Shutter Sisters

the six questions featuring Alicia Bock

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Alicia Bock’s images are like poetry whispered in your ears as you wake up early in the morning. Her photography exudes a sense of calm that constantly inspires me to slow down and take a few moments to soak in the beauty that is so kindly presented to me. Despite a busy schedule this summer, Alicia has graciously accepted to answer all of our 8 questions. I couldn’t be more excited to share her answers with you today.

1. What’s the story behind this photo?

This is one of my favorite polaroids. It was a very busy day at the beach. Labor Day weekend, gorgeous and hot. But needing a break from the crowd I took a little walk up in the dunes. Up there it was just the sound of the wind and faint laughter from below.

2. What was it that lit your photography spark? Do you remember a particular camera, course, person, roll of film?

I think this life is in my blood: my grandparents, my dad, my cousins. We are a sentimental group. I can’t remember not having a camera, or not being in front of my dad’s. It seems as natural to me as breathing. I do remember my Grandma always had a polaroid full of film. I am sure she is the reason for my Polaroid obsession today.

3. What’s your photo philosophy? Does it reflect your life philosophy? 

For both, anything goes.

4. Where do you look for inspiration?

I find inspiration everywhere, but mostly in nature. Especially a day at the beach.

5. What would you say is one of your ‘signature’ editing tricks, themes or style? What do you think makes an image recognizable and uniquely yours?

This is hard… I don’t consciously try to do the same things. In fact it is really important to me to keep learning, and experimenting with new cameras and techniques. But, I do seem to travel to the same comforting places, which leads to a lot of photographs of beaches, my favorite cities, big sky, and shades of the perfect blue-green. More than anything, I am drawn to the same soft colors, over and over.

6. What aspect of your photography are you constantly working on, trying to improve?

I want my photographs, especially the portraits, to tell stories better.

7. If you could go anywhere in the world for an epic, weeklong photo excursion all by your luxuriously unhurried self – regardless of money, time or childcare issues – where would you go and why?

I’d do anything to go to Italy. It is where my Grandma was from. I miss her cooking.

8. Are there women out there that you consider your shutter sisters? Who, and why?

I won’t know any female photographers in my town, and at art shows it is always the older men who want to talk photography with me. So, I am thrilled to have “met” some wonderful ladies online.

Susanna Conway – My “Favorite Things” partner. Working with her this year has been a fabulous experience. Traci (aka: Mrs. French) – She’s one of the first women I knew online who I felt loved photography as much as I do. Victoria – Witty, charming and a great eye for details. Her Sunday’s in the City are my favorite. I think there is so much beauty that we pass by everyday, and Victoria reminds me to open my eyes a bit wider.

Thank you so much Alicia!

You can see more of Alicia’s work her website, her Flickr pool and blog Bloom, Grow, Love.

interconnection

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About 500 of the undead convene to learn the steps to Michael Jackson’s Thriller video, July 2, 2009, at Discovery Green, Houston.

We’ve all be in situations where we’re in a crowd and can feel the palpable energy in the room — say, waiting for a delayed flight together, or praying in a church or meditating together, or hell, learning the dance moves to an iconic music video in the hot Texas sun together. If the majority of us are stressed, we all feel it. If most of us are happy, we’re happy, we feel it. If we’re at peace, we feel it. Energy gets passed on, from friend to friend, from person to stranger. It’s this very cool, very cosmic, knock-on effect.

We’re all interconnected.

Today, I’d love if you’d share an image that illustrates how interconnected we all are.

Grand Slam

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When I first moved to Michigan, I wanted to reach out to my community and I ended up volunteering for a local hospital. After a short stint of working at the hospital help desk (I was very little help), I found myself working with a Creative Writing group at a retirement community. This was definitely more up my alley; I had just recently finished studying Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

 

I loved the Creative Writing group. The elderly men and women were so proud of their words, but all of their work was handwritten and rather hard to read. They needed someone to clean up and transcribe their work for them. For quite some time, I typed up poems, short stories, prayers, songs and all the other musings of the men and women of the group.

 

I’ll never forget one man’s story. His work came in a large box; there was so much of it. I found his life to be absolutely fascinating. He had spent most of his life working as a minor league baseball scout and there was no doubt of his love for his job and for the game. Not only did he write about his own life, but he also included anecdotes featuring some of the greatest players/managers in baseball. I learned a lot about baseball and his stories took me back to a different time. After typing up what seemed to be his life story, I never received another box from him again.

 

The very last time I delivered a packet of work to the group, I was informed of the passing of the man whose work I so enjoyed. I couldn’t help but be sad, but my sadness was quickly dismissed because of something wonderful the group director told me. She told me that I had given such an amazing gift to his family. So many people pass without telling their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren all of the stories they have to tell. Now, those stories will always be with his family.

