Your Local Pix (a call for submissions)

-El Dorado Nature Center, Long Beach, California

I don’t know about you but I’m pretty sure my family and I will be spending most of our summer close to home. As trite as it may sound, budgets are tight and it's left many of us reprioritizing. Looking on bright side, times like these encourage us to be more creative on a lot of different levels. Focusing on what we can do on a budget (instead of what we can’t do) we look to the treasures in our very own hometowns. Now more than ever there’s reason to experience and appreciate the gifts that our own communities and neighborhoods have to offer. Parks, beaches, events, sites and attractions that are right around the corner can be just as magical as those that beckon us from far away. And they can be equally enjoyable photographically speaking.

In the spirit of sticking close to home and loving what you’ve got right where you’re at—they’re calling them Staycations these days in case you hadn’t heard—we’re putting out a call to all of you. It’s our first official call for posts here at Shutter Sisters and we are hoping to hear from you! Consider it  a little celebration of summer!

Share with us the places that you are drawn to; the places you’ve discovered close to home that are not only fantastic places to spend some time but also places that offer great photo opportunities! We’re calling the series Your Local Pix and the content is going to come from many of you, wherever you may be.

The more I brainstorm on the many things to do here in So Cal, my head spins. And the crazy thing is, many of these amazing places I’ve never even been to. This summer all of that’s going to change. It’s time to discover the wonders that shine bright right here in my own backyard.

Are your wheels turning? Do you have someplace in mind already? We’d love to see what gems your hometown has to offer, in a fun and photographic kind of way. Send your ideas to us at and we'll pick some of our favs. You'll then be asked to share an image and a story that highlights a place near and dear to your hometown heart.  Submit Your Local Pix ideas today (or sometime really soon) for consideration. And today, you are also welcome to share links to what you are capturing close to home. Let’s see your local treasures.

Comments

[djbeat]

i`ve just started doing a thing i call `a day in the life` - usually i make up a collage of the special place we have been ( i am sadly a little behind on this effort). we live in vancouver, i am on mat leave & my husband works from home so we are happily taking mini adventures if not daily then several times a week.

there is one special place that i am in love with: on the lowest of tides (1 foot or less) a sandbar rises out of the ocean in our bay. it is an approximately 20 minute walk over mud flats (squishes between your toes) and sometimes through mini salt water creeks (if you don`t time it just right) to a pristine deserted sandy beach!! it is only out for a few hours as the tides change - it is magical to arrive on a sunny day when there is no one else there. you can almost reach out & touch the freighters anchored & waiting for a turn in the harbour...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/djbeat/3567750460/in/set-72157617837085219/

[jas]

One of my favorite places is right at home. I have a glorious view of the clouds that move across the fields between our farm and the next. And across the street is another beautiful field that changes from season to season. I've had fun this year chronicling the changes as they happen. And I've gotten more in touch with the earth's rhythms in our part of the country.

http://ironacresimages.blogspot.com/2009/06/plow.html

[kosenrufu mama]

this summer we will stay home, our garden will be our holiday place, under our tree, next by our flowers... of course Bologna-Italy- offres a lot of swimming pools, place to visit and nights to spend, here the summer time is full of events, concerts, music, let's see what we can do...
http://esterdaphne.blogspot.com/2009/06/basta-poco.html
http://esterdaphne.blogspot.com/2009/03/spero-sinceramente-che-tutti-abbiate.html

[kaytee]

ive actually been doing a little bit of traveling =)

http://missredphotos.blogspot.com/2009/06/chess.html

[MariaV]

This is definitely giving me ideas. There are new park lands near my home that I haven't explored. Let's see what I can do this weekend. Thank you for the inspiration.

[Vanessa]

I'm from Dublin, Ireland.

