Shutter Sisters

A Story of Receiving Love

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Image inspired by the work of Brian Peterson

A long overdue trip to my post office box yesterday delivered all kinds of sweet surprises. I was overjoyed and grateful for the bounty that was waiting for me inside such a meager metal box. Notes of kindness and gifts of friendship. Sweet melodies and generous offerings. And The Blossoming of the World.

I poured over the stack of papers, devouring each word, holding each token, feeling the intentions of each sender. Smiling. Nodding. Heart full of gladness.

But, it wasn’t until late that night when I crawled into bed and opened this book that I was overtaken. Every page, written for me. Each word I needed to hear. Every image soulful, simple, stirring.  I took in just a small fraction of this offering, poignantly and poetically written by Brian H. Peterson intentionally, as not to take in too much at once. I wanted to savor every page and let the words swirl around me as I drifted to sleep. And I will do the same tonight. And the next…

This book will become a classic for me. I already know this to be true. Something I will cherish and depend on like an old friend. That’s already how this book feels to me.

This excerpt, from the very first page of Brian Peterson’s The Blossoming of the World, is all I need to share with you to leave you knowing exactly what I mean—

“Suddenly I was no longer looking at the mountains, the sky. I was looking at Love, embodied in the stuff of the world. Love was flowing out from every atom of creation. Love was everywhere, in everything. In me. But not contained, not limited to me, not limited in any way, just flowing, singing, vibrating, dancing, everywhere, in everything.”

Share today your story of Love.

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And remember that with your comment comes the chance to win a very special September gift; a $100 gift certificate courtesy of Paper Coterie in honor of the Everyday Storytellers and our One Word Project this month; story.

Story Time

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We indeed are the lucky ones. The ones who not only have creative tools at our fingertips but the ones who use those tools to tell the stories of us. Our milestones, our struggles, our successes, our relationships, our family, our love, our joy, our daily lives, our most mundane and our most magic. We point, focus, shoot. We talk, write, share. And with it all, we are documenting what’s most important to us.  We are writing the story of our lives, with every photograph, every word, every memory.

This month you are invited to join us as we honor the power, the beauty and the truth of our stories. It’s definitly going to be a celebration as we join forces with the amazing folks of Paper Coterie. This month they introduce their Everyday Storytellers; some amazing women (who you may recognize) who will be sharing their stories over there in hopes to encourage you to tell your own, which is why for this very special One Word Project we have chosen the word story.

As we head into September, the summer bids us farewell, the kids get back to school and routines settle in, let’s have our very own, grown-up girl, Shutter Sister Story Time!  Heck, why not make it a party! Our stories are worth all the hoop-la!

What would a party be without presents and prizes? Your heard right, we’ve got lots of gifts to give this month thanks to Paper Coterie. They really know how to throw a party!

Can’t wait another minute to hear more? Then let us unwrap it for you…everyone who chooses to share an image with us in our One Word Project flickr pool this month will receive a special gift from Paper Coterie! Everyone! All you have to do is:

1. shoot your story (for more info about how the OWP works, check out the about page)

2. upload your image to the Shutter Sisters OWP pool on Flickr (tag it “story”)

3. visit Paper Coterie on Facebook and tell them, that you shared a story with Shutter Sisters

4. graciously receive your gift

And be sure to check in each day on the OWP photo features page here at Shutter Sisters to see if your images gets featured. If it does you’ll be getting a bonus gift from Paper Coterie. That’s 29 story winners this month! Totally awesome!

And if that’s not enough, we will be giving away one $100 gift card EVERY SINGLE DAY of September (starting today) to one of YOU! All you have to do is share a comment each day before midnight EST for your chance to win that day’s random drawing. Be sure to leave links to your story shots.

Can you imagine?? All this goodness just for doing something you already do? Tell your story. We just love that!

It’s going to be quite a story celebration this month, isn’t it? We’re so glad to have you at our story time party with Paper Coterie and Everyday Storytellers. As far as we’re concerned, September doesn’t get better than this!

no distractions

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Racing against the clock today trying get a million things done all at at once, I felt more scattered than focused. Late in the afternoon I was on a call with a friend (someone I’m working with on a big project) and  before we could even get into the work part of the call, I was interrupted on my end by my daughter bounding in from her first day of High School. I got immediately distracted, Uh, er, I think I have to go. But, I really need to talk to you about just a few things. Uuuuh, er, um…shoot. Let me think.I paused for a moment trying to figure out how I was going to stretch myself to be in two places at once; with  my work and with my daughter.

Go, go, my friend ordered,That is much more important than this. Go. We’ll talk later.

Indeed.

