Vancouver Venture | Reflections

September 7, 2012January 14, 2016Leave a comment

Well this little photog got to get out of town to Vancouver BC briefly this week – a very rare occasion – so no cleaning, child disciplining, dog-walking, or kitty-litter-scooping were done for a whole 48 hours. I didn’t even break open my laptop, do any photo-editing or check my email. Divine.
I did get to take in a lot of amazing sites in Vancouver, a city I’ve not been to in years, and had some precious adult time with my honey. Entirely too many photos were taken: I brought along my DSLR, plus my little Yunon 35mm, and couldn’t resist buying a Lomo ActionSampler, which takes 4 small shots in 1 second, exposed on one 35mm frame. And of course there was my trusty iPhone in my hand at all times for photo-taking too. Yep, too many.
There were photos I wish I could have taken though; I don’t mean the required scenic shots, the landmarks, or even catching a sunset (there was a gorgeous one last night)… Driving through what can best be called the ‘sketchy’ part of town, Chinatown, I couldn’t help but be struck by the part of the city that most people try to avoid. We only went there via taxi (advised by several that walking would be a really bad idea) to get to a gig for the band Redd Kross, which my man has been following for about 20 years. Over just a few blocks, and those were just a few over from the heavily-touristed Gastown, we saw glimpses of the dark recesses of urban life, the addicts, the homeless, the sick, the vagrant, the lost and hungry. Dark, dark streets.
I only say I wish I could have taken those photos (and I wouldn’t be taking my camera out there at 11pm) because I think it’s easy to forget there is a not-so-pretty side of every city, but that is very much a part of it. It’s sad and scary, and can be downright depressing but there are countless stories there to be told, ones that for now I’m not brave enough to tell with my own camera.
Anyway, I hope I’ll be back in BC again soon. Here are a few of my cell phone moments. Enjoy the view!
xo ~ K

Sadness & Light in Seattle | Reflections

June 11, 2012January 14, 20163 Comments

Over the last few weeks I’ve had quite a few reasons to count my blessings and to feel fortunate. I think many of you who have stumbled upon my post, are aware of the horrible shootings that happened in Seattle recently. I feel anguish for those who have lost people they love. I feel sadness that much of it happened in a neighborhood (and city) that I have spent years living in, one that holds many memories for me and I hold a fondness for. I feel angry that present gun laws and untreated mental illness create a perfect storm for such tragedies to happen so frequently. I feel frustration that this world is so cruel sometimes and I can’t fix it.

The blessings and fortune I speak of are about a few different things. My little boy and the man I love were at one of our favorite parks just 2 blocks away from the cafe that day; cops were everywhere as they were looking for the gunman. That’s too close, but I’m thankful they weren’t closer. A couple of days after that, my boy smacked the back of his head straight into a tree trunk while on a tree swing being pushed by his sister; he came crying into the house with blood streaming down the back of his shirt. I envisioned all kinds of brain injury scenarios during the painfully slow (Friday night rush hour) albeit short trip to the ER. But my boy just had an abrasion and left the hospital with a red popsicle…again, I’m thankful.

Then last Wednesday marked a seven-year anniversary of the passing of someone I loved deeply. So much that the depths of my grief for a long time after his death, which felt so dark and hopeless, made me imagine that nothing and no one would ever bring light into my life ever again. I eventually emerged from that darkest hole to find that I saw life in a whole new way afterwards, and if there’s anything to be thankful for despite losing a love like that, it’s that. And I do have both love and light in my life again.

I took these on June 6th (on that anniversary) and though the day started out grey and felt somber and lonely to me, the sun did come out and there were beautiful sights all around that evening. I hope Seattle will heal from these awful tragedies and that much is learned. I also wish for light and love to come in place of the darkness and loss; Seattle is a beautiful, resilient city full of amazing people, and to see the flowers that cover the sidewalk outside Cafe Racer (photo required, I know!), you can’t help but be moved by the love here.

Now that I have put all that out there to the blogosphere, I have gig and birthday party photos to edit!

xo ~ K

Each day of human life contains joy and anger, pain and pleasure, darkness and light, growth and decay. Each moment is etched with nature’s grand design – do not try to deny or oppose the cosmic order of things. ~Morihei Ueshiba

Does the caterpillar know she will be a beautiful butterfly one day?

Eyes of The Ape | Seattle Animal Photography

May 28, 2012January 14, 20162 Comments

Sitting through ‘Dumbo’ for the second time this weekend (Roman has decided it’s his favorite Disney flick for the moment), I was thinking a lot about circus and zoo animals and their various states of captivity. Instead of wrapping my thoughts around how depressing that topic can be for me, I thought I’d go back to this photo this evening for some therapeutic processing time. I find the big apes intriguing, and I can never resist taking a shot or two of them when I’m at the zoo. But I hate seeing them look so bored and listless, and so wish I was seeing them in their natural habitat but that will never happen for me. I don’t want my child to grow up in a world where gorillas and tigers and elephants (and all those animals that fill childhood literature and picture books) only exist in captivity in zoos…even with all their benefits of breeding programs and conservation awareness. That will be a very sad day for us all.

