the great wide open

There have been times when I've got my head and heart so wrapped up in something that I lose sight of everything else. Sometimes it's work related, or I'm focusing on family matters or it can even be just the drudgery of the daily grind that  can keep me down. Whatever the case, some days feel a lot less hopeful then others.

Luckily, there always comes days when with the sun I look up, and out, and past the place I've been and I can see into the great wide open. The place where hope lives and the beauty of possibility lifts my spirits and soothes my soul. Where I am content to be where I am and also energized to move forward. Why wouldn't I be? Look at that place. It's awesome!

Of course, if everyday looked like that, then I wouldn't be nearly as impressed, or spellbound or enchanted by what I see. The contrast of the not-so-great days in comparison to days that look like this make the this so much sweeter.

My guess is you know exactly what I'm talking about. That the darkness makes way for light far more beautiful than any other light you've ever seen. That coming up for air and seeing this stretch out before you feels better than you could have ever remembered. That's the thing about hope and love and beauty. You can only experience it to it's fullest when it's been gone for a while.

As we begin this week, share a image that offers a view of the great wide open, full of possibility! Let's all soak in the goodness of today...and tomorrow.

an invitation to the weekend

The weekend.

There is nothing like it. A time to rest, rejuvinate, refuel. A time to wind down or wind up. A time to settle in or skip out. A time for family and friends, comfort and joy.

The weekend.

No matter how many have come and gone, as each new one approaches we look forward to it like a gift we cannot wait to open. And somehow we are surprised and delighted each and every week. As so it goes on and on.

The weekend.

For us, lovers of photography, there can be no better time to shoot. And because we want to honor not only the magic that is the weekend but also the Universal deep need to end the week and then begin it again with this sacred time of respite, we would like to invite you to share your weekends with us.

The weekend.

Starting in March we will be featuring weekend images from you here at Shutter Sisters. What does the weekend look like at your house? What moments capture the attention of your lens? What activities (or non-activities) do you hold dear at week's end? What do you create, cherish, capture when the weekend arrives yet again at your door?

Answer these questions for us in your images. Share some words if you want. Throw in a quote. Include a link. Tell us who you are and where we can find you online. Share yourself and your weekends with us and you might be featured right here in our new weekend series that will be posted each Saturday and will be featured through Sunday too. Because weekends are supposed to have two full days of goodness to enjoy.

If you would like to submit your weekend images for consideration in our weekend series, please send your shot(s) via email to us at click [at] shuttersisters [dot] com with the subject weekend. We can't wait to see how you do weekends and begin our series in March! Give us a hint in the comments today.

And above all else, enjoy. The weekend.

intimacy

    

The thing I remember loving the most about my years as a portrait photographer was the ability to capture moments rarely noticed by anyone else. Moments of connection, family life, love, laughter. I made it my mission to seek out the nuances that often got overlooked; the things, that when distilled through my lens felt like magic.

Of all the wonderful things I've been privileged to witness, the ones I feel most honored to share have been the moments of intimacy. The pauses in between the expected shots. The quick glance, the exhale, the gentle touch, the subtle gesture, the contemplative expression, the comfort, the ease.

Perhaps this is why I like to get in close to my subjects. Getting in close means you have to deliberately choose only a few  details amongst the bigger picture that you want to frame in your shot.  It means you're really looking, noticing, honoring that person, that moment, that intimate view into something or someone as if somehow been allowed in to be a part of something rare and wonderful.

Today, show us your version of getting up-close and personal with your subject, whatever or whoever it may be.

served

Morning, noon, night, we are fortunate to have some kind of bounty on our tables. Whether it's a home cooked meal, a late night snack or a glorious night out where the food is graciously prepared and served with a smile, there's something about food that not only satisfies hunger (or thirst!) but also serves as instant subject matter for the next quick pic.

I have never before captured so many table shots as I do now that I have taken up mobile phone photography. It's as if I just can't help myself. And why should I? Creative bursts come in the most unlikely places...like at the dinner table.

Snap a shot from your table today. Show us what's being served or what you're serving up. Make our mouths water.

wonderland

"This is what a Utah winter looks like," she told me as she drove me from Salt Lake City up to Park City, Utah. I marveled from the passenger side as huge snowflakes poured out of the vast bucket sky.

Click, click, click.

Through the windshield I snapped image after image of the landscape that surrounded us. Amazed by what I saw. It had rained all day until all of the sudden, it turned to snow. And minutes later, a total transformation from all gray to winter white. I don't recall ever seeing anything quite like it. We could have been on the moon for all I knew.

It was a long and harrowing drive for most of the people on the road that afternoon but not for her. And even if it was, she wouldn't let on. Apologizing all over myself for the amount of time I was stealing from her day and for the traffic and for the weather, she urged, "This is the magic, Tracey. I wasn't going to let you miss the magic."

And I didn't. Those 24 hours were filled with picturesque views, real winter weather, my camera, big boots, bright lights, warmth, inspiration, and friendship. In a word; magic.

Share with us today your wonderland. When you gaze outside your window, what magic awaits you? Let's see the landscape that surrounds you today.