Karo's photostream

CollectionsSetsGalleriesTagsPeopleMapArchivesFavoritesProfile

My name is Karo. I am the Ruminating Slav in question -- my parents and I emigrated to America from Poland in 1981. I live in Dallas with my gem of a husband, BK, whom I married in October of 2003 back when we still lived in Washington, DC. In October of 2005 we had a son, Baxter. We own a dog, Buster (our kitty, Joshua Wanat, died in November 2008).

I like traveling, getting my eyebrows waxed, and stupidly-overpriced Starbucks coffees. My favorite ice cream flavor is pistachio and my shoe size, 9½, is oftentimes difficult to find. I dig a local Austin musician named Bob Schneider and the bossa nova. In December of 2004 I had a miscarriage in my work bathroom. I once dated a pathological liar 14 years my senior. One day I hope to meet Joss Whedon and thank him for creating the best television show ever. I never forget to put the period inside the quotation marks.

I firmly believe everything has a place. I used to play bank with myself when I was little. I am never late.

My first camera was the Konica Tomato.

As of August 2010 I shoot with a Nikon D700 and a number of delicious lenses (I've also owned the D70, the D80, and use my D300 as backup). I use a slew of Nikon lenses: the 50mm f/1.4D, 85mm f/1.4D, 135mm f/2D, and the 70-200mm f/2.8G.

I also shoot with a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens which I left on top of my car at a session and drove off with it still up there. I found it 27 hours later in a puddle on one of Dallas' busier streets. It still worked.

Older photos may have been taken with the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 or some other Nikon lenses I either sold or use more rarely: the 60mm f/2.8D Micro, the 105mm f/2.8G VR Micro, the 17-55mm f/2.8G, and the 50mm f/1.8D. I've gotten into the habit of tagging my photos with the lens used. Mostly.

I shoot in RAW and process my photos using a 24" iMac with Apple Aperture and sometimes Photoshop CS3.

I tag all my photos with any Photoshop actions I might have used. Favorites include Michelle Black's actions, Nichole Van's actions, Boutwell Studio's Totally Rad Actions I and II, Wynona's actions, Ashley McNamara's actions, Brenda Acuncius' actions, Elusive Actions, Bohemian Secret, and Mariah's Fresh Actions. Apparently I really like actions.

Profile last updated August 19, 2010

Photos of Karo (10)

Karo's favorite photos from other Flickr members (1,187)

Contacts (352)

baby as art No real name given
BelliniPortraits Stephanie Edreich...
Dawn Gordon Dawn
floquie No real name given
Markus Schwarze Markus Schwarze
kristenbethany No real name given
Life Thru A Lenz Tonya
monikamm monikam m
pixelmixture No real name given
Keri Meyers Keri Meyers
Doreen Kilfeather Doreen Kilfeather
Frank Scallo Frank Scallo Jr

Groups (50 50)

Hotel Room Self Portraits 107 photos, 46 members
Warmia 185 photos, 16 members
Tyler Place 1,227 photos, 19 members
DragonCon 65,053 photos, 920 members
BLUEBONNETS ARE BLOOMING; post your PORTRAITS here! 228 photos, 55 members
Before & After - A Sneak Peek into Processing 2,851 photos, 4,583 members
Nikon D3 D3s D3x 53,379 photos, 4,613 members
Lo-mob 10,851 photos, 1,167 members
NLCP - Posing inspiration 1,086 photos, 750 members
Parting Shots 520 photos, 338 members
Nikkor 135mm AF f/2 DC 2,741 photos, 559 members
Lensbaby 59,910 photos, 8,029 members
Florabella Textures & Actions 32,076 photos, 4,512 members
Nikon D700 184,851 photos, 11,779 members
Creative Edge Senior Portraits 26,348 photos, 4,277 members
Photographic Techniques: Children & Babies 5,126 photos, 578 members
be Poladroid ! 87,642 photos, 21,511 members
Tuesday Archives 128 photos, 40 members
Perfect Purple Saturdays 4,340 photos, 911 members
Monochrome Monday 3,168 photos, 391 members
Nadia-Stalgic (Textures) 100 photos, 169 members
Blartsy 2,088 photos, 262 members
Flickr Hacks 476 photos, 15,246 members
Tiny Prints 417 photos, 631 members
Kelley Loves Booze 441 photos, 62 members
Karo Loves Stuff on Ledges 85 photos, 29 members
Monday Blues 16,596 photos, 2,401 members
NOkeh Wednesday 652 photos, 181 members
Cinnamon Rose Actions and Presets 10,736 photos, 1,178 members
BLUDOMAIN USERS 6,338 photos, 1,158 members
Gorgeous Green Thursday 13,310 photos, 1,944 members
Damn Hell Bathrooms 4,774 photos, 973 members
It's Happy Bokeh All The Fucking Time 4,284 photos, 503 members
{natural beauty} 1,049 photos, 103 members
Fresh Actions 694 photos, 659 members
Bokeh Wednesday Eve 9,877 photos, 872 members
Elusive Actions & Presets 4,074 photos, 1,389 members
Nifty Fifty Friday 12,177 photos, 2,286 members
Totally Rad 7,970 photos, 1,004 members
BokehPalooza 27,646 photos, 1,664 members
Actions By Brenda 1,314 photos, 680 members
Your favorite things 17,815 photos, 1,227 members
Scrunched Up Face 283 photos, 178 members
Leon Loves Pink 2,066 photos, 260 members
Bokeh Wednesday 56,469 photos, 3,056 members
*Karma* 681,116 photos, 15,606 members
Nikon DSLR Users -- The Bistro 51,366 photos, 1,790 members
Extreme Bokeh 206,495 photos, 16,356 members
Textures by |ash| 4,751 photos, 1,848 members
Portraits That Tell a Story (READ RULES BEFORE POSTING!) 95,975 photos, 7,945 members

Show more... Show fewer...

