power to change

There is power in water. Power to reshape the landscape, to slowly change the world. What takes humans substantial brute force to do can be accomplished by water, slowly but surely, over a long period time. You only have to visit the beach and watch for a few hours, to see the power of water. Shaping and reshaping the world around us, water has the power to change what other elements can't touch.

The events of our lives stream by like water, slowly but surely changing us. We can only go with the flow. Today I'm announcing a change, I'll be leaving the Mortal Muses after this post. It's been a wonderful, beautiful experience to be a muse, but I find that my time is limited and I can't sustain everything I have been doing. I'm excited to introduce Meghan Davidson of Life Refocused as the muse taking my place. I know you will enjoy getting to know her over the coming months.

I like to imagine that it's Meghan and me in her image below, having a chat and passing the baton, the water working its powerful magic around us all the while.

It's with much love and gratitude for my time as a muse that I say farewell. I'll see you around!

Kat of Kat Eye Studio

Sunset Chat by Meghan Davidson

mosaic muse {words}

1. focus, 2. life is good, 3. Live, 4. how to brighten your day..., 5. Why yes! I am! {019/366}, 6. i will., 7. reflection, 8. At the Corner of Happy and Peace, 9. Shine., 10. 2012's fortune, 11. may peace prevail on earth!, 12. "...for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." - Philo of Alexandria, 13. P.S. I love you, 14. Untitled, 15. 35/366 it's up to you, 16. Hope is Beautiful 3

Looking through the Mortal Muses pool for words, I was inspired by all of the positive messages to be found!  I'm an optimist, so I believe when you are looking for the positive, you find it. I hope today's mosaic lifts you up with these encouraging messages from the universe. 

Have you found any new ones? Add them to the muse mosaic by sharing your "words" images in the link up below. 

Kat of Kat Eye Studio

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mosaic muse {looking out, looking in}

1. what happens if...., 2. Looking Outside, 3. catography, 4. Dear Agfachrome... (+1), 5. a glimpse of creativity., 6. i promise: the last batch of photos from, 7. "luev", 8. hmmm... what's for dinner?, 9. afternoon light, 10. Outside looking in., 11. Untitled, 12. 83/365, 13. The enclosure of yourself, 14. how wonderful is modern technology?, 15. At work, 16. the shoot outtake

I love a good story! For a story to work, there needs to be a scene created and characters developed. I was struck by all the stories I saw in the images in our Flickr pool for this prompt. The images left me wanting to know more of the story.

Enjoy the compilation of stories in this mosaic, and share more stories with us in the linky this weekend. Looking out, or looking in.

 Kat of Kat Eye Studio


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the next theme is... LOOKING OUT, LOOKING IN

In the course of a day, have you ever noticed how often you are looking out or looking in?

Maybe you are looking out for a friend to meet you...

Cheers to your Weekend AND Your New Year!! by tumbleweed.in.eden 

 ... or looking out at the world going by.

  Early Morning at the Window by Kat Eye View

As photographers, we look in all the time too. Into our cameras...  

leaves through Clyde, the argus by KirstinMcKee 

 ...and our subjects.

  Bottom's Up by soupatraveler 

 You might even spend time, looking deep within yourself.

  "in the moment we are timeless" by soul aperture {christina} 

Notice where you look out and look in, through the course of your day. Capture these moments and share your images of LOOKING OUT, LOOKING IN with us in the Flickr pool. 

Tomorrow we begin musing on WINTER IN BLACK AND WHITE. I can't wait!! 

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

and the next theme is... WINTER IN BLACK AND WHITE

There is something about winter that calls me to black and white.

december skies by kirstinmckee 

 The contrast in the weather and the bare branches of the trees.

  Weather Pattern by Kat Eye View 

 The feel of the snow, gently falling.

  sister, in the snow by tumbleweed.in.eden 

 The land is in hibernation, and color recedes.

