Shutter Sisters

a day of heartfulness

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How many of you have had this happen: You’ve been out all day shooting easily over a hundred photos, come home, upload the photos to your computer and as you quickly go through them, your eyes stop on one or two (or more) that evoke such a strong emotion you have to catch your breath? Like me, I’m sure it’s been often.

 

When I finally decided to get serious with my photography I took hundreds of photos that were good, but as the years passed I noticed that while my photos were still good, they were changing. They were getting better and I assumed it was due to experience through the years, but then one day a friend pointed out something about my photographs that hadn’t occurred to me before, “Wow, you can see your heart in your photos”.

 

 

Now, looking back, I can actually see when the change began to occur: after the birth of my children, the passing of my brother, and the decline of my grandmother to name a few. With each one of these experiences a little bit of my heart would unlock and open, filling in the cracks and crevices with the love that was obviously needed there.

 

Some of you are probably nodding your head as you read this, completely understanding while maybe some of you haven’t gotten to the point where you’ve been able to completely unlock your heart and throw away the key yet. The bravest thing you could ever do is to love. Imagine what it would feel like to respond from your heart and not your head? When we open our hearts, our world begins to expand.

 

Let’s have a day of heartfullness – try acting from your heart today. Grab your camera, open your heart and feel the love. Respond to the world as if your heart were guiding you. Once you’ve done that, feel free to share with us, or if you already have photos that show your heart, share those, too. We’d love to see them.

 

Picture and words courtesy of Guest Blogger / Honorary Sister Chris Sneddon of Everyday Heartbeats, aka, Jerolds Sis or as I call her, just plain wonderful.

my favourite time of day

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I love twilight, particularly when it starts to get warm — the crickets start to chirp, fireflies start to come out and you can just feel the world begin to quiet down. To me, twilight is all about gathering with friends or family, sharing a bottle of wine, some cheese and silly pipe dreams or fantasies.

Spring and summer are just around the corner. Here’s to wonderful, warm twilight hours.

As the seasons begin to turn, do you have a favourite time of day?  Feel free to share your images of these moments in the comments section, below!

(Crossposted at Chookooloonks)

Telling Stories

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When I was in graduate school for creative writing, I took up photography.

 

I probably should have been working on my writing. But writing alone is never quite enough. You have to have something to write about, right?

 

Plus, I was feeling discouraged. I knew a lot of good writers who weren’t getting anywhere. And I certainly wasn’t getting anywhere. And I wasn’t sure that I wanted to stick with it.

 

I took a photography class at a local art school. We worked with film and paper. We developed photos in a darkroom. We processed our own film. I didn’t have any kids then, so I could spend as much time as I liked in the darkroom. And I wound up spending hours and hours. I’d walk in at lunchtime, and suddenly they’d be locking up the building for the night.

 

I liked the idea of looking at everything in my life as if it had the potential to be a photograph. I liked the idea that the photographs were already out there and all I had to do was learn to see them. It made the world more beautiful to me. It made faces, buildings, and everything in between more interesting. And it made me more interesting, too—just by approaching the world that way.

 

For a while, I thought about quitting writing to do photography. I carried my camera (a Lubitel twin-lens reflex) everywhere I went for about two years. It felt like I was moving away from stories and toward photographs.

 

Until I realized that photographs are stories, in their way.

 

I remember my photography teacher telling us once that the photos she liked best were ones that asked questions. And not long after that, I heard Garrison Keillor, talking about writing, say, “A plot is just raising questions in people’s minds.”

 

That’s when I saw how it fit together. That all the things I loved about photography were the things I loved about writing: paying attention to detail, capturing the moment, marveling at each discovery, developing a point of view. A photographer has a voice, just like any storyteller. And we are all telling stories all the time—with our own tools in our own way.

 

In the end, I never could manage to quit writing. But not because I ever chose writing over photography. Just because writing—in its own magical way—chose me.

Thank you to Katherine Center for sharing her words and photographs with us. Katherine is the author of Everyone is Beautifuland is an all around beautiful person!

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Congratulations to our most recent winner of the One Word Project, Simple Sparrow.  Well deserved, she wins a copy of Katherine’s book and a Diana camera courtesy of Ballantine Books. YAY!

5 ways to bring a little peace and happiness to friday (or any other day)

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1. Take yourself to lunch. For once, don’t eat at your desk, or worse, skip lunch altogether. Tell your coworkers that you have lunch plans. Then on your lunch break, pick up a healthy lunch (or grab your brown bag), and find somewhere quiet to sit and enjoy the view — a favourite cafe or a park bench or whatever. Take that novel you’re in the middle of (or start a new one). Or grab the latest issue of your favourite guilty-pleasure magazine. Or journal. Use your lunch break to escape.

