The Loner

One lone flower, tossed aside. 

It makes me ask, can an image of a "thing" evoke emotion? As a "thing" photographer, I would answer yes. This image speaks to me through the isolation of the flower, discarded for not being perfect. The flower is not even in the bunch with the other discarded flowers, it is off on its own. Truly alone. But in its isolation, the remaining beauty of the flower can be seen. The gorgeous color and the shape, jump out at me against the concrete in a way that would be lost in the group.

It seems there is a message here, that can be brought into my life. It's ok to be less than perfect. It's ok to be out there, on my own once in a while. Once in a while, being outside the group can help me shine my unique beauty. My unique view on the world.

What do you take away from this image?  Does it speak to you too?

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What's going on around Kat Eye Studio...

• The current Exploring with a Camera theme is The Color Wheel: Part 2. Check out the post and join in the exploration.
• Registration is open for Digital Photography Basics! Class starts October 16. Visit here for the details.
• Want to know what's going on in the studio? You can subscribe to the Kat Eye News to stay up-to-date on all the activities.

Expectations Lost, Happiness Found

What is it about photography, that makes me happy? I've noticed lately, that whenever I go out and photograph, even if it's just for a walk around the block in the rain, that I return in a good mood. I am smiling and there is a spring in my step. I feel buoyant. The sheer act of capturing photographs, whether they end up good or not, makes me grin.

Thinking more on why photography makes me happy this morning, I found that photography is one area of my life where I don't have huge expectations or plans. I've learned to embrace the fun of letting myself be surprised. I follow my intuition and interests, as they pull me along in new directions. I find great joy in discovering what catches my eye on any given day. Amazing things have resulted as I follow those internal nudges - in photography, writing and my study of art in general.

Take Saturday's photowalk visit to the Farmer's Market, for example. Of course I photographed the colorful vegetables, but what really interested me were the flowers on the ground as the vendors sorted and tossed and created beautiful bouquets. Normally I would be attracted to the finished bouquets, but at this moment I was captured by the haphazard nature of the flowers scattered on the concrete and in the buckets. To me, on this specific Saturday morning, these images were the most interesting to explore and compose. These were the images that held a story. Next Saturday, in the same place, it will be completely different.

This gets to the "heart and soul" aspects of photography, or any art. Creating has the power to change how we feel. When we let go of expectations or plans, wonderful things can result. There is an interesting parallel here to the rest of my life I've needed to focus on as well: Letting go of control and expectation. It's something that I am slowly, and surely, learning to do. It's been a long road, but I am lucky to have something like photography to show me the way, with a smile on my face. 

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What's going on around Kat Eye Studio... 

• Linking in to the Creative Every Day today. Hello everyone!
• The current Exploring with a Camera theme is The Color Wheel: Part 2. Check out the post and join in the exploration.
• Registration is open for Digital Photography Basics! Class starts October 16. Visit here for the details.
• Want to know what's going on in the studio? You can subscribe to the biweekly Kat Eye News to stay up-to-date on all the activities and have more great information, delivered right to your email inbox.

Authentic Imagery

In my type of wandering photography, I have a general rule that I follow: Find the beauty in what already exists in the place. I look for scenes that are there, capturing them as they are presented to me. I see my job as the photographer as capturing the beauty without interference. My challenge is to frame the image so that you can see it too, without being distracted by whatever else may be going on around.

I wandered by this lovely display of flowers on Saturday in Hood River, Oregon. Tucked back behind a table along the sidewalk, the texture of this pot, the pop of color and the interesting contrast of the sea shells and succulent plants caught my eye. Much to my son's chagrin (Mom, can we go yet?),  I studied it for a while with my camera trying to find the best way to capture it. This early image is one of my favorites.

After playing with it for a while from different angles, I did something I normally don't do... I actually moved the pot slightly. I straightened it up and moved it back so I could get the purple flower along the blue of the wood. You know what? In viewing my images, the ones where the pot had been straightened fall flat. They've lost their "found" charm. Their authenticity.

