Shutter Sisters

One Word Project: DREAM

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Lots of little birds have told us how eager you are for the new word for March’s One Word Project. Yay! Without further delay, the word of the month is DREAM. 

There’s no time like spring to unearth our truest longings, take a new look at an old possibility or let yourself hope for something exciting and new.  Fill our OWP Flickr pool with what you’re dreaming of this spring–let your eye fill the frame with whatever it is that’s reminding you anything is possible.  Our one word sponsor is Mondo Beyondo, the online class about dreaming big.  Next class starts March 8!

Tell us what you’re dreaming of in the comments below.

life is a process

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Everything around us experiences it’s own process. I am endlessly intrigued by the cycle of things. From the bud, to the bloom and beyond, sometimes its a mere matter of days that this cycle takes place. Even in the midst of winter, there are changes in the landscape around us or even things that surround us in the comfort of our own homes.

Are there befores, durings or even afters that coax your lens?

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It’s no secret I’ve got this coming spring on my mind, with Picture Spring and all (hence the spring-themed featured photo today). I am thrilled to congratulate a few sisters on their complimentary registration for Picture Spring.

The winners of the random drawing are Bright and Blithe, Andie Edwards and Suffering Summer.

YAY!

Joy for Haiti

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Image by Tracey Clark

She was the one. We knew this from the start of our Picture Hope travel planning process. Haiti was on our minds because Myriam planted that seed in our hearts many months ago. Jen and I had intended to travel with Myriam, to the place where she was raised, in February to catch and share stories with Myriam’s extended family in Haiti. We visualized our happy selves sitting on front porches smokin’ and jokin’ (sans the smoke) and dancing in the streets at Carnival. But everything changed on January 12, leaving us nothing to do but wait quietly beside our friend, watch the tragedy unfold, and wonder what hope might look like.

And so the Picture Hope journey to Haiti has changed for us. Jen and I are following Myriam’s lead because she knows what to do and how we need to do it. This is no longer a photography and storycatching project for us to direct, but a profound experience to be felt and shared through loving eyes. I have no idea what this looks like. I have no idea what we will see, hear, do, or feel when we land in Haiti later next month, but we’re open and eager to let the experience move through us and out to each of you just as it should.

Please take a moment to meet our friend Myriam and help spread a little Joy for Haiti.

home sweet home

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I lived in Wyoming with my husband and three kids for 16 years, not to mention the years I grew up there.  When the kids were little we spent our free time up in the Uinta Mountains camping, hiking, or just taking an afternoon to enjoy a picnic.  Every morning when I would take my kids to school I would pull out of my driveway and I would see those mountains and knew I was home. 

When we decided to move to Alaska I knew it was a good move for us and we were excited about the new life we were going to make there. As we were leaving Wyoming I could not help but take one last look at that mountain range and think how much I was going to miss Wyoming, my home. 

Two years ago I started taking pictures and I started to find my place in Alaska.  We live 30 miles from and active volcano Mt. Redoubtand last year it started to erupt.  As crazy as it sounds I found my home in the images I took of this volcano.  I feel as if it is watching over us and I often stand on my back porch admiring this great mountain.  It has become my substitution for the Uinta Mountains.  I can’t exactly camp or hike on Mt. Redoubt but the Uinta Mountains never erupted either.

What makes where you live home?  Show us where you’re from. 

Image and words courtesy of Honorary Sister/Guest Blogger Eleaca Young, or as she’s known and loved on Flickr, Leaca’s Philosophy.

Friday’s Featured Resource – Aaron Brothers

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My family and I moved into our house over six years ago and  it wasn’t until last week that we hung a photo gallery on our family room wall. Six years. And it was actually my husband’s idea!

We have artwork and photos around our house, don’t get me wrong. But an actual true photo gallery, we have never had. And I (like many of you) have THOUSANDS of pictures.

Just over a year ago when Oprah came calling, some friends and I hurried to hang a few great shots. Yes, it took a visit from the Oprah show to get me to enlarge, frame and hang my photos. I vowed I would take that lead and run with it. Did I mention that was over a year ago? And in case you’re freaking out about my Oprah comment (really long story short) my clip was never on the show and although I made it to the show, I was never on the show either. You can exhale now.

Back to our photo gallery; I LOVE it. And I can’t believe how easy it was to put together and hang.

Consider this your gentle nudge, your sisterly reminder that your images were taken not only for YOU but to share. Honor your yourself, your family and your creative talent and pick a few of your favorites to get up on your walls.