  5/30 Simple Sage (+1) by soupatraveler 

We leave our mark, in different ways.

 october snow by Urban Muser 

Today, start sharing your experience of WINTER IN BLACK AND WHITE with us in the Flickr Pool. We love black and white here at the Mortal Muses, with an everyday photo selection on our Life in B&W page. Have you noticed it before? If not, you are missing out! While we muse on the WINTER IN BLACK AND WHITE theme, we will celebrate our ongoing love of black and white on all of our three pages.

 But first... We celebrate the New Year as we start musing on FRESH tomorrow. See you then!

many muses musing - the winners

Thank you for joining us for Many Muses Musing this year!

All of us at Mortal Muses wish you a wonderful holiday with your family and friends, and lots of photography-related gifts in your future. 

Happy Holidays!

And the Many Muses Musing winners are...

SPARKLE: Jennifée 

TOGETHER: Veronica of Life in Pictures

GREETINGS: Anna of Alchemy of Art

GLOW: Paula of Little Scraps of Magic

MAGIC: Andrea of she dreams of {tinsel}

BELIEVE: Susan of Sunflower Status

SURPRISE: Larraine of Coffee and Chocolate

WONDER: Christine of Christine Marks Photography

HOPE: Cathy H. of Gramma's Little Corner

COSY: Lily of lilisview.com

PEACE: Terri of Creative Explorer

JOY: Lynne of photo-per-diem

SHARING: Jo of Jo Murray - Art

********

If you are one of our lucky winners and have not been contacted about your giveaway yet, please feel free to reach out to us at mortalmuses9 [at] gmail [dot] com.

many muses musing - GREETINGS

17 by *kuki*

There is something special about the mailbox this time of year, isn't there? We open it with anticipation instead of worry. Who did we receive a card or a letter from today?What did they send? In our world of online sharing and instant access, there is something wonderful in the tradition of sending a written holiday greeting. I love the personal touch!

Today I'm giving away a space in my Find Your Eye class series starting 8 January. This includes both Starting the Journey and Journey of Recognition classes. Please link your blog or flickr url in the linky provided below and/or leave a comment on this post for a chance to win the giveaway. (Max 2 entries per person.)




I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: GREETINGS. Please link your blog or flickr url in the linky tool provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: GLOW.

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World
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traveling companions

I am grateful for my guys. My husband and son, my perennial traveling companions. Oh, the miles we've travelled together, over the last couple of years. Countless flights and subways, days filled with maps and occasional mishaps. They patiently wait for me to capture my photographs as we wander along and give me a gentle nudge to keep me moving. Sometimes they go off on their own, as they did this weekend, wandering ahead of me in this historic cemetery, as I read the tombstones of those who lived and died many years past. Looking up ahead of me this day, I was filled with gratitude for them, the best of traveling companions.

There is something special about the memories we create when we travel. They become links of the chain that holds our lives together, unique from the repetition of our daily lives. Something as simple as a walk on a dusty road or a nap on the airplane, as pmaelee captured below, become elevated to special stories that we tell and retell of our travels together.

Lucky me, to have such companions by my side for journeys near and far through life. I hope and wish the same companionship for you.

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

Good flight planning {30 Days of Gratitude} by pmaelee

white and blue

Warmth. At first I thought of candles and steaming cups of tea. Perfect for this time of year, when all I want to do is snuggle up under a quilt to warm my cold feet. Then I closed my eyes and thought, What says warmth to me? A vision of white and blue, at the sea. That was the image my heart whispered to me. So I went to my archive, with my chilly toes and cup of tea, and found this vision of the Aegean Sea.

And as I looked through the Flickr pool, Skiingrn1's sunny image jumped out at me. Maybe it was the color, so similar to mine. Maybe the season, all summer sunshine. Both a vision of another season, so quickly behind us, providing echoes of warmth for the months ahead.

Close your eyes, can't you feel the sun?