Maybe it is just me, but I find that this is one of my values in photography and in life: Authenticity. I have had strong negative reactions in the past to images that I find inauthentic. Particularly fashion photography, where reality is not the goal. For each artist, there is a different view and a different goal. Each artist brings different values to what they create. My reactions are not saying any type of photography is "bad," but they help me to zero in on what I value.

I like to find the beauty in reality, with all of its imperfections. The beauty that exists in the everyday, tucked along the sidewalks of the towns we live in. The beauty that exists in the hearts of each and every one of us imperfect beings. It doesn't matter if we don't live up to our culture's narrow definition of beauty, as prescribed by the mass media. It only matters that we are ourselves, and that we are sharing ourselves authentically.

Oh, look, I've found myself hidden amongst my photography again. Funny how that always takes me by surprise.

Yes son, we can move on now.

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What's going on around The Kat Eye View of the World...

• Linking in with the Creative Exchange today. Hello to all!
• The current Exploring with a Camera theme is The Color Wheel: Part 1. Check out the post and join in the exploration. You have one more day to link in!
• Digital Photography Basics registration opens soon. Subscribe to the Kat Eye News to be notified when registration opens.

Fascinations, Part 2

As I mentioned yesterday, one of my latest fascinations is mail boxes! ("Letter boxes" for those of you in the UK.) These are disappearing around the US too, just like parking meters. Replaced by safer and more efficient shared post boxes, these are a bit of life that is going away. I remember the excitement as a child, of putting up that flag when the box had mail and seeing it down later in the day after the postman had come. I would run to see what had arrived in the mail. It's sad, I don't even have one in front of my house now. We walk up the street with a key to see what arrived, and it's usually junk. Bills don't even come anymore, they are sent via email.

Mail boxes are a symbol of so much else disappearing too, personal mail and the written letter. We all love to get mail but how often do we send it? Not so often. That's why the Liberate Your Art postcard swap was so much fun for many of us. For a little while, we got fun mail!

In honor of little-used mail boxes everywhere, let's all send a postcard or a letter or a note to someone we care about today. I've got my pen out now! Won't you join me?



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What's going on around The Kat Eye View of the World...

• The current Exploring with a Camera theme is Process of Elimination. Check out the post and explore with us.
• Do you want to deepen the connection between your heart and soul and your photography? Registration for the fall series of the Find Your Eye e-course is open! Visit here for more info.
• You can subscribe to the Kat Eye News to stay up-to-date on all the happenings.

Finding Color and Space

From scooter love yesterday to Burano love today. I am sharing "color" today, in honor of the wonderful Rachael Taylor who has featured me on her blog. Rachael is a surface pattern designer I met at the Do What You Love Retreat in May. Her work is beautiful and simple, and she loves bright colors, just like me. Stop by and visit her blog here to see me featured, and stick around to see her work. You will find something you love, I guarantee it. My favorite is this orange bag, which I brought home with me from the retreat. I'm so excited that it arrived with my goods from Italy, and I can start using it again. Orange Power!

I'm celebrating negative space on Mortal Muses today, so thought I would share some "space" here too. Have you stopped by and visited Mortal Muses lately? There's been a lot of change! We celebrated our first year at the beginning of August and now have five lovely new muses bringing their beautiful images and words your way. I have always loved how having nine different people working together creates a place of such beauty and diversity, and that has not changed. I hope you will join us there.

PS - Don't miss the giveaway on yesterday's post, there is still time to enter.

Planting Flowers of Generosity

These lovely flowers grace the doorstep of a store in Carbondale, Colorado. They put here for all to enjoy, freely shared with the passersby. They are meant for everyone, not just one, hence the sign in them, "Thank you for not picking me." I found this sign cute and amusing, but it's a polite little reminder that by a simple inaction - not picking the flowers - you can give the beauty to others as well.

Today I am thinking of generosity and service and how this fits with creating our best work and our best lives. I started thinking on this from an idea in Twyla Tharp's book The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life, which I am still reading and loving. She writes:

How to be Lucky: Be generous. I don't use that word lightly. Generosity is luck going in the opposite direction, away from you. If you're generous to someone, if you do something to help him out, you are in effect making him lucky. This is important. It's like inviting yourself into a community of good fortune.

