Shutter Sisters

Love Thursday – Mosaic Edition 1

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1. HBW : lights at the beach last night, 2. evan, 3. You know, I’m sick of following my dreams, man. I’m just going to ask where they’re going and hook up with ’em later…, 4. admire, 5. Sparkling Duet, 6. 260-366 in a field, 7. IMGB_LauraMontage, 8. Bella08_38, 9. n38, 10. fall love, 11. Untitled, 12. “masquerading….., 13. my favorite cupcake…, 14. Sulo, 15. 309/365 – Geranium Gorgeousness, 16. 300_7073-1, 17. day 289 : september 7 • intoxicating, 18. Summer moments, 19. 365/253 And then it rained some more, 20. barn owls, 21. pair, 22. nest i, 23. 2 year old moment, 24. ~ fifteen candles ~, 25. a family who plays together, stays together., 26. k & w .1., 27. petals, 28. FGR – Peek A Boo, 29. happy love thursday!, 30. sweetness, 31. { Lucky }, 32. Where Were You, 33. girls best friend, 34. There are lives I can imagine without children but none of them have the same laughter & noise., 35. Bride and flower Girl

Happy Love Thursday everyone!

In honor of all the love that swirls around here in our Sisterhood on Thursdays (and every other day for that matter) we thought it would be fun to create a little love collage a la the wildly popular and super-fun Big Huge Labs. If you’ve never played over there, you should. It’s a great way to have some fun with your photos. To discover the talent that lies behind each of the photos above (all chosen from our Flickr pool) just click on the links above.

So, no matter how you choose capture your love, show us what you’ve got this week. Thanks! Love ya!

one sweet shot – september 2008

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Being that it’s the time of year where everything is changing, this photo speaks volumes. I have found myself lost in it. Beyond the beautifully moody light and color, the perspective and gestures suggest the anticipation of what’s to come and the melancholy for what’s being left behind. Sigh. It’s a moment in time beautifully captured by Alison Garnett; the woman behind My LalaLand where you can find many treasures including her irresistible photo blog. I wanted to honor Alison and this Sweet Shot today.

And here are the rest of the glowing honorees-

Jackie is honoring this shot by Rhonda

Bet is honoring this shot by littleflowers132313

ohjoyous1 is honoring a different shot by littleflowers132313

Jenny is honoring this shot by Belle and Bear

Mandi is honoring this shot from her sister Something Cheeky

The Ranting Mama is honoring this shot from Ride the Wave of Life

Elaine is honoring this shot found on What the…

Lisa Luckie is honoring this shot from Jen Gray (she even wrote a post about it!)

Aaron is honoring this shot from Kat Wilcox

Mainemomma is honoring this shot by Camera Shy Momma

Melody is honoring this shot by Little Cookies

The MacDougal Family is honoring the first shot in this blog post at I’m Living with Intent

Terri/mondaysmemories is honoring this shot from Strawberry Goldie

Leaca is honoring a different shot from Strawberry Goldie

Nicky Thomas is honoring this shot from Dwarr (note-Dwarr is only 9! WOW!)

and Cosi! is honoring this shot from Melanie

Thanks so much for playing and Lisa Luckie gave me a great idea…if you get a minute give a shout out to your honoree today on your blog (if you’ve got one) and be sure to link to today’s One Sweet Shot post.

Have a Sweet Sunday.

chasing chance

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My favorite photography subjects are my two young boys and birds, all types, as long as they flit and scurry and FLY (sorry ostriches). Capturing either can be both breath-holding and heart-thumping because these subjects do not stay still for long. And I don’t want them to. I don’t want to capture their stillness; I want to capture the fitful, unpredictable beauty of their wildness. I want to capture them taking off.

I am not a peaceful person by nature. And therefore, I don’t feel it is my calling to shoot photos of the calm and soothing landscapes of this life. A pretty still life here and there, sure. Who can resist? But what I have found in taking photos over the past few years is that I love to chase chance with my camera. I love not knowing what’s going to happen next. I love the challenge of waiting for the moment, and I love waiting to see what arbitrary magic the shots will reveal. My favorite photos have come from such moments.

As for finding some peace, well, for me, the peace is actually what comes as I gaze upon the outcome, a colorful moment frozen before my eyes. I find my peace (and my thrill) in the capturing, as I see them, of the random and wild little miracles in my life. Then I can continue to live the unstill life I am quite possibly destined to live, but I can also find some serenity in what unfolds. The way I see it, to steal a few potent words from Wendell Berry’s poem “The Broken Ground”: “What is left is what is.” Well hello, peace.

