Collaboration

Collaboration: the action of working with someone to produce or create something

I am lucky to have parents who have always encouraged my love of art. My dad in particular always made an effort to provide me with materials and experiences that would expand my interest. When I was five I specifically remember receiving a set of crayons, colored pencils, and markers housed in a lazy susan-like apparatus. I loved that thing, and I would sit at my little table coloring kittens and rainbows all day. My dad enjoyed drawing or coloring with me and I remember being impressed by his talent. He never took an art class or had a creative profession (quite the opposite). But he appreciates all forms of art and views them with such an open mind. In fact, I think he enjoys the fact my entry into the art world as a college student and now professional allowed him to be exposed to more art than he might have been otherwise. So it was no surprise to me that about a year ago he took up painting. He is mostly retired and was starting to feel the need to utilize his creative side more. Even though I was aware of his artistic ability I have to admit I was surprised at the quality of work he was producing from day one. He started by practicing on still lives of pears on a window sill or peppers on a table, but soon found that what he really enjoyed was starting with a photograph of a scene and painting it as he saw it. I was happy to know that he had been using many of my photos as inspiration. He said that what he struggled with the most was composition, but that he always loved the composition of my photos. So he used them as a starting point and added his own interpretation of colors and textures.

About six months ago my dad came to visit us from Illinois and we spent an afternoon driving through the country looking for old barns and dilapidated buildings. I was armed with my camera as we trespassed our way over fences and through fields of cows. We were a team, dad pointing out things that would be great subjects for his next painting and me diligently snapping away. It turned out to be a productive day. I got tons of awesome shots and my dad got some great inspiration for some of his best work.

Now, a year after he picked up his first paint brush my dad has his own Etsy shop and participated in two art fairs this summer. My walls are filled with his paintings and his are filled with my photos. I’m glad that we are able to share our creative experiences and continue to inspire each other in our art.

Friday's Featured Resource - Ali Edwards

Ali Edwards, Oregon Coast, Summer 2008

I don’t scrapbook. I tried it once many years ago and failed miserably. Don’t get me wrong, my pages looked pretty good but I only got 4 done. The End. But when I see the volumes of cool and imaginative scrapbooks created by the incredibly talented Ali Edwards, I swoon. Suddenly I become a scrapbook junkie. Course, I haven’t attempted it again since my first 4 pages but still, I like to look and admire what Ali has done.

When I visit Ali’s blog, I know I want to make something amazing with my photos but then I get overly-inspired and decide I’ll leave it for another day. But then today is gone. Sigh. So, when I read the invitation to join Ali in a simple project to record a week in the life of my life, my family, using my photos, featuring what I see as important today, I will admit, I got a burst of inspired energy and determination. Maybe I can do this. Maybe I’ll start today.

Why this project? Why now? I guess it’s just the thrill of having this moment in time distilled into something tangible. Something I can hold in my hands as a reminder of this priceless and fleeting moment of my life. I take photo and after photo and am usually content with that being the end result. But the idea of using photos as a springboard sparks my interest. It’s as if the photo is just part of the process. It’s a whole new perspective. And it’s as simple as a focusing in on just one week of my life. I think it sounds wonderful and I plan on taking Ali up on her invitation by following along with her on her blog to see what I can come up with. Why not?

Ali is a one woman resource and offers so much via her blog, her books, her columns, etc etc). I encourage you to click around and discover the magic that is Ali Edwards. She’s one heck of a creative gal who likes to share and sharing is good.

Speaking of sharing, Ali has offered to give away 4 books (1 copy of each title ) to lucky readers her at Shutter Sisters today. Be sure to leave a comment today to get into the running…prepare to be inspired. You have until midnight on Saturday to be included in the drawing.

love thursday: and suddenly, a heart appears

I always marvel at those of you who share your images for Love Thursday here, and comment, "I didn't even notice the heart when I took the picture."  That never happens to me!  If I take a picture of a heart, boy-howdy, I notice it.  It never magically appears.

Until this week.

I was looking through some old photographs I took when I was living in my homeland of Trinidad & Tobago (I'm feeling a bit homesick these days), and I came across the shot above, taken about 2-1/2 years ago.  This little cabin is in the small fishing village of Grand Riviere, on the north shore of Trinidad.  Grand Riviere happens to be the nesting ground of giant leatherback turtles, and every year my husband, daughter and I would make the 2 hour drive to this little cabin, so that we could walk out to the beach after dark and watch these huge animals lumber onto the beach and lay their eggs, before returning to the ocean.  It is one of my favourite memories of life in Trinidad, and one of my favourite spots.  I love this picture.

But it was only this week that I noticed the light in the upper right hand corner of this image was in the shape of a heart.

How positively fitting.

* * * * * * *

Happy Love Thursday, everyone.  Please leave your links of love in the comments below, and be sure to check out these hearts that seemed to magically materialize in the images left by Snowfire11Ro and mainemomma2007 in the ShutterSisters Flickr pool.  

And may love suddenly appear in your lives today.

truth

"Everywhere I went people welcomed me with warmth. In friendship they  politely expressed their natural apprehension about pictures: 'We hope photographs can express the truth'. Fortunately, the language of pictures, like the language of friendship, is very straightforward and uncomplicated. Like a helicopter, the photograph takes over where language leaves off, transcends linguistic limits and lands in the heart of the matter."

-Bhupendra Karia - Russian Immigrants, Tel Aviv, 1972, Creative Camera, page 421-December 1973

What kinds of truths do your photos reveal today?

Round and Round

Flash Bulb Necklace by CameraShyMomma / Bowl of Buttons by Tracey in the Blurb office, San Francisco

Things are happening behind the scenes here at Shutter Sisters and we’re taking today to fill you in.

The Daily Click Book is starting to take shape and it’s going to be awesome! With over 75 images from this very community, how could it not be? We’re still not sure of the exact date of publication but we’ll let you know as soon as we do.

The next book on the list will be Shutter Walk. If you’ve submitted images into the Photo Walk Flickr pool you will be contacted soon after The Daily Click book gets wrapped up.

And we just got word that the second run of Flash Bulb necklaces are in! We are working our way through the list that’s been left at our original post so if you’ve left a comment reserving your necklace and you haven’t heard from us yet, you soon will- so keep your eyes open for our email. And if you haven't, pop over and get on this list.

There’s lots more where that came from but we’re waiting to share all the exciting details of what’s to come for another week or so. Stay tuned and keep clickin’!