Doesn't that quote just feel right? Generosity is luck flowing out. We get as much, or more, from that outflow than when things are coming to us. And I think the kind of generosity she is talking is not about money, it is about spirit and heart. What do we have to offer others? Is it a smile, a phone call? We can be generous with our time and our attention. Our knowledge. Our encouragement, support and enthusiasm. There are a million ways we can be generous every day, and the first step may be leaving the flowers alone so that others can enjoy them too.

Building on this, another idea came my way this morning, via the Brave Girls Club "Daily Truths"emails (you too can sign up for these, go here). The email says:

Dear Influential Girl,

There is a beautiful and little known secret to happiness that it sometimes takes us way too long to finally learn....and it is one that we can start practicing today, fabulous friend.

When life feels overwhelming, upsetting or grim...we can instantly change our outlook on things by getting out and serving someone else. Somehow, when we turn our focus to someone else, and especially to making their load lighter, or their day brighter...it comes back to us ten times stronger even than what we put out. That is some sweet math, isn’t it?

If things are tough right now, even if you feel like you don’t have time......just try it out. Make a phone call, write a kind note.....bake some cookies or make a piece of art for someone. Take time to really visit....help someone do something that is hard for them and easy for you. Something so beautiful will happen that you will forget about your own sadness for a while...and when things start feeling tough again, you have the power to get out and serve mankind in little ways all over again.

Just try, my friend. It will be worth the effort.

This is one of the most magical facts of life....and it works every time.

I like what they wrote, "...do something that is hard for them and easy for you." That feels right to me too. Generosity and service don't have to be hard. They don't have to be a huge sacrifice in order to "count." Maybe it's as simple as sharing something we are good at with others. Maybe it's just sharing a piece of our art in the form of a postcard in the mail, or a technique on a blog post. I think of these things, because they are how I share. They are what I enjoy doing. I hadn't quite thought of them quite in the light of generosity and service before.

At the moment we give of ourselves, we are outside of ourselves. We become part of the larger world and are contributing to a greater good. We make the world a more beautiful place. And, while it's not often our intent with generosity and service, we gain too. We forget our sadness, our own personal issues, and make room for that good fortune Twyla talks about to come our way.

If the first step toward generosity is not picking the flowers, the second step is surely planting and tending a few of our own. I'm pondering what flowers I'm planting today, through simple acts of generosity and service. How about you?

When a Plan Comes Together

Cheerful flowers and colorful paint make me smile!
Carbondale, Colorado

Guess what today is? Monday, yes. The middle of August, that too. It's also the day I link in to Creative Every Day and the Creative Exchange. But it's even bigger than that: Today is the first day of my part time work schedule. Woohoo!!

Last week everything was finalized and agreed, and as of today I will be working at my "day job" Monday through Friday ~11am to 5pm-ish. I am so excited. I have been working toward this change for a very long time.

For those of you who may be new around here, I fell in love with having my mornings as my personal time while in Italy. My work schedule was afternoons and evenings, due to the need to work with both the Italian and US folks on a daily basis, which left my personal time as the mornings. Some time ago, as part of a series called Lessons from Abroad, I wrote about how changing my schedule this way led to some great realizations for my creativity. Mornings are my creative time.

When I finalized my schedule and transition date with my new manager last week, I realized how long in coming this transition really was. It was almost a year ago, last October, when I first started talking to my former manager about going part time on my return to the US. It was before that, while writing the Lessons from Abroad series for Jenny Shih's newsletter and blog, that I identified the schedule change and aligning to my creative energy cycle as a key factor in my personal transformation. And it was part of writing the specific article, Change up Your Schedule, that I really started to think about how I could maintain my "mornings free" schedule upon my return.

