"you without the story of you"

The other day my friend was talking about the idea of declaring each year "The Year Of _____________". Sometimes it's a resolution in January. Somtimes it's an observation at the end of a year: "The Year of Change", "The Year of Healing", even something simple like "The Year of Getting Ready". She talked about how much changed for her friend one year just by making the committment to get dressed every day. I'm not sure how I'd describe 2010 yet. But if I had to define my last year, that's easy. It was "The Year of Twenty Pounds". The longer version would be "The Year of Doing Nothing But Work and Self Medicate with Food". Or so I thought until I read Women Food and God and then realized that I self medicate with much more: the computer, TV, phone, work, shopping, my children's activities, friendships... you name it.

I ended up finishing the book in two days and colored it completely yellow. Seriously. By the last chapter, my highlighter was out of ink. And the surprising thing was that it wasn't really about weight loss. It was about all the methods we use to escape or soothe ourselves from (the perceived pain of, or boredom with) the present moment. By eating, drinking, exercising, whining, dreaming, computer-ing, working, talking, obsessing, judging, worrying, controlling... whatever it may be. We love to say that it's important to "celebrate the moment". But most of us will do almost anything to get away from it. It's like my habit of compulsively pushing the button on the car radio: Not this song. Not this one. Nope. Next. Next. This one's okay but there might be something better. Where is the something better? Next. Next. Next... Something about that is more preferable than sitting in silence. Sitting Still.

Yet something inside all of us longs for that Stillness. Geneen Roth calls it "you without the story of you". It's the "you" before you began to see yourself defined by various opinions and perceptions of others. In the book she suggests that we connect to the Stillness not by learning something new or by "fixing" ourselves to become more "perfect". But instead by remembering who we were before. There was a day when a caterpillar could fill you with wonder, when a snow cone could make your day. You didn't need a specific reason to be happy. And the idea that you were enough was naturally assumed.

We'd love to see your images today... the ones that make you remember.

Shooting from the Heart: Expressive Photography

 

We are bursting at the seams to share with you the arrival of our new book Expressive Photography –A Shutter Sisters Guide to Shooting from the Heart!

Insert flattering cat calls and cab whistles from supportive sisters everywhere.

Working on a project like this has been a passionate, intense, even arduous labor of love from inception to writing, gathering, shooting, editing and writing some more. Any author will attest that the process of writing a book is indeed a creative gestation; a growing and birthing of a baby with body, mind and soul power fueling it. Behind Expressive Photography, there are 10 proud mamas who worked at it; nurturