Shutter Sisters

thinking in series

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As I move throughout my day I take notice of the light.
(We all do this, don’t we?)

As a photographer, I make a point to take notice of everyday ordinary moments. We are like-minded here, this is why we come to gather in this shutter sister space. The everyday ordinary moments often slip through our fingers faster than we can grab our cameras. I used to wrestle with this concept (the slipping away of lost moments) and then I gave into simply being in it (making peace with no camera in front of my eye). 

As I became more mindful without my camera and thought about all the things i wanted to photograph, we settled into our new home. It was then that I was greeted (and gifted) with this new space and light. It was too good to walk past each day, so last fall I began grabbing my iphone (simply because it was usually there in my pocket or on the kitchen counter)… and I found myself documenting it again and again, this space where we gather.

And so a new series was born. (my couch series) Born out of light and family and comfy spots where we gather in sickness and in health. A place where we celebrate birthdays and watch movies and play video games. A place where we suffer migraines, where we bicker, and where we laugh.

Everyday ordinary moments.

Do you think in series? It took me a long time to train my brain this way. To see the same place with new eyes everyday. Today, try thinking in series. Is there a place that calls to you? A piece of daily routine you can document? A place you could shoot day in and day out? Try thinking outside the box and seek out a space you can use like a backdrop, then simply wait for the players to take stage. Share with us any projects you are working on in series, I can’t wait to see them!

the great wide open

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There have been times when I’ve got my head and heart so wrapped up in something that I lose sight of everything else. Sometimes it’s work related, or I’m focusing on family matters or it can even be just the drudgery of the daily grind that  can keep me down. Whatever the case, some days feel a lot less hopeful then others.

Luckily, there always comes days when with the sun I look up, and out, and past the place I’ve been and I can see into the great wide open. The place where hope lives and the beauty of possibility lifts my spirits and soothes my soul. Where I am content to be where I am and also energized to move forward. Why wouldn’t I be? Look at that place. It’s awesome!

Of course, if everyday looked like that, then I wouldn’t be nearly as impressed, or spellbound or enchanted by what I see. The contrast of the not-so-great days in comparison to days that look like this make the this so much sweeter.

My guess is you know exactly what I’m talking about. That the darkness makes way for light far more beautiful than any other light you’ve ever seen. That coming up for air and seeing this stretch out before you feels better than you could have ever remembered. That’s the thing about hope and love and beauty. You can only experience it to it’s fullest when it’s been gone for a while.

As we begin this week, share a image that offers a view of the great wide open, full of possibility! Let’s all soak in the goodness of today…and tomorrow.

weekending by cara

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Cara shoots images like this with her Hasselblad and spends her weekends soaking in each free moment.

Cara can be found online at Cara Rose Photos and Mortal Muses.

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a note from us at Shutter Sisters:

And with this fine image from Cara, we kick off our “weekending” series. This post will be here today and tomorrow and we do hope you share your weekending links with us here and anywhere else you are on the web. If you hashtag your shots #weekending, we can find each other. And if you want to be considered for a future weekending post, email your image to click at shuttersisters dot com.

 We wish you a wonderful weekend filled with all the things you love.

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.

 

gather

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Happy March 1st!

I personally love the month of March for two reasons. The first is that I celebrate my birthday in March and the second is that spring will arrive this month. These are both great reasons to get together with friends to celebrate! Which brings me to the announcement of our new One Word for the month of March, which is gather.

During the shorter, colder days of winter it often seems easier to snuggle into our routine and spend more time at home. And while moments spent alone or with immediate family is always important, it’s also lovely to connect with old friends and meet new people along the way. So as spring approaches, we encourage you to make an effort this month to have some face-time with the friends who just “get you”. Or gather up a group of photography lovers like yourself and enjoy being the in the company of like-minded people. 

