Shutter Sisters

Seven AM

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Nature’s gifts never cease to delight and inspire me. I’m often drawn to the smallest, most delicate of objects in my home, on the street, out and about. If something calls out to be noticed I rarely nod and just forget it. Inexorably guided by my passion to create photographs, I have to stop everything I am doing and get a camera.

I discovered this lone leaf the other morning looking like it had been meticulously placed there on the lid of our trash can just for me. As I was in the midst of emptying the garbage it caught my eye, still bleary with the morning, as it seemed to be boasting its juxtaposition of dainty ruffles and crooked lines. Accentuated by the soft early morning light (a contrast against the dark slick surface ) it stopped my in my tracks. I stood there in wonder…in the street…in my pajamas. And then of course, I got a camera.

How is it that no matter how many leaves, pods or blossoms I study, I am continually amazed at how striking and inimitable each one is? And then I notice the way each photographer can uniquely capture them in a photograph and I am forever charmed by their beauty.

fun and games

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I’ve spent much of the last 24 hours graciously soaking up all of your comments and eagerly reading through encouraging and constructive emails. The love and support of this community is invigorating. Thank you all so much.

First, please pardon the error in the registration process. We have reworked it so you can sign up under “get into the click”. We appreciate how enthusiastic you are to join us! The more the merrier!

So, now we continue to carefully contemplate things around here, slowly and steadily making our moves,  playing behind the scenes to work it all out. It’s a game I’m new at but I’ll tell you what– I’m sure glad you’ve all come to play. It makes the learning curve so much more enjoyable. Keep the feedback coming.

a blog is born

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I spoke to my mother yesterday and shared with her some details about Shutter Sisters. I commented that the project has been swimming in my head now for almost a year. “Time to birth it,” she said calmly.

Indeed.

So, here I am, writing a birth announcement for this baby that has grown and evolved more in the last few months than I could have ever imagined. Who knew that when I registered the domain name and shot the collection of photographs of my daughter and the Brownie on a whim that this collaborative photo blog would come to fruition as it is now? I feel like the quintessential proud parent.

It could have never come to be if it wasn’t for the help of ten women, all of whom have worked by my side in one way or another, like my own community of doulas; dedicated, attentive, encouraging, focused, kind and creative. Two of these women played hard-core advocates, never wavering in their support. Hello Jen and Myriam. The other eight are the contributors you will find here who day in and day out have provided rich content, ideas, artwork, html code and above all else, beautiful photographs. And then there’s all of you. I am so happy to have you here for the big debut. The site is still in its infancy so there are surely kinks to iron out but we are all eager to hear your thoughts and get your input.

I am so grateful for all of you…the community of creative women that have helped birth what is now Shutter Sisters and I look forward to what the future holds. They say it takes a village and I believe them.

Blinded by the white

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In Photoshop Lightroom there is a slide option called recovery. In Tracey terms I’m pretty sure it means ‘use this on your photo if you want to recover any lost information that you blew out in a highlight’. I have fooled with it before and it can be a lifesaver if you are in need of eeking out as much as you can from the part of your image that may have illusively disappeared into The Great Bright White. The results aren’t always as effective as one might hope (depending on how white is white) but it can really help sometimes.

To be honest though, I am a little torn about recovery. I know a number of people that don’t have a lot of tolerance for blown out highlights and therefore might recommend it. But, I’m a little more open to looking at things differently. I think that some of the images I have seen—and shot–with grossly overexposed highlights can work quite nicely, thank you.

I don’t know if I can always explain why I like what I like, but I know it when I see it and when I do, there is no recovery needed. And no apologies either.

a mother’s prerogative

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Being a camera wielding mama can mean breaching all sorts of what might be considered normal boundaries. Because my photo pattern is to capture more of life’s everyday occurrences over the big events, I find myself taking pictures of the most mundane, and perhaps even the most private of moments.

Having a tween-aged daughter has reminded me that soon, very soon, the family shots I do decide to share with the world will have to be perhaps a tad more censored than they have been to date. On the other hand, I also have a preschooler under my roof and therefore still have some time to indulge myself in what I call the mother’s prerogative photo free-for-all.

Good times.

The Sparkle of Reinvention

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On Christmas morning my youngest daughter was a scallywag princess, a keyboard playing ballerina and a tap dancing cowgirl all within a few hour timeframe. As she vacillated from one role to the next she confidently became her persona of choice without hesitation or apology. The family all encouraged her and played along as she reinvented herself via costume changes, hair and makeup and attitude. A lot of attitude. She was living each of the characters she longed to be in vivid color from cattle rustling swagger to dainty plie .