2. Listen to some great music. Instead of listening to the same-old playlist (or foregoing music altogether), listen to something brand new. A great resource: Pandora, where you can input your favourite song or artist, and Pandora will play those tunes plus songs and other artists of the same genre — all for free. It’s a great way to learn about new music (right now, as I type this, I have bossa nova playing nonstop). Tune in while you’re getting ready in the morning, plug in earphones while you work at your desk (no need to disturb your coworkers!), listen this evening as you wind down, or before you go out later. Just give your groove thing a little shake.

3. When you get home this evening (or after the kids go to bed), have a cup of tea and light a candle. While you’re drinking your tea, look into the flame, and think of nothing but the flickering of the light and the taste of your tea. When your mind starts to wander, bring it back to the flickering of the candle and the taste of your tea. Just for the time it takes you to finish your cup of tea, think of nothing but that flickering flame and that warm tea taste.

4. Buy yourself some fresh flowers or a small new houseplant. ‘Nuff said.

5. Grab your camera or camera phone and take a photograph of something pretty. Just because. For bonus points, print out the image and display it somewhere you’ll be able to see it every day. Feel free to swap out images (or add more) as necessary. 

For extra bonus points:  upload your images, and share the link to them below in the comments.  Let’s see what’s pretty on this lucky Friday the 13th day!

(cross-posted at Chookooloonks)

the gift of a photo

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Alexa – Shepard mix puppy, looking for a home

Volunteerism; it knocks on the edge of my mind, the where, the when, the how. Some feed the homeless, some offer legal services pro bono, some clean up the coast.

I reach for my camera, think of my love of animals, think of how so many don’t have homes. I can help, I tell myself. Make them look cute and cuddly. Capture their essence in a photo. Make them stand out in a crowd.

I start my Google search for rescue organizations, reach out, offer my services. A few bite and say how desperately they need photos.

When I meet the dogs, I extend a hand for a nuzzle. I stoop down to their level, offer a soothing voice, tell them how cute they are. Their handlers tell them to sit, to stay, and I say, “No. Just let them be. I want their personality to come out.” I move when they move. I call the name they barely know. I whistle. I wait. I get dirty.

And I love every minute. The photos I create present them to the world, lure in the curious. My style evolves over time. I see how bright and happy and sparkling works best online, how tongues and smiles translate to adoption inquiries despite my love of the moody and the thoughtful images. But it’s not about me; it’s about the dogs and finding them homes.

Each time I photograph the homeless pets, I feel a combination of joy and sadness. Joy from time spent with them. Joy from trying to help. Sadness that I can’t offer them homes, that I can’t do more.

As photographers there are countless ways we can donate our services—capturing the brief life of a terminally ill child for the family or finding the charity of our choice that needs the gift of our photos.

Outside of photographing shelter animals, I’m always looking for opportunities to put my skills to use. It takes imagination, and I suspect that as a community we can build a list of ideas.

So here’s the question: how and where can you be a charitable photographer?

Picture and words courtesy of Honorary Sister /Guest Blogger Debbie Zeitman.

afloat

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The word on the streets is recession. Yet, with Valentine’s day upon us, a certain sweetness filled the air with much lighter feelings… (thank goodness!) And within that magic, I found hope and an idea, for how to keep creative dreams afloat in today’s uncertain times.

Call me a romantic, but I think the answer is love.

Look at it from a lover’s point of view. If you love your craft and your business, you must nurture it, so it can endure through tough times. You can’t stop loving in hardship. These are the times that make or break a relationship. So in your creative pursuits, it should be the same. Stick to it. Believe in something bigger than the economy. Believe in your journey. Believe in love.

Like in a relationship, there comes a time to show your trust. Take this time to open up to a new perspective. Explore new creative outlets. Exercise your flexibility. Trust the path. Trust your heart.

This is also the time to form everlasting and solid connections. Reveal more of yourself. Bare your soul. You must be willing to go naked. You must be willing to go deeper. You must develop a stronger identity. Whether if it is for your business or just a creative outlet, a stronger sense of self will show you new ways of achieving your highest potential.

Cultivate the same values you honor in a loving partnership. Be truthful about your expectations and how much time and money you can invest on your projects. Confidence is sexy. Stay confident. Honesty is key. Communicate openly. You must surrender your ego. You must swallow your pride. Don’t forget to be compassionate and accepting of your flaws either. The love for your life’s work should be unconditional.

And finally, no matter what… Don’t obsess. Just stay committed, grateful and generous. It’s a love affair after all… You must let it be.