As with most artful motives, there is a dilemma at the core of this methodology: do you snap quickly (and wildly) without regard to mechanics of photography in hopes that you’ll capture the magic. Is this just downright lazy and amateur? Or do you pick up your camera gently, think wisely, swirl the dial to the appropriate numerology, take aim, check focus, hold your breath, and hope that in doing everything right, the magic will reveal itself—that’s if the subject’s still around to capture after all that? I have to say I don’t have an answer here. I’ve had luck with both. But luck is exactly what it is for me. So, at what point, do you decide to prop up the luck with practice, knowledge, and applied expertise? Or do you? Maybe you just keep following the magic.

I’d love to see how you’ve captured “wildness”—may it be in nature or your everyday life. Do tell us is if your capture was luck, finely tuned technique, or a combination of the two.

Photo and words shared by Honorary Shutter Sister Sheri Reed of happinest  and today is pretty .

 

oss – august 2008

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Jen at Cherry Vanilla Studios creates images that gently lead us down the road to the magic of everyday; soft and sunkissed reminding us of how life should be lived.

When I saw the shot above I was immediately smitten and that she calls it Chasing the Sun only makes me love it more. It whispers to me of the last of the lazy days of summer…

 

For more images of inspiration created by amazing women, please click around today and let creativity seep into your summer skin.

Meryl is honoring this shot by ojoyous1

Rachel is honoring this shot by Sarah Luke

Debbie is honoring shot #8 in this post from Amber at Skyward Journey

Maya/Springtree Road is honoring this shot from Shelli Bond Pabis

Lora is honoring this shot from Ella

Andie is honoring this shot from Kristin/Maine Momma

Amy is honoring this shot by allisonbird

Tonya is honoring this shot by Stephie Fry

Corey is honoring shot #2 in this post at Life’s Little Adventures

Sheri is honoring this shot from justmakeit

Dr Lyn is honoring this shot by Just Hay

Melody A is honoring this shot by Cosi!

Emily is honoring this shot of her daughter

Sarah-Ji is honoring this shot by Emily

Terri is honoring this shot from Kristin/Maine Momma

Johanna is honoring this shot from Danisoul

and Diane is honoring both this shot by saramarie and this one by Jeroldssis.

 

Thanks everyone for your participation. We’ll be doing it again next month when the signs of fall begin to reveal themselves and the whole world changes…

You can email us with your nomination anytime at click@shuttersisters.com.

See you then! 

Keeping up with the Shutter Sisters

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Since our launch we have been growing sure and steady here at Shutter Sisters and there’s so much going it seemed like a little overview was needed.

First, let me honor the photographer who shot today’s featured photo, Cranial Hiccups. This was by far the fan favorite at The Daily Click with an awesome 62 comments all singing the praises of this beautiful image. Cheers Cocoa! That said, very first Blurb Book, The Daily Click will be coming soon to the Blurb Bookstore. Thanks to all of you who submit incredible images to our Flickr Pool and for voting for those that turned up over at The Daily Click this first go round. We are sifting through and tallying up the comments now that the voting process is over and those of you whos images make it into this first book will be hearing from us via your Flickr mail very soon so be on the lookout for that!

Our second Blurb Book , ShutterWalk will follow the first, featuring some of the shots from our San Francisco PhotoWalk and BlogHer weekend. If you were at BlogHer and have some photos you’d like to have considered for the book, you have until Aug 15th to enter them in the book’s Flickr group. Even if you couldn’t make the PhotoWalk but you got some cool shots at BlogHer that weekend, you can submit.

We’re also thrilled to share that our Flash Bulb necklace designed by Blue Poppy Jewelry is becoming quite coveted item! Since our numbers are limited still we are going through the comments from the official-unofficial pre-order post and using that as our “list”. First comment, first serve kind of thing. Some of you have gotten your necklaces already and some will hear from us in the next few days. The rest of you will get word just as soon as we get the next order in. And please be sure to include your email in your comment and double check that it’s correct. If you haven’t added your comment/name/email to the post, please do! It will ensure that you will be notified just as soon as your necklace is available.

And the last of the fun news is that we are working on our first official Shutter Sisters Newsletter. We are growing leaps and bounds, aren’t we? So, now is the time to go register to get on our email list so you too can receive a little Shutter Sisters somethin’ somethin’ in your inbox once a month! More on that soon but for now, we encourage you to get on the list.

Oh, and a quick reminder (as requested); One Sweet Shot is happening THIS Sunday so please send in your OSS honorees to click@shuttersisters.com when you can!

Thanks again everyone for all of the encouragement, support and participation here. Keep the emails coming if you’ve got something you want to share with us and above all else, keep clickin’.

passing the time

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Nine days ago, I was on a plane reading A New Earth. The author talks about the illusions of the past and future, and about how happiness is always found in the moment. At one point, he used a quotation from the Bible, “This too, shall pass.” I’d always heard that scripture in reference to painful events…when people lost a loved one, or went through difficulties. He introduced it as a way of perceiving everything. When a baby is born, when you’re laughing with friends around dinner…this too shall pass. All of a sudden, that temporary space in time, takes on more importance.

