When all else fails and the weather has got you stuck inside, and maybe even uninspired, take a look around the great indoors for a little reprieve.
Who said the sun can’t shine in December?
Find a little bit of summer today and share your sunshine.
holding on tight
Sam pleaded as we got started with the portrait session, “I don’t want to be in the pictures.”
It’s bound to happen time and again; the kids, that for one reason or another don’t want to perform for the camera. I know how it goes and I totally understand. I have a daughter who is by far, my most fickle of my photo subjects. Sam’s duress didn’t worry me one bit. I know in times like that you just have to wait it out, until he starts to have some real fun and forgets we’re at the park to shoot pictures. His mother and I catch up and laugh together (we only see each other a few times a year at best, one of which is for our annual family portrait session) and are just enjoying being there marveling at how time flies and how fast our children grow. We’re on no time schedule.
What I love about working with Sam’s family each year is that they are a pleasure to spend time with. And they so appreciate the things that make their boys special. So much so that they want me to capture these things in the photos I take. Last year Sam’s companion was a BIG truck and this year it’s his Dino. Needless to say Dino was in a great many of the pictures this year just as the truck was last year. And that’s just how Sam’s parents like it. Meanwhile, his brother Jack smiles with his attention turned toward all the small miracles of life (the intricacies of leaves, flowers and the sky) as his parents let him explore and allow me to capture him in his element. Each boy being loved and adored for who they are in this world and me there to witness it. I might add that they both share a passion for MnMs (their mom’s secret weapon in holding their attention and keeping them still for me).
I soak up the love from this family like a sponge. I am grateful for the honor of capturing such authenticity year after year. When most of the world is too busy and life is flying by at warp speed, this family of four holds on tight to the moments they spend together, to each other and to love.
What are you holding onto today?
shooting against the odds
Despite my plans to execute our annual birthday cake baking ritual in the light of day (for optimum photos of course), some years it’s more difficult than others to find the time. This year, I knew that baking at night (past our bedtime even) wouldn’t offer a picture-perfect scenario. Luckily, I have long abandoned my expectation for perfect so I figured I’d give it a shot (or two) and tell this year’s story as it really is. We’re busy. And my daughter is growing up. And although life sometimes gets sticky, it’s always sweet.
This shot will stand as an all-time favorite of mine. I should have remembered that when I surrender and give it my best attempt to cook up something wonderful something yummy happens.
Have you ever shot against all odds only to discover a sweet surprise in the end? Share your unlikely captures with us today.
one year ago today
Over at Mother May I have been enjoying sharing some old, archived photos. Unearthing images from years past has reminded me of how far I’ve come and yet, how much of life stays the same.
I shot a set of this sweet little raspberry heart on Nov 10th, 2008. I guess it’s true. I have been seeking out and focusing on the little things for as long as I can remember. And looking back on shots like these I am reminded that through it all, at least my heart is in the right place.
When you take a look back to one year ago, where was your heart? Let’s see a scene from the archives.
just say yes
As women I think we are perpetually over-extended. We spread ourselves too thin. We don’t always make time for ourselves. We are busy taking care of other people’s needs and putting theirs far above our own. In attempts to balance this issue we have learned to say “No” more often. No, to another project. No to one more commitment. No to burning our candles at both ends. No can be a wonderful word to use in the name of self preservation. I won’t deny it.
But the other day it struck me how much I say no to things just for the sake of saying no. Out of being tired. Being leary or even fearful. I say no out of habit. In response to this realization I have started saying yes again. Yes to my kids when they want to paint, or cook or play in the leaves. Yes to projects I know I will enjoy. Yes to creativity and play and being present in ways I often am not.
The other night I marveled at my daughter as she submersed herself in a yes I gave her. Yes, you may paint with real paints on a real canvas. She was beyond engaged for over an hour. Mixing her own colors, Have you ever seen a color more beautiful than this mom?…Using the brush like a master, I could paint like this for my whole life mom…Beaming with pride over her work of art, I can’t believe how much I love this painting! That hour was one of the best hours I can remember spending with my daughter. All because I said yes.
The power of yes can be magic when you let it be.
What have you said yes to recently? Anything that in particular that made your heart happy? That made your creative spirit soar? Share you success-yes stories!
negative space can be so positive and other thoughts
-quote by Goethe, shot with the Lensbaby Super Wide
Yesterday I had the chance to participate on a live web chat panel hosted at The Motherhood.com with some very exceptional ladies! Between myself, Amie Adams, Aimee Giese, Angie Warren and Me Ra Koh we could have shared for hours on end without coming up for air. Alas, time flies and we barely scratched the surface! If nothing else we realized that more than anything sharing photo inspiration can be just as fun as shooting! I guess that’s exactly why Shutter Sisters came to be.
Musing on all photo-centric thoughts and ideas I wanted to share today got me thinking about this time of year and how soon after Halloween we will be looking to creating holiday cards. Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about them already. I so know many of you have.
Last year we started really early (like Oct 7, yikes) and wrote up some posts on the subject and called it Great Greetings. I’m not going to reinvent the wheel here so allow me to lead you to the series, in case you either missed it or need a refresher.
