Shutter Sisters

eyes on the road

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Nothing beats the slow pace of a summer road trip. Meandering highways, sweeping landscapes, vast skylines, and expansive roads that seem to lead to nowhere make for not only picturesque views but also breathtaking photos. When you’re able to take it all in from the passenger seat with either a soundtrack to match your surroundings or the beauty of silence, your camera can help translate your scenic backdrop into a visual language that is universal.

As we follow the road to the end of this season of warmth and welcoming, share with us the stirrings of simplicity that fill your summer lungs with wanderlust.

 

Enchanted

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It is true that the magic of childhood is for the most part intangible however, as a professional photographer and a mother I know that the perfect moment in time captured in a picture can tell a pretty grand tale of the enchantment.

What is it exactly that makes us swoon at the sight of a sleeping baby or melt when we feel the motion of uninhibited play and total freedom of being?

Do the eyes have it? It is a gesture? Or something about the context of the shot that makes it irresistible?

Even after all these years, and many clients later, I’m not sure I can put my finger on it exactly. I guess I just know it when I see it, just as I’m sure you do.

Share with us in a photo what kind of kid stuff stops your grown-up heart in reverie.

seeing me

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I look at this photo and I see me. I really see me.

I see who I am and also who I want to be.

I see a 40 year old and a 10 year old.

I see my vulnerability and courage as I open myself, arms stretching out like wings.

I see my joy in being present and yet the motion of moving ahead.

I see myself, through the eyes of a sister-friend who sees me as I hope the world sees me. As I hope to always see myself.

If you don’t already have a photo that shows you as you; who you were, who you are, who you are becoming, I challenge you to ask a photographer friend to give you the gift . In turn, you can do the same for them. I guarantee you won’t regret it. And if you have a photo that really shows us sometihng about you, please share it today.

and ode to Love Thursday

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Myriam and Karen on the coast of Oregon

When you let love in, joy comes too.

When you live in love you are fearless.

When you love what you do, you can do no wrong.

When you surround yourself with love you are safe.

When you love who you are, you are giving the world the best gift there is.

 

Please feel free to add to this weeks Love Thursday list* with your own words and pictures.

*Written in honor of Shutter Sister Karen who week after week shares unconditional love with us here at Love Thursday. Thank you Karen. What you give to our community and to the world is invaluable.

Beloved Black and White

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I began my photo career years before the digital age, at a time where shooting a portrait session took a number of cameras loaded with lots of different kinds of film. The norm for me was simultaneously shooting with three bodies; one loaded with color film, one with b/w film and another with high speed b/w film (1600 for the grainy/artsy stuff). In the end my clients got a good number of proof prints to peruse with a cross section of b/w, color and more b/w. Emphasis on the b/w. It was just kind of my thing—for many many years. Creating black and white images was what I enjoyed most and in the end my favorite shots from any session were -you guessed it- black and white.

Then, a few years ago entered my swift and smooth little digital SLR (that shoots everything in color of course) and the enchanting Adobe Lightroom which helps take that color to a whole new dimension. The last 2 years I have found them to be an irresistible couple that have seduced me into practically forgetting about my beloved black and white. It is only when I see shots like this and this that I am swept up in remembering my passion for the absence of color. For an image that holds the viewer captive with it’s enticing tonal range of whites to light grays to dark grays to the blackest blacks and back again. An image where texture evokes emotion and wonder, and there is no color to distract.

Lately I feel desperate to rediscover that unspoken thing that black and white images bring that drew me to photography in the first place—to rekindle that old flame, and search for ways to restrike that spark in a new world where creative tinder can come from a single stroke of the keyboard.

And you? Where do your loyalties lie? Do you ever feel torn in your processing? Do I or don’t I desaturate? What would make this image the best it can be? How do you decide? And what is your preference? Shed a little light (and shadow) if you would, because I need to know I am not alone in this. Am I?

This End Up

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Have you ever seen a photo that was difficult to decipher? A picture that questioned your mind’s eye and turned logic on its ear? An image full of mystery and intrigue that begged the question, what the heck is that?

The shot above was taken from street level, lens pointing straight up as I leaned against the wall of a hotel in San Francisco. The architecture is what drew me in; ornate and opulent in its detail and curves. The angle felt dizzy enough but the window’s shape and reflection was the visual component that added that little extra huh? to the image.

Have you captured something that made you question what was really happening? Something that was both compelling and confusing? Disorient us today.

Confessions

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Stephanie and friends, San Francisco

Sarah-Ji’s ‘break the rules’ post last Sunday was a stroke of serious serendipity and what she encouraged was exactly what I did at the Shutter Sisters / BlogHer PhotoWalk and it’s been on my mind ever since.

Many of us had the privilege of spending a little time with Me Ra Koh during her photography session at the conference. I think I speak for everyone in attendance when I say WOW! She was authentic, adorable, sincere and so photo-articulate (in the most relaxed and approachable way). Her willingness to share her knowledge was inspiring and what’s more, what she shared was so refreshing and enlightening. She is a true Shutter Sister through and through.

As she spoke I got a lot of looks and whispers from Karen and Stephanie, pssst, did you know that? I nodded yes on a number of points but I most certainly did learn a thing or two. One point that shed some light (pun intended) was the way she explained ISO. I know that ISO is virtually your film speed (without the film part) and that by shooting with a high ISO your images will have MORE grain or noise. What I failed to truly understand is that there’s more to it than that.

