For the Love of Books

Where would we be without our wealth of books? On our shelves, our night stands, our coffee tables. Reading to ourselves, to our children, or being read to. Words, illustrations, pictures. Covers, sleeves, pages. Oh, our beloved books!

Ever since our very first Shutter Sisters book has been out, we've seen it on bookstore shelves, being busted out of Amazon boxes, displayed in your homes. There have been encouraging words, rave reviews, and giveaways. We cannot thank you enough for all of your support!

With all this good stuff to report, we've decided to create a little home pagefor all the links that are around the blogosphere. Have your shared your thoughts on Expressive Photography on your blog or somewhere else around the wonderfully wide web?  Please share it with us on our new Expressive Photography page here at Shutter Sisters. And if you've got a shot of the book to share, we've got a new place for those too! It's called Book Sightings and it's just for pictures of the book. All you have to do is add your images into our Flickr Pool tagged "Expressive Photography" (with the quotes) and we'll be featuring your sightings! What better way to celebrate?

And because we are focusing on the love of books of all kinds, our generous sponsor this month Focal Press has offered a number of their stellar titles to YOU for a book love giveaway day today.

All you have to do is share a comment on this post between now and Sunday 11/27 at midnight EST to be entered to win one of these photography titles from Focal Press:

Expressive Photography: A Shutter Sister Guide to Shooting from the Heart (wink wink)

The Elements of Photographyby Angela Faris Belt

Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativity by Michelle Bates

Lensbaby: Bending Your Perspectiveby Corey Hiltz

The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos by Michael Freeman

Books! Books! And more books! 5 books means 5 winners! YAY! So, this post begs the question: what are your favorite books? Do tell the story!

warmest wishes

Every year, about this time, I get asked to share Holiday photo tips. And with the popularity of photo greeting cards, the question always comes up asking for clever ideas for Holiday card photos. We had a series of posts called Great Greetings a few years back where I went into great detail about ideas, tips and tricks.

But, the other day, the folks at Martha Stewart Radioasked for ideas for listeners that don't have kids. It was one on a list of questions that we didn't even have time to cover on the segment (time flies when you're having fun chatting over the air waves) but it got me thinking. It's a really good question.

I began brainstorming about universal symbols of holidays, seasons, peace, joy, and of course, wishes. In other words, you most certainly don't have to use a family photo for your holiday card. There are more than enough ways to Picture the Holidays!

Today, I would love to hear (and see) some ideas from you. Share a photo of something that you think would be a fantastic holiday card photo. Who knows, maybe you'll be inspired to use these kinds of images as gift tags, on calendars, or other gifts! For as many images as there are to take, there are that many ways to share them. Inspire us!

minimalist

Sometimes I fill my photographic canvas, from edge to edge, corner to corner. But sometimes, keeping the frame open can be as effective in capturing the moment at hand, if not more so.

I'm a believer in the idea that we often shoot images that evoke the kinds of emotions that we are experiencing at the time we shoot an image. I'm pretty sure it's not even voluntary. I think our photography, our art, is an expression of not only who we are but what we are feeling.

As I look at this shot of minimalist beauty, I recognize the peace I was feeling at the time. It was as if the view from my window seat was like a mirror.

There could never be a shot that speaks more of a quiet calm that something like this image; so sparse and simple.

Have you ever captured something so simple, so sparing that embodied so much emotion? Do share something today that quietly stirs you soul.

Some Things Never Get Old

I have for some time now had a love affair with the city of Chicago at night.  I self-identify as a night owl and often prefer the amber glow of street lights or cold fluorescents to the glare of the mid-day sun for my photographic adventures. I find the required long exposures and improvised tripods both challenging and magical. I love how deep blue the sky often looks in contrast to the white clouds. And the star-like flares from any points of light are simply irresistable. I just don't get tired of wandering the streets, camera in hand, long after most sensible people in the city have gone to sleep.

What are some of the things that never get old for you to photograph? Please share your images with us today.

images of imperfection

As we wrap up our October's One Word Project, I am still basking in the glow of the beauty of imperfection. The ideas, images and affirmations that have been shared over the past month have been inspiring and motivating, to say the least. The integrity and authenticity of this community never ceases to amaze me.

What's stays with me now is knowing that we have engaged in a collective energy that goes far beyond just a creative photography project. We are seeing ourselves and the world around us through a more compassionate lens; embracing who we are as beautifully imperfect. That's a really big deal. Can you feel it?

As Brené Brown says in her book The Gifts of Imperfection, "choosing authenticity means cultivating the courage to be imperfect."

Here's to all of us for being brave as we have cultivated our courage together, declaring that being imperfect isn't just acceptable, it's beautiful. Keep those images of imperfection coming today as we flex our creative muscles of authenticity! If you would like Brene Brown to consider any of your images of imperfection from the month in the OWP for a video she is making in honor of the beauty of imperfection, please tag your images in our OWP Flickr pool "beauty of imperfection". Remember when you are tagging your shots with a phrase like this, you must use the quoation marks in your tag to keep the words together in your tag.

And how about a giveaway today to celebrate all this awesomeness? Leave a comment here between now and Thursday 11/4 at  midnight EST for a chance to win the cutest little camera ever: the Fujifilm Instax Mini.YAY!

A special thanks to the amazing Brené Brown for inspiring us along this path of beautiful imperfection; for the last 30 days and beyond.

As for our new word for November? Come back tomorrow when we announce it! We promise you'll have something wonderful to focus on.