So, over the last year I've been having periodic conversations with my husband, my management at work, and myself about how this could work. I've played with different schedule ideas, "trying them on" in my imagination to see what would fit for me personally and at work. The Monday-Friday/11-5 schedule is the one I settled on recently, and when I proposed it last week it was a win-win for everyone. My new manager likes that I will be there every day instead of taking a day off; I like that I have 5 more mornings a week for myself. Can't beat that.

This is a great example of how long it can sometimes take an idea to come to fruition. The idea of part time/ mornings free was a seed planted a year ago. Nurtured, the seed grew into a plan that I took small steps on over time. It is a good reminder that if you stick with an idea, turn it into a plan and take baby steps toward it along the way, you can make it work. Things may not happen immediately, but with action, things do happen. Without action, it's just daydreaming. Yes, I was nervous when I first started talking about part time at work. Yes, I was nervous to have the conversation on my schedule last week. But all of my groundwork and planning and patience paid off, and here I am this Monday morning, free.

What will I create today?

The Answer

So, what's your guess for today? USA or Europe? Just kidding, I won't drag you through another day of suspense!

Today's image is from Carbondale, Colorado.

Yesterday's image was from Old Colorado City, Colorado. Old Colorado City is the historic part of Colorado Springs.

Monday's image was from Burano, Italy.

What do you take away from this little exercise?

Where in the World

Here is part two of yesterday's little "Where in the World" quiz. I'm not going to give you the answer yet, but this is the opposite place. After seeing this image do you revise your answer on which image is from Europe and which is from the US? Tomorrow I'll tell you which is which.

It's an interesting comparison, isn't it? I have enjoyed finding that my images are not as different as I would have thought between the two places. Sure, there are definitely differences in the details. That's the fun of photographing places, finding those little things that make each place unique. But at the core, my "eye" remains the same, and I'm loving the discovery.

The Return-from-Vacation Conundrum

So, I'm back from vacation. Back to the normal routine. Here I sit on a Monday morning, debating the ways to approach this week, where I have a lot to do after two weeks away... Do I jump in with both feet, and just try to get as much done as possible? Or do I ease myself into it, focusing on the priority things and let the rest slide? How do you approach this situation?

My tendency is to jump in and work to get everything done, but that can stress me out. (Case in point - I couldn't shut my brain off last night and didn't get a good night's sleep.) I think I'll try the second option, since "easing" sounds so much nicer, but I'm not sure how I'll do at that. I guess we'll see as the week progresses.

Today's second question: Where in the world is this photo from? Do you think it's from Europe or the USA? Answer tomorrow!

Linking in to Creative Every Day and The Creative Exchange today.

Creeping Along

I found this snail on a windowsill in Ravenna, creeping along going nowhere. He made me smile, with his fake flowers happily blooming regardless of the weather. I also liked the repetition of shape, in the tea pot just barely visible in the window. Have you ever noticed the similarity in shape between a teapot and a snail? I hadn't, until this photo. Thanks to my camera and the awareness it gives me, I now have this little tidbit filed away in my brain. As of today, you do too.

Yesterday's post, I noticed, was my 600th post on my blog! Wow. I don't know why that number strikes me, it just seems BIG. So I decided to celebrate that milestone by posting a photo of a snail planter full of fake flowers. The appropriate celebration of 600 posts, don't you know. All the blogging milestone books say so.

But seriously, instead, how about giving away a few things today? That seems appropriate too! Here are the winners of my LAST giveaway from Italy. There were 49 entries, and numbers were drawn by using the random number generator from random.org:
#13 - Kristen of K. Laudick Photos wins the lens cleaning cloth from Ravenna
#48 - Pam from Utah wins one of the sets of notecards from Florence
#20 - Diana of Diana Mulder Mixed Media Artist wins the other set of notecards from Florence
#23 - Jo of Jo Murray - Art wins the postcards
I'll be contacting you all for your addresses. Give your congrats to all of them!

Thanks so much for all of your support and participation here at The Kat Eye View of the World. Who knew that this little blog that I started to keep family updated about what was going on with us in Italy would end up with 600 posts. Well, 601 today. Amazing.

