Shutter Sisters

snow globe

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Winters where I live can be long suffering. Photography has given me a much needed incentive to be out in the elements more often.  This winter I have had fun photographing our snowfalls.  We have plenty of them, so I happen to get a lot of practice…  I love trying to capture the real feel of a storm. Whether is be the massive amounts of flakes that fall in a given moment, or the blustery winds, i want the photo to reflect those elements and give someone the feeling of being right there.  I often say I feel like I live in a snow globe and many of my shots this winter seem to reflect that.  My main tip in photographing snow is to pull the focus in on your lens,  if you leave it on auto it is sure to focus on something large in the background,  like the trees or a person,  but if you put it on manual focus and pull the focus in off the background you will capture those falling flakes giving your photo the effect of a snow globe all shook up. 

How have you pictured winter?  Did you go small and capture the fragile beauty of a single flake?  Did the beauty after an ice storm captivate you? Perhaps some amazing ice patterns caught your eye. Before the snow and cold are all but a memory, share a favorite winter shot here with us all today. 

 

color therapy

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“In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”  -A. Camus

February is here,  the light is returning to the days ever so slowly. This is when winter seems to begin to drag a bit for me.  Others in warmer climates are already digging in the earth, planning gardens, seeing signs of spring bursting out around them while here I shovel inches upon inches of fresh fallen snow.  It is true that has a beauty all its own of course, but some days I need a distraction from the cold and white, so when my grocery store gets the first deliveries of lovely yellow daffodils I am powerless to resist.  I scoop them up in my basket almost giddy with glee.  I bring them home and lovingly arrange them on our dining table.  The rebel in me is saying,  ‘there winter, take that!’  Then I proceed to photograph them endlessly it seems.  The color almost takes on a life of its own.  I call it my winter therapy.  A girl has to have her coping skills, yes?!? 

So today, show me your therapy when winter has gotten the better of you.  Find some happy color or warm light and lets melt away those winter blues.

 

no color required

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I admit I lean heavily toward color photography. There are those times where the absence of color just makes sense in processing, some photos almost seem to call out for it, but have you ever actually intentionally shot knowing you wanted a black and white image? I admit that is very rare for me and it truly makes my eye see differently than if i was just out shooting. It makes me work harder on compostion.  I notice the light differently and compose accordingly.  I find myself seeking out extreme areas of both darkness AND light. Stripping away all the happy shiny color leaves you with shadows, light, textures and emotion.

This week Erika Ray is hosting “A Week of No Color”  on Flickr.  I knew I wanted to join in, but then I personally decided that for this entire week I would shoot solely in black and white or dramatic sepia.  No color at all.  I knew it would challenge me,  but I also knew that this was just the sort of focus I needed right now. 

I have a few editing “go tos” when post processing an image over in Flickr’s editing program, Picnik.  I wanted to share them here today for anyone who doesn’t have editing software of their own OR just wants to try something for fun.  Of course Picnik has the standard black & white conversion button,  but if you venture off that page into “Advanced Tools”, go to “Curves” and then open up the drop down menu where it says “Default”.   There you will find “Dramatic Sepia”  and “Faded Daguerreotype” keys. The use of these buttons will easily transform your color image into something completely different in one click. The first, Dramatic Sepia, gives you a deep rich image full of darkness and drama just like its title says. The latter, Faded Daguerreotype, lightens and warms up the image almost whimsically, i especially love this one if you photo has a bit of grain or noise to it.  Go on over and play around,  Flickr editing is a user friendly and fun way to experiment, especially if you if you are new at processing your images. 

Today let’s all strip away the colors,  what do you see?  Share a black and white or sepia image here with us, and remember to click on over to Flickr and join in Erika’s group too! 

cup of comfort

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These days it seems my cup is always full of something steaming, something soothing, and sometimes sweet. I love images of steam rising.  Art in a coffee mug.  Messages from our tea bags.  Beautiful cups; simple, vintage, feminine. Enjoyed anywhere at anytime.

 

Decaf or high test? Cream or black? Honey with lemon? Tall or grande? Dunkin or Starbucks? Whipped cream or perhaps marshmallows, heaps of them. So many choices,  so much simple beauty right at our fingertips.

