Shutter Sisters

Cheap Frills

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image shot with my Nokia N8

Standing in the check out line a sunny bouquet of flowers caught my eye. Ah ha! That is exactly what I need! I didn’t hesitate to grab it before I left the store. And just that simple, I totally made my own day!

Is it just me or does anyone else forget that there are a number of simple things we can do to lift our spirits?

I have been delighted and inspired but this simple arrangement all week long. In fact, it’s not only offered me some well-needed color therapy (during the season that often lacks it) but it has served as a creative muse. I can’t stop shooting all the color, texture and frills that this bouquet of slowers boasts!

It may be too chilly for swingy skirts but that doesn’t mean I can’t use this Gerber Daisy as a substitute. Just don’t tell her it’s not spring yet!

I encourage you to get girlie today! Capture something that lifts your spirits and reminds you to enjoy being a girl!

irony and icons (as in polaroid and lady gaga)

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I spent much of last week at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas (CES 2011). I have a whole list of noteworthy highlights from my very first trip to this institution of an event of leading edge technology. Ironcily, many of which have not much to do with technology at all (except maybe my new love affair with my new Nokia N8).

I attended, courtesy of Nokia, with no agenda but to experience the show as a whole and share my perspective. Of course, for me, my thoughts consist of both words and images. Such is life as a photographer. Before I left, I got a number of tweets nudging me to hit the Polaroid booth in time for the big reveal of goodies that they have been cooking up with Lady Gaga over the last year.  You know, messages like, “take pictures” and “I can’t wait to see your pictures”. Gulp. The pressure was on.

To my surprise, out of 140,00 people, I actually ran into a few friends whilst heading over to the booth. This of course, worked out to my grand advantage because truthfully, I may have bagged the whole thing had I not had someone to keep me company. Thanks HBM for hanging in with me and for keeping it real!

Under the circumstances I knew capturing any photos that would be of any artistic interest at all would be near impossible. The combination of bad light, tons of people, no special access, the wrong equipment and a press confrence atmosphere only add up to uninteresting photographs. And yet, an opportunity like this doesn’t come every day. To see (and shoot pictures of) an icon like Lady Gaga in the flesh, no matter how uninteresting, is pretty interesting. And so I did make a point to see her and shoot pictures.

I came away from the experience being not only intrigued with the new Polaroid GL30 (love those “deliciously retro-futuristic lines“) but with how the muse of chance often comes out to play at the most perfect moments. 99% of what I captured was as I had suspected, shots of a a modern day icon that were far from iconic.  But, all was not lost. In fact, thanks to a snap of the shutter that was perfectly (yet unknowingly) in sync with other flashes from the crowd, I was able to capture my favorite shot of the event.

Taking a great picture is a lot easier when you’ve plotted, planned and have the ideal equipment. When you’re able to hand pick your perspective, have light on your side, and focus on something photo worthy in every way. It’s a whole other story when the circumstances are stacked against you. I could have very well walked away before I captured this shot. And believe me, I nearly did. But sometimes, sticking with it and giving it your best shot, can pay off.

Have you captured an unlikely moment lately? Share a shot where chance (or many tenacity) was on your side.

For more on the latest from Polaroid, visit them online.

to infinty and beyond

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Perspective is everything.

When admiring this wall of images at CES 2011 (in the Microsoft booth) I was most taken with the perspective that leads us to believe that they could go on forever. An idea we can all relate to!

Share a shot today that leads your eye into infinite (and beyond)!

poetry

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Even in the struggle, you are loved.

You are being loved not in spite of the hardship, but through it.

The thing you see as wrenching, intolerable, life’s attack on you,

is an expression of love.

 

There is the part of us that fears and protects and defends and expects,

and has a story of the way it’s supposed to turn out.

That part clenches in fear, feels abandoned and cursed.

 

There is another part, resting at the floor of the well within, that

understands:

this is how I am being graced, called, refined, by fire.

 

The secret is, it’s all love.

It’s all doorways to truth.

It’s all opportunity to merge with what is.

 

Most of us don’t step through the doorframe.

We stay on the known side.

We fight the door, we fight the frame, we scream and hang on.

 

On the other side, you are one with the earth, like the mountain.

You hum with life, like the moss.

On the other side, you are more beautiful:

wholeness in your bones, wisdom in your gaze,

the sage-self and the surrendered heart alive.

 

– Tara Mohr from The Real Life

If you haven’t yet discovered the breathtakingly beautiful gift book of poetry, The Real Life from Tara Mohr then I emplore you to drop everything and download it immediatly. There is magic in on every page, in every image, with every word. Visit Tara’s wonderful blog for the download.

