wish list for december

Hooray! It’s a brand new month and you know what that means. It’s time for a new word for our December One Word Project. And since it happens to be the season of holiday magic, why not Wish a little? Or a lot.

That being said, we present you a Shutter Sisters’ holiday Wish List full of cool gifts and gadgets (for every budget) for the photo enthusiast in all of us:

Stephanie is wishing for a 30mm f/1.4 lens and a Funky Camera neck strap.

Jen is wishing for The Super-Wide Conversion Lens for her Lensbaby Composer and a Polaroid Camera of any kind (with film).

Irene is wishing for a print from chocokat and one from Alicia Bock and the book Little Italy by Jenifer Altman.

Paige is wishing for a Mod camera neck strap.

Kristin is wishing for the Golden Half Green Trees Edition half frame toy camera.

Meredith is wishing for a GetReadySetGo messenger bag for gear and a mountain of film for her Kodak Brownie Hawkeye.

Maile is wishing forthe Fuji instax-camera.

Chris is wishing for the same Fuji instax-camera as Maile.

Sarah is wishing for a hand-knit, generously cushioned dSLR camera cozy in robin egg blue (know where she can find one?) and a super secret spy lens from Photojojo.

Alex is wishing for the Mona Kuhn: Native book, Polaroid 600 film & 120 film for her Holga and the Polaroid Frames from Photojojo.

Tracey is wishing for the Fisheye Optic for her Lensbaby Composer, a Camera Necklace from Urban Outfitters and the HP MediaSmart Server.

And while we’re wishing…here’s a few more wish-worthy ideas for Shutter Sisters everywhere:

The Shutter Sisters Flash Bulb Necklace (with the brand new sparkly chain!)

Maile’s new Camera Bags (a little bird told us that if you're on the mailing list, you'll be notified as soon as the holiday gift cards are available for these coveted bags. OMG!)

The Dreamy Diana lens at Photojojo

Digital Mini Case at Delight.com

Kirsty Takes a Bow (it might not be a book about photography but there are lots of amazing photos in it which is good enough for us!)

Seat Belt Camera Straps at Photojojo

Lightware Compact Flash Media Wallet

The Emma Photo Ring by Kimbra Studios

We encourage you to send the url to this post along to friends and family with the subject line ‘wishes' or 'hint hint' or some such thing. They’ll get the idea! And if you're wishing big this year and hoping to get some new photo equipment, send them to B&H Photo before the holidays. We pretty much guarantee they'll have what you're wishing for!

So, let's have it. What are you hoping to find under your tree this year? Come on, you can share your wish with us. Wishes are a wonderful thing!  B&H Photo sure thinks so and are giving away 2 gift cards (for $25 each) to 2 of you today to help your photo gear wishes come true. Isn't December starting out grand? Just leave a comment to be entered in the random drawing. Yay!

And we’ll be watching for your Wish images in our OWP Flickr Pool all month long.  If you’ve never participated in the One Word Project, we do wish you would join us! With all these wishes swirling about, some are bound to come true!

Vision is better

I wrote a draft post the other day in which I mentioned some peers whose work I highly respect - Marcie, Diane,  and Georgia, to list just a few fellow Shutter Sisters whose names were included - isn’t that odd, “fellow” Shutter Sisters?  Even though in this situation the definition for “fellow” is a male or female colleague, a companion, a comrade, an associate, a partner, a sharer, an alternative definition is man or boy.  I prefer “a sharer”, but I digress.  I was reading a post by David duChemin whose second book, Vision Mongers, was just released and whose first book, Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision, I’m still trying to read. Why am I still “trying” to read his book?  Because it is so dang good, I keep going back to reread the same sections over and over again.  David’s tag line is something that he always stresses - “gear is good, vision is better” and when I look at the works of the ladies mentioned above, I see works with vision. 