Exploring with a Camera: From a Flower's Point of View (2nd edition)

[Author's Note: Through the summer months Exploring with a Camera will be "Second Edition" postings of previous explorations with some new images. You will find a new link up at the end of this post to share your photos, and your photos are also welcome in the Flickr pool for the opportunity to be featured here on the blog. I hope that you will join in!]




Have you thought about the flower's point of view before? What is the perspective, near to the ground, reaching for the sun? The answer is found in these photographs. I had a marvelous time, playing around with my camera from a flower's point of view. I got a couple of amazing shots, like the one above and the one below. They are delightful because they are so unplanned, they are the results of experimentation and play. And digital photography is a WONDERFUL medium for this, because there is no cost to just play around!



There is creative power in exploration and play. I'm thinking to post some "Exploring with a Camera" ideas like this from time to time, let me know if you want to participate and I'll create a Flickr group to share photos so that we can create a little community of explorers!

So here are some tips on how to explore from a flower's point of view:

1. Hold the camera near the ground, pointing up toward the flower. You are not looking through the viewfinder, at the screen, anything. Depending on your camera/lens minimum focus requirements you will have to play with distance to hold the camera away from the flower.

2. Shoot, review, shoot, review. Move the camera, the angle. After a while you'll get a better hang of what you are aiming for remotely.

3. If you're not getting the focus you want (say, on the flower), switch to a manual focus point. For the second image above, I set the focus point for top middle point, then took a bunch of pics moving the camera around a bit to get the one flower in focus that I wanted.

4. Play around with aperture. Higher aperture will give you a better opportunity to get what you want in focus. Lower aperture will really help your flowers pop, but focus will be difficult.

During the whole process, delight in the randomness of the images. Laugh at the ones that came out totally awkward. Swoon over the ones you think that come out amazing. Enjoy the freedom that comes out from letting go of planning, composing, deciding with every shot.

Since writing the original post, I've come to enjoy using this technique on a regular basis. The lead-in image of this post is from the Scottish Highlands, near Loch Ness. I wouldn't have chosen the framing or focus of this image with my eyes on the viewfinder, but I like it anyway! Here are a couple of other more shots I've captured, using the same principles to see things from a different point of view. 

Now it's your turn, have fun playing and link in below or put your images images in the Flickr pool. I look forward to seeing the interesting points of view you find!

FYI - Links will be moderated. Please ensure that your linked image is on topic, and include a short explanation of how it relates to the current theme. Link back to this site through the Exploring with a Camera button (available here) or a text link. Thanks!

A Summer of Change

Ah, summer. Long days of sunlight and warmth with nothing to do but lounge around in the hammock and read a book, right?

Um, no. Not for me this summer.

As most of you probably know, my time in Italy is coming to an end. Our apartment will be packed up in a few weeks, as my son finishes his school year. Shortly after, we'll say goodbye to friends, neighbors and colleagues, and fly back to Oregon on July 1st. A new adventure awaits, in an old, familiar place.

With all that going on, you might find me absent here and there from the blog over the next couple of months. Since blogging has become a habit, I'll probably be on more often than not, but I'm giving myself the freedom to let things slide a little more than usual. (This is hard for me, I must admit.)

In addition, for the summer months Exploring with a Camera will run with re-posts of earlier themes. I've selected posts from last year, before many of you had joined in, and will run them as "second editions" with some new example photos along with the additions of the link up and Flickr pool for sharing. If you've done the prompts before, this will be a great opportunity to share what you captured the last time around, or cement the ideas further by using the concepts again.

Thanks a bunch for hanging in with me as I move through this transition.

Don't Reject Yourself

Yesterday's conversation on fear was fantastic. If you are thinking you are the only one who feels fear, go and take a look at the comments. You and I are definitely not alone.

This topic was on my mind through the whole day. Funnily enough, a message with the title "Your Fears are Lies" appeared in my inbox later in the day. I'm on a list for fear.less magazine, which periodically sends out notes about overcoming fear, in addition to the free online magazine they publish "to show people they're not alone in their fear." The message was a perfect continuation of what I started writing about yesterday, highlighting some of the same points and adding others. If you want ongoing encouragement to overcome your fear, you can subscribe to the fear.less free online magazine and the emails here.