And to add a 2009 post to the series today, let me offer one of my favorite ways to create a great card (holiday, birthday, invitation, or just cute notecards). Let me tell you, it’s all about the negative space. The more you leave, the more room you have to drop in the perfect sentiment. See the featured photo above. Don’t get me wrong, negative space for the sake of compelling composition alone is awesome. I do it all the time. But if you’re mindful about it when you are shooting pix for your cards, you can make room for the words that go with it. And remember, this is not just a motherhood thing. This trick goes for any kind of shot, for any kind of card.
And on that note, what are you thinking about for your cards this year? Or are you thinking about it yet? Share your thoughts and if you’re so inclined, you can share your card from last year. I’ll break the ice. Mine was a small and simple collection of images. I love simple.
Now, it’s your turn. Let’s see it!
Fridays Featured Resource – Week of Life Project
Just over a year ago we shared our enthusiasm for all things Ali Edwards, including her photo project called A Week In the Life. Love it! Thanks Ali for the inspiration!
Now, imagine that concept on a global scale. Enter the Week of Life Project: A unique internet medium for all citizens of the globe. Over at their site they invite everyone to take part in what they call the largest documentary project of all time! Sweet. We love collaborative and community projects so much and we thought this one was a dandy! Check out all the images that people have shared from their life. Neat stuff!
The project reminds me of a more concentrated version of the ever popular 365 but waaaaaaay less of a time commitment. Week of Life calls for 7 days captured in 9 photographs in each day. 63 photographs that make up a small documentary about one’s life, which can help to create a large documentary about the world. I like that idea. So, with that in mind, let’s see something from your week this week. Shed a little light into your world, and ours.
Photo above captured an evening in our life, as shot by my 11-year-old daughter.
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For those of you who are actively engaged in the 365 project, we want to hear from you! We’re planning another post full of inspiration and ideas for starting and sticking with the ambitious and coveted 365. Something along the lines of the one Stephanie shared and the one that followed. Share with us your thoughts so we can include them in our 365 inspiration round up!
Shoot for the Stars
-Shot with the Lensbaby Composer and the Super Wide Conversion Lens
I often consider myself an everyday photographer. Not so much because I shoot everyday (which I usually do) but more because I shoot my everyday life. I take pictures of everything from breakfast to bedtime and everything in between.
And I’m not fussy about it. I don’t often move things around or arrange things for the camera. I break the rules of photography constantly. I crank up my ISO. I don’t always look through the viewfinder. I cross my fingers. I blow out my whites. I don’t use a tripod. I like grain. I don’t like my flash. I shoot in really low light. I don’t use my lens cap. But I have a really really good time.
If I worried about the rules or waited for the right time to shoot the optimum picture, I wouldn’t have the rich (and imperfect) story of my life in photographs.
Let’s see a little something sacred from your life’s narrative. Something that maybe wasn’t thought out, or planned and yet, it fell unexpectedly before you like a shooting star as you were there to catch the magic with your lens.
Friday’s Featured Resource – Memolio
For the entire weekend in Manzanita I coveted the Polaroid pictures that were affectionately set around the house. As over 700 images from the weekend sat on my computer, I longed to hold them in my hands; to have something tangible that symbolized the trip, the sisterhood, the creative connection we all shared, the magic.
Andrea Jenkin’s perfectly composed squares, muted and dreamlike made me swoon. Equally enchanting were Jen Lee’s tiny treasures straight from her Diana Polaroid back (see above). Friends, fabrics, food, textures, sand and sky translated from view finder to film to hand, no computer required.
With a lack of any recent printed pictures, I can’t help but thing that printing pictures is becoming a lost art which makes me want them even more. It’s no wonder then I was smitten by these precious little picture albums from Memolio when I found them.
Love the idea, love the site, love the interface, love the price. I have a feeling I won’t only be making myself a few of these little gems to hold close, but that they might be the perfect holiday gift. What do you think?
An Illuminating October
Yep. The word for the October One Word Project is illuminate. Isn’t that a great word? For me it conjures up beauty, light, hope, inspiration and so much more.
So how did we come up with illuminate? Truth be told, we are so utterly smitten by our One Word Project partners Kirtsy that they were the inspiration for the word.
I mean, did you know that the fine editors at Kirtsy shed light on all things bright and beautiful on the web for women every day, all day? It’s true. If you know Kirtsy then you already know what we’re taking about but if you don’t, just go check out the site! You’ll never want to leave.
And did you know that they are hosting 100 FREE small business/social media classes around the country in the next few months to enlighten women just like us? I will be teaching a few in So Cal if you’d care to attend! I’d love that!
And last but not least did you know they’ve got a Kirtsy book coming out (Kirtsy Takes a Bow: A Celebration of Women’s Online Favorites that will not only be adorned with a number of images from the Shutter Sisters but will also be featuring almost a hundred other women of the web?
I know! Now it makes sense right? Illuminate is the perfect word!
Plus we love jack-o-lantern season.
So, sisters, show us that lovely light, that inspiration, that glow that only you all can capture and add your photos to our OWP Flickr pool. Check back daily for the featured photo…it just could be you.
Shine on!