Shutter Sisters

Picture Kindness

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Kindness, as I’ve said so many times before, is very important to me.  I try to do at least one kind thing a day, no matter how big or small.  One of the easiest and quickest kind things I do is leave little cards with quotes or sayings on them in different places.  I keep a bunch in my camera bag to make it even that much easier. 

It wasn’t until today that I got to experience the joy of getting one of those great little cards myself.  Unbeknownst to me, my son had taken the above card and placed it on my screen door.  We were in such a rush this morning that I didn’t even notice it until I got back from taking him to school.  Later, when I picked him up from school, I asked him why he did that.

“Why not?  You need kindness, too”, he said matter-of-factly. 

Why not, indeed.  And better yet? I took the picture above, printed it, framed it and it now sits on my desk for me to see everyday. 

I love leaving the cards for others to find and I’m not alone in doing that.  Sandy is leaving one thousand paper cranes with a different postitive word written on each one and leaving them in different places for others to find.  She makes each paper crane herself and photographs them as well.  Pretty awesome, don’t you think?

Have you pictured kindness? Please share with us.  If you don’t have any pictures to share, that’s okay.  Tell us about it.  Feeling inspired? Stop by Kind Over Matter and check out their free, downloadable cards for yourself and give it a try.  You’ll be so glad you did, I promise.

 

(cross-posted at Everyday Heartbeats)

Little Surprises

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When school started last month, I started a “Kindness Tree” at my son’s school for the kids and staff alike.  At any time they can take a tag, write something kind on it then hang it on the tree.  I was thinking I would see tags that say things like “You’re fun!” or “Have a great day!” and that would have been perfect.  However, the kids were writing things that were so sweet and special that they literally brought tears to my eyes.  This 7 yr. old girl was so excited to show me what she had written before hanging her tag on the tree.  What a wonderful surprise it was to see these words that resonate so much with me and probably everyone who happens across this beautiful little tree.  What a gift.

What little surprises have you come across lately? Do share.  We’d love to see them.

 

Simple Beauty

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Soon the days will grow shorter and the air will grow cooler, but the weekend was perfectly warm and clear and I wanted to take advantage of it while I could.  I wanted to be somewhere surrounded by beauty so I grabbed my camera and headed to a local arboretum.  Most of the bright colors of summer have started to fade and the plant life wasn’t as lush as it had been earlier in the season but that didn’t matter.  You don’t have to have bright, cheery colors to find the simple beauty in things and sure enough, I found plenty.  Yes, I know the picture above is technically a weed, but does that mean it’s not beautiful? To me, it looks as if it’s raising it’s hands high in the air and saying, Look at me! 

I believe that even in the ugliest of places or things, beauty can always be found.  You just have to know where to look.  Have you found beauty in unexpected places or things?  If so, please share with us. We’d love to see the beauty, too.

The Kindness Camera.

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 I believe kindness is an essential part of everyday life.  Kindness is a big deal in our home, too.  I do my best to lead by example and I think I’ve done a pretty good job of raising two kind and compassionate boys.  My 10 yr. old has wanted to do more so we’ve been doing random acts of kindness as well as letting others know that their kindness is appreciated.  It’s been fun but more importantly my son is gaining something that will follow him throughout his life. 

I’ve said before that I believe we all bring our own medicine to this world and I believe that my medicine is my photography so when I received a phone call from a friend asking me if I would be willing to take some random photographs of the kids during a church sports camp, I accepted without hesitation.  She let me know that they didn’t really have the budget to pay me but that I could charge those that wanted photos.  I told her I didn’t want any payment and I would not be charging anyone but that this was my gift to them. 

How many times have we heard that giving is better than receiving?  It’s true, you know.  Those three days at that camp with those kids showed me that, in more ways than one.  Had I not agreed to spend time at this camp with those kids I would have never met the gorgeous girl in the above photo.  Ann is four years old and is currently undergoing treatment for a brain tumor.  What a joy and honor it was to be in her company.  To see her smile was priceless.  Meeting Ann led me to Donna who was also at the camp.  She founded From Maddi’s Closet, a nonprofit public charity for the benefit of children with cancer at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles after losing her 4 yr. old daughter to cancer in 2004.  Many times I have expressed my desire to become involved with a children’s charity.  My desire is now a reality.