Later in the day, I also had a conversation with my husband about how we "pre-reject" ourselves. Here's the scenario:
1. We see something we want to do or have an idea and want to propose it somewhere.
2. We think about asking or proposing and the little voice in our head starts talking. It says, "They will just say no."
3. We are so afraid of rejection, we don't want to hear a "no," so we don't ask.
Guess what! No one else had to reject us in this scenario. We did it for them!

Have you ever done this? I have. So, so many times. I'm starting to realize that I should let someone else say yes or no, not decide for them. Some of the time, when you put a question or proposal out there, the answer is no. Sometimes the answer is a big, blank void. That's almost worse, to my mind. But sometimes, the answer is yes.

The only way you can get an answer of "yes" is to actually ask the question, send the proposal, submit your work. You open yourself up for rejection, but you also open yourself up for success. No one is going to come  knocking at your door or in your email inbox asking for this wonderful idea, because they don't even know it exists until you put it out there.

Think on this. Look for times when you don't even give others the chance to reject you, because you are rejecting yourself. When that happens, take a deep breath, put yourself out there and let them make the decision. Who knows, the answer might just be "yes."

Photo is from Murten, Switzerland.

It Happened Among the Roses

Yesterday I found myself in a rose garden, a completely unplanned event. I had walked down to a local art exhibit of young artists, to get a little bit of creative inspiration. As I was in the gallery I looked out the window and there was a rose garden, in full bloom. It was gorgeous. I was kicking myself, I hadn't brought my good camera! It was a hot and humid day and since I was walking, I wanted to travel light so I left my SLR at home. Strike one against me.

I did have my little point-and-shoot camera with me, which always does well in a pinch. I explored the rose garden, looking to find interesting compositions, color and light. Since I have Finding Form on my mind as the current Exploring with a Camera prompt, I noticed that roses are an amazing subject for the study of form. So much light and dark, along with intricate curving shapes, within a rose. I was happily exploring away when the "low battery" light started blinking and the camera eventually died. Strike two against me.

Finally, at a loss for photographic equipment, I pulled out a little sketch book and a mechanical pencil. I had dropped this in my bag at the last moment, thinking of my recent painting class and the instructor Flora's encouragement to sketch nature. These roses were too beautiful, I felt the urge to continue to study them, and pencil and paper were all I had left.

Look what emerged on my page...

Now, I was wholly and completely stunned. I was just focusing on shapes and light and dark and look what happened? I tried another one...

Um. Yeah. Can I just tell you, I had no idea that I had these in me? I'm trying to figure out where these came from. I used to draw, back when I was a kid, but of course all art stopped when I went  for the "college prep" classes in high school and then studied engineering in college. I've done a little bit of drawing here and there, the last couple of years, but never had it click like it did yesterday. 

I've discovered a new love. Photography, painting, and now I'm going to have to explore drawing more too. The feel of a pencil on the paper, the drawing of shapes and shadow, was amazing. What would happen if I actually practiced? I'm going to have to find out.

It turns out, I'm glad that I didn't bring my good camera. I would have never spent the time with pencil and paper if I had that camera, my first love, with me. You don't often hear stories of where being unprepared pays off, but in this case it did!

(Linking in to Creative Every Day and The Creative Exchange today. Hello to all!)

Off to the Sea

I am off on holiday for the next week. It's Easter Break for my son's school and we are headed to Greece. Before we left Europe I wanted to photograph a place with white, white buildings and blue, blue sea, so we will be spending the week on the island of Santorini with a day or two in Athens.

To give you a taste of the sea, here is an image from the Cinque Terre, on the Ligurian coast of Italy. This region is more pink and green than white and blue, but beautiful nonetheless.