 

 

Whenever I see baseball players or a game, I always think of that man, and thinking about him always reminds me to take the time and listen to the stories of the people around me. Everyone has a story.

 

Picture and words courtesy of guest blogger / honorary sister Bridget Roach.

Water Play

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Growing up, my family had a love affair with water. Summers found us engaged in the most persistent and ruckus water fights on the block. Perhaps the entire city! I have fond memories of long summer days at the outdoor pool, water parks, canoe trips, water skiing and the perennial favorite of kids everywhere – sprinklers and slip and sides. Now that I’m “all growed up” and have two tots, our family has been making water-fun memories of our own.

 

We live in the diverse and beautiful northwest and we’ve made Portland, OR our home. For six summers, our family has toured the area fountains, making it an adventure to find another gem tucked into a neighborhood park or the incongruous feature of a busy urban street. When the temperature soars, as it recently did with a week of 100-degree weather, the fountains bring together families seeking play and cool water. Our passion for the many and varied water features started when my son was just a year old and in a swim diapers. It was Father’s Day, mild and warm. The fountain we chose was near an ice cream shop and so another summertime tradition was born. As I look back over my son’s first years these are some of my favorite photographs. Golden sun on pink cheeks, water reflected in baby-blue eyes and chubby loveliness!

 

We now have a series of photographs documenting the changes in our family and each of our two children’s growth – mama sitting in the shade breastfeeding the new member of the family, big brother protectively hovering over an unsteady toddler, and this summer, two silly and shrieking children chasing each other in cascades of water. Also documented in the photos is my emerging sense of myself as a photographer. The first years were a frenzy of picture taking to preserve the new and wonderful experience of being a parent. Pictures that were pleasing to the eye were a fortunate accident. One that I was grateful for but that I felt no personal responsibility in creating! The last several months have been another kind of adventure – one with camera in hand, seeking images seen in my mind’s eye and delighting in the process of creating them.

 

 

Every child believes that they are an artist – they draw and create with the same reckless and confident abandon as they play. I’m grateful to be rediscovering my inner child in photography – and for a community of women and mamas doing the same!

 

Pictures and words courtesy of guest blogger / honorary sister Heather of Mama Mutterings.

giving in

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Oh, is it that time already? I guess I’ll skip it today. Besides, I’m feeling totally depressed and angsty. I can’t deal with it. And anyway, I’ve been procrastinating too much! I have to get a move on my thesis. I should have a rough draft by the end of the day! Now, on to Bourdieu…Hmm, I don’t know what that word means, so I guess I’ll just skip on over to dictionary.com. Oh look! There’s my bookmarks tab! I wonder what sweetsalty Kate is up to today? Maybe she’s put up a new post since I checked five minutes ago…

My full time job this summer is writing my thesis. As jobs go, it could be much worse. But there comes a point at which my bed/study/desk/dining-room table turns into the Swamp of Sadness (see “The Neverending Story”). It’s 3:00 pm, I’ve glazed over only one half-page of the literary-theoretical equivalent of a ball of steel-wool (no end, beginning, rhyme, or reason. And it’s scratchy…) and I wish it later so that I could justify going to sleep because that feels like all I’m good for.

My stay-cation tugs at my attention from the corner of the room. COME TO ME, it says, I CAN HELP. Shut up! My life is an endless sea of drudgery and I’m in the middle of feeling sorry for myself, so bugger off. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO, it coaxes. The voices then stop but the object of interest, my yoga mat, sits buzzing in the corner. I give in.

At first, the mat curls up. My feet and arms turn into 13-year-old boys just hitting puberty, all out of control and not remembering how to move in the world. That’s enough! Breathe, exhale, downward dog, in, out, in, out, in, out, down into push-up-thing oh, I can’t do it, breathe, knees, chin, chest, baby cobra, exhale, downward dog.



I settle in, begin to move with my breath, and I stop avoiding my thesis. I start breathing deep, feeling stretching holding my body self, living it as its happening, not anticipating how it might end up. I finish, red, sweaty, eyes closed and wrapped in calm that makes me feel like I might know what religion is about.

Pictures and words courtesy of guest blogger/honorary sister Alex Stokes.

summertime memories

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A couple of weeks ago, my friend Doug and his sons were leading my family and I to their favourite New York City park.  As we walked, Dough and his boys fell in step with each other ahead of us, holding each other’s hands. Then suddenly, spontaneously, Doug began swinging the boys, every fourth step or so. I didn’t hear either of the boys ask Doug to do this; it appeared to be almost out of habit, like this was how the three of them always walked down the steet together.

Step, step, step, swing.

Step, step, step, swing.

I smiled.