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

Juneau, Alaska by Skiingrn1

transformation

As light moves through or reflects off surfaces, it is transformed. On my recent trip to downtown Chicago, I was fascinated by the light reflecting off of the skyscrapers, creating directional light where no light should be. All the wrong angles and directions, this skyscraper-light is different than true sunlight, transformed by the reflection. This back alley was a prime example, with bright light streaming down through the buildings in the direction opposite the sun. It was a fascinating exercise to capture the light and shadows here, and observe the different qualities of the light.

For similar reasons, I was entranced by christinellen's image below when I came upon it in the pool. Her capture of the light transforms this every day object into an abstract work of art. All light and lines.

Whether it's the diffuse light of heavy clouds, or sunlight reflected by towering skyscrapers, the light transforms the world around us. There is always something new to see, in the light.

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

Kind looks like what we might see when we die... by christineellen

handmade with love

All it takes for me to feel at home is a quilt, handmade with love. As I gathered up the quilts in my home for this photograph, I discovered my life story is here, stacked up in these handmade quilts. From the threadbare baby quilt on the bottom, embroidered by my Mom for me before I was born, it steps though the pink gingham of childhood to the blues of my young adulthood. The color-on-black quilt was a wedding gift from my Amish aunts, cousins and Grandma, a hand-stitched, queen-sized masterpiece that is a marker of a major life event. My son's aquarium-themed baby quilt heralds a new phase of life, and a new subject for my Mom's quilting. Each of the later quilts in this stack were made by my Mom as well, marking changes in my life.

When my Mom visited a couple of weeks ago, we picked the fabric for a new lap quilt she is making to match my studio colors. It was then I realized how important quilts are to my life history. Our house is not a home without the quilts. We carried them with us to Italy and carried them back again to Oregon in our suitcases, because we couldn't be without them for too long. It's no wonder when my Mom asked my son what he wanted for his birthday one year he answered, "A quilt that fits me!"

With quilts on my mind, I was happy to see this lovely bundle of fabric in the Flickr pool by Eskimo Kiss Photography. She is making a baby blanket for her soon-to-be-born niece. What a wonderful start to life for her niece, to be wrapped up in a blanket, handmade with love from her aunt. The perfect welcome home.

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

Linen by Eskimo Kiss Photography

zoom, zoom

Last Christmas I spent a lot of time blurring my images. I had discovered zooming during long exposures, and was forever playing with shutter speed, zoom speed and compositions. I was lucky to have so many subjects close at hand, with the lights and people in the bustle of central Milan. I discovered a fun sense of time travel in my photographs when people were included. They were both here and gone, in the same image. 

Apparently, you get the same effect when trying to photograph a two year old. Nothing but motion, according to gina g10. I love the effect she was able to capture, such energy! No need for her to zoom during exposure, the toddler was doing it for her.

If you haven't done it before, try using zoom during long exposures to create blur sometime, it's great fun. Or maybe, just borrow a toddler, if you don't have one of your own. 

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

Two year old in motion by gina g10

macro mystery

When you focus in on one area, one detail, you create a sense of mystery. When the context is lost, color information is taken away, the image becomes more about the design elements... line, form, value. What is this? You might wonder. Or you may just sit back and enjoy the light and the lines, moving through the space in a pleasant way.

I enjoyed ~mimo~'s image below for the same reason. The focus on detail, to the exclusion of context, adds a bit of mystery. If she didn't tell me in the title, I'd never know what this was. It's pure shape, line and form, and it's pleasing on its own. I like seeing the world this way.

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

bed springs bokeh in the junkyard by ~mimo~

imperfection

When I look at this photo, I see all of its technical imperfections. I'm kicking myself that I used a depth of field too shallow to get everyone in focus. Out of the 100+ photos I took in a short period of time, this one had the best expressions. I see how much practice I would need to get the kind of portrait shots I ooh and aah over.

When my mother-in-law looks at this photo, she is thrilled to have a photo of all of her grandsons together for the first time. Ranging in age from 12 to <2 years old, the youngest was born while we were living in Italy. She doesn't care if the focus isn't spot on. What matters to her is having the faces of her grandchildren captured, together.

