Shutter Sisters

Patterns

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Well… One could say that this photo is kind of naughty! But actually, contrary to what you may be thinking, the girl pictured in the shot did not try to flash me with a hint of her tights! 🙂 Nope. What I captured was actually a tiny ‘Marilyn Monroe’ moment, as she held her skirt when a gush of wind tried to lift it up at the corner of Powell & Sutter in San Francisco.

In the moment, I hardly even saw legs! All I saw was a feast of patterns: the juxtaposition of the swirls on her skirt, the pink leopard print on her shopping bag, the checkered walls, and all those designs, nicely pulled together by the whites, blacks and pinks. Such a treat for a photographer’s eye, don’t you think? As far as my ‘photo obsessions’ go, I have to say that seeing and shooting patterns is very high on my list (which explains my love for fashion photography!).

How about you? Do you notice patterns? Show us what kind of designs, lines, shapes, fabrics and patterns, you’ve been shooting.

Harvesting

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I recently read a quote by Hundertwasser that said “Painting is to dream. When the dream
is over, I don t remember anything I dreamed about. The painting, however, remains. It is the harvest of my dream.”

I thought that was a perfect quote for our Photography as well. On the daily basis, we pay attention to our surroundings, we enearth feelings, we reap best moments, and we find a way to make our vision tangible, lasting… We indeed work on the harvesting of our dreams.

I just love that as we’re gathering bits and pieces of our lives, we are actually assembling something really powerful that will remain. It is so exciting for me to think that someday when we are long gone, our work may still live, feeding the inspiration of others, and consequently, continuing to produce more and more crops of nourishing Art in this world.

Now, show us: What sorts of beautiful images have you been harvesting lately?

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And because it’s Giveaway May and we’re taking about harvesting dreams here, we’ve got an amazing giveaway:

Artist, Author, and Possibilitarian Kelly Rae Roberts is giving one lucky reader/commenter a spot in her upcoming e-course, Flying Lessons: Tips + Tricks To Help Your Creative Business Soar. Now is the time for making those creative business dreams real and this e-course will give you all the inspiration, information, and resources to take flight. Truly.

Just leave a comment here bettween now and Sat. 5/8 at midnight PST for your chance to win a spot in Kelly Rae’s e-course. It gives us butterflies just thinking about it!

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Congratulations to Leanne, the winner of Flying Lessons. YAY!

surfer wisdom

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The other day when I was at the beach, I overheard two surfers debating whether they should go surfing or not. “The waves aren’t that great” said one of them. The other replied “but you know what they say: When in doubt, paddle out.” Then they both laughed and went for it.

Their little conversation got me thinking about our photography and how we should also always choose to put ourselves out there to get the shots. When in doubt, take that walk, bring that camera, take that shot. I don’t know how many times I was filled with regret for not bringing my camera and not believing there would be something worth shooting on my way to work or on a rainy day. There is always something happening and waiting to be captured. And there is always something to be learned from every click, every experience. When in doubt, shoot.

So today, how about sharing a shot from that day or moment you hesitated, but went for it anyway?

Reaching for the Sun

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 “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anais Nin

Spring is here and I can actually feel the dynamic energy in the air, can’t you? During this beautiful season, transformation is literally welling up from the ground and inviting us to start over, to renew and to bloom. I love the idea that just like sweet little buds, we can also reach out to the sun, make space for new life and unfurl all the dreams and projects that need to blossom in our lives.

Today, let’s share some images that can help us manifest warmth, rebirth, transformation and light!

note: I believe you still have time to register for Picture Spring! Don’t miss this chance to practice mindfulness and tune in to all the inspiration surrounding you this season. You can also view “picture spring” gallery updates here.

Experimenting

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I don’t know for how long I had been salivating over Polaroid images from fellow photographers and wondering what sorts of images I could shoot if only I had the guts to try it. But no, instead of playing and experimenting, I held back because I felt some sort of confinement within the type of photography I usually do: sharp, saturated, colorful. I did not want to get out of my style box so to speak.

Then just before my recent trip to Mexico, I had a moment of compulsion and ordered a refurbished SX70 and a few packs of TZ & 600 film from the Impossible Project shop. Gulp! A few hundreds of dollars later I was highly committed to at least try it out, even if I had to hide the results forever inside a trunk in the attic!

Little did I know that it would be so much fun! Not only did I gasp at each step of the analog process with child’s delight, but I also fell in love with the results achieved by trying out the different types of film. For some of you old school photographers, this may be as trivial as rice and beans. But for a digital self taught girl like me, this experience was an exciting gourmet experience. And the results were fun to see, because despite the medium, I realized that my eyes still capture and frame things the same way, which was really reaffirming and heart warming for me.

This week, I encourage you to get out of your box. If you’ve been shooting with a zoom lens for too long, try a prime. If you have been shooting digital, try film. If you always do color, play with black and white. Let’s challenge our brain and stretch those creative muscles!