We all have to admit, as much as we love to gather here online (and we really really love it!) nothing beats gathering in real life. And since we’re on the subject, it seems like a great time to announce our 2012 Shutter Sisters Oasis gathering. All the details, like when registration will open, will be shared in the near future, but for now just the thought of gathering again with our fellow shutter sisters is enough. Start packing your bags!

And as you gather, take the time to document some of those sacred moments and share your images with us all month long in our One Word Project Pool on Flickr (tag your One Word photos this month with the following: owp, gather, march). Your photo may be featured here!

you can.

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The first step, believe you can.

Today is that oh so strange extra day on the calendar, leap day. It only comes around once every 4 years.  One extra day to let go, believe you can, and take that leap.  What leap? Only you can answer that.

Perhaps a leap into photography business.

A leap into film.

Leap into learning a new photo software.

A leap of faith and trust. (oh those can be hard)

Leap out of auto and into manual mode on your camera.

Perhaps you took the leap into a 365(+1) project this year. (I did)

A leap into posting here to our group, sharing your art, your voice, you.

Thank you for leaping, literally and figuratively, with us all month long here in our One Word Project Pool. Your participation and inspiration is vital to this community.  Just tonight while pouring through that very space I came across an image with these words…

“My path unclear,
  I leap forward into the unknown.
  Because looking back has never been an alternative.”

I am so moved by those 3 lines.  They are powerful and brave. Thank you Kristen.

So, go ahead, stretch your arms way up high, let go of fear, believe you can, and leap into the unknown.  You are braver than you know.

Life Through My Lens

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The word trickled through my core group of girlfriends, my tribe, that there was a diagnosis of breast cancer.  We have all been friends since high school, some of us even longer, and the majority of us are still here in California while our sweet friend who had just been diagnosed lives out of state. When something like this happens, the first people you want and need is your family. Like most of us, her family is here in California as well.  We knew that even though she was trying to be brave, she needed them. The decision to fly her in to be with her family was a simple one, so we put her on a plane and brought her home.

After we picked her up at the airport, we took her to lunch where we talked about high school and old crushes and who was still married and who had divorced.  And we laughed.  A lot.  Then finally, in a quiet and safe moment, her eyes filled with tears.  Letting go of the false bravado, she let all of her fears come to the surface and spill over while us, her tribe, did what we do best: we surrounded her with all the love, faith and hope we could give her.  It was at that moment that I picked up my camera and took this photo. 

I’ve taken hundreds of those happy photos we all take of babies and families and people.  I’m a photographer.  It’s what I do.  But life is so much more than that, and that’s what I tend to photograph: life in all it’s glorious, raw beauty.  It’s also what I tend to do when I can’t really put what I’m feeling into words so I let my camera do the speaking for me.  When my grandma was at the end of her days, I documented it with my camera.  When my son was critically ill and there was nothing I could do but wait and hope and pray, my camera was my saving grace.  So while this photo isn’t your basic posed and happy photo, the love in that photo is undeniable and that, my friends, is everything.  It’s what life is all about.

Share with us today your photos depicting life. Tell us a story. We’re listening.

Accidental Tourist

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As photographers we often find ourselves looking through our lenses like tourists, seeing the world around us with fresh eyes, documenting everything that’s new. Even what we’re familiar with can be captured through a new perspective, a different angle, a renewed way of discovering it.

And when we are actually tourists—experiencing something for the first time to us—it can also seem like we are children again; bright-eyed, curious, excited about new sights and sounds, people and landscapes.

There is nothing better than taking in all the wonder of our surroundings. Of seeing things from a different perspective. Exploring either the new or the old through a lens that appreciates it all. And having the tools to take what we see and create something brand new with it. To tell the stories that beg to be told. A moment in time that somehow, no one else has seen.  An angle that surprises even us and offers a whole new way of thinking. A landscape that feels as foreign as the moon and yet somehow as familiar as our own backyard. A person, who seemingly comes out of nowhere begging to be noticed, recognized, seen, recorded.