As photographers and artists, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that perfection is not the goal. The moment, captured with all its imperfections, is the true prize. Like Misty Croney's image below, where the excitement of losing those teeth is the most important thing to capture.

Capturing a moment perfectly is the ideal. Let's not miss the moments though, in our search for perfection.

kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

 

tooth fairy by Misty Croney

object at rest

"An object in motion tends to remain in motion, and an object at rest tends to remain at rest." This physics lesson popped into my head as I pondered these images. It is easier to keep something already moving in motion, than it is to start from a stop. It is easier to remain still, than to start motion. It seems in life we are often trying to start or stop, rather than letting something rest.

Negative space in images gives your eye a break, allowing you to find the subject. You are able to linger, seeing the wonderful detail presented. In KJBehavior's handlebars, you can create a story of the bicycle, well-used and loved, as your eye remains at rest.

Objects of motion, at rest. Your eye, at rest. A great combination for interesting images, keeping the laws of physics in mind.

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

You must have had a fun childhood by KJBehavior

love seat

Hello dear, won't you join me here? A colorful seat for two, just waiting for us to sit and sway, watching the people pass by.

What's that? You don't like the view? Well then, let's head over to kim@tbdesign.com's place on the lake. You might like the view better from there. Either way, let's sit together for a while. Just the two of us.

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

180|365 by kim@tbdesign.com

a place for you

We all have a unique vision of the world, this I truly believe. One of the things I love about Mortal Muses is the variety that springs from our process. You have nine very different photographers... with different equipment, styles, interests and personal histories. Nine different people writing the words, and picking the photos from the pool. There are times we've wondered, "How are we going to muse for nine days on this?" or "What am I possibly going to say?" Yet we've always managed. We've pushed, we've grown, and we've learned from you along the way.

So no matter if your photographic muse is found half a world away, like mine from Italy above, or in your backyard like *kuki*'s below, there is a place for you here. A place for your style, your vision of the world around you. You are welcomed with open arms.

I'm so excited to begin the next year of musing with you!

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

counting summer seeds by *kuki* 

season of fresh

Summer is the season of fresh. Fresh food, that is. Is there anything more delicious than eating a garden grown tomato? A perfectly ripe berry? I don't think so! There is nothing better than a farmer's market or a roadside stand for some good eating. How about a fresh salad with a cool glass of cristinsprigg's fresh squeezed lemonade on the side? I don't know about you, but I'm in!

I hope you are enjoying lots of good fresh foods this summer! Before you eat your fruits and veggies, be sure to capture that luscious fresh color with your camera. The produce doesn't last long enough to carry you through the winter months, but the photos certainly will.

Buon appetito!

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

Lemonade Stand~ by cristinspriggs

*muse flash* - and the winner is...

The winners of the two spaces in Find Your Eye: Starting the Journey are Kathy and Kelly!

(Kathy and Kelly, please email me -- kat [at] kateyestudio [dot] com -- to give me your full name and email address so that I can submit your registration.)

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway, I hope to see you in class too! Enjoy the last of your weekend, wherever you may be.

back with a bang

185 | 365 by Viva Deva

There are certain holidays you can only truly celebrate in your home country, and the USA's Fourth of July is one of those for me. We arrived home in Oregon from Italy on the First of July, just in time to get our bearings and hook up with friends for a Fourth of July celebration. It was very low key - barbeque with a few friends, legal fireworks on the street in front of the house, kids up waaaay too late. After being away for two years, it was perfect. Forgive me if I'm a couple of days late in posting a few fireworks pictures here, I couldn't help it!

Breathing the smell of the sulfur in deep, my 10-year-old son said it best, "That stinks! I love the smell of the Fourth of July."

I'm back with another bang today too: I'm giving away two spots in my upcoming Find Your Eye: Starting the Journey class! Yay! I'm so excited about to launch these classes again in late July. To enter, just leave a comment here on this post by midnight EST on 9-July. I'll select the winners and post a muse flash on 10-July to announce them.

Hope you are all having a great summer!

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

Day One Hundred and Twenty Four by  Chasing Peace