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.

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!

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?

Bath Time!

We are back from our lovely week in England, where we visited Bath, York and London. What a beautiful country! Buildings out of children's story books, the fastest moving clouds I have ever seen, and everything was in English. Imagine! That might sound silly, but I wasn't quite prepared for "foreign" travel in my own language, after traveling so much where the languages are different. The English language is the same yet so different in the UK. And some of the accents - they might well have been speaking a foreign tongue for what we understood!

Of all of the places we visited, Bath was our favorite. I loved the Bath stone buildings, the interesting doors, windows with flowers, rows upon rows of chimneys and the town at night. So much great history, from the Romans and earlier, to Jane Austen (I have to go re-read some books now).

When we found out the Roman Baths were open late I knew I wanted to visit in the evening, for the lights on the water. It turned out perfect - good light, fewer people - much better all around for me. You can almost transport yourself back in time with this image, imagining the baths in the Roman times. But not quite. The windows of the building behind, the signs, the walls - all subtle elements of modern day. An interesting juxtaposition of old and new, coming together in one pleasing composition. Hmmmm, that might just describe England as well!