Shutter Sisters

unexpected charm

By

 Charm is a product of the unexpected.  –Jose Marti

As I lay on the grass, lens toward the lone dandelion in our backyard my husband commented that my muse of the afternoon was in fact a nuisance and begged my to pick it before it’s seeds flew away (and reseeded in our yard). We had a good laugh at how we can look at the same thing so differently. After a few more choice shots I tenderly picked the weed. To guilty to toss it away I took it inside and honored it and all the wishes it boasted by placing it in tiny vintage vase.

That lone, proud lion of a weed carried more beauty than any boisterous bouquet ever could. Simple, unexpected, charming. The juxtaposition of something you’d never normally see in the house there on the coffee table brought me days of joy. And I would have never considered it had it not been for the urging of my husband. Of course he shook his head at my choice of centerpieces he was still amused at my childlike excitement.

We are the lucky ones ladies. We look at a weed and see wishes. And we can collect them up and take them with us wherever we choose.

Today, create something that will bring you joy, no matter what the world may say. Point your lens to something happy and hopeful for that sake alone. Coax the charm out of the ordinary. Share your very own happiness with us today.

Comments

  10. I love how you can look at something one way and the person you love sees it completely different. When we each realize this that and understand it that is true love. And I agree, the one’s that see the wishes are the lucky ones!

    I will create something that brings me joy today… no laundry waiting to be folded for the first time in MONTHS. Hopefully that doesn’t sound strange.

    http://www.vtcabinfever.blogspot.com/

  11. I am amazed at how some of the posts here on Shutter Sisters correspond with what is going on in my thoughts at the moment. Just this morning I was thinking about dandelions… how beautiful they are and at the same time how much of a nuisance as well… and how many parallels can be drawn from our daily lives. I’ve posted this before, so I hope no one minds that I do again.

    http://staceybrucephotography.blogspot.com/2010/03/wish.html

    Have a beautiful day!

  12. amen!

    what a beautiful aerial view you have captured of one of the most delicate and intricate things in nature. i love dandelions… especially at this stage. i grew to love them because of my mother’s love of them. she loves them, because to her, they are the first sign of spring. i still remember living in the country as a child and mowing down acres of those resilient weeds at my father’s request. but there was always one left standing for my mama. 🙂

    i think it is shutter sisters that first made me think to photograph a dandelion. i probably never would have, had i not seen some beautiful examples here. so i tried it out last year, and was pretty pleased with the results. wishes indeed! here are a couple of mine:
    http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/2009/06/wishes.html
    http://jorjah-b.blogspot.com/2009/07/jorjah-wish.html

    and here is another weed i found beautiful… worth coaxing the charm out of.:
    http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/2009/06/got-weeds_11.html

  15. I love that story!

    Here is something I shot over spring break in California. My boyfriend is from Cali, and I’m from a small town in South Dakota. My first visit there, I was fascinated by the pigeons. The way they just waddled around among the people, not afraid of anything. Where I come from, birds fly away from you, not toward you. Anyway…I kept taking pictures of them and my boyfriend would always say "Don’t take pictures of them. They’re gross. You can’t even call them birds!" But I kept doing it. I found them pretty. So here’s a picture of three of them perched perfectly spaced on a bench on the Seal Beach Pier. I know the lighting isn’t very good, but I do like the composition. =]

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/deniselivingston/4451073997/

    -Denise

  20. This photo is so, so beautiful. There is such a sweet softness to it. Your husband surely has to admit it was a precious find!