Shutter Sisters

distraction

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We’ve got a new baby in the house. Totally unplanned. Totally unexpected. And yet, here he is.

As I was thinking about how to express all the things that we are dealing with on a daily basis around here, I just kept thinking of the word distraction. He is quite a distraction on a number of levels. Looking up the word for it’s literal meaning led me to perhaps my new most favorite list of words ever.

The definition was far less interesting than the synonyms.

Ready?

Bafflement, bamboozlement, befuddlement, bemusement, bewilderedness, bewilderment, confusedness, discombobulation, confusion, fog, head-scratching, muddle, mystification, perplexity, puzzlement, tangle, whirl.

Absolutely YES to all of the above. This puppy is officially a distraction.

Can you relate? Show us something that distracting you right now. Chances are it’s as much as a muse as a distraction.

Updates From The Camp Site

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Are you as excited about Camp Shutter Sisters as we are? If so, you won’t want to miss checking out all the details on the Camp site today. From location to cost to which sisters will be there to information on when registration begins and other questions…it’s all on the site!

In honor of Camp and the Great Outdoors, share with us how you feel when you’re communing with Nature. As you can tell by the images above, I get pretty happy. My daughter captured this moment (on the right of the series) when we took a trip to Asilomar this past winter.

Show us the images today that have you celebrating the Wild Blue Yonder!

center stage

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There’s a small corner of my house that acts as studio and stage for many of my photographic vingnettes. Sliding glass doors to the right give me my main light source. A smaller window on the left offers a burst of fill light, or rim light (pun intended for my mug collection). Dark brown dining room table anchors my frame. A lovely pale blue wall, a china cabinet and cream colored drapes all vie for the backdrop (which I use is dictated by the subject at hand). I use this little area at home almost every day, for morning coffee, as a desk, for family dinner and of course, my photography.

My most recent muse is a loaner-mug. I actually borrowed this sweet tea mug (a la Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf) from a friend so I could capture it in “the studio”. It deserved a moment in the limelight. 

After capturing it in a number of different ways, it was this shot that felt just right. It’s not often that I would choose a perfect centering of my subject. Centered is usually the last compositional technique I resort too. But, in this case, the light that illuminated the mug, the dark, dramatic background, the soft lines accentuated by a shallow depth of field all work together to bring the magic right to center stage.

Sometimes the only way to be is front and center.

Have you framed a shot lately that communicated the same thing? Something that left you no better choice than to reveal it as is, no apologies, smack dab in the middle of your shot? We’d love to see your center stage shots.

 

coupled up

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It all started about a week ago with a pair of bananas in the fruit bowl and it quickly became my own personal photo project. And now, everywhere I look, I find yet another couple.

Today, as we celebrate a day of love, what could be sweeter than sharing the tenderness of two? We ask you today to bring us your images of coupling.

what will you focus on?

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Happy New Year everyone! All of us here at Shutter Sisters hope this first day of 2011 finds you happy, healthy and ready to begin your next chapter. New Years is like that, isn’t it? A time to bid adieu to the year that has past as we welcome a brand new beginning. Now that we’ve stepped into January, we no longer need to look back and balance between two worlds. Instead we can look ahead, put one foot in front of the other and head into the promise and possibility that the future holds.

The first of the month always marks the One Word Project here at Shutter Sisters. It all began a few years back with inspiration from the awesome Ali Edwards and her One Little Word and since then we’ve dared to dream, wish, share, nurture and play. We’ve turned our lenses toward beauty, motion and gratitude. It’s been nothing short of inspiring!

As Ali has said, “One Little Word can make a big impact on your life” and we know it to be true.

There is no time like today to find a word that will help define the year ahead for you. Have you considered what YOUR word will be this year?

To kick off the One Word Project, we want to encourage you to shoot your own word this month. Yep! It’s all up to you! And because we believe that the intention set by your word can help shape/change/influence your entire year, we are putting our energies into community encouragement and accountability. Let’s keep our word close this year. Let’s use it to set into motion what we want this year to look like for ourselves.

If you feel like this kind of momentum might help you focus this year on your intentions, we are reccommending Ali’s year long class One Little Word. Class begins today and is best explained by Ali on her class description page. Read what she’s got to say. Listen to her insights and join us as we collectively use creativity (and of course photography) to fuel our hopes and dreams for 2011.

