Shutter Sisters

where do you stand?

By

In the 1940’s my father used to get his shoes at the Converse rubber factory in the town where he grew up. I think of this tidbit every now and then when I slide off my kicks at the end of the day.

Our shoes tell us where we’ve been. Where we’re going and {quite literally} where we stand at the moment. Everything tells a story {shoes included}. Maybe this is why I find myself photographing them so often.

Aside from being cute or practical, shoes share a story of environment and surroundings. Relaxed, dressed up, muddy… hey, even the whimsical photos with the cotton candy clouds and gigantic turquoise cowboy boot tells a story. {Texas is big baby. Big sky. Big boots.}

Can you feel the mood with the late evening sun shining in through the window at the end of a long day? So, where do you stand? What do your shoes speak of you? Try a different angle today, get down on the ground or shoot from above. Look and see if you can find a story of where you’ve been or where you hope to be going. I’d love to see where you stand!

Comments

  2. I love the blue and light in your image. Such a beautiful shoe portrait!

    I agree shoes can tell a story. This image is of the rainboots I got last fall is important to me. Not only are they cute, but they are an external expression of my blossoming creativity at the time, and my willingness to share it more publicly. Before this, I would have been too self-conscious to wear something like this in public. Now I can't wait for it to rain!!
    http://www.kateyeview.com/2009/11/where-is-rain.html

  7. I just took my shoes' portrait the other day. These orange ones have been my favourites since I bought them 6 years ago (wow! time flies!). They have traveled far and wide, climbed trees, climbed playgrounds, seen love and loss, been part of a halloween costume, given me confidence in new situations, been soaking wet, been stuffed in bags, been worn for days and days. They are ripping in all the wrong places and the rubber is falling off. Will I throw them out? Not until I've finished making memories with them. 🙂

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/katyharmer/4988955026/

  22. Fun post. Well, it just so happens I got a fun shot at a wedding last night of my cousin's and my feet. I can usually be found wearing my cleats and knee high socks, or slippers. But, tonight was a wedding and I had to do what I could to shape up my gnarled bunion laced feet. That included washing them, painting them with garish gold sparkles (which, come to find out my garish toenails were in good company), and slipping on some sandals.

    http://lastpictureshowphotography.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-flickr-stream-attended-my-cousins.html

  26. My shoes are old, worn out Vans. There's a hole in the heel from the wear of walking, and another hole in the canvas from my big toe. They are the most comfortable shoes to me, because they are so worn in that my footprint is permanently pressed into them. They are stained and dirty and smelly, so I am ordering a new pair soon, but I will never forget where these ones have taken me…I have grown up so much in them.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/deniselivingston/5001456269/

    And just for fun…TOES!!
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/deniselivingston/5002073560/

  28. how serendipitous! i was just preparing a submission to an exhibition called … what else, but … "shoes"! realized i had several images in my iphoto files that might be appropriate for this show at a local gallery in a former shoe store. the exhibition is intended as an homage to the building's roots/history. i've whittled my selections down to NINE possibilities. oy. hoping to make the final cut (two or three images) by end of weekend. my top picks at the moment – ones perhaps most compelling because they seem to have a story – are:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonpiepuck/5002193397/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonpiepuck/5002187743/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonpiepuck/5002188157/

    but i kind of like this one, too … and would exhibit it as a triptych with companion images in B & W & sepia.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonpiepuck/5002189885/

    if anyone likes one over another, PLEASE let me know … i need to finalize that submission pronto! THANKS!

  33. I stand by my boyfriend. We're only in high school but we know where we want to be in life. Through school, football, soccer, family, and friends, I'm always right beside him.

    This is a picture that one of my friends took of me and my boyfriend with his football uniform on. I wasn't even aware of her taking it! But I love it more and more every time i see it:)

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/54037404@N02/5000910797/

  37. What a great and simple post…I always say 'shoes maketh the man'…meaning shoes, i picked right, can make a man look like a MAN! Great post, and eloquently put. Shoes…yes what a great metaphor you've drawn, thank you.