How was it that so quickly I lost sight of what really was most important? How easily I tried to put off what was happening under my roof, with my kids and keep them on hold while I worked? There’s a lot of that around here with projects and pressures and so many things to do. It’s amazing to me how often I say, give me a minute.

But sometimes, there’s the non-negotiables. The things that matter so much that everything else must fall to the wayside; the other demands of the day totally blocked out until all you can see is right in front of you; no distractions. There is such a freedom in those moments. The freedom of letting go and being all in.

When my kids were babies, there was a lot of that kind of time. When you didn’t have a choice. When tiny mouths needed to be fed. When small bodies needed to be rocked. When bright eyes needed you to pay attention. No distractions. It’s so different now and yet so much the same. Sometimes though, it’s harder to see the need. But rest assured, it’s still there.

Whether you’ve got teen-agers or babies or spouses or parents or pets or friends or neighbors or anyone or anything that might need you, remember the non-negotiables. When all you can do is be there and be all in. 

Show us today how you capture a moment through your lens that removes everything but what matters the very most.

accidental tourists

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The other day my family and I were graciously invited to to visit a local attraction for a small event they were hosting. It had been some time since we had visited The Aquarium of the Pacific and we were eager to get back there, looking forward to spending one of our last days of summer taking in the sights and sounds a nearby coastal city.

Who knew that a lovely morning at the Aquarium would put us in such a touristy frame of mind? After spending time experiencing all of the wonders from down under the sea, we wandered around the surrounding area as if we had never been there before. Shops, restaurants, and lots of photo ops, we we acted just like vacationers.

Looking at all the images from the day, I realized, I captured us perfectly; the accidental tourists.

I can only imagine how many photos you took this summer; of all your adventures near and far. So today, for the sake of boardwalks and salt water taffy, roller coasters and postcards, sunburns and snapshots share your quintessential tourist pictures. Everyone’s got some! We want to see yours today.

every step you take

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I consider the various phases and stages of my life like stepping stones; one after the other being set down just in time to catch my next step. Looking at each step as an important and integral part of my journey helps me to live without regret. If I believe that each stone was essential, then what I might have considered missteps weren’t missteps at all. On the contrary, they were totally essential to get me to where I am now. I wouldn’t be who I am without everything that I’ve been through. Good, bad or otherwise. And I wouldn’t have gotten this far down my road without every single step.

I am often asked to share my story of how I became a photographer. Of how Shutter Sisters came to be. Of how all the pieces of my story fit together. So much of it seems unlikely and yet it all somehow makes sense. Telling my story has helped me remember the steps I took, one after the other; often times unaware, unsure of what my next step would be. Truth is, I just kept taking it one stone at a time. Some leaps were bigger than others from one to the next.  Sometimes I was more sure-footed than others. As I moved forward, I didn’t always see the connection or understand the correlation from step to step. But, now looking back, I can see that each step was there for a reason. Each decision I made and each decision that was made for me (you don’t always get what you want) had its place and its purpose. It’s always an empowering process for me, to share my story. It reminds me of all my stepping stones.

Today, I encourage you to think about your story. Study your past. Look back upon your own stepping stones. Remember that you have been led to this place. That you have traveled far to get here. That every part of your journey holds some responsibility in why you are here.

Let’s see some sort of stone or pathway or your own feet even…something that honors every step.

composing ourselves

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1. Hooray for Summer ! Bright Red Umbrellas and a Very Blue Sky, 2. {223:365} – Soar, 3. Why she wakes early, 4. Summer Love, 5. Pencils, 6. Fifty two on Friday -Feet edition, 7. iphone friday, 8. chloe’s big day., 9. Better Days, 10. Nap, August 11th, 2:38pm, 11. Gerbera Fairy…, 12. In My Eyes, 13. nothing in life is ritual, 14. i’m kinda falling in love again, 15. 100/365, 16. this is where im from., 17. Wormsloe Marshes, 18. Cute As A Button, 19. Ferry trip, 20. Untitled, 21. drops, 22. from where I stand, 23. C A K E, 24. Globe Thistle

I was so inspired by the  thoughtful and insightful comments shared on my post the other day posing the question, “what is photography to YOU.” Awesome stuff sisters! You, as always totally inspire me!

And so, in honor of  the creative spark of conversation and the art of composition we are doing a giveaway today for one complimentary registration for my e-class of the same name. The super-fun twist is that there’s actually 3 ways to win! 3 is the magic number afterall (at least compositionally speaking).

Beyond our giveaway, I’m hosting a giveaway on my own blog this weekend too and the lovely and talented Ali Edwards is giving a spot away next weekend as an added bonus. That is 3 spots up for grabs in the next week! Woohoo! Be sure to leave a comment on all the posts to better your odds of winning.