Mama, my son said, your camera should be called the Kindness Camera.  If taking pictures of my son doing acts of kindness or doing something kind for others with my camera makes it a Kindness Camera, then so be it.  It’s gifts are endless.

How about you? Have you used your camera for kindness or photographed any acts of kindness? If so, we’d love to see them.  If not, that’s okay.  Just remember to share a little kindness today.  You’ll be glad you did.

 

(Imperfect)Self Kindness.

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This is the first summer that I am allowing myself a little self kindness and and giving myself permission to relax and have fun and not be the perfect photographer. Normally during any summer activity or while on vacation I always had to make sure I had just the right shot or did my best to make sure I had the correct angle, lighting and settings. I even found myself stressing on occasion because I just knew that people would be expecting these fantastic vacation photos from me so they had to be perfect.  I mean, what would people think if I didn’t show them these amazing vacation photos? Would they think less of me as a photographer?

My husband has pointed out on more than one occasion that it’s okay to leave the camera at home (never will that happen) or if I insisted on bringing the camera (always), then I should just have fun, snap pictures here and there and not try to get that one perfect shot.  It doesn’t matter what others think, he has said before, do it for yourself. This is a family vacation, not a photographic vacation.  I have to admit, it did get exhausting at times.  Now? I’m not over thinking my shots and just shooting from the hip, both literally and figuratively (hence the little sand man above). I’m showing myself a little self kindness and turning off those negative thoughts.  This is my imperfect summer and you know what? I’m okay with that. Giving myself permission to not be perfect with my photography feels pretty darned good.

Please, won’t you share your imperfections of summer with us? We’d really love to see them.

Silliness Required

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Two weeks ago I attended my high school reunion.  It’s always akward at first, everyone looking at eachother, seeing if they can recognize faces without having to walk up and look at a person’s name tag and high school picture.  Everyone was reserved at first and understandbly so, but then a photo booth appeared.  An annoucement was made. Be sure to stop by the photo booth!  There are a bunch of great props for you to choose from so just go have some fun!  People slowly began making their way over and before long, the laughter could be heard throughout the room and not long after that, there was a line a people waiting to take their picture, myself included. 

I take pictures of people all of the time.  I always sense nervousness any shyness a lot of times until I give them permission to be as silly or as funny as they want in their photos.  Once they make silly faces or I catch them laughing, it’s smooth sailing from there. What are you tricks for getting that silly shot? Have any great shots? Please share.  We’d love to see them.  

Memories of Love

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I lost my grandma Lucy one week after Mother’s Day.  It wasn’t unexpected and we knew the end was imminent, but that didn’t make it any easier.  I’m glad that my son’s have many memories of her and I don’t want them to ever forget her.  More importantly, I’m glad that I made a point during the last couple of years to photograph Lucy as much as I could as well as documenting her last few months for our family.

My youngest son and Lucy had a special relationship.  He was her ‘baby boy’.  When she was at her crabbiest he would sing for her and make silly jokes, getting a giggle and smile out of her when no one else could.  When she was dying I told him he didn’t have to go to the hospital to see her because I knew how difficult it was, but he insisted.  I’m doing it for her, he would say, tears in his eyes, she needs me.

I had been trying to come up with ways to somehow use my photos of Lucy as sort of a memorial to her when the opportunity came to get a canvas print from Hello Canvas. I knew immediately what I was going to do.  I showed my son all the pictures I had taken of Lucy over the past couple of years and told him to pick his favorite one to be used.  When our package arrived only 5 days later, we couldn’t wait to open it.  I don’t know who was more excited about it, me or my son!  Once it was opened, we propped the canvas up and stood back and looked at it in awe.  It immediately brought tears to my eyes.  Mama, my son said excitedly, MeeMaw would be so happy!  Not only would Lucy be happy, my son is happy and that is everything.  Thank you, Hello Canvas, for your help in keeping the memory of Lucy alive, just as it should be.

