coast to Windy City (Coming to Chicago!)

We spent a wonderful, relaxing weekend camping at the Oregon Coast. “Camping” is a relative term – we have a travel trailer so we camp in great comfort. The trailer is especially important in Oregon, where it rains. A lot. Over the years of living here we’ve progressed from tent to tent trailer to travel trailer, and have extended the time of year we are able to all seasons.

This weekend we had a rainy Friday night and Sunday morning, but a gorgeous day on Saturday. It was an enjoyable day of walking on the beach and then visiting Florence, a cute little town on the coast. I captured the remaining piers of Florence’s former ferry landing, inspired by this week’s Picture Inspiration prompt, “long and tall.”

But that’s the not the big news – I’m coming to Chicago this week! It’s a last minute work trip, planned Friday afternoon. There was a need for someone with my background to go and recruit at a conference, and I’ve never been to Chicago. After several months back from Italy with no travel plans in sight, I’m ready to visit someplace new and jumped on the chance.

If you are in the Chicago area and would like to meet up in downtown Chicago for a coffee and a photowalk this week, contact me via email: kat [at] kateyestudio [dot] com. I’ll be in town Wednesday through Saturday and will be squeezing in sightseeing with my camera as much as possible. I hope to meet a few of you there!

Linking in to Lisa’s Creative Exchange today.

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    Time to Relax

    I’m musing on relaxation today over at Mortal Muses, hop on over there to see the crazy photo where I actually took my camera into the bathtub to capture the shot I had in my head. Oh, the things photographers will do to get a shot! I had to think ahead and move carefully so as not to get my camera wet, but I got the image I wanted. I am quite proud of it.

    I took these photos a while ago because I wanted to remember this lovely, large bathtub we have in our apartment in Italy. I’ve been totally spoiled by this tub and will miss it terribly when we move home. I’ve found there is nothing better than a soak in the tub to relax me if I’m stressed or to warm me up on a cold winter’s day. I’m scheming to someday figure out how to have one put in to our house in Oregon. 🙂

    A last note: Don’t forget that you can still enter the giveaway today. Tomorrow morning I’ll announce the two winners.

    Happy Monday everyone!

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    Waiting

    The night is so quiet and still, you almost have to hold your breath for fear of making a ripple in the water and ruining the scene. The lone gondolier on duty rests silently in his craft. He has nothing to do, other than wait for customers to appear for a midnight gondola ride. His daydreams and night dreams drift off into infinity like the reflections in the water. Just waiting. Someone will come.

    Guess what? The creative space I was feeling yesterday was perfect. A friend asked me for some design help, and I happen to have this creative time free. I love how things work out. Now I have a fun new project, something completely different to do for a little while. I can help her out before getting back to my own ideas, and will be refreshed for the change of activity.

    I was just waiting, like the gondolier, and the right thing appeared…

    Do you find yourself waiting? Do you take the time to pause and breathe, and see what comes along?

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