Picture and words courtesy of Honorary Sister / Guest Blogger Alex of Gypsy Girl’s Guide.

Practice

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I’m often asked about this ‘exercise in mindfulness’ that I practice daily. What is it about? How did it begin? When and where? And more importantly- how do I continue to do what I do day-after-day?

 

It began with an unlikely pair of domesticated Pekin Ducks that found themselves living in the wild on a small pond not too far from where I live. It was the summer of 2004. Although photography had always been an interest and a passion, it was rekindled when these white ducks miraculously appeared and crossed my path. They quickly became my morning muse, my focus, my reason for once again picking up my camera and looking at the world through its lens. As the greens of summer turned into the rich warm hues of autumn and as those faded into winter whites, I continued to photograph this pair until their disappearance and ultimate sad demise.

 

Funny how ‘endings’ can so often be ‘beginnings’ in disguise. Their disappearance forced me to look at the world around me; to search the everyday ordinary and find the extraordinary in each and every new day. Without them as my guide and muse I had a chance to start once again from the beginning; to seize the opportunity to see the world in a whole new way.

 

As an avid yoga practitioner, I study the power of presence, the strength of acceptance, and the grace of embracing what ‘is’. This ‘practice’ of photographing the world as I see it has become no different than that of stepping on my mat, feeling the ground solidly beneath my feet, opening my heart and my eyes to the world as it unfolds around me. It is a union of body and mind and the click of the shutter’s lens. Day after day, week after week and month after month after that, no matter what the forecasted weather I get up before the sun rise and walk my morning walk. With my camera over my shoulder and in my hand, I ‘practice’recording the world as I see it. I never know in advance what it was I might find. The perfect scene, the perfect moment, the perfect light are allinconsequential and often elusive. There is always something new to see and be seen; something to be captured from a different point-of-view and in a whole new way. The morning light, the weather, the mood, the seasons are ever changing and evolving along with my vision.

 

Looking thru my lens I often find myself totally immersed in the moment and what it has to offer. My ‘practice’ has become a daily reminder that there is hidden magic in the details if we actually stop and breathe and look and listen.

 

Am curious to hear how you do what you do? What inspires and motivates? What gets you up in the morning??? What is your muse? And how do you keep that passion going?

 

Photograph and words courtesy of Honorary Sister / Guest Blogger Marcie Scudder. You can see more of her beautiful work(her practice) on her blog Daily Practice.

life in squares

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This portrait of my sister and her fiancé is the first of only two shots I took of them that chilly day by the sea; I took a second shot because I had a moment of doubt: perhaps I should take another, just in case. As it turned out, I was right on the money with the first and this is now my favourite photograph from last year.

I only shot two photographs because I was using my Hasselblad 500C/M, a vintage medium-format camera that takes 120 film – when you only have 12 shots, you don’t want to waste a single one. Shooting with film again has transformed my eye. In the early 90s I studied photography at art school; back then we only had analogue cameras, and once a week I’d borrow a Hasselblad from the college technicians, reverently shooting with the same format David Bailey and Diane Arbus used. It was love at first click.

Last year I bought the camera I’d waited over fifteen years to own. Shooting with the Hasselblad is like a meditation; it definitely makes me a more thoughtful photographer. I’m intimately involved in my picture-taking, measuring the light, adjusting the aperture ring, setting the speed and focusing the lens, all the while absorbing the moment. And only when it feels right, when I have everything in the viewfinder as I want it, do I hold my breath and press the shutter. Often I’ll walk away from a potential shot if I don’t feel it is good enough; even with three rolls of film I only have 36 shots, so each one is precious.

The Hassy sits weightily in my hands, a solid chunk of glass and metal that seems to ground me even more squarely in the moment. Perhaps I love this camera because it connects me to my past, to the 20-year-old girl who first stepped into a studio filled with soft boxes and infinity coves. I know I love it for the magic it lends my images, the starry bokeh and cut-glass sharpness.

Of course, like most of the vintage things in my home, it’s old-school photography with a modern twist, as I scan all my negatives and gently hone them in Photoshop. As much as I would love a darkroom in my basement, the convenience of the digital darkroom has won me over. (It also helps that I have a photo lab ten minutes from my house that offers one-hour film processing!)

It’s still possible to buy 120 film and I like that my original images exist tangibly as negatives, rather than digital data in a metal box. But that doesn’t mean I’m a film snob. If shooting medium-format film is a zen walk through the park, picking up a digital SLR again is, for me at least, like going to a nightclub, full of freedom and energy.

So tell me, do you shoot with a film camera? Does the idea excite you or maybe scare you a little?