What about you? Do you do anything special with your photos to remember those that are no longer with us? Please share with us your ideas or show us in a photo what you have done.  We’d love to see your memories of love, too. 

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Hello Giveaway! It’s random giveaway time again from our friends at Hello Canvas. YAY!

Leave a comment here between now and Thursday at midnight and you could win a 20X24 canvas of your photo of choice from Hello Canvas!  Hello, indeed!

EDITED TO ADD:

Thank you all so much for the response on this post! Hello Canvas was so touched by this conversation of Love that they are now offering 40% off all orders when you use our promo code HELLOSISTERS! HELLO!

And thank you sisters, for sharing your beautiful, sweet, warm comments with us.  You have truly touched me. 

Summer Love

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I love summer.  It is here and it is most definitely my season.  It’s the only time of the year that I give myself permission to let myself relax.  I love the long days, warm nights and the chance to wear open-toed shoes after a long winter encased in socks and boots.  And of course, getting a pedicure to welcome the new season doesn’t hurt, either.  Like most girls, I have a thing for shoes.  And because summer is my most favorite season ever, I’m always on the lookout to find the cutest (and most comfortable) pair of sandals or flip flops out there.  I know my camera gets most of its use this time of year as well, and there’s nothing cuter than seeing a ‘tween in her cute little flip flops and newly painted toes. It was only natural then, that when I did a photo shoot of the two girls above I just had to include a shot of those too-cute feet.  Seriously, what’s not to love about kids or babies feet or any feet in super cute shoes, for that matter?! 

What do you love about summer? Show us what summer is to you.  And if you have any cute feet pics, by all means, show us those, too! 

In honor of summer and all things feet, Karin Stouffer of Toes N’ Bows (maker of the darling flip flops above which, by the way, come in both womens and girls sizes!) is giving away one pair of custom made flip flops of your choosing and designed by you, so be sure to leave your comment here by 12 midnight PST to be entered in a random drawing!

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Thanks for all your great comments and love of summer!  And congrats to Brooke of Shutterboo for winning the custom-made flip flops!

Genuineness

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Genuineness (noun): the act of being true, unaffected, open, honest, forthright

One of the best ways to find real genuineness (yes, it’s a real word!) is to go on vacation.  When you have the ability to escape your day-to-day life and get away from it all, genuineness will most definitely occur.  I just got back from a week-long, spring break vacation with 4 other families.  This is one of the best times that I love to photograph my friends and loved ones. Every single smile I capture is authentic and real.  No one is worried about their hair and make-up being just right and even those men who usually look so uncomfortable in photographs will pose willingly for me.  I don’t worry about getting that ‘great shot’ or about composing the photo ‘just right’.  Instead, I just take pictures for the sheer pleasure of taking pictures. 

When all was said and done, I came home with over 400 photos.  As I went through them all, one thing was evident: genuineness.  It was in the smiles, the expressions and in the laughter that I heard all week long.  I couldn’t not share with everyone so I made a slideshow for them, letting them see the genuineness of it all, too.  As I state in my slideshow, whether or not it is clear to us, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. The evidence is plain to see.

How about you? Do you have a photo from something or somewhere or someone that shows true genuineness? Please share.  We’d love to see them.

 

 

New Beginnings

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My favorite tree that has given me so much pleasure during the fall and winter is showing it’s new growth in honor of spring.  Winter and all it’s gloominess (yes, we do get gloomy weather here in SoCal) has given way to warmer and longer days.  Summer shoes are beginning to replace my winter shoes and there’s already 3 or 4 pair of flip-flops sitting next to the front door.  Spring returns the same time every year and will until the end of time, but I still love the newness of it all. 

How do you celebrate spring?  Please, do share.  We’d love to see!