So, let’s hear it…what’s your word? Share it today in the comments and don’t forget to add your One Word Project shots to our OWP Flickr pool. Be sure to tag them with your word so we know where your best intentions lie.

Happy New Year! It’s going to be a good one. We can feel it!

alive

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When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.  –Marcus Aurelius

Have you caught wind about Reverb10? Simply put, it’s a creative and meaningful way to spend time this month “reflecting on this year and manifesting what’s next”. Pretty powerful stuff. If you’re not already participating, we encourage you to pop over to see what its all about. We are thrilled to be involved, helping spread the good word and even sharing a prompt this month too! You’re sure to see a number of familiar faces over on the author’s list. So so fun!

Today, the lovely Ali Edwards shares a prompt urging us to recall a time this past year where we felt most alive. 

We would be thrilled if you joined us today and shared your story, your photo, your reflections with us and the Reverb community. Won’t you? And don’t forget to tag your post, photo, and tweets with #reverb10 so we can all keep track of each other.

For the Love of Books

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Where would we be without our wealth of books? On our shelves, our night stands, our coffee tables. Reading to ourselves, to our children, or being read to. Words, illustrations, pictures. Covers, sleeves, pages. Oh, our beloved books!

Ever since our very first Shutter Sisters book has been out, we’ve seen it on bookstore shelves, being busted out of Amazon boxes, displayed in your homes. There have been encouraging words, rave reviews, and giveaways. We cannot thank you enough for all of your support!

With all this good stuff to report, we’ve decided to create a little home pagefor all the links that are around the blogosphere. Have your shared your thoughts on Expressive Photography on your blog or somewhere else around the wonderfully wide web?  Please share it with us on our new Expressive Photography page here at Shutter Sisters. And if you’ve got a shot of the book to share, we’ve got a new place for those too! It’s called Book Sightings and it’s just for pictures of the book. All you have to do is add your images into our Flickr Pool tagged “Expressive Photography” (with the quotes) and we’ll be featuring your sightings! What better way to celebrate?

And because we are focusing on the love of books of all kinds, our generous sponsor this month Focal Press has offered a number of their stellar titles to YOU for a book love giveaway day today.

All you have to do is share a comment on this post between now and Sunday 11/27 at midnight EST to be entered to win one of these photography titles from Focal Press:

Expressive Photography: A Shutter Sister Guide to Shooting from the Heart (wink wink)

The Elements of Photographyby Angela Faris Belt

Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativity by Michelle Bates

Lensbaby: Bending Your Perspectiveby Corey Hiltz

The Photographer’s Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos by Michael Freeman

Books! Books! And more books! 5 books means 5 winners! YAY! So, this post begs the question: what are your favorite books? Do tell the story!

warmest wishes

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Every year, about this time, I get asked to share Holiday photo tips. And with the popularity of photo greeting cards, the question always comes up asking for clever ideas for Holiday card photos. We had a series of posts called Great Greetings a few years back where I went into great detail about ideas, tips and tricks.

But, the other day, the folks at Martha Stewart Radioasked for ideas for listeners that don’t have kids. It was one on a list of questions that we didn’t even have time to cover on the segment (time flies when you’re having fun chatting over the air waves) but it got me thinking. It’s a really good question.

I began brainstorming about universal symbols of holidays, seasons, peace, joy, and of course, wishes. In other words, you most certainly don’t have to use a family photo for your holiday card. There are more than enough ways to Picture the Holidays!

Today, I would love to hear (and see) some ideas from you. Share a photo of something that you think would be a fantastic holiday card photo. Who knows, maybe you’ll be inspired to use these kinds of images as gift tags, on calendars, or other gifts! For as many images as there are to take, there are that many ways to share them. Inspire us!

minimalist

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Sometimes I fill my photographic canvas, from edge to edge, corner to corner. But sometimes, keeping the frame open can be as effective in capturing the moment at hand, if not more so.

I’m a believer in the idea that we often shoot images that evoke the kinds of emotions that we are experiencing at the time we shoot an image. I’m pretty sure it’s not even voluntary. I think our photography, our art, is an expression of not only who we are but what we are feeling.

As I look at this shot of minimalist beauty, I recognize the peace I was feeling at the time. It was as if the view from my window seat was like a mirror.

There could never be a shot that speaks more of a quiet calm that something like this image; so sparse and simple.

Have you ever captured something so simple, so sparing that embodied so much emotion? Do share something today that quietly stirs you soul.