I’m more excited than ever about the class and all the wonderful things we’re going to cover in The Art of Composition.

Today, all you need to do is leave your comment here between now and 8pm PST on Sunday for a chance to win a seat in the front roll of class (virtually that is).  And while you’re here, we’d love to see some of your compositional handiwork. Got a shot to share? You know we’d love to see it.

………..

And the winner is…

Arin S. YAY! Congrats! And thanks to everyone for your comments.

the art of composition

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Composition starts when you situate your camera in space in relation to the object. For me, photography is the exploration in reality of the rhythm of surfaces, lines, or values; the eye carves out its subject, and the camera has only to do its work. That work is simply to print the eye’s decision on film. – Henri Cartier-Bresson

For quite some time I’ve been conjuring up and creating content for my soon-coming class “The Art of Composition”; recalling all the lessons I learned in past art classes, observing my process of compsosing shots, examining my images and those of others and taking a lot of notes on all of it.

All up in my own head, I’ve been eager to learn more about what some of the photographers of the past have said on the topic of creating and composing their images.

I stumbled upon a collection of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s quotes and I read page after page of his thoughts on photography; so many of which deeply inspired me as I nodded my head along with his words, yes, yes.

But, the more I read the more I would find a line or two; a comment or belief where I wasn’t so sure. Do I agree with that? Does that ring true for me?

And then I did the same for a number of other world renowned, well-respected photographers. Reading, contemplating, agreeing and also disagreeing. Of course that’s the case. It would be highly unlikely and very unnatural to agree with everything another photographer thought about photography. But, it was so illuminating.

The fact is, our photography is ours. How we approach it should be unique to who we are.  How we live our photographic bliss is totally up to us. There will be so many things we will agree on. Our passion for photography for one thing. But not everything. And that is totally how it should be.

What is photography for you? Share your thoughts or better yet, share a photograph. Something that shows us YOUR photography.

life in a day

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The other evening I had the honor of seeing the unique documentary Life in a Day. It is the project that brought National Geographic and YouTube together with a mission to tell the story of one of day on earth. Let me tell you, it was wonderful. You can read more about the concept of the film and how it was created (the idea in itself is totally inspiring) at the Life in a Day site. Once you watch the trailer and all the hair on your body stands on end, you’ll know what I mean when I say wonderful.

The points of view, the perspectives, the subject matter, the video shorts themselves; all totally unique and even still, there was a Universal cohesion, beauty, and honesty that left me feeling so grateful to be alive on this planet.

With our One Word Project wordthis month celebrating life, today I ask you to pick up your camera and capture yours in way that’s both everyday and unique. Capture a moment of your life, just as it is, that you never ever want to forget.

And be sure to visit Ali Edwards this week as she’s inspiring us to document our life all week with her Week in the Life. Talk about sweet sisterly synchronicity!

life is but a dream

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As I travel my creative path, everyone once in a while I call on a new muse. And sometimes I don’t even know I’ve invited something else in to change my perspective, shake things up, or give me a whole new way of thinking. It’s almost as if I intuitively know that I need a little something to get me out of my usual way of seeing or being and *poof* some new muse comes to do just that.

Such has been the case with my experimentation with shooting out of focus. It’s nothing new for me, I’ve done it before but as a photographer, I’m usually thinking about where to focus and what to focus on rather than thinking about how to throw my entire shot out of focus.

I’m glad when the glimmers of creative muses come my way. When I am reawakened to all the wonder of my everyday life. When it feels like a beautiful dream. When around each corner lies a brand new adventure.

I encourage you to call on your own muse for the next week. Perhaps the muse need only be your life? Ali Edwards’ A Week in the Life begins on Monday. It seems like just the thing to get us to focus (or not) on our amazing, everyday lives.

Share your favorite muse today. Anything from subject matter, to tool, to technique…it’s all magic when you’re open to it.

nice package

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Smart marketing and clever packaging are 2 things that are never lost on me. I apprecaite and make mental notes of every single creative little (and big) thing that people/brands/products use to get our attention. So much so that I have secretly held a dream somewhere in the back of my over-active project-minded brain of a regular offering called Nice Package where clever packaging would get the kudos they so deserve.

Since I don’t imagine that coming to fruition anytime soon, why not just put it out there right now? After all, the little things I notice fall right under the category of this month’s One Word, details. It is all in the details as far as I’m concerned.

How about it sisters? Do you notice all the many perfectly packaged items there are out there these days?

Grab a shot of something you find clever and/or endearing in the packaging department and share with us a Nice Package. *ahem* You know what I mean.

Pictured above, an empty bottle of Pom x Tea. And let me tell you, even beyond it’s nice package, it’s wonderful.