Testimonials (15)

Simutis [nancy] says:

"I love her swing shots. And then she does these bee shots, and butterfly shots. Her shots of Baxter are a reflection of the love she has for her adorable boy. She has some mad talent. I admire her realness. Her shots are clean and honest and processed perfectly, and she doesn’t pull any punches – what you see is what you get. But the thing that I love the most about that ruminating Slav is her humor – she’s smart and funny and crude – and she loves a good pun. Every.single.time I look at her flickr stream I laugh out loud. I am in awe of her talent and her vision, and am lucky to count her among my flickr friends. Xoxox!"

25th April, 2010
Leaca's Philosophy says:

"I have enjoyed browsing through Karo’s images and look forward to it with great anticipation. She is the master of using and finding great actions. She also has more lenses than a photo outlet. =] Most women envy shoes, women on flickr envy lenses and then shoes."

10th March, 2009
{meghan} says:

"There is something extra about Karo that makes her an enjoyable 'regular' to my flickr contact viewing. She has a such an intelligent wit and clever sense of humour that accompanies beautifully composed and rich photographs that I could fave all day.
Thanks Karo for making me smile and sharing your family and talent with us! :)"

18th November, 2008
SemiCharmedLife (☯) says:

"I have to say something. Karo is one of the most talented yet unassuming people in this Flickrverse. Her stream is always beautiful, enjoyable, inspirational, and just down to earth. At this same time, she has a very keen sense of humor and wit, a great BS detector, and refreshingly doesn’t hold back and always speaks her mind. This makes her very genuine, and I appreciate the time she takes to visit and comment on my own and others work. She’s one of the people that make Flickr tick and me wanting to be part of it. Thanks Karo!"

11th November, 2008
Chicago Wedding Photographer Steve Koo says:

"Karo's work is amazing. Her photos get explored (and deservedly so) more often than I drink coffee. And I drink a lot of coffee."

24th October, 2008
Joel Olives says:

"Hmmmm... what to say about Karo. Well, for starters, she's an amazing photographer. Her nature shots are gorgeous, and the shots of her family and friends really give the viewer a glimpse in to their lives and souls. She has the unique ability to capture the beauty and emotion and while never taking herself too seriously.

Outside of her photography, she's quite the crapwiesel... Errr... I mean, she has a unique and great sense of humor. Even if her photos sucked, it would be worth viewing her stream just for her descriptions and the comments the ensue because of them."

27th October, 2008
tara leigh (leigh photography) says:

"how could one person be so ridiculously awesome? i know what you're thinking... it's hard to imagine.

but BEHOLD!!!!"

8th October, 2008
.Betina. says:

"Talented, creative, inspiring, funny, unusual, artistic, witty, kind, beautiful, original, generous - I could go on but I'm just delighted to have you as a firm flick friend who I can rely to call it as it is! You are a breath of fresh air... with one of the best blogs out there!"

20th October, 2008
amber {in the shadow of za'ha'dum} says:

"Karo is a really talented photographer. Her perspective on the world and her processing skills are unique and always thought-provoking. Though-provoking is a term I would also use to describe Karo personally as well--she always has a way of making you see through BS and get to the heart of the matter. She's also hilarious, kind, and very thoughtful to her contacts. I am a better photographer (and I'd even go so far as to say a better person) because of Karo's stream, and I am totally serious about that. :)"

22nd August, 2008
Jordan Chark says:

"Karo's stream is full of laughs, and bokeh, of course. She manages to take what others would percieve as the epitome of boredom, and make it all bokehlicious... definitely a valuable talent. :P"

13th August, 2008
.giselle azevedo. says:

"*Karo* is such a huge talent.
The way she captures simple, everyday things around her always amazes me. And her processing skills are truly beautiful and so emotive."

29th July, 2008
derbyq says:

"Karo is my kinda girl. Okay, the kinda girl I wish I was. Her photographic talent appears to have no limits, she's a whiz at expert processing and her wonderfully dry sense of humor quite often makes my day. Oh, and I did I mention she's gorgeous with a gorgeous hubby and gorgeous son. Yeah, it's okay to be envious. We all are. Thanks for being such a kind and supportive flickr friend, girl. Can't wait to get to TX to meet ya someday!"

16th July, 2008
VickerMonkee says:

"If you have innocently stumbled upon Karo's photostream, I hope you have a cup of coffee and a large block of time to sit and enjoy the photos that you'll see here. Wonderful compositions, colors, and treatments coupled with a witty sense of humor make for a completely enjoyable experience. I look forward to her uploads whether it's a flower, a bug or her wonderfully photogenic son, and I am very happy to have her as a Flickr friend!"

22nd June, 2008
~Ella says:

"Karo’s stream is real gem. She is incredibly talented , her photos are gorgeous and she has a special way of capturing life around her in a very inspirational way, especially her little guy!
We can’t get enough of your photos, Karo!
Keep’em coming, I am always looking forward to your next upload!!"

17th June, 2008
*Peanut (Lauren) says:

"I cannot believe that I am the first to write you a testimonial! You deserve it, girl. :-) Karo's stream is creative, colorful and, a lot of the time, hilarious! She definitely knows how to capture the magic in the everyday life and her models are pretty cute too. :=) She keeps an awesome sense of humor about life that I love and I love reading her descriptions about things because I usually end up laughing. Keep up the nice work!"

1st June, 2008