I am here. Can you see me? Do you know what I stand for?  the monument pleads.

I am here. Can you see me? Will you help me to tell my story? the man begs of me through his gesture (a peace sign).

I am reminded time and again of what an incredibly important job we have. It is through our eyes, through our lenses that stories—of us and of the world—are told.

Do show us today what stories you been asked to tell.

the six questions featuring Bonnie Tsang

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Image Copyright Bonnie Tsang

I remember coming across L.A. based lifestyle and wedding photographer Bonnie Tsang’s blog a few months ago, and instantly falling in love with the way she approaches life, natural and real, and shares her passion for art, design and food with a most delightful sense of style, simplicity, beauty and attention to details.

Bonnie is one of the most creative, talented and hard-working photographers I know of, and a most awesome mother who inspires me to keep doing what I love and enjoy life the fullest. I am most happy and excited to share with you her answers to our Six (actually Eight!) Question interview today.

1. What’s the story behind this photo?

It was taken almost two years ago. My photography business started to do well at the time, but I found myself having less time with my daughter, Venise. So one free Sunday, she and I decided to spend a day together and took a short road trip to Joshua Tree. We stayed until sundown. I took a picture of her collecting and putting little rocks into her shorts’ back pockets as the sunset light glowing behind her.

2. What was it that lit your photography spark? Do you remember a particular camera, course, person, roll of film?

My Dad was a professional photographer before I was even born, so I grew up with photography. But what really got me started was this doll called Blythe (http://www.blythedoll.com) and my daughter, Venise. I took one shot and that was it, I couldn’t stop.

3. What’s your photo philosophy? Does it reflect your life philosophy?

My photo philosophy is simple – to capture and report the reality. I always believe art was created to document life’s important events. And that probably does reflect to how I see life – live your truest self.

4. Where do you look for inspiration?

Family and friends that I surround myself with. We often go far and beyond to look for ourselves, for inspirations, but the truth is we have it all within ourselves.

5. What would you say is one of your ‘signature’ editing tricks, themes or style? What do you think makes an image recognizable and uniquely yours?

This is actually a tough question for me and I always get asked this! It’s tough for me to answer because… how do you turn your feelings into words? There’s no word for feelings, something that’s untouchable.  We might say, “Oh, I love that person because she’s nice, she’s pretty”, but it’s not, it’s MORE than that. I don’t edit images base on what is “Bonnie Tsang” because I’m always revolving. Maybe I’ll know in 20 years.

6. What aspect of your photography are you constantly working on, trying to improve?

Everything.

7. If you could go anywhere in the world for an epic, weeklong photo excursion all by your luxuriously unhurried self – regardless of money, time or childcare issues – where would you go and why?

My hometown, Hong Kong. I went few years ago and, sadly, I wasn’t really into photography at the time, so it’d be nice to go back.

8. Are there women out there that you consider your shutter sisters? Who, and why?

There are two ladies that I look up to personally and professionally – Carrie Cook and Jen Gotch. They’re both my very good friends and they’ve been around shooting a lot longer than I have been, but they’re always very encouraging. Sometimes when I’m stuck at something, whether it is about life or photography, they’d say to me “you can try this” or “how about if you do this”. They challenge me to do better in the most nurturing way. And of course, their work is amazing!

Thank you so much Bonnie!

You can see more of Bonnie’s work on her personal blog, professional blog, portfolio, and if you’re on Instagram you absolutely HAVE to follow her @bonnietsang.

almost black & white

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Sometimes there’s no need for a black and white photo conversion when the natural scenery provides it for us. Believe it or not, the above photograph is in full color! Other than a little contrast bump, I haven’t altered this image. I am typically drawn to color photography more than black and whites. But it’s a good exercise for me to focus on composition and perspective in an environment that is naturally void of color.

Have you ever taken a photo that’s mostly black & white on it’s own? If so, please share.