Shutter Sisters

space to shine

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Clockwise from top left – Empire State Building in NYC, Nelson’s Column in London, Water towers on the Highline NYC, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Sometimes the way to make a subject sparkle is to give the space to shine.

Using negative space to draw attention your subject can be really fun. When I approach a well known landmark, I like to mix it up a little, by using the negative space around it and have the subject peeking into the frame. The subject is still recognisable it’s just composed in a different way.

How about you? Maybe you’d like to create some space for your subject to shine? Do you ever play with negative space?… please share with us today.

gather around the table

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There is nothing more special than gathering around the table with loved ones; sharing hand crafted food & engaging conversation. We should celebrate how grateful we are do this. Recently I’ve been acknowledging the ordinary kitchen table, and the time spent there everyday.

Please share today how you gather around the table, what food you’re sharing, how you decorate and what gathering around food means to you.

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On other note, the fabulous Epiphanie bags (I love my Lyric!) are giving away one place on my ecourse Creating Time Capsules. If you’d like to win, go over to their blog later today and see what it’s all about. Competition runs till 22nd March. Good luck!

grounded

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Whenever I gather with friends or family… I will reach for my camera, (more often enough it’s my iphone…) and photograph us together, feet on the ground.

I love how it tells the story of who is with me and where are are standing…

I know plenty of you out there do the same, I’d love to see your “grounded gathered together” shots, and if you’ve never done one before… why don’t you try one next time you’re gathered with your loved ones.

 

a happy place

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Photo edited in RadLab.

This one of my favourite photos from our recent trip to NYC… my son leaping on the rocks in Central Park, I’m reminded of that happy place whenever I see it. I’ve printed it out BIG and it hangs in my kitchen so I can go back to this happy place when I glance at it.

Share with us today a photo of a place or time that makes you happy, and I’d love to prompt you to print it out, to hold in your hands, or display, so you can be transported back there when your eyes fall on it.

i love to jump

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1. jump, it’s my birthday, 2. jump, 3. jump, 4. 193/365 – i just like to jump, 5. 132/365 – bench monday – autumn sunshine, 6. bluebells!

I love to jump and leap…

I’m often drawn to take a jump shot if the location excites me… it almost demands it.

Do you like jump? have you tried it? I know that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But if you’re tempted, why not have a go?

Here’s how I do it – Place your camera, aligning the framing you want… fix your focus point… set to self-timer… move into position… and only jump when you see the countdown finishing, and just before the shutter releases, so you’re in the air. Sometimes magic happens and it works. Sometimes you have to try again. It comes with practice and it’s all about playing & having fun.

Do you have any jumps shots you’d like to share, we love to see them!

time capsule

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As a photographer, I’m a memory gatherer… not just the big stuff like birthdays, weddings, holidays etc… but those everyday moments… the ordinary… the in-between moments… the little things we may not feel are that are important right now, but what we may look back on and realize were big things.

So I’ve been gathering memories, collecting the everyday moments in my life, and using video & photos packaged up into films and freezing that moment in time. I’m calling them time capsules. I know that time flies by, and what happens today, will be different to how life will be next year… in 5 years, 10 years and so on… and I want to remember the little things.

Today I’m giving away one spot on my first eCourse – Creating Time Capsules, where I plan to set you on a journey of discovery and inspiration so that you can make your own, delightful, memory-evoking time capsules… All the details are here.

For a chance to win, please comment below or show me a moment you’ve photographed… what memory have you frozen in time? big or little… something you would add to your imaginary time capsule.  

You have until Saturday 4th Feb midnight PST and I will announce the winner in this post….

11.11.11 : part one : our morning routine from xanthe berkeley on Vimeo.

Updated – The winner is Mama-pan – Mary Frances Thank you to everyone who entered.

my monday word

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Words… they’ve had a big impact on me this month… I’ve taken to writing them on stones and leaving them around the house… and I whisper the word as I pass by it. It may sound silly, but it’s really working for me.

Here’s the word I need today… calm… for a Monday, with a busy week ahead of work, needing to focus, and not get overwhelmed…. alongside all the life stuff that comes my way. I’d like to be calm.

What word do you need to whisper to yourself today? Please share with us today.

what girl are you?

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We are all photographers together, yes?

….but we do divide into smaller group depending what we like to shoot and the gear we shoot with… Canon, Nikon, Polaroid, Pentax, Olympus, Rollei, iphone….the list goes on…. and that’s what makes us all so uniquely different.

While I was on the shutter sisters Camp, I noticed the conversations between the ladies “oh I’m a Canon person”, “I’ve always have been Canon…” or “I’m a Nikon” (although pronounced different on either side of the pond!)… “Nikon is the best” and there were so many proud “Polaroid girls…” saying “My heart belongs to Polaroid“

I shared this with a dear friend of mine and it sparked into a new collaboration to celebrate what you shoot with. We have created prints and badges/buttons for you to be proud of who you are. I am a Canon girl….. and know some of you are Nikon girls and Polaroid girls…

As we’re so excited about this new project, we’d love to offer one print of your choice to you lovely girls out there, all you’ve got to do is tell me what girl you are…..Canon, Nikon, or Polaroid or something else in the comments below…. You have until tomorrow Sat 21st Jan midnight PST…..

Updated – the winner was Stephanie of http://bigmariolife.blogspot.com/ – If you would like updates of further products, please follow us at facebook.

my little word

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If I’m honest, I never got the one word thing initially…. choosing a word to set for your year, it just didn’t make sense, could that really work?, I guess it’s just my British cynicalness raising it’s ugly head… That was a few years ago… before I completed my 365 gratitude project, which totally changed my view on life, opened my eyes to possibilities, and took my photography to a different level, (if you’ve embarked on this journey, I’m sure you will feel the same by the end).

Then last year I made a deal with myself to choose a word, but I didn’t put it out there, still not convinced it could actually make a difference… so I kept my word close to my chest, thinking that by sharing it, I would jinx it (yes, I really do think that way sometimes). It’s interesting now that my word was believe… I wanted to believe in myself more, believe things could be possible, believe change would happen and maybe I needed to believe that choosing one word it might actually have an impact…. and to my surprise it did. 2011 turned out to be a life changing year in so many ways. I even got to see my word across Macy’s store in New York on New Years Eve, and I would have never believed that was possible back when I chose it last January!

I wanted to share this here, for those who aren’t sure about setting a word or intentions for 2012, that I was like that too so don’t feel the pressure, you don’t have to put it out there, you can keep it secret, and use it just for you. I know what it feels like to see everyone else embrace this project and not feel ready to jump in. Take your time…. but even I see the magic it can bring…

I wish you all a happy start to this year, (my new word is fly,) I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds for me and you….

dream destination

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As you read this, I’m visiting one of the cities on my dream list to photograph… I can’t quite believe my family and I are visiting New York for New Year! I’m so excited, as of course my camera and my eye get to savor all it’s delights. This trip had been one of my dream destinations for as long as I can remember….

Where would you like to visit with your camera? Let’s dream BIG because you never know what opportunities could be round the corner, and if we all dream together, we might just make it happen.