I was just sorting out my Flickr files the other day and I rearranged my general "Views" folder into four new "Irish" sets, determined by location... Photos taken in:

~Dublin (county and city): http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/sets/72157619872993650/
~Wicklow (county just south of Dublin): http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/sets/72157619873962334/
~Howth (a quaint peninsula and fishing town to the north of Dublin city): http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/sets/72157619789335547/
~And the very beautiful West of Ireland: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/sets/72157619874121580/

Oh and, a while back, I also posted a set of fun photos taken on a break in Rome, Italy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/sets/72157617753678514/

Happy vacations and staycations, sisters!
Vx

[Alicia]

i'm excited to explore my "home" for my summer... i love the word staycation! i'm definitely going to use it... i'll be spending almost 2 months acting like i'm on a staycation, exploring my city...

here's a recent quick trip, close to home that i took... http://aliandsethinthecity.blogspot.com/2009/06/saturday-beachday.html

my blog as a whole is dedicated mainly to exploring my home and everything close... http://aliandsethinthecity.blogspot.com/

[Puna]

We live by the Chesapeake Bay and I think we are going to do a lot of hanging out on the water this summer.

http://lifesignatures.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/the-bay/

Great idea this staycation but I'm feeling the tug of far away places too...

[cindy : quaint]

we live in nyc and love to visit our public gardens. this is wave hill
http://www.flickr.com/photos/71443419@N00/3546894662/in/set-72157605284477233/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/71443419@N00/3546894148/in/set-72157605284477233/

[Kelly]

our Charleston, S.C. skyline as seen from the Waterfront Park pier at sunset...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8702729@N02/3639680820/

[Toni | Daily Vignette]

I don't think this is quite what you had in mind, but I was exploring a local organic farm a couple of days ago and found this little resident quite interesting.

http://dailyvignette.com/2009/06/19/quit-buggin-me/

I'll be staying close to home for most of the summer, but in late August will spend some time in Seattle for my son's wedding and will show my mom some of the city. It's a great place for photos. There is a place, just 45 minutes away, that I've been meaning to visit. This is the impetus I need to do just that.

[mary]

Even though many people think of New Jersey as the Turnpike (think opening scenes of The Sopranos), we have some beautiful scenery:

http://mary-simplethings.blogspot.com/2009/06/follow-on.html

http://inasoftlight.blogspot.com/2009/05/yet-another.html

This summer, I'd like to visit our state botanical gardens, and Liberty Island as well.

[Bridget R.]

Greenfield Village in my town of Dearborn, Michigan:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beeroach/3633606584/

Historic summer baseball games every weekend. Bring a seat, pop open a glass bottle of classic Faygo root beer they sell at the refreshment stand. Perfect.

[shirley]

Kickapoo State Park in Illinois. Was closed in the Fall due to budget cuts, but re-opened after Gov Blago was removed from office.

http://shirley319.blogspot.com/2008/08/end-of-summer-fling-kayaking-and-tubing.html

[Julie Marie]

Some time ago, I started a gallery of photos I've taken within a mile radius of my home... There are beautiful gems to photograph all around us, we don't have to go far.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13731299@N03/sets/72157615763482793/

[summer]

living pay check to pay check with two small children we stick around home a lot...doesn't mean we don't find ways to have a very good time;)
Yesterday we found this little gem of a cafe serving yummy inexpensive sandwiches tucked around the corner from our local park. We will definitely be returning here time and again this summer.
Can't wait to keep my eyes open for a good submission!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sufferingsummer/3641551682/?addedcomment=1#comment72157619876176771

[Bev]

camping at ice house lake..sierra nevadas of no. california...an hour drive from our home...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37013676@N06/3617315608/

[Kirsty-Abu Dhabi]

This is my family at our local beach in Abu Dhabi a few weeks ago. I love it there! We're going to stay here for most of the summer but won't be taking in the beach so much - it's over 100F by the time we get out of bed these days!
http://kirstylarmourblog.com/?p=225
With Ramadan coming up in August though I'd like to focus a bit more on the traditions we have here in the Middle East

[Anna/NotAnna]

Every weekend the NC State Fairgrounds is home to a flea market. Last weekend, I took a walk around with my camera and only caught a smidgen of the sights. Posted 4 so far at http://www.flickr.com/photos/31866449@N04/. Next time, I'm thinking about branching out from things to people. Quite a few characters there, for sure.