What poems, quotes, words have stopped you in your tracks lately and what images do they conjure up or inspire you to capture?

transformation

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On our latest family getaway, we opted to drive home using the road less travelled. When I say less travelled, I really mean it. Much of this stretch narrowed to a single lane and we didn’t see another car for many miles. The landscape was stunning and surreal. As I was shooting, I knew exactly how I would process the images. Although I don’t normally even entertain thoughts of processing as I shoot, there is something about these trees that beg for an infrared treatment. I just knew it. And, just my luck, with the new Lightroom, there is an infrared preset. Bingo!

Click of the shutter. Click of the mouse. Simple as that.

After seeing these images processed like this, I may have a new favorite preset.

How about you? What is your favorite processing technique these days? Does any particular treament tickle your photo-fancy? We’d love to see it.

wild sky

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Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

-excerpt from Ring Out Wild Bells by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

We can think of nothing more true than the infinite possibility of a brand new year. Today, as we ring out 2010, share with us shots of your own wild sky. It is often said ‘the sky is the limit’ after all and we love the sound of that.

a present to yourself

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When I submitted a prompt for #reverb10 I crossed my fingers that it would be chosen for the month long project. Little did I know that it would end up being the prompt for Christmas day. I couldn’t be more delighted! I can think of no better way to celebrate this time of looking back and looking ahead than to do so through photographs.

Over the last year I have had plenty of pictures taken of me; self-portraits (such as the shot above) as well as images taken by my daughters, and even some taken by Shutter Sisters. With each shot, something more is revealed. I see a clearer picture of  who I am.

The prompt today is specific however. Find a picture taken of youself that best captures you. Either who you are or who you strive to be.

I have found that when you allow your truest self to be seen, really and truly seen, you are set free. There is so much power in that it gives me chills just writing about it. I know this freedom to be true from first hand experience. When Shutter Sister, and dear dear friend, Jen Lemen shot this image of me on one of the most sacred beaches I have walked on, she captured me in a way I have never seen myself before. Every time I look at it, I get goose bumps. Who is this woman? Confident, strong, powerful, true, real. Even though I might not always consider myself in these terms, I’ve got a photograph to prove that I am all these things and more. It’s pictures like these of ourselves that are worth a thousand words.

This prompt isn’t an easy one. It might take some time to excavate a shot from the 2010 archives. But, I do hope you spend the time needed to study the pictures of yourself over the past year to see what kind of magic you find. When you do, please share it with us here. Leave a link to your photo and/or post in the comments. On Wednesday, I will pick two winners from the comments. One person will be given a copy of Expressive Photography: A Shutter Sisters Guide to Shooting From the Heart and the other will get a complimentary spot in my next photo-centric e-class Picture Winter, just for playing along.

Thank you #reverb10 for such an inspiring experience this month. It’s been amazing.

two sides

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The end of the year is coming fast and furious, and most of us plotting and planning what our New Year might look like. We’re picking words for our best intentions and at the same time we’re looking back at the year behind us; reflecting on our proudest moments as well as those we let slip through our fingers.

I feel myself a little in limbo as I am looking both back and forward. I want to give the past year it’s due respect; to fully honor it and make a mental note of how far I’ve come. And yet I am starting to plan for what is next as January 1 is such a strong symbol of the next chapter; I want to be really ready for it.

With all that, I am recalling all the many seemingly two-sided debates we wrestle with in our daily lives.

What about you? Do you grapple with two sides of the story? Or two choices? Now, later? Empty, full? Sunrise, sunset? Inside, outside? Before, after? Chocolate, vanilla?

Whatever your angle, share today your tale of two sides. Or if you prefer, a happy medium or a meeting in the middle. Maybe these choices are less about conflict and more about striking a harmonious balance.

 However you choose to look at things today: we want to see it.

taking a moment

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As I sit here, scarf around my neck and a steaming cup of tea close at hand, I know by the way my head is spinning that I wasn’t able to outrun the cold and flu season. Drat!

Now, more than ever, it’s time we pause and take a moment. To slow down. To let our bodies rest. To give our mind a few minutes off. To look around, breathe deep and appreciate the little things. No matter what is going on around us.

I won’t be telling your how many days there are until Christmas, I promise. Instead, I will urge you to move more slowly. To give yourselves a little extra time to get to the places you are going. To drive more carefully than usual. To try to keep your mind on only one thing at a time. To avoid distractions. To exhale.

If we all use our collective energies to slow it down a bit, maybe we’ll actually feel it in the air. All of us together, taking a moment.

In honor of the day…this day I declare is the day for slowing down (why not?)…share an image of calm, of peace, of stillness. Show us what it means to use your camera as the tool to take a moment.

I’m feeling a little bit better already, aren’t you?

aglow

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No matter what holiday you and your family may celebrate, this is the season of lights! Between radiant candle light, festive Christmas trees, and the glowing embers burning in the fireplace, there is nothing we need more right now than to bask in the glow of the season.

What lights your holiday fire?

Illuminate us! Share today your glow.