What has been begging you to try new ways to experiment? If you have already been experimenting, show us what you’ve got, we’d love to see!

coconut

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Coconut by Paul Hostovsky.

“Bear with me I want to tell you something about happiness it’s hard to get at but the thing is I wasn’t looking I was looking somewhere else when my son found it in the fruit section and came running holding it out in his small hands asking me what it was and could we keep it it only cost 99 cents hairy and brown hard as a rock and something swishing around inside and what on earth and where on earth and this was happiness this little ball of interest beating inside his chest this interestedness beaming out from his face pleading happiness and because I wasn’t happy I said to put it back because I didn’t want it because we didn’t need it and because he was happy he started to cry right there in aisle five so when we got it home we put it in the middle of the kitchen table and sat on either side of it and began to consider how to get inside of it.”

Happiness and its pursuit can be so abstract and somewhat of an illusion, so I really like the idea of trying to characterize how it manifests itself in our everyday life.

For me for instance, happiness was in how this poem inspired me and made me run out of the house this afternoon in search of coconuts, with my heart full of wonder. It was in finally finding a whole box of them hiding under the shelves of a little Mexican market. It was in catching myself sitting on the floor of the store taking pictures while other shoppers wondered what the heck I was doing. It was in coming home with two coconuts without knowing how I was going to get into them. It was in asking my husband for help, watching him google it, then seeing him come back with a screw driver and a hammer. It was in taking the time to do a silly spontaneous project like this, and it was in how the two of us found ourselves in our kitchen, at the end of an ordinary day, along with the coconuts, finally open.

Can you share with us any images of how you’ve captured tangible happiness around you?

newfound identity

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“We live only to discover beauty. All else is a form of waiting.” Kahlil Gibran

The other day, I was having a conversation with a photographer friend and she said to me: “I am a recorder. That is what I do. I document my life.” That thought stayed with me and I began to wonder… Who am I as a photographer?

Have you ever asked yourself this question?

After going through all my photos in search of my identity, I came across the image above and I knew immediately: That’s it. I am a photographer on a quest for beauty. Whether I am shooting a client, a model or my lunch, what drives me is beauty. Some days that beauty comes to me as a gift and on other days, I have to look a little closer, dig a little deeper, even stage it. But I never tire looking for it and it never fails me. No matter what, somehow beauty is always there to lift me up and teach me something about myself and the world.

Who are you as a photographer? Can you answer this question with a picture?

collective prayer

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With the heartbreaking news from Haiti this week, I thought I’d invite the sisterhood to join me on a collective prayer.

Please post your images of candles, flowers, offerings and good wishes. I really believe in the power of community prayer and I hope that together, our intentions can bring some hope and relief to those who are displaced, hurt, experiencing fear, thirst and loss… 

Let’s join forces and use our Photography to send love to the people of Haiti today.

the first day

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In Brazil, where I was born,  we have several New Year traditions that are followed by pretty much everyone in the country. On New Year’s Eve we all dress in white for good luck, peace, purity, a clean slate and the possibility to start anew.  Then, just before midnight, we all gather somewhere along the four thousand miles of the Atlantic coastline, jump seven waves, throw flowers into the sea, light candles, make wishes and say prayers. This custom comes from the mix of African and Indian cultures developed in Brazil.  The belief is that Yemanja, the queen of the ocean and the feminine principle of creation, will bring us good luck and make all our wishes come true.

While that is my favorite way to close one year and start another, I was happy to enter 2010 by jumping seven waves and walking along Ocean beach in San Francisco with my husband. The scenery was misty, hazy and somewhat mysterious. The fluffy foam on the sand looked like heavenly clouds, reminding me once again that right here, in the first day of a year’s journey, where the earth meets the sky, anything is possible.

I’m curious to know… Do you and your family have any New Year traditions? And are you in for the 365 project? What did your first day of the year look like?

Best shot of 2009

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As the end of the year approaches, how about going through your photos to select your best shot(s) of 2009? I think we can learn a lot just by looking at our collections of images, noticing what works, what catches our eye and what could be improved.

I chose the two photos above because they represent how far I’ve come as a photographer this year. They remind me of how much I enjoy the entire process and how rewarding it is, when it all comes together: scouting, styling, hair, make-up, lighting, modelling, shooting, post. I also like that I can see myself in the bohemian style, in the warm lighting and in the yummy saturated colors. All around, these images just inspire me to keep believing, shooting, learning, improving…

So, here is what I’d like to propose: Go through your folders, make a gallery of your favorite shots, print some pictures if you will, spread them out, put them up on a wall. Whatever your selection process is, find that photo that jumps out as your favorite. It may be a shot that you are technically proud of, a shot that captures a special moment, or simply a shot that mysteriously makes your heart skip for a second.

Flickr is hosting a group pool with the best shots of 2009. It might be fun to join in and upload yours.

We are ready! Show us your best shot(s) of 2009.