Shutter Sisters

Laughter

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I keep looking at this outake from a recent portrait session and I can’t stop thinking that I need more belly laughs, more fun and more lightness!

My client had insisted to drive almost 2 hours to see me even though it had been raining hard for a few days straight. I worried about finding the right location, about what she may be wearing (yep!), about those dark clouds that wouldn’t move away, and I also sincerely hoped that our chemistry would make this a worthwhile session for both of us. The result: everything worked out for the best. In the last minute we even had a hint of sunshine. In fact, we had such a great hour and I couldn’t have been more captivated with her smile. I mean, look at her energy! Finding this shot today was such a delight as it reminded me that I need (perhaps we all need) to keep things light, because in the end we do the best we can, and the rest unfolds without our control and just as it should.

So today, why don’t you share some laughter and lightness with us. Show us those lit up faces that will remind us that everything is going to be okay.

Looking up

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“Excuse me while I kiss the sky.” Jimi Hendrix

Perfect Blue. Fiery Red. Filled with stars. Dark. Bright. Cloudy.

I believe the sky is a portal into our divinity.

It reflects our moods, it shows the uncertain nature of our existance…

It holds us all together under the same dome. All the same.

All granted the same beauty, the same immenseness…

Vast. Far beyond.

*

Today, take a break from your daily hustle and from the pressure to stay grounded.

Do yourself a favor. Stop everything and just look up and marvel.

Then of course, shoot some pictures and share them with us, please.

Capturing a place in time

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I´m spending some time at home in Brazil, and believe it or not, even though it all feels really familiar to me, I´m still feeling nostalgic towards the life I left here over 15 years ago. Things have changed a lot since then. The streets and beaches are more crowded now, the open fields gave in to more buildings, small business were bought by coorporations… Isn´t it like that everywhere anyway? Don´t take me wrong, Brazil is still as vibrant as ever. (No matter what happens, there is always going to be samba playing and a wild force driving everyone and everything here.) But as I try to trace my steps along a path that has long faded, I keep thinking that I wish I had taken more pictures back then. Don´t we always shoot away and then inevitably, still wish that we had more pictures? Especially those images that tell our story and show us where we have been. We can never have enought of those…

So today I invite you to be your own memory catcher. We usually focus on special moments, but today, let´s capture and share places. Show us where you are and how you want to remember it 15, 20 years from now.

Community Love

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(From the shutter sisters pool on flickr) 1.my whimsy 2.little tao 3.tatiana 4.j.caron

I´m late for Valentine´s day, but since there is no such a thing as too late for love, I decided to post what´s been on my mind lately: community love.

Everyday we all support and inspire each other by sharing, commenting and following each other´s work. We are lucky to be surrounded by wonderful teachers, fabulous classes, prompts, discussion groups, and the inspiration we are sharing is not only bringing in the fun, but it is also allowing us to advance in our craft with confidence and grace. It´s a beautiful movement actually, because the world can be so competitive and intimidating at times, whereas here, we have each other to lean on and prove that we are better when we stick together.

So I want to invite you to do something different today. Instead of posting an image of your own, why don´t you kick back and send some link love instead?! Share a link of an image shot by a sister who you admire and tell us why her body of work or a particular image of hers inspires you.

I´ll go first 🙂 All the ladies featured above have so much talent! I love how they capture color, beautiful light and a sense of story (and/or expressiveness) in their images.

Now it´s your turn! Share the love ~

window shopping

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I’m introspective by nature, so on most days you can probably find me doing some kind of soul work and pondering about art + life. On those many days, if you see me out in the streets with my camera, I probably have a faraway contemplating look, I’m starring at the horizon, and I am most desperately looking for something beautiful to catch my eye, just so I can shoot it and find some sort of relief to my longings. I know… Eeek, right?  I am proud of the fact that I try to live my life artfully, and with intention and mindfulness. On the other hand, living life (and shooting) like that can be too intense…

That is why some days are meant for window shopping! 🙂 Shooting fun window displays has become one of my favorite pastimes. There is opportunity to explore composition, color, lighting, patterns, reflections, and the styling is already all done for us! There is no room for heaviness here, because why? Well, it’s shopping, for heaven’s sake! And shopping without the spending (which is even better), with the extra bonus of coming back with lovely photographs to keep. In addition, there is always the possibility to come back for more at the same exact spot, because windows change with the seasons, holidays and collections, offering the chance for a fun documenting project as well.