What’s the rush? The Aaron Brothers Semi-Annual 1 Cent Sale is happening right now (buy one, get one for a penny)! It’s one of my favorite stores of all time anyway but when the sale is happening I’m giddy with possibilities! And what perfect timing with all this creating we’re doing around here, don’t you think?? Even if you’re wanting to branch out and dabble in painting (like we’re doing around here) the canvasses are also buy one, get one for a penny too. Even my kids are excited. No, I’m not kidding.

In other words, there’s nothing stopping you from creating your own gallery!

If you’ve already got some photos framed and on display then you’re ahead of the game and in that case, you’ve got to share what you’ve got. What photographic treasures have you surrounded yourself with? Inspire us!

You can keep up with all things Aaron Brothers at their website, their facebook page and on Twitter.

Creating a Happy New Year

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Happy New Year Sisters!

Beginning a whole new decade is exciting albeit a tad bit overwhelming. Taking it down a notch and just focusing on 2010 can help keep it more manageable. We’re loving the idea of the talented and ever-creative Ali Edward’s choosing just One Little Word for the year ahead; personally, it makes me giddy to start fresh. Did you pick your word yet?

Beyond the big picture of 2009, we are going to keep up with our One Word Project where we give you a word for the month to shoot toward. Ali Edwards inspired the whole thing last year, after all and we are thrilled to have her as a partner this month to kick off our first OWP for the year.

Because we’re such a creatively inventive community here, we are eager to encourage you to create the year you envision for yourself. It’s just a little twist on making traditional resolutions. Instead it’s about being more mindful in creating the life you want this year; one day, one step, or even one photo at a time.

Is it to take a photo a day? To start a business? To travel more? To paint? To tell stories? To celebrate your super-powers? Bake cookies? Color in the lines? Or out of them? Anything goes!

Only you can create the life you want…so…what will it be? Our guess is it’s going to be wonderful.

You guessed it, to get this whole year started on the right foot, our One Word for January 2010 is create. We simply cannot wait to see the photos you create in the OWP flickr pool.

Today, we toast our sisterhood and the year we will create together! Cheers!

Glints and Glimmers of 2009

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On the last day of the year—of the decade for that matter—we often reflect on the past. Although there is always bitter in the sweet, looking back at 2009 through a Shutter Sisters lens we can focus on the sweet stuff and celebrate our creative milestones and collective accomplishments.

As far as the big ones; the Picture Hope win was HUGE & the start of the Picture Hope journey was and will continue to be an amazing and inspired. Jen and Stephanie are rockin’ that thing and putting our collaborative efforts to good use; making such a difference in the lives they touch. And they are the first ones to say that they are reaping similar benefits just by telling the stories of these incredible women. It’s been a bright and shiny highlight here at Shutter Sisters.

And our first ever In Real Life Event was the Shutter Suite at BlogHer. Wow! It was beyond wonderful. The venue was superb, the featured brands in the Suite were stellar and the sisters (and a few bothers) that spend time with us in our Suite were of the highest caliber. It was another gem of the year and only got us more excited about making a Shutter Sisters event a reality for 2010!

Beyond that there were plenty of sisterly sparkles like being featured in The Kirtsy Book and in Artful Blogging Magazine, Kate’s new book, Paige’s calendar template, Sarah’s presets, Andrea and Jen’s Mondo Beyondo class, Tracey’s involvment with The OC Daily Photo Blog and The Creative Mama, Irene’s feature in Small Magazine, Maile’s camera bags, tons of amazing guest posts by so many of you and adding the likes of Meredith, Kristin, Alex and Chris onto our (regular yet extraordinary) contributor list.

We say bid farewell in gratitude for a successful and satisfying year. We celebrate and appreciate this sisterhood more than we can ever express! Thank you all for such a grand 09. We can’t wait to greet 2010 with you!

How about you? What pretty things are you looking back on? Send out the year by sharing your sparkles! 10, 9, 8…

10 Holiday Pick-Me-Ups

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1. Get a haircut. No time? Trim your own bangs.

2. Take a spa day. No money? Find your favorite aromatherapy product and take a long shower.

3. Enjoy hot cup of coffee or tea while you shop. Trying to spend less bucks at Starbucks? Bring your own drink of choice from home in a travel mug.