Anyway, I thought I’d go for my high contrast black and white edit version to share with you; it seems timeless and draws me in to that expressive and fascinating face. Since this is actually being written in the wee hours of the morning again, I must sign off; Folklife festival shenanigans at Seattle Center today. Have a safe
Memorial Day, all my (ape) friends!

xo ~ K

If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth. ~ Chief Seattle of the Suquamish Tribe, letter to President Franklin Pierce

Learning about Lightroom, Scissors & Mud | Reflections

May 13, 2012January 14, 20164 Comments

It never stops, does it? The learning, that is…

I learned quite a lot about the above said things over the last few weeks. I’ve got Lightroom 4 up and running on my computer and I’m finding out how best to streamline my photo editing and organizing. And I know I’ll continue to learn more about what LR4 can do for my photography ‘habit.’ I’ve also learned that little boys like mud. They really really really like mud. So much that you have to strip them down to their birthday suits in the ‘Tulip Town’ parking lot so they don’t get into the car like dirty muddy piglets. Side note: Roman was born in the Year of the Pig.

I’ve also learned that my 4 year-old should not be left in the living room with his craft scissors (aren’t they supposed to be blunt?) while his parents have a bit of a lie-in lest he starts cutting his hair off. Okay, maybe he did need a haircut and it will grow back, but now my boy has a ‘fade’ on one side of his head and the shortest hair he’s had since he was a baby (the lop-sided mullet he gave himself had to be fixed). I will now cross this experience off my parenting bucket list.

As usual, I am posting to my blog in the wee hours of the morning. I’m still a night-owl, even though I’m actually exhausted with a headache…but I must sleep. I have a lot of kitten and cat editing to do ‘tomorrow’ (adorable photos coming!). It’s also Mother’s Day here in the States; maybe my boy will let me sleep in bed a bit longer as a treat (and if I bribe him probably). And yes, I have hidden the scissors.

Happy Mama’s Day, everyone!!!

xo ~ K

Tulip Town

Proud Muddy Piglet

Some Spring Thoughts | Seattle Animal Photography

March 31, 2012January 14, 20162 Comments

My boy and I had a lovely day together at the zoo recently, and I’m looking forward to more sunny spring days here where I can get out and about taking photos. Once I figure out what my naughty stomach is doing to me, and once I’ve shaken this cold and got some energy back, maybe that will be possible. And this is assuming we have some more nice days…we have had some wacky weather lately.

The giraffe shot was taken with my brother in mind, since he understands the ‘skill involved’ within that shot. Although, since the funny-looking fellow seemed to be looking right at me, I’m not sure what to make of his ‘gesture’ personally. Catching the bear basking in the spring sun made for an adorable sight, but take a peek at the long claws on his paw in that photo…

When I go to the zoo, I always have mixed feelings come up. I am happy to take my little boy so that he may see all these rare, many almost extinct, fascinating animals; I want him to learn about the different amazing creatures in the animal kingdom, and hopefully learn to appreciate that zoos are there to help with conservation, education, and breeding programs.

He’s excited to see the animals that fill the pages of children’s story books, and see that they really do exist. But I’m constantly reminded of the sad truth behind keeping these animals in their enclosures, in zoos, in wildlife preserves…we need them because all kinds of animals, birds and marine life are losing their right to live wild and free, safe from poachers, hunters, polluters and land developers. I read an article in TIME Magazine recently entitled ‘Nature Is Over’ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2108014-1,00.html and the whole concept made my heart sink. I don’t want nature to disappear. How could that be??! I don’t want my child to know a future where humans have obliterated all that is natural around us. I think that will be a sad, sad day. I also think it will be a very grave day; we are already seeing the impact we have had on the world around us and it’s not looking pretty. And by the way, did you go and see ‘The Lorax’ movie yet? If not why not?!!

*I love this link to The Lorax Project, so check it out… http://www.seussville.com/loraxproject/

Spring brings us that feeling that growth and new beginnings are possible; we see the flowers blooming, buds opening on trees, the grass is greener, and people get busy in their gardens (I seriously need my energy back to do something with ours – it’s looking shameful!). It’s the change in the trees, the sky, the light, the life that is in nature around us that brings those feelings and inspiration. I feel grateful to live in a city that embraces the natural world within and around it; we have so many parks and green spaces, we are surrounded by mountains and water. I doubt I can ever get my little family to the depths of the Amazon or the plains of Africa to see all the wildlife and natural wonders that I’d like us to see, but I can appreciate the nature that I see around me all the time, and hope that Roman always sees the wonder in it too.

xo ~ K