Even though I won't be writing here this week, there is a lot going on that you can participate in:

• There is a new Exploring with a Camera topic: Rimmed with Light. Stop over and see how to capture this beautiful type of light. You are welcome to link up or share your images in the Flickr pool.
• I just "officially" announced the Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap yesterday and it's open for sign up! Yay! I hope you'll join in with sharing your artwork in the swap.
• My first newsletter will arrive in your mailbox tomorrow! It will include a download of the Time to Blossom image I shared last weekend. If you haven't signed up for the newsletter yet, you can at any time. Just look for the form on my blog sidebar.
• The Mortal Muses theme right now is "Here Comes the Sun." Share your images with "flare" with us here and you may be featured on the blog. I just mused on Signs of Spring on Thursday, come by and see the signs of spring blossoming on our blog.

I hope you have a great week! 

Seeking Beauty, Finding Contrast

As I was photographing the flowers under the trees last weekend, I started to notice the graffiti on the park wall. My goal became to adequately capture the contrast in the scene, between the natural beauty and the man-made creativity. This is very nicely executed, artistic graffiti, but it doesn't belong in this setting. That makes it all the more interesting to me.

I also couldn't help notice the irony of the signature and the copyright symbol. Here we have an artist seeking legal protection for an illegal act. Another contrast, layered within, that made me think. Do you think artistic protection of an illegal form of art would hold up in a court of law? An interesting conversation, for sure.

I found this after the "waiting to click" shot I envisioned, of a bicyclist riding the path through the flowers, just didn't work out. There were no bicyclists coming by at the time I was in the park. Actually, there were a couple of men who rode by on mountain bikes, but I was looking for a dressed-up Italian woman on a city bike. Never happened. I gave up on waiting to click and went seeking something else to shoot, when I found this image.

Has your "waiting to click" shot worked out? It's not too late to link in to Exploring with a Camera: Waiting to Click. Today is the last day to link in, and tomorrow I'll share some new images from the Flickr pool.

Remember: If you don't find the shot you are waiting for, that's ok too. I'm sure you'll find something else interesting to photograph. As this image reminds me, I always do. :)

Time to Blossom

Have a great weekend!

This image will be available as a download in my next newsletter. Come visit the blog to sign up if you haven't already!

Flowers Marking Time (Two Years in Italy)

April brings these lovely flowers to Parco di Monza. They carpet the forest under the trees, and never cease to make me smile. I watch the shoots as they start to push up through last year's fallen leaves, growing tall and strong. Then the flower stems appear, the buds hinting at what is to come and suddenly, one day, they are all bursting open like fireworks, celebrating spring.

These flowers are a marker of time for me. Two years ago today, I arrived in Italy to start my assignment, and as I took possession of our apartment that first week these flowers were in bloom under the trees. I would drive by the park in those early days, see them and smile. I had the desire to walk under the trees and to capture the beauty of the flowers with my camera, but life was a blur of craziness at the time. Just figuring out where to find items in a grocery store was a major, energy-draining event.

One year ago, as the flowers started to bloom, I was able to capture their beauty. This time last year was an amazing time for me, having made it through that first year and settled comfortably into daily life, I was really moving on my creative journey. I was able to see the world with fresh eyes, to approach my photography with an unrepressed joy. I was discovering and uncovering the creative self, the artist, that had been lurking inside of me all along. The burst of creativity I felt in capturing the images of these flowers last year resulted in the first ever Exploring with a Camera post, From a Flower's Point of View. You may recognize these flowers in the Exploring with a Camera button and page, they are the symbol of what "exploring" really means to me: coming to the world around us with wide open arms and hearts, and finding absolute joy in what is discovered there.

This week, I went into the park with my camera once again. I wanted to capture the beauty of these flowers, but I wondered how I could possibly top last year. The excitement and joy of that outing, and the love of those images, still stays with me a year later. But as always, my art reveals things about me I wasn't expecting. With the passing of a year, I have changed and grown. I see differently. While I may have started my outing with the leftover vision of last year's exploration, what I saw in the flowers this year was new and revealing.

This year, I noticed the shadows.

I discovered the beauty of the flowers, revealed in new way.

I saw the leaves as the canvas upon which light painted flowers.