I thought about how the boys, when they’re finally men — maybe even with sons of their own — they’ll think of the way their dad used to firmly and confidently grab their hands, swing them through the air, making even a simple walk an adventure.

And I bet they’ll smile, too.

* * * * * * *

Today, share some images of wonderful summertime memories being created.

 

Crossposted on Chookooloonks.

Page Turners

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Entering the children’s room at our local library opens an entire world of possibilities to explore, especially during the summer months. My children become botanists, ballerinas, magicians, chefs, or paleontologists, depending on the day. They enter imaginary worlds, slaying dragons and taking fantastic adventures. They peruse illustrations and photographs, lost in the pages of each book.

The summer reading program at the library is a simple pleasure and reminds me of my childhood trips to the library. My eight-year-old has his own library card and takes pride in finding and checking out the perfect book. These weekly library visits empower my children to follow their dreams and imaginations – a life lesson for mommies, too.

Pictures and words courtesy of Melissa Miller. Thanks Melissa for reminding us that an ideal summer escape awaits us if we just open a book.

Share with us a grand adventure today; of visions wild and wonderful where anything and everything is possible.

California Dreamin’

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Earlier this year, on a particularly hot day in February, my mom and I ventured up to the Huntington Library in San Marino, just outside of L.A., about an hour’s drive from where we live in Orange County. We’d always heard about it and wanted to visit, but for some reason never made it there, even with all our trips to our beloved Getty Museums.

And we were absolutely blown away. “Why didn’t we come here before?” we kept asking each other. We spent most of the day there and saw maybe half of what this amazing place has to offer. Their gardens seemed to go on forever and are a treasure trove of native plants and include nearly a dozen different themed gardens. For an amateur Shutter Sister who was just starting to really explore and devour nature photography, I couldn’t get enough of wandering through them! Especially the part that looked straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Talk about inspiration. There’s definitely something for everyone – art, architecture, gardens, water features and of course the library itself. For extra savings, the first Thursday of every month is free admission, as long as you reserve your tickets in advance. And parking is always free – that can be a rare thing in L.A.!

This is one of the main reasons I love Southern California – for all its traffic and crowds, there are tons of things to do within driving distance. The Huntington is something that we’ll be making a permanent part of our Staycation schedule as well as where we’ll be taking friends and family when they visit. I can’t wait to go back and explore some more!

Photography and words courtesy of So Cal sister Trude Ellingsen, Recovering Firecraker.

Feel free to share your favorite garden shot today from near of far. Blooms always welcome here.

soak up the sun

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“I’m gonna soak up the sun
Gonna tell everyone
To lighten up I’m gonna tell ’em that
I’ve got no one to blame
For every time I feel lame
I’m looking up I’m gonna soak up the sun” ~song by Sheryl Crow

I just get these lyrics with every fiber of my being. I need sunlight like I need air.

Perhaps living in a colder, wetter, climate than some amplifies my search of the light. I never take the sun for granted. It is a real need of mine. One that I feed through photography.

If the sun is shining, you can bet I will be pointing my lens to the sky, shooting straight into the light,capturing the magic that only sunlight can supply. Manifesting itself in beautiful images of rays, sunbursts, rainbows, and baths of warm light, also known as flares. I clearly remember capturing my first flare and I was hooked.

Whenever I am in need a rut breaker, that is my go to move. I go outside, aim at the sun and shoot! It simply feels good. I am so drawn to images of light and flares that i started the Flare Fridays group on flickr. A place where we can all celebrate the beauty of light magic. Many ask me tips on flares. There are SO many different types of flares I find it hard to give a simple answer. One tip I find useful is time of day. I find it easier in the early morning hours or evening hours, when the slant of light seems to produce such beautiful results. High noon can be tricky,but not unattainable. Don’t get frustrated, just keep on shooting and tilting your camera ever slightly to catch wonderful prisms with your lens.

I can’texplain why I love it so, but the images seem to warm me as much as the sun. They give me an instant boost of happiness.

Are you a sun worshipper too? Show us what you’ve got! Go on out and shoot up at the sky. What light magic have you captured lately?

Image and words courtesy of the ever-popular Kristen Zecchinelli (aka Mainemomma) who shares a great tutorial on Flare on her blog. Check it out!

Celebrate and Sparkle

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Patriotism is love of and/or devotion to one’s country.Sometimes we get so lost in the “roller coaster of life” to see the loveliness that’s around us. The street corners, local bakeries, town celebrations. It’s all just so inspiring.

 

So on this day of celebration in the States, take some time to show what you love about where you live. Share your little nooks, eateries, playgrounds and how you best like to spend days like these. And remember to soak it all in.

 

Image and words courtesy of Jen Way; Miss Americana.