Shutter Sisters

One Wish

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It’s been unseasonably warm here in the South. In fact we spotted a dandelion in bloom and another in need of a little holiday wishing this past weekend. From the looks of my girl’s letters (yes, that’s plural) to Santa this year, I’ve got a good idea of what’s on her mind at this moment. But what about you? What if you could make just one wish this holiday season? Would it be something small and simple? Or would you look to the stars and whisper a wish so big that you’re almost too fearful to help make it come true?

What would you wish?

Sharing your wish in the comments makes you eligible to win two gifts today because every sister needs a little extra love on Monday. The snap happy folks at Snaptotes are giving away one picture-perfect handbag with your image of choice. And Shutter Sister Stephanie Roberts is giving away a hardcover book of her photographic images titled Come Closer – a look at hidden beauty found in close range.

Congrats to Lauren who won the image from the Etsy shop of Sweet Blue Photography.

Gift Exchange

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Twelve dancing princesses twinkled, giggled and clickety-clicked in fancy shoes throughout my home yesterday. Twas my girl’s sixth birthday party. I’m not sure why, but I’m rarely thrilled with my birthday party shots. Perhaps because they often seem overly posed. Rushed. Yes, it’s great to be happy and smiling and posing in all silliness, but I prefer catching subtle glances at a slower pace. A spontaneous moment when my presence is long forgotten and they forget to say cheese.

Speaking of forgotten… I often forget December birthdays in the chaos of the holiday season. Do you? Well, Zazzle is the only super speedy, on-demand custom solution that produces products with your fabulous images and designs within 24 hours of ordering for great gifts like hip, fitted t-shirts, canvas prints, note cards, magnets and even skateboards. A perfect solution for last-minute gift givers. And in the sisterly spirit of gift giving, leave a comment on this post and FIVE winners will be chosen to receive 1 set of 20 cards and 1 sheet of 20 US postage stamps customized with your image and design. Use them for holiday cards, greeting cards or birthday thank you notes. Hey! Now there’s an idea.

AND…Congratulations to busymomma66 for winning the Tracy Joy bag. Fill it well.

Giving Thanks for Laughter

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“Okay, ya’ll go out to the back porch before you change your clothes!” I shouted from the kitchen. I could procrastinate no longer.

“Why?!”

“I need to take your picture for our Christmas card.”

[groans, moans, stomps]

And after quickly wiping the chocolate sauce off my girl’s mouth and smoothing out my boy’s bangs, I stuffed them into a wicker chair and instructed them to lean in close. “Put your arm around her please,” I coaxed. Eyes rolled and then someone released a funny sound… and CLICK.

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If you’ve shot your holiday card, do share a link so we can take a peak. Or if you’re looking for an excuse to procrastinate a little further, join me in the spirit of Thanksgiving this week by sharing a moment that makes you thank-full.

and they’re off…

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It’s funny how some life experiences just scream to be validated with an image. Had I told you that we attended a pig race at our local pumpkin patch a few weeks ago, you might not have believed me. It’s casual captures like this that visually document the quirks I love about life in the south – a place where we’ll gladly leap at the chance to squeal with a few swift-moving swines.

Share an experience or a place that might surprise us today.

Friday’s Featured Resource: Your Shot in National Geographic

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I remember sitting on the floor of our grammar school library, huddled up close to the shelves of National Geographic magazines.  I’d scan the sea of golden yellow and pull out the issues one-by-one to flip the pages and study the images in silence.  I rarely read a word.  It was the images that drew me in and made time stand still.

Just recently I discovered the rich presence of National Geographic online. And if you’ve ever dreamed a little dream about having your images published in this worthy publication, it just might come true… online and maybe even in print.  Check out the National Geographic Photography area and enter one of your images into their Daily Dozen contest each month. Photo editor Susan Welchman selects twelve new photos each day to be featured online, where visitors can vote for their favorite. The top voted image of the month is published in National Geographic. And if you’re looking to get inside the head of a few experienced photo editors, be sure to check out their blog.

What’s your natural vision?

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Last night I finished a great little book, “Letting Go of the Camera: Essays on Photography and the Creative Life” by Brooks Jensen, Editor of LensWork.  While most of my favorite photography books are filled with rich images, this one is exclusively comprised of words. Insight. Lessons learned. Random thoughts. It’s not about aperture settings, exposure tips nor digital image manipulation. It’s a collection of essays that stretched my thinking and prompted self-exploration about my recent choice to follow the path of photography into a professional space.

In chapter 26, Brooks Jensens encourages you to “discover your natural vision,” suggesting that photographers might “…(come) to recognize that we (are) naturally predisposed to see in some ways more strongly than in others. By knowing this, we could more easily know when it might be best to work intuitively and when it might be best to work intellectually or carefully.”

I immediately thought about a conversation I had with a friend the other night. “So how would you characterize what you like to shoot?” she asked. I paused for a moment. I’ve been pushing and stretching myself beyond my “natural vision” for the past few months in an effort to get the most from my Project 365 experience. I’m purposefully trying to shoot what does not come naturally for me, yet intrigues me. And I’m enjoying this challenge. But I must say, I feel most comfortable within close range of my subjects and when I’m contorting my body around a subject to discover and share a small detail in a simple composition. I suppose this would be my natural vision.

How would you define your natural vision at this moment in time? Can you articulate it? Show us an image that best represents it.