4. Buy yourself a new cozy sweater. Trying to put others first? Take advantage of BOGO offers.

5. Do some holiday baking. Don’t enjoy the kitchen? Enjoy all the baked goods everyone else is cooking up.

6. Curl up with a good book. Need a suggestion? Kirtsy Takes a Bow: A Celebration of Women’s Online Favorites (I got my copy yesterday and it is AWESOME!)

7. Remember there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Can’t see it yet? Search the Shutter Sisters Flickr Pool for light.

8. Immerse yourself in holiday Magic. What magic? Go see Santa, attend your child’s xmas show or check your local events calendar for other cheery festivities.

9. Find inner peace. Huh? Use your camera to capture the quiet little vignettes around you.

10. Start eagerly anticipating the New Year. Feel overwhelmed? It can begin as simply as making one wish.

Musings on Project 365

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On the 1st January this year I embarked on a project along with many others around the world – Project 365. Overall I am pleased I kept with it but I have had so many emotions about it – I have loved, enjoyed, despised and been excited about it. It hasn’t just helped me to record my year – it has been so much more than that. The project has helped me learn more about my camera – getting it off the auto setting and learn about the world around me. The project has helped me to realize that sometimes I need to slow down, stop, smell and photograph the roses. By taking a photo a day I have learnt that I want a creative career. What I was studying was not making me happy and giving me a ‘buzz’ like I was getting from picking up the camera, editing, being creative.

I think it’s important when you decide to do a project like this to surround yourself (online and in real life) with people who will encourage you to keep with it. I have made so many incredible and wonderfulfriends on Flickr this year and couldn’t have done it without their fantasticencouragement and support. Posting my photos to flickr made me accountable in a way, and on those days where I didn’t want to take a photo – I did. Because I knew that even if it wasn’t my best shot, my friends online would still tell me that I was doing well. It was those days where I didn’t really want to pick up the camera, post the photo, tag it, and sort it into sets and groups – that got me down about the project. I like things to be perfect, but this project has helped me to realize that not everything needs to be perfect, that things can be imperfectly perfect. Those shots taken late at night because I almost forgot – they are still a record of my life and they show that on that day, that time, I was busy, stressed, tired. And that’s okay, because that’s life.

If you are thinking about starting this project – go for it! And you don’t need to start it at the start of the year; you can start anytime! But its important to remember a few things– you will not look back in 10, 20 or 40 years time and think about how bad a certain shot was, you will look back and be thankful you recorded your year. So those shots that you might take at 11pm because you almost forgot? Its okay, you are just recording you were busy. But do try to shoot something in the morning, do not wait for the perfect photo opfor that day – it may still come, it may not. It’s also important to remember that if you need a break from uploading, tagging, and commenting on flickr – that’s okay too. Flickr can be tiring and unplugging can be good – I know that unplugging has helped me to get excited about the project again and get back that ‘buzz’ from just picking up the camera.

I definitely recommend Project 365 – I look at the world differently now, I look through the lens differently; I look at my life and myself differently. But most importantly, I found myself and my true hopes and dreams.

As we near the end of the year, are you nearing the end of a photo a day? Or are you nearing the beginning of a new journey of a photo a day?

Photo and words courtesy of Honorary Sister / Guest Blogger Kylie Townsend (known and loved as Radiant Reflections on Flickr).

If you’re considering taking the 365 challenge you can also read Stephanie’s tips from last year or Tracey’s confessions (where a lot of sisters left comments full of support and super ideas too). Thanks all!

EDITED TO ADD:

Since we last wrote about the 365 Project, we started a brand new Shutter Sisters 365 Flickr group for those involved in the project. Stop by and visit and if you’re a 365 participant, join the group! Who knows you might even be featured on our new 365 daily page here as well! See you there!

Encouraging You to Soar

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How many of you have dream of having your own photography business but just don’t know how or where to start, or even the confidence to do it for that matter?  Wouldn’t it be great to feel unrestrained from our own fears to take the leap to get us to where we want to be? 

Me Ra Koh, with the support of some awesome sponsors is affording 3 women to soar into their photography dreams by affording them all the necessary tools with a scholarship. The entrance for this scholarship is a 2 minute video made by you.  Watch Me Ra’s video explaining why she’s doing this and everything this scholarship has to offer.  It’s amazing! 

The deadline to enter is December 21st and the winner will be announced January 1st. In the meantime, Me Ra’s website is a great place for photo tips and contests and a great resource for any photographer, so be sure to check it out.  We adore her and her work! And to those who decide to apply for the scholarship, good luck to you! 

 Special thanks to Chris Sneddon for sharing this image, post and the good news with us! You rock Chris!