 

Three days ago, I was on vacation looking out of this window, surrounded by my family who rarely gets to be together. When the anticipated days finally come, I feel like everything should be monumental. Then I get up to the actual moment and realize my expectations were my imagination (again). And that what’s real is even better (again). And even the grandest of events, are just made up of lots of Sweet Ordinary. A trip to the grocery store together, a good movie, a laugh and a story here and there. What’s grand, is what’s ordinary. And that’s why it’s easy to overlook.

 

Today I sit here a little melancholy and homesick for my family. Distance between people that love each other, always feels like a waste. It’s like having a million dollars, but not being able to access it. Or maybe it feels  worse. But even in the sadness, I feel a certain contentment because I know I was paying attention while the time was passing. And that’s all anyone can ever really do, anyway.

 

How are you passing the time these days? 

 

Picture and words by Maile.

 

A Symbol between Sisters

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It is with great pleasure that we introduce the exclusive Shutter Sisters flash bulb necklace. Affectionately created in collaboration with the amazingly talented and equally lovely ladies of Blue Poppy Jewelry this exclusive piece was designed by them, for us as a tangible symbol of our sisterhood. Our passion for photography as well as our regard for one another as creative equals bring us together in a soulful community that resonates through every post, every comment, every link and every single photograph that has been shared among us here at Shutter Sisters.

We will be making these necklaces available for purchase through our soon-coming Shutter Sisters Shop (see below)  and will be debuting (and selling) the necklace at BlogHer on Saturday during the Blogger’s Swap Meet.  The flash bulb necklace will be sold for $52 with a percentage of every sale going to the relief efforts fund started by Jen and Odette whose stories and plight are near and dear to many of our hearts. Sisterhood and a good cause. Nothing could be sweeter.

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BIG NEWS! We’ve opened a store!!

To purchase an Exclusive Shutter Sisters Flash Bulb Necklace please visit our store.

necklace banner

And the Wii Winner is…

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Christina’s fitting photo She would sleep in a box. She would sleep with a fox won her the Wii and the Wii Fit! Perhaps when her daughter takes naps in boxes and whatnot she can use the quite time to get some Wii Fitness in. Pretty cool!

Congratulations Christina!

And because Beer Mama and Jenny Kim were very fitting finalists, they will we receiving token Wii gifts. One lucky runner up will be getting a Wii yoga mat and the other a Wii fitness bag. Thanks Nintendo!

It was a fantastically fit contest everyone! Thanks for playing along.

The Wii Fit Finalists

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Well sisters, here they are fit as fiddles; the three Wii Fit Photo Contest Finalists (shown here in no particular order).

Because I fit...

Because I fit…by Beer Momma

BW

BW by Jenny Kim

She would sleep in a box! She would sleep with a fox!

She would sleep in a box. She would sleep with a fox by Christina

Aren’t they perfectly fitting? We think so. As were all of your fantastically fit submissions. Thanks to everyone who played along.

Now, what comes next is up to all of you. To participate you must choose your favorite shot of these three. You only can vote for ONE of these shots and you must place your vote in the comments on this very post. Feel free to share the contest with friends and family too. Anyone and everyone can vote but you must comment here to get your vote counted. You have until 5pm EST on Thursday, June 19th to vote. The winner will be announced on June 20th.

Come on everyone, one of these fine sisters of the shutter is going to win a Nintendo Wii system and the Wii Fit to go with it! It’s up to you to decide who runs away with it so…if the vote fits…cast it!

a good fit – photo contest

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Today at Shutter Sisters we’re kicking off another photo contest. All you have to do is show us your best visual translation of the word fit and you could win a Nintendo Wii Console and the Wii Fit to go with it. Yes, you heard right. We are giving away a Wii AND the just released Wii Fit game to one lucky winner. Crowd goes wild.

There are three simple steps to follow in order to enter:

  1. Submit a fit photo to our Flickr Pool. Only one photo per person please.
  2. Tag it “Wii Fit Photo Contest”.
  3. Leave the link in the comments here so we are sure not to miss your entry.

What exactly is a fit photo? Anything you want it to be. We’re all about anything that fits in the box or out, anything that’s a perfect fit or feels fitting; in other words, if the shoe fits…

You are more than welcome to post the photo to your blog as well and you may add a story that fits for some context to your photo. If you do write up a little something on your blog, be sure to link it to your photo in the Flickr Pool so everyone can enjoy your blog entry too. Play along however you’d like…whatever fits the bill. Keep in mind that you must have permission from anyone in your photo to enter the photo in the contest. And by all means, spread the word about the contest…anyone with a fitting photo can enter.

The contest begins today and you have until Friday, June 13th to enter. The Shutter Sisters will choose three fit finalists from the submissions and post them here on June 17th where you will get the chance to vote for the photo you feel is the best fit. The Wii and Wii Fit winner will be announced on June 20th.

Get ready, get set, get FIT!