I completely and utterly lost track of time, I was so engrossed in my exploration of light and shadow. I immersed myself in the rediscovery of these flowers, and along the way, had the sad realization that this is my last year of seeing them bloom. Two years in Italy are gone, a little over two months left. I shed a tear or two, there amongst the flowers, holding my camera.

How can I not be wistful, as I contemplate leaving a place that's given me so much? I know it's not Italy itself that has changed me, it has been my response and willingness to take every experience that comes my way, living life to the fullest and seeking growth. As I photographed the shadows of these flowers I realized: Italy is the canvas upon which life has painted me. It is here I learned to look closer, and I discovered myself in the light and shadow.

News Flash - Postcard Swap, Birds for Japan and Superheros

I interrupt today's regularly scheduled blog post to bring you some interesting news. What do postcards, birds and superheros have in common? They are all on my blog today - read on to find out why!

Introducing the Liberate your Art Postcard Swap


Today I'm announcing the "Liberate your Art" Postcard Swap I'll be hosting this summer! Many of us have an artistic practice - whether it be photography, mixed media, painting, beading, papercrafting, ceramics, you name it - but we don't always share our craft with the rest of the world in a physical form. So I'm going to encourage you to "Liberate your Art" from the online world through a postcard swap! Is there anything better than getting artistic, creative snail mail in your post box? I don't think so!

Here's how it will work:
1. Have five postcard prints made of your original artwork. These could be photographs you've taken, prints of your painted or mixed media work, or images of 3D artwork. You can use five different images or five of the same image. The only requirement is that they be postcard-size prints of your original work (no layered or 3D artwork as part of this swap).
2. Mail the postcards to me in the US along with your address and return postage in July. (Signup and mailing details will be provided later, along with how non-US participants can provide return postage.)
3. You will receive five postcards back in the mail from other artists from around the world.

Sounds fun, doesn't it?

Though the swap won't take place until July after I return to the US, I'm telling you this now so that you can get started on your postcard prints. You may want to create them yourself at home, or you may want to order them from an online source. I've had great luck with moo.com and have a 20% off discount code for new customers if you order by 30 March - that's tomorrow (use this code: BK67DT). There are many other options for printing postcards, let me know what services you recommend and if you come across any discounts I'll share them in future updates.

More details and sign up will be available in the near future. Until then, start planning your postcards and get ready to Liberate your Art this summer!


Help Japan 1000 Birds Project

UK-based Japanese ceramics artist Makiko Hastings has a wonderful project going on to help Japan. She is creating and selling one thousand of these delightful little ceramic birds to raise money. All are unique, numbered and handmade by Maki. You can find out how to participate and help her help Japan on her blog, shin shin.

I have a special connection to Maki, since I had the opportunity to meet her when we visited England last summer. We met for breakfast and both were a bit nervous to meet someone from the online world. It seemed a bit weird at first, but we knew we had a love of art in common and quickly fell into conversation. I enjoyed talking with Maki and hearing the story of how she came to England from Japan and her dreams of being a ceramic artist. Since then, I've enjoyed following her adventures and her beautiful artwork on her blog.

Maki and me at the "posh" Betty's Tea Room in York

I hope you'll support Maki's efforts to help Japan. We have three of these special little birds winging their way to us in Italy - I can see a group of three photo in my mind's eye already!

Are you a Superhero?

If you are ready to put on your cape and change the world with your creative ideas, my friend Jenny Shih is here to help you. She's a business coach for creative entrepreneurs, and I can't begin to express to you how enthusiastic she is about this job! Even though I haven't ever been "officially" coached by her, she's given me more helpful ideas than I can count, just in casual conversation. She's got it all - great ideas, great strategies and great heart. 

If you have a creative idea and are looking for some help to make your business a reality, or to help your existing business grow, she's the woman to help you become the superhero you were meant to be. Take a look at her fun video below and then stop by her site, jennyshih.com, to see how she can help you with your plans to change the world.

Put on Your Cape, It's Time to Save the World from Jenny Shih on Vimeo.

(Today's image is from a back alley in Dubrovnik, Croatia.)