What is in your cup today?

the beauty of the mundane

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“Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous.”   – B. Moyers

mun*dane–  1. everyday, ordinary, commonplace,  or banal

I am never sure when an opportunity might arise to take a photo, this is why i carry my camera always. Winter in New England equals a very dirty car.  Yesterday, by the urging of my 4 year old in the back seat, I took my filthy car to the car wash. Camera by my side in the front seat, I paid for our wash and drove in.  The door closed and the wash began.  I was instantly drawn to the designs on the windshield.  I picked up my camera and began snapping a few shots.  This was my favorite.  Even though I know it is an ordinary moment in the mundane task of washing my car, the image goes beyond that for me.  I see serenity in the droplets and little streams,  I love the blur of the garage door beyond the windshield. I believe finding beauty in the mundane is a gift given to me through photography. It helps me see beyond the tedium.

Washing dishes, folding laundry, cooking, hanging wash.

What beauty have you found in the mundane? Share some with us here today.

a winter’s day

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Sunlight on snow

Bare branches

Snowsuits in candy colors

Long shadows cast in blue

Rosy cheeks

Sounds of childhood

It was the perfect winter day. Hours spent sledding in the park. I looked down the hill thorugh my camera,  unfocused my lens and loved how it all seemed like a beautiful painting.

Have you ever just gone blurry on purpose? Share some beautiful blur with us today.

lighting the way

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 “Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle and the life of the candle will not be shortened.  Happiness never decreases by being shared.”  – Buddha

As 2011 fast approaches I find myself reflecting on this past year.  Taking a mental inventory of what i am ready to leave behind and what i want to carry forward into the new year. Do you find yourself doing the same? A new year always feels full of hope to me.  The endless possibilities of the unknown. 

2010 proved a tough year for so many, yet through our photography we shared, we hoped, we loved. We cried, we grieved, we celebrated, we got small, and bore witness. We honored the everyday, were brave, had faith, captured connections and found new friends.  In doing so we came together in our oneness. 

Today lets celebrate hopefulness together.  I lit this candle for all of us, to celebrate the sisterhood and all we openly shared here in 2010.  What beauty awaits us all in 2011?  Share an image of hope and possibility in the comments here today.  Let’s make our way into the new year full of light and love. 

hustle and bustle

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Tis the season of crowds and shopping, traffic and short tempers.

So many people in one collective rush.

I was out one night this month, camera slung on my shoulder, when I came upon this beautiful window display of what seemed to be hundreds of white paper circles all strung together in a gorgeous garland. So pretty, so simple and so festive.  Who was noticing?  No one while I was there.  I stopped, stepped back, removed myself from the ever pulsing stream of people, and lifted my camera to capture the scene.  The beautiful window, the blur of the people rushing past, the sign in the window reads, “beyond shopping” and somehow that seemed so appropriate.  If everyone could see beyond the shopping what beauty might they notice?  If they slowed down, exhaled more, looked around instead of straight ahead all the time, they too might find something really beautiful right there just waiting to be seen. 

Today take a moment and appreciate something beautiful around you and share it here with us.  Maybe together we can slow down the hustle and bustle of the up coming days just a little..

 

winter’s palette

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Long gone are the freshness of spring, the bright sunlight of summer, and the explosions of autumn color here in my little part of the world.

Less daylight, the not so welcoming weather, and lack of colors can make winter shooting a challenge.

Of course this does not mean the beauty is gone, it’s just different.

Surrounded by browns, greys and white, winter forces my eye to focus on the subtle beauty that perhaps I take for granted other times of the year. I now find my eye seeking out textures and shapes.  Appreciating the simplicity of winter’s monochromatic palette. Just last week while walking in the woods I came upon this abandoned shack.  Some may see just that, ‘a shack’, but I was drawn to the symmetry of the windows, the layers of varying browns, and textures of the winter weeds against the weathered wood.

I think winter makes me work harder in my photography and in some way that helps me stretch and grow.

What beauty do you find yours lens focusing on in these winter months?

 

beautiful mess

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This time of year my home is covered in snips of paper, glitter and string. Creating seems to kick into a higher gear as we decorate and make gifts for the up coming holidays. My little ones are busy with paper snowflakes, snowmen, and hand drawn nutcrakers that get taped to every window.  I am sure these will be made again this year. (oh they smell so good!)  And of course there will be baking. Cookies of all shapes, a gingerbread house, flour dust and sugar sprinkles over every surface and floor.   I like to think of it as a beautiful mess.

What are you making these days?  Are you busy sewing? knitting? decorating?

Let’s help celebrate this month’s One Word ‘beauty’, and decorate the comments today with any creations or beautiful messes you have captured lately.