Today, as I thumb through the photos of a morning filled with impossible magic I know I have a lot to learn from a four year old. The freedom she allows herself to be exactly who she wants to be from one minute to the next is an example of how to live in the moment. No regret, no fear, just unbridled passion in forward motion.

In my creative journey I have come to a crossroads of sorts. I have approached a place where a whole new world is opening up to me as I truly begin to explore digital photography. I feel like I am learning to create my art via a brand new medium and as I do, I am changing and growing. This is a good thing, I know. But I can’t pretend that I’m not resistant sometimes. I have found myself clinging to my old ways, holding on to my self-proclaimed title of being a low-tech photographer. It’s where I have felt safe for so long; the place I have grown comfortable living even though I have long grown weary of it. I believe it’s time to step up for a costume change.

As the New Year begins, I am looking forward to letting go a little and dancing into the wide open spaces of reinvention. Now all I need is a pony and a comfortable pair of sparkle shoes.

Tweak the Antique

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I’m fairly new to Adobe Lightroom (my new BFF photo editing program) so I’m still working out my system. The whole post processing thins can be overwhelming to say the least, especially when you take as many photos as I do. I’m thinking that we’re all in that same boat of shooting gazillions of photos so I know you can relate.

One of my favorite presets right now that Lightroom offers is aged photo. t first when I click on it my images looks totally overexposed but when I take down the exposure slide (is that what they call that thing?) it starts to work it’s magic. The photos look nostalgic in an interesting, not sappy way. I will admit that I thought I was so over that antique tinted look but with the options this baby gives you, you can totally revamp the look of it.

In the shot above I got it too look just as I liked it just by playing with the exposure slide (I hope that’s what they call it). The only thing that was missing was more color in the magenta flower so I cranked it up a little. I used the magenta slide and upped the saturation and my work was done. I love the way the warm pinkish cast works in this image and the flower is just tinted enough to remain a subtle but beautiful focal point. That against the color of the little girl’s skin captivates me.

Have you used aged photo or something like it? Do you use it as it comes or do you tweak your antique?

What I Remember

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For many of us, taking the photos that document our lives is just a part of our daily routine. I shoot pictures of my children just about every day, but it wasn’t until the other night that the importance of each of these seemingly effortless images I snap away came into clear focus.

On the eve of my oldest daughter’s tenth birthday, I watched her pull from our family albums, her favorite baby pictures for use in her fifth grade auto biography. She mused over what she liked about each one and embellished with the details she remembered about them. It dawned on me that there really wasn’t anything she vividly remembered about the actual moment these photos were captured. How could she when she was just a baby? I imagine that what she was remembering were the photographs themselves. Revisiting the baby pictures she had grown up looking at stirred the memories of the photos themselves and the stories I have shared with her about them.

I listened as she reflected, I remember this one, I used to wear that orange outfit all the time, we called it my carrot suit. I loved that quilt, didn’t I? I remember Grandma made it for me. Oh, remember that I used to snuggle with that bunny. I love this picture. I heard her recalling her life as these photographs have narrated it for her. I too have photos like that–images of my young life that take me back to a moment in time that although may have slipped from my memory, is stirred up by both the picture and my mother’s stories. I guess it doesn’t really matter if I can remember these details or not, but I do have the photos as tangible proof that I had a grand first birthday party with a gazillion guests, that I wore my favorite Minnie Mouse dress on Easter and that I was “such a good little traveler” when my parents and I drove across the country in a Volkswagen Bus.

Hearing my own daughter speak of her baby days like that, like she actually remembers those days reminds me that when I am taking pictures I am doing something important. I am creating for her a visual treasury that she will have to help her remember her life. That I love doing it is just icing on the cake.

A Few Common Threads

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I was immediately drawn to the color of this grapefruit and so of course, I had to get some photos of it. My poor kids, waiting for me to shoot pictures of their breakfast before they can eat. What kind of mother am I?

As I lay it on the table and shoot across the top, I found myself drawn beyond the color, to the curve of the glorious circle that the round fruit boasts. I feel that this is what I must capture; even if it’s just enough of the shape to lead your eye around it as your mind fills in the blank.

I was reminded of a few other images in my everyday life collection. Looking through these photos, I recognize a trend. How curious that there are so many similarities in what I am choosing to capture and then how I compose my shots.

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So tell me, do you find a common thread among some of your photos? What is it that you are compelled to capture?