So who is up for some retail therapy? What do you say if we all lighten up, kick the winter blues, and share some cool window shots today?!

And if window shopping is not your thing (YET!), what do you shoot when you need to lighten up? Show us what you’ve got.

Also, you can probably tell I’m really digging polaroid these days, can’t you? The sx70 has also helped me lighten up on gear and processing. I’m so glad there is a photography toy for every one of our moods out there ;P

the next step

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Have you been craving creative time? Are you ready to explore your newfound love for images and photography? Are you looking for some mentoring to help you take your photo skills to the next level? Are you interested in connecting with other photographers to play together?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you need to join me at The Makerie in Boulder, Colorado, this coming Spring! The Makery is a cozy mountain retreat designed to inspire, encourage and nurture your creativity. I’ll be teaching two photography classes that are deeply rooted in all the goodness we share here at Shutter Sisters! It does not matter what equipment you have, if you just picked up the camera, if you have been shooting for a while, or if you are already a pro. My classes are focused on supporting you while you take the next step, whatever that may be for you. Perhaps the step you most need to take is to simply show up and embrace your love for photography! That is more than enough, isn’t it? So if you want to recharge, feel inspired, learn some new tricks, and enjoy connection… Come play with me!

In addition to the workshops, there will be wake-up yoga and/or hiking, as well as healthy, local, organic yummy foods as part of the weekend. This is also a green production with an emphasis on recycling, re-purposing, organics and natural materials. So you can’t go wrong, sister. You just can’t. It really is that good! And I would absolutely love to meet some of you in person!!! 🙂

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So tell me, what is the next step for you in your photography?

And if you are inclined, share with us whatever image you are most inspired and moved to share today. Yep. I am sure whatever is inspiring you, will inspire us as well!

he Makerie is a creative retreat for anyone. Whether you are a skilled crafter or have never picked up a paintbrush, we offer something for everyone. We believe with all our hearts that everyone is creative and our cozy mountain retreat is designed to inspire, encourage and nurture your creativity. Each of our sensational teachers will offer unique workshops at the Makerie, and we can’t wait for you to take a peek at the wonderful variety of offerings!

retreatstitch.gif
 

BLOCK PRINTING | COLOR | EMBELLISHMENT | JEWELRY DESIGN 

KNITTING | PAINTING | PATTERN DESIGN  | PHOTOGRAPHY   

 RECYCLED ART | SHOE MAKING | YOGA 

In addition to the workshops, we will provide wake-up yoga and/or hiking, as well as healthy, local, organic (where possible), yummy foods as part of the weekend so you feel nurtured all around. Our creative getaway makes special efforts to be kind to the earth, as we strive to make thoughtful choices
in the event planning process, during the event, and in the classes themselves, with an emphasis on recycling, re-purposing, organics and natural materials. Simply put, being at the Makerie is like being back at camp.

beauty is in the eye of the beholder

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taken with iphone on instagram using nashville filter

Since the birth of my daughter, my life has changed significantly, and so I’ve had to make some adjustments to my photo taking habits as well. The bulky SLR has been put away until I go back to shooting professional assignments, the SX70 (and it’s convenient flat design) found its place inside the diaper bag, and my trusty iphone became my camera of choice! I spend most of my days now shooting the trivial, celebrating my baby’s expressions, our home, how the light changes in every room of the house throughout the day, and even my silly face! I do it a lot. All day actually! It’s easy and it’s fun. There is no editing, no cropping, no raw images clogging my disk space, and (god forbid!) no retouching. Who has time for that? Iphoneography is completely effortless… Yet, those special moments can still be captured all the same.