If you’re keen to try medium-format photography, look out for a Yashica Mat-124G camera on eBay, an affordable twin-lens camera that’ll familiarise you with shooting 120 film. That old Duaflex you use for TtV? Try putting a roll of film through it and see what results you get. And you’ll never regret buying a Holga, I promise. If you haven’t got a film camera you can use, experiment by limiting the number of photos you take next time you’re out shooting. If you only had twelve shots, what would you photograph?

Today’s post is brought to you courtesy of guest Shutter Sister Susannah Conway.  You can read/see more of her amazingly beautiful work at her blog, Ink on my Fingers, and purchase some of her beautiful fine art prints at her etsy store.

friday’s featured resource – shedding a little light on the subject

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Crafter goddesses, foodies, Etsy shop mavens, this post is for you. Well, you and anyone else who finds it frustrating to get a decent shot of objects in the dark of these winter months. Unfortunately for many of us, by the time we get home there’s no pretty evening light streaming in through the windows casting its lovely glow on our subjects. I miss so much that magical fall evening sun. Sigh. Well, until the sun starts to cooperate again, we’ll just have to make some pretty light of our own. Light boxes are a great way to generate soft, even lighting that can really make an object pop.

 

A food blogging friend of mine recently posted her desire for a light box but confessed she didn’t have the space for a bulky box in her small Boston condo. She had been researching some wonderful collapsible light tents, but they can get pricey. To aid her in her quest, I set about designing a light box that was collapsible, affordable, and easy to assemble. The cost of this light box totals about $5 and consists of 4 pieces of foam core and a piece of poster board, all of which I purchased at the dollar store.

 

The detailed instructions on how I made my light box are over on my blog.

 

 

As you can see, I didn’t have professional lighting or light stands, so I took a couple clip lights, screwed in some daylight bulbs, and clipped them onto some book ends that I had on hand. This made it easy to maneuver the lighting exactly the way I wanted it.

 

Once I got the lighting the way I liked it I tried to keep in mind the following:

 

-First I made sure that my camera was white balanced. This is something that is easy to forget, but really saves time spent adjusting images in Photoshop.

 

-I also tried experimenting with a subtle pattern below my object. I looked for something that wasn’t too distracting but that added color and interest to my subject.

 

-Last, I set a nice shallow depth of field so that my subject was sharp and the pattern below softened.

 

I’ve got so much more experimenting to do with my light box, and like many of you, I’m constantly hungry for tips and tricks to improve my images. Please share with us images that you’ve taken with a light box of your own and any thoughts that you might have on achieving a stellar image. Happy clicking!

 

Pictures and words courtesy of Honorary Sister / Guest Blogger Amy Kingman. Amy is an artist extraordinaire and can be found over at her blog Drawings in Motion.

beginner’s mind

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I got my first DSLR in June 2008 and have been doing the novice-but-learning photographer thing for 6 months now. I wanted to take better pictures of my girls, so I got the camera, then I took a class, then I reconnected with an old friend—an art school grad and 20-year photography veteran. He not only offered to look at my photos but was *enthusiastic* about doing so.

After several rounds of comments and critique and encouragement, my confidence grew strong enough to put some photos up on RedBubble and submit to microstock sites. I’ve also applied to exhibit my photos at the local library. So far, no sales on RedBubble, 100% rejection by the stock sites, and no word back from the library.

But…weirdly, my confidence remains unshaken. Honestly. I’m still happy with my photos, still get new ideas every day, still think constantly about where I’ll go the next time I get some solo time to shoot (mother of two litte girls, full-time job…you know the drill).

Now, contrast this with how I approach writing. I have a writing degree, I work in communications, I have taken several writing workshops and journaled since I was 16. But when I think about submitting my writing for artistic critique, I flinch. Hard. So hard that I have, to date, been paralyzed. I cannot bring myself to take risks as a writer because I am so deeply invested. In Buddhist terms, I’ve lost my beginner’s mind.

And here’s what I think the take-home for Shutter Sisters devotees is: If you are feeling creatively shy or risk-averse, try a wholly new art form. Dig in hard for a while, then put yourself out there for review—by your friends, by the masses, by degreed professionals, whoever. Like my photographer self, you’ll have very little to lose.

Once you remember the freedom of being a beginner, transfer it to your original art form. You may find the courage to hear criticism of your first creative love, which can only make you better. 

I mean, look at me: I just submitted this unsolicited guest post. Will it be accepted? I don’t know, but have lost nothing in the trying, and am not feeling so shaky inside that I can’t hit the send button. It’s not a monumental risk, but up until today, I lacked the gumption.

And now I’ve done it.

Photograph and words courtesy of Guest Blogger / Honorary Sister Anna Weaver (aka NotAnna).