Shutter Sisters

Framing

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To frame: to arrange or adjust for a purpose.

A practice that constantly challenges and helps me improve my Photography is the attention to framing. If Photography is visual storytelling, then framing is a form of editing on the spot. When I point the camera at a scene, I try to ask myself two questions every single time: “What kind of a story am I trying to tell?” and “What part of this scene is absolutely necessary to tell this particular story?” Ever since I started playing with that, I noticed patterns in my ways of seeing and (I think) I began to develop a stronger point of view and style. For example, I learned that one of my favorite things to do is zoom in and crop body parts, with the intention of adding a tiny mystery to the image and just a hint of a story.

How about you? Any framing ideas to share? Show us how you edit what you see.

Always There

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Even when we weren’t looking, our life was always there. The morning light was there, the mug of fresh coffee, corn flakes, milk, the shiny spoon on the counter, reflecting our kitchen and our life back at us. It was always there. Their smiles were there, their sleepy eyes, the striped socks, crayons, the big fun mess on the floor, our childhood and theirs. It was always there. The condiment jars in our pantry were there, our favorite records, the cheap souvenirs from our trips, old letters, faded pictures, things lost and things found. It was always there. Even when we weren’t looking, all those things that make up our messy lives and define us, have always been there, waiting for us to notice and cherish them.

So today, show us something about your routine, your family, something that is close to your heart. Something that is always there, even when you are not looking.

Come as you are

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As I began to think about my post for Shutter Sisters this week, I was overwhelmed by a feeling of doubt. What do I have to offer? What if I fail? 

I noticed that these questions often arise for me in Writing, but never in Photography. Writing is definitely more vulnerable. It requires me to stand still and hold my reins firmly in the open fields of thought, in the land of “wild horses”. Writing takes me galloping on an emotional journey, and only if I am lucky (and blessed with unexplained divine intervention!), it brings me back to what is simple and real. Sigh. It is that good when the writing process comes full circle, isn’t it?

Photography, on the other hand, by its own mechanism, grants me permission to release, both the shutter and the expectation. It invites me to keep it simple: to show up and see, to focus and release. It is a process rooted in the present. It whispers to me: Come as you are. It seduces me: Whether you’ll miss it, like it or not, you’re about to enter the truth of a moment. How can one resist, right?

Indeed, it is in the merging of both of these Art forms that this post and I exist. I had to roam freely, tame fears, and in a moment of clarity, remember to let myself be charmed by what I love, and release. So now I tempt you to join me and “Come as You Are” as well. Show me whatever you’ve got today that represents your journey, your process, without any worry, without a plan, just with the truth of what is.

So excited to introduce Alex de Souza of Gypsy Girls Guide fame as a new regular contributor here. Yay!