Behind the Lens with Rick Smolan

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During the month of October, Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP) for the tenth consecutive year.  ACP is an organization and city-wide photography festival comprised of more than 100 exhibitions and events inspiring discussion and showcasing work of photographers from around the world.  ACP’s mission is simple: to create an international city for photography in Atlanta. It feels good to be here.

This past weekend, I attended an ACP10 lecture hosted by Brooks Jensen, photographer and editor of fine art photography publication, LensWork. In his lecture, Jensen suggests that “Photography is not about light. Photography is about life.” He encouraged us to first identify what we want to say with our images and then be open to share our stories with audiences in the form of not only still images, but audio and video. And with the recent launch of video-capture SLRs such as the Nikon D90 and the Canon 5D Mark II, my sisters, our images have the power to be still… or move if we choose. He suggests that photographers are not only image creators, we are oral historians and storytellers. 

My friend, Rick Smolan, came to mind as I listened to Jensen’s perspective on photography.  Rick began his career as a photojournalist for Time, LIFE and National Geographic. His curious nature and love of life lead him to create From Alice to Ocean (book and CD-Rom) in the early 1990s, the photo/journal documentary of a woman’s journey across Australian… on camel back.  From that point on, Rick began to orchestrate massive visual storytelling projects involving teams of photojournalists and amateur photographers from all over the world to document and share stories about life in print book and digital form including the Day in the Life… series, Passage to Vietnam, Power to Heal, 24 Hours in Cyberspace, America 24/7 and most recently America at Home. I caught up with Rick recently and recorded our conversation to share with you.  I was curious to trace his path as a photographer.  To discover and share the secret of his success so I might follow in his footsteps. Was the secret revealed? Yes, from my perspective. But tell me what you think.

Listen online or download Behind the Lens with Rick Smolan – a thirty-minute deep dive.

Rick was kind to offer all of us a 25% discount (that’s $10.00 off) his latest book, America at Home, for a limited time. Simply visit American at Home, create a custom cover with your image of home, and enter promotion code: fall08

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The image above was captured by Rick Smolan and is shared with his permission. Ever since his children were toddlers, the first thing that Phoebe (7) and Jesse (5) Smolan do when they arrive at their grandfather’s Long Island home is to climb into the painted school lockers to see how much they’ve grown since their last visit. A scrapbook kept by Grandpop Elliott Erwitt, a renowned photographer whose images appear on the walls of museums around the world, lets them chart their growth.

Lead by the Lens

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Do you find that your lens has a mind of its own sometimes?  that you are lead to capture certain moments beyond your control? that somehow you end up at just the right place, at just the right time and it has nothing to do with you?

I captured this image last summer shortly after I got my Nikon D80. It was about 1:00pm on a Sunday. And the congregation of eight assembled on the front porch of the church on my prompting.  After taking several shots of the two beautiful women on the left, the youngest (and most shy) member of the church popped into my view and threw his arm around Eula Kate. She was more than ninety years old at the time. Eula Kate had survived a heart attack and refused to be put in a nursing home. She loved living on her own and attended her small hometown church every Sunday. I think she enjoyed having her picture made that day despite the heat and blinding sun. Several months later, she left this world peacefully – seated in her chair at her church… on a Sunday.

A Slice of Life

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It rained that day. We loafed around the lake house waiting. Waiting for the sun. Waiting to ski. It was our last day.  This image sums it up for me.

I rarely shoot wide and I rarely shoot slice of life, when capturing the essence of the true story is even more important than the lighting and composition. It requires patience and at the same time, a quick impulse. I get a little fearful when I share moments like this because they feel so personal. It’s a privilege to get close to people in their homes, and to share a few moments of their lives through honest eyes.

I had been soaking in Rick Smolan’s newest book, America at Home, that weekend as seen in my lap above. I met Rick many years ago and instantly became a fan of his work and unique approach to visual storytelling through the eyes of photojournalists from all over the world. America at Home is an amazing collection of images and words that will broaden your view of America and expand your definition of the word “home.” There’s a great interview with Rick on BlogHer by ClizBiz about the story behind America at Home that you might enjoy, and if you really want to be wowed by the power of photojournalism, check out his TED Talk: A girl, a photograph, a homecoming.

Now let’s see a slice of your life. Share a link to your image in the comments.

(And stay tuned for my interview with Rick about his life as a photojournalist.)

The Making of a Shutter Sister

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“Mommy, where is my camera?!” she called out as we hurried towards the door. “I don’t wanna go without my camera.”

I remember what it felt like to take my first photos.  Such power. The notion of capturing a moment in time and keeping it in view forever. It was a good feeling, and I knew from the age of seven that I loved holding a camera to my eye and looking at life through a viewfinder.

When I purchased my digital SLR a little more than one year ago, I shelved my first digital point and shoot in a cabinet. The “antique” had a dent in the side from a careless fall and a frustrating delay at the click of the shutter, but it did have the ability to shoot video, so I kept it.

My five-year old daughter asked about it one day as I walked around our backyard looking for little gifts to discover and shoot. “Can I take pictures with you…” she asked. “…with your old camera?” I’m not sure why I hadn’t thought of that idea sooner, but her proposal was a fine one. Of course. So I ran inside, grabbed the camera and taught her where to look and how to zoom. 

And suddenly… it clicked.

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Do you remember your first camera or your first few shots? Have you shared a camera with a child in your life? Did his/her perspective surprise or inspire you?