Gosh! Will phones ever replace cameras? Absolutely not. We love cameras of all kinds and shapes way too much! But do we need expensive, fancy or hip cameras to take good photos? No more, sisters, no more. Shooting is indeed a lot less about technical process and a lot more about shooting constantly and training our eye to capture the beauty we see. When we shoot from that perspective, we can pick up any piece of equipment and make magic. And as it turns out, that magic can happen even with the help of a tiny little device that fits in our back pocket!

Any other iphoneography enthusiasts out there? If you are an iphone geek like me, you must check out Instagram! This little app is revolutionizing the way we take pictures! It combines the photo community aspect of Flickr, one click filters for post processing, and Twitter chatter. The community is quite supportive as well and you can automatically post your images to flickr, twitter, facebook, posterous and tumblr too! If you want to check it out and look me up, I’m @alessandracave. I’d love to follow your photo taking journey that way.

So tell me… Would you share with us the best of your phone pics with us today?

light and dark

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Lately I have been musing on the layering and juxtaposition of light and dark, both in my life and in my photographs. When the words fail and all the details are fuzzy, nothing better than a technique that calls for simplicity and focuses only on strong shapes.

How about some silhouette play today? Will you share your images of light and dark with me?

focus on right now

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“In the company of my child, I realize how much time I spend in some other place entirely. Indeed, how much of my life I spend in the reverie of my own thoughts and schemes. Her laughs and cries, her outbursts and calls snap me back to where we are right now. Can I manage to stay here for a little while longer before I trail off again? It’s very hard to do. In my bleakest times, one more plea from her hooks me, and I thrash back, as if fighting for my life. Namely, the lost luxury of solitude combined with unlimited escapes into e-mail and the internet.” Karen Maezen Miller

As I pondered on focus this week, I stumbled on this quote by Momma Zen’s, Karen Maezen Miller, and suddenly everything clicked.  

One may think it is pretty obvious where my focus is lately as a new mom… But is it really? I’ve been noticing that as I go through my days, I’m constantly somewhere else but in the moment. Although I love my daughter very much, sadly, I’m indeed losing sight of her tiny toes while I wander off in my thoughts, reminiscing, scheming and daydreaming. I’m distracted by what is next. I’m making lists, planning posts, I’m wondering when I might be able to send off an email, read a blog post, shower, eat, etc. Not that any of that ever happens… The shower and eating especially! 😉

But in any case, what I also realized is that when it comes to my photography though, it is a different story. Behind the camera it is a lot easier for me to choose where to look and where to adjust my eye and lens in order to capture a clear moment. It is when I shoot that I am the most present. It is through the viewfinder that I find my zen. It is by focusing that I learn how to pay attention.

So today I invite you to focus on right now and on what is in front of you. Let your lens be your teacher and show you how to snap back to where you are and where you need to be.

morning light

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Lest we would sift it down
into fractions, and facts
certainties
and what the soul is, also
I believe I will never quite know.
Though I play at the edges of knowing,
truly I know
our part is not knowing,
but looking, and touching, and loving,
which is the way I walked on,
softly,
through the pale-pink morning light.

Mary Oliver, Why I Wake Early (2004)

 

Oh! These words speak so much to me right now as a new mother… 

You might remember me saying that I was feeling like a fish out of water, spending lots of time at home and not knowing what to shoot inside. Well, I guess I needed a change of focus, no? How timely is our word, right?

This week, instead of wishing my days were like they used to be, I simply allowed a shift. I pulled out my camera and sank into the new life. The life that is looking, touching, loving (my baby girl), and having the chance to actually notice and shoot the morning light. There is something just irresistible about a bed undone and the soft morning light coming through the windows, isn’t there?

So today I invite you to join me by sharing images that show how the morning light wraps around your home, those folds in your sheets, how it grabs your focus, how it softens everything, how it melts your heart…