Shutter Sisters

Upping the Ante

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Photo taken with my new Lensbaby Composer

We all have our irrational fears and insecurities that hold us back from taking the next step in our respective life journies.  When it comes to photography, I admit that I have many fears.  One big one is that I’ll wake up one morning and find that I’m unable to “see” photos through my camera, that I’ve lost my intuitive approach to capturing the image I’m after.  Another fear is that I will totally mess up a photoshoot, or that people won’t like the photos I share, or that every image I take will just start looking the same.

While the year is still newly fresh and dreamily hopeful, I’d like to face some of these fears.  Instead of playing it safe, I’m choosing to up the ante.  I want to challenge myself to learn new things, even if it means I may have to read a book or manual or two, or that I’ll have to finally overcome my life-long avoidance of familiarizing myself with the basic laws of physics.  I plan on taking more shooting assignments.  I’m going to figure out how to find my sweet spot on my new Lensbaby.  I want to capture lensflare that I actually like.  I’ll try to shoot with a visionary purpose at least some of the time, instead of the haphazard, aimless route I normally depend on.

I don’t know if all this is too much to hope for, but I’ll be darned if I don’t at least TRY.

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AAH%20button%20180.jpgSpeaking of new challenges and to-do’s, we at Shutter Sisters are excited to launch our newest feature: The One Word Project.  Many of you have already shared  what your One Word will be for this month.  If you haven’t already and would like to join in, see complete details here.  The word-of-the-month for February is yours to choose, and you can submit your One Word inspired photos to the Shutter Sisters Flickr group for your chance to be selected as the daily OWP featured photographer.  February’s OWP is graciously being sponsored by LENSBABY, so one lucky participant will win a Lensbaby Composer at the end of the month!

If you’ve already begun participating in the One Word Project, please share something you’ve captured so far.  Or share with us an image in which you succeeded in upping the ante by doing something new or challenging.

Comments

  16. my word is "cusp"………… I love the definition of it.. now i just need to figure out how to capture it.

  21. First One Word February Fresh Photo: http://flickr.com/photos/sillyspheres/3244996853/
    Upping the Ante: Been playing with light and perspective a lot. Thought these different perspectives of the tree with the sun (light) came out pretty decent: http://flickr.com/photos/sillyspheres/3245001165/in/set-72157613211004291/
    http://flickr.com/photos/sillyspheres/3245002121/in/set-72157613211004291/
    http://flickr.com/photos/sillyspheres/3245002513/in/set-72157613211004291/
    http://flickr.com/photos/sillyspheres/3245831614/in/set-72157613211004291/

  23. I posted my photo for the one word challenge over in the Shutter Sisters flickr group, but the photo below is one that really "hit" me this morning. Just a run of the mill thing, really . . . I spend countless moments of my day standing here, but this morning it gave a little something back to me . . .

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/thekreativelife/3245115683/

    I really got to thinking about capturing the "atmosphere" around me. It’s an unexplainable feeling, but when you feel it, and see it captured in a photo . . . WOW! This is something I’ll be striving for in the future!

    Thanks so much for this wonderful challenge!

  30. I’m so excited about this challenge – I’ve been looking for something like this to spark some creativity and add some more meaning to my photography 🙂
    The word I’ve chosen is "home"