Now, I’m not ashamed to admit that vision is something with which I struggle.  What is vision? Do I have vision?  Do I NOT have vision?  What IS my vision, if I do have it?   DO I have it?? Tell me quick! As you can see, my inner dialogue constantly questions my vision.  Or lack thereof.  Sometimes I feel as though I finally have a grasp on what my vision is, that I’m reaching for the proverbial doorknob of that “aha” moment and about to walk through and embrace it…and then the door slams shut.  How do you know you have vision?  Is it something you find in your photos that you unconsciously keep repeating?  Is it a story you want to tell?  Is it the way in which you want to tell it?  Still with the questions…maybe if I finished the book…

One of the things I do on a regular basis, and it is something we all do or we wouldn’t be here right now at Shutter Sisters, is go blog hopping.  All of the photo blogs I visit are of photographers who inspire me in one way or another – it might be their images or their words or a combination of them both, but regardless, it is someone whom I think has vision.  Their work might be completely different than mine, but I still learn from them, I still take something away with me…and that is inspiration.

How about you?  Is vision something you feel you have or are you still trying to figure out what it is?  Is there someone’s work and vision that inspires you?  What does your inner dialogue have to say?  Share with us in the comments, won’t you please?

Photo and words courtesy of Guest Blogger / Honorary Sister Toni Johnson of Daily Vignette.

photographic memory

“Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love,

the things you are, the things you never want to lose.”

~ The Wonder Years

We flock like birds at the coast on a windy day. He runs from us with his balloon. This is real life. Laughter catches on the wind as we bend to collect seaglass. These are memories I don't want to forget. We are younger than we seem when we gather at the beach.

I recently visited family over the Thanksgiving holiday. Home is faraway and appears on my horizon much too seldom these days. I shoot about a zillion photos over a span of five days, all in hopes to preserve the memory. As if I can freeze time and the moment and the energy of family right now as it is. I fill memory cards because it is through photography that I find what is real.

Now that I am back home, I keep returning to this image: our four bodies clustering like spirits. With magnets in us, we are magically drawn to one another. What is revealed through candid photography is the space between us, the love that lingers there, the laughter of a child bridging the generation gap, the newness hidden within what was old.

How do you shoot your family? Share with us your moments and memories of group togetherness captured through photography.

so much gratitude!

1. Untitled, 2. wonder, 3. Countertop cuteness not being knocked over (Gratitude day 28), 4. Our single Black Friday purchase (Gratitude day 27), 5. all gone, 6. warmth, 7. Gifts, 8. Happy Thanksgiving (Gratitude day 26), 9. christmas is coming., 10. anticipation 2, 11. anticipation, 12. 328/365, 13. Untitled, 14. Frolic, 15. cobweb bokeh, 16. The holiday season (Gratitude day 25), 17. crunch, crunch., 18. 24.30 ~ re-Connecting with Old Friends, 19. nostalgic warmth among strangers, 20. Random cuteness (Gratitude day 24), 21. Believe in Gratitude, 22. Believe in Gratitude, 23. 322/365, 24. treasuring these moments, 25. blue morpho, 26. thanx Dad, 27. little bear, 28. november 20: the rose bloomed, 29. At the beach, 30. Karma? Or at least reciprocity (Gratitude day 21), 31. gratitude/ day19:30, 32. gratitude/ day18:30, 33. eeking out fall color, 34. Untitled, 35. 316/365

What else to say except we have been totally inspired by all of your gestures of gratitude this month! Seriously, good stuff in our One Word Project stream. The images tell the true story of what we are all grateful for. Thank you for all of your amazing photographs!

And do share your Memolioalbums with us so we can admire your handiwork! We will soon share the Gratitude Memolio book that we are making from the images in our pool. The proceeds will be going to Tweetsgiving which is all the sweeter!

Congrats to the winners of last weeks Memolio giveaway; Claudia, Jade Sheldon, Iris, Trude and Darrah.

To end this month of Gratitude, Memolio is offering 5 more of you a chance to win an album so leave your comment here today! And never fear, we have an awesome new word for December will be announcing in the next few days so stay tuned!

sunrise/sunset

It's hard for me to see a sky like this and not run to grab my camera. A sunset this beautiful almost seems too good to be true, like I need proof that it actually happened or no one would believe me. It's amazing that something that happens everyday, like the sun going down, can still manage to produce such a spectacular scene. It's ordinary and extraordinary at the same time.

I'd love to see some more outstanding sunsets or sunrises. Leave your examples in the comments!