[Sara]

I'm from Reno, NV. We have a place here called Crystal Peak that used to be a military mine for quartz crystal back in the 1940s. Now it's open to the public (not the mine shaft but the area) and you can go hunting for your own crystals.

http://indigoamethyst.blogspot.com/2009/05/rock-hunting.html

[Lecia]

My neighborhood park is incredible for photography! Seattle skyline in the background. Here are a couple of my recent favorites:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/a_day_that_is_dessert/3633350467/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/a_day_that_is_dessert/3487514904/in/set-72157612467070200/

[Elizabeth]

What a great idea! I've just moved back to my roots after being gone for ten years and can't wait to explore this new and remembered space I once again call home...

[Kathleen O./ko2008]

I live on the North Shore of Boston, MA in a town called Ipswich. It's full of open space, art, and the BEACH! Here are some of my favorite places:

Castle Hill/Crane Estate - SO MANY photographic opportunities
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/3374438524/in/set-72157605113895625/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/2927342735/in/set-72157605113895625/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/3374446326/in/set-72157605113895625/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/2491138412/in/set-72157605113895625/
(I could go on and on, but there are other places.)

Appleton Farm - the oldest working farm in MA, also a lovely property with walking and horse trails
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/2442045782/in/set-72157605113895625/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/3602175838/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/3601361615/

Pavillion and Crane Beaches
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/2775961293/in/set-72157605113895625/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/3315457174/in/set-72157605113895625/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/2303929753/in/set-72157605113895625/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/2795793137/

I have one more...can't resist. Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester. Free after 5pm. Favorite dinner spot!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/3623852484/in/set-72157615274371996/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/3495111059/

[georgia]

i live downtown crystal lake, illinois—it's the historic part of this city. it's nothing amazing, but it's my little go-to place for everything. i love it here. it's especially lovely in the summer. i love to go and sit at a sidewalk cafe in the mornings on summer weekends for coffee. i only live a block from where these were taken.

http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/2009/05/ill-have-tall-iced-green-tea-latte-with.html

[darrah]

Living in Seattle, everywhere I look is something pretty or interesting to look at. I moved here three years ago, but I still feel like a newbie. So sticking close to home this summer is a-okay with me because there's plenty to see.

Here's a recent post I wrote about one of my favorite places, Green Lake:
http://artcetera.squarespace.com/artcetera/2009/5/30/summertime-in-seattle.html

And here are a few more of my favorites:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artcetera/sets/72157618749518425/

[renee @ FIMBY]

I love "our" csa farm. It's 10 minutes from our home and it's one of the only places I feel my children are absolutely free. They can wander the 6 acres with no worries of cars, kidnappers or cliffs They can play in the wildflowers, feed the pigs or catch frogs. Time spent at the farm is what childhood & summer are meant to be. It gives them a freedom otherwise not found in our smallish city neighborhood.

Here's a sampling of photos I've already taken there during different seasons, I'd love the opportunity to share another one with a story.

http://fimby.tougas.net/buttercups-at-the-farm

http://fimby.tougas.net/Barn-Sunset-1008

http://fimby.tougas.net/Sunset-Strawflowers-photo

http://fimby.tougas.net/farm-tire-swing

[June]

I live in Hawaii, so a staycation is easy for me! This post has an excellent point though. I'm loving everybody's pictures.

I'm slowly making a collection of photos from here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/junedel/sets/72157606864255354/

[claudia]

We just got back from a mini-stay-cation right here in Minneapolis. I didn't set out intending to post a series on it but I did. What a fun little city we have! And don't get me started on the lake and rural areas...I think I feel a continuing series coming on :)
http://gnubee.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/this-town-that-is-my-home-part-1/
http://gnubee.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/this-town-that-is-my-home-part-2/
http://gnubee.wordpress.com/2009/06/25/this-town-that-is-my-home-part-3/
I also decided to set up a flickr set of photos around town. I'll be adding to that after I do the world wide photo walk I signed up for in July.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurohunt/sets/72157620401081460/

[Sue Henry]

My husband and I are very fond of taking "day trips" -- trips that typically are approximately an hour from our home. In our location we are blessed to be surrounded with some wonderful places to visit. My blog is filled with images made during our "day trips."

http://suehenryphotography.wordpress.com/2008/11/12/back-to-nature-and-natural-beauty/

[Mishelle Lane/ Secret Agent Mama]

Our local watering hole:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretagentmama/sets/72157620942809146/