Shutter Sisters

comfort (zone)

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Note to Self:
Focus on the light
When life is hard, pick up your camera
When days are joyful, pick up your camera
Every now and then try moving towards what scares you
Stretch your comfort zone, artistically ~ metaphysically ~ literally
Trust the process; no matter where it takes you, and remind those around you that they are loved.

I tend to turn things over in my hands and in my mind… I want to explore all perspectives. I want to touch all the seams: how we come together and how we fray apart. In doing so, I search for my humanness and our similarities; through this process, I find compassion and self care.  I do this through writing but mostly through self portraiture.

What is your comfort? Are you willing to ever step outside of that comfort zone? Even just once? Today share an image of “comfort”… food, self, weather… it’s different for each of us! For me, my comfort is always embracing my camera shyness and the ever present reminder of why I started down the path of self portraits in the first place. It’s taken many years, but I’m happy to say that my comfort is my self. 

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Registration is now open for NOW YOU Workshops :: Digging Deeper 
(a six week online eCourse offered by Meredith Winn & Kristin Zecchinelli)
find out more details here, and register early before this next class sells out!

gathering leaves

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 Spades take up leaves

No better than spoons,

And bags full of leaves

Are light as balloons.

 

I make a great noise

Of rustling all day

Like rabbit and deer

Running away. 

 

But the mountains I raise

Elude my embrace,

Flowing over my arms

And into my face.

 

I may load and unload

Again and again

Till I fill the whole shed,

And what have I then?

 

Next to nothing for weight,

And since they grew duller

From contact with earth,

Next to nothing for color.

 

Next to nothing for use.

But a crop is a crop,

And who’s to say where

The harvest shall stop?” 

-Robert Frost

Tis the season when everything changes. When leaves change from green to gold and trees move slowly from full to barren. When the air grows cool and crisp and days get shorter. It’s the season where routine begins to take hold and harvest begins.

Share today the bounty of the season by way of leaves. Each holds it’s own unique beauty. In shape, in color, in size, in stage of life; just as it is with each one of us. Let’s celebrate the glorious leaf today, with all of it’s inspiring intricacies.

We are excited to begin yet another month of photo prompts. Won’t you play along with us? All you need to do is shoot and share and tag your shots #shuttersisters for all to enjoy! We are excited to begin yet another month of photo prompts. Won’t you play along with us? All you need to do is shoot and share and tag your shots #shuttersisters for all to enjoy! Happy Autumn!

weekending by annette gendler

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Annette Gendler shares her images from a recent weekend visit to Shakertown at Pleasanthill, Kentucky. She writes: “It was a truly glorious fall day spent in the picturesque heart of Bluegrass country.”

You can find more on her website AnnetteGendler.com.

What kind of fall fun do you have planned this weekend?

Todays prompt: path

Sundays prompt : autumn

with meaning….

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Do you ever question why you are taking pictures? Does it ever feel like you are just going through the motions? This feeling hits me…now and then…..It comes in waves… and then it goes… the ebb and flow of creativity I suppose….

I find it helps to shoot with purpose… the goal… to create a meaningful picture.

I’ve been doing a lot of vision shooting lately. I have a vision in my head; a picture or a mood I want to create… some days it comes together, others not so much. I may see an image that sparks an idea… or perhaps it’s a feeling I want to portray… In my photo up top I was trying to share my mood…..a little uncertain, a little sad…. a little unsure….

Tell us… show us… how do you bring meaning to your photos? What works for you? Share with us today….

shoes

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These shoes were made for walking. Or running, dancing, kicking up…you get the picture. Check out all the fabulous shoes we are seeing today in our Instagram feed. Share yours and see it here today by tagging your shoe shots with our tag #shuttersisters.

Walk on…

taste

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“Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.” -Henry David Thoreau

This is the time of year when the weather begins to turn and with that, the food and drink we serve up follows suit. Is it me, or does this time of year beg for soups, stews, pastas, and bread? Everything warm, rustic, and deeply satisfying. Autumn is officially upon us. Today, tell the story of what you taste this time of year and share it with us. In other words, make our mouth’s water!

From the Street by Kriti Bajaj

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This collection of images from Kriti Bajaj is the perfect depiction of perspectives seen and captured from the street. Kriti writes of her travels this past summer, “I visited 8 towns/cities in 6 countries. Here are some of my favorite photos from Bruges, Belgium: a town that felt like it was straight out of a Jane Austen novel, but far more colorful!”

Today as you shoot and share, let our prompt be your inspiration as you capture your own perspective “from the street”.

Photo essay courtesy of Kriti Bajaj. You can find her at Framed and Focused or on Facebook. 

mail

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My best friend of many years was here visiting from Alaska last month.  I’ve known her since I was in the 3rd grade.  We grew up on the same street, only 3 house apart.  Even though she went to a private school and I went to public school, we were inseperable and were together everyday after school.  When it was time for high school, she moved away, but not so far that we didn’t spend most of our weekends together.  It wasn’t until she married and moved to Alaska that that all changed.  She may have been thousands of miles away, but our friendship was permanent. 

Last month, on her way to Colorado for her daughter’s wedding, she made a detour to California to see me.  It had been ten years since we had last been together.  I cherished every minute of the week we had together and before I knew it, it was over and she was off to Colorado.  After she had gone, I went through all the photos I took while she was here and wanted her to have something to remember our time together, so using some of the photos I had taken using Instagram, I first made a collage using the Diptic app. Then, using the Sincerely Ink app, I used the collage to make a postcard.  I sent one to her as well as myself.  I don’t know when I’m going to see her again but until then, I have this postcard.  It sits on my desk where I see it every time I sit down at my computer and apparently, it’s where she keeps hers, too.  We may live in a digital world, but thanks to apps like Sincerely Ink, I’m rediscovering ‘snail mail’, and that’s a good thing!

Speaking of snail mail, who wouldn’t want to receive one of these gorgeous necklaces in their mailbox from the lovely Stacy De La Rosa of Bella Wish?!  Stacy has graciously offered to give one away to one lucky winner. Just leave a comment here no later than midnight Wednesday, Sept. 26th!  Stacy’s also giving our readers who wish to purchase a necklace a 10% discount.  Promo code: ShutterSisters10

UPDATE: Congrats to Shari Sherman!  You’re the lucky winner of the the gorgeous necklace!!

one seed

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One seed… One idea… One little bit of hope…

All it takes is a seed of an idea to spark something you can nurture and grow.

What seed do you have in your head? What creative project, practical idea, hope or dream would you like to grow. Share with us here today.

Today you could start to make it happen.

Trust the process. Make your acorn grow into a mighty oak.

a weekend harvest

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1. lily on fire island, 2. Apples, 3. My Neighbor the Painter, 4. Cheers to Your Weekend, 5. Bike bell, 6. family, 7. Backyard, 8. oceanside, 9. Napkins and Kitchen Towels, 10. Untitled, 11. Fall basket with pears, 12. 46:365, 13. i walk the earth with my bare feet, 14. waders and coats, 15. Untitled, 16. As you wish…

 

They say the seasons are changing but you might not know it, depending on your demographic. Regardless, it’s collections like these that warm our hearts. We are loving all the amazing images that you upload to our Flickr group every day. There are over 400,000 awesome shots that you all have shared with us. That is sweet! Keep them coming!

Share your bounty of goodness with us this weekend and tag your images #shuttersisters whether you’re using Flickr or instagram. We love it all.

Today’s prompt: harvest

Sunday’s prompt: words