I confess proudly that I’m a 400-800 ISO girl just as I was a 400-1600 film girl. It makes it so much easier and fun shooting in low light with a higher ISO and so, I do it. Because I like easy and fun. Well, come to find out, you actually get the optimum color saturation when you shoot a Canon or Sony at 100 ISO or a Nikon at 200 ISO. WHO KNEW? Me Ra did. And now I do too. And so do you, if you didn’t already. To put it to the test and I decided to try it out on the PhotoWalk. I won’t lie, it’s not going to be easy getting used to not having the ability to shoot in super-low light while hand-holding my camera but since we were outside, it was a perfect place to break my own ISO rule and give it a go.

Jury is still out on whether or not I see a difference in my images…I need a little more experimentation time to figure it out. None the less, trying something new, breaking my own rules while shooting was as exhilarating as the cool, crisp air of San Francisco.

If you are so inclined, share your own photo confessions with us in the comments and if there’s a photo that goes along with it, we’d love to see it. And by all means if you are breaking some rules, do share! The fun part is along with your comment you will be entered to win today’s random drawing for one of Me Ra’s awesome educational DVD’s. One lucky winner will win Refuse to Say Cheese and another will win Beyond the Green Box. You have until Monday at midnight EST to leave your comment.

A special thanks to Me Ra for sharing her DVDs with us! You’re going to love them!  And if you haven’t already, pop over and visit her blog at www.merakohblog.com.

Grand Collaborations

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View from the Navy Pier in Chicago at BlogHer 2007

As I tie up loose ends and back my bags for the weekend’s festivities I am giddy. More than anything BlogHer has become a block of time to be in the true physical presence of some of my favorite women that for the most part, I only get to spend time with virtually. It’s something I look forward to all year.

This year feels extra special though.

At last year’s BlogHer I was talking up this great idea I had of a unique collaborative photo blog for women that I had planned to launch called Shutter Sisters. People would ask for details and I remember saying, I’m not exactly sure what’s it’s going to be. I just know it’s going to be amazing. And it is truly amazing. I had an idea of what I hoped it would be but little did I know the caliber of community that has come to surround and support the blog would surpass my wildest dreams. You all have helped make Shutter Sisters what it is today. And it just keeps getting better. Thank you all so very much.

This year BlogHer for me will be an even richer celebration of sisterhood and some of the contributing sisters and many of our community will be gathering, walking the streets of San Francisco, clickin’ around town together. It feels almost surreal and I eagerly look forward to Saturday’s PhotoWalk. What’s more is that, thanks to Blurb, we will be kicking off the Shutter Sisters Collaborative Book Collection! You asked for it. You got it. The book will be called ShutterWalk and it will be full of some highlights from the PhotoWalk images captured. All participants have to do is upload their PhotoWalk Photos into the ShutterWalk Flickr Group, tag them with ssphotowalk08 and our favorites will be chosen for our book.

Since there are so many of you that aren’t able to join us this weekend, we are also going to begin the process of choosing the images for our second book. Yep. That’s two. We’re pretty ambitious, aren’t we? This is so that everyone can get into the spirit of starting our library of books. It will be called The Daily Click (crowd goes wild). The photos that will be chosen for the book from our Daily Click stream will be up to you!

Between now and August 1st it is your job to be book curator. All you have to do is click through all The Daily Clicks and comment on the ones you hope to see in our book. The photos with the most comments will be featured in our First Annual Daily Click Collection. We can’t wait to see which photos you choose!

Once the books are done, they will be available at the Blurb Bookstore. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to the best cause we could think of, Jen and Odette’s Girl Power Afrcia fund.

Thank you again to all of you for being involved here and so wonderfully supportive. It means to the world to us. Especially to me. Sniff sniff.

Beyond the Bloom

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I love a garden in full bloom as much as the next photographer and yet I find myself equally compelled to capture the phases of plant life that are less about the obvious grandeur and more about the subtleties of growth and change; the various stages that celebrate the entire journey of life, from beginning to end.

Flowers in full bloom boast and brag through vibrant color and a round and robust shape, but as they wane they often leave behind curious shapes and textures. Petals soften and slowly let go. Colors change and fade as mysterious curves, curls and creases begin to appear altering the plant into something that can be even more captivating, more poetic than before.

And as flowers in their heyday boldly declare their magnificence to the world, the shrinking bloom speaks in a whisper, to only those that will listen, revealing it’s secret that the muted and understated offer an unmatched and inimitable beauty that deserves to be recognized and held in reverie.

Have you had the privilege of capturing a part of life (of a flower or otherwise) that might have normally been missed if it hadn’t been seen by your lens? Something perhaps less than perfect that murmurs softly of the unseen, proving that the delight of life can indeed be found in the journey. Do share it with us.

adventures near and far

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At this very moment my family and I are far from home enjoying a new landscape and discovering uncharted surroundings on our first adventure of the summer. But alas, you all know full well that you don’t have to travel to find wonders both big and small.

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This is the last week of our month long Sundays at Home series. Truth be told, I hate to see it go. Perhaps it will be something we decide to bring back time and again. What do you think?

In the meantime, go ahead an leave your comments here for your shot at the last random drawing to win the book America and Home (custom cover and all). And be sure to leave us a link to some kind of wonderful discovery you made at home. Magic is everywhere and you don’t even have to leave home to find it. Show us what’s going on at your place.

 

Congrats to Maine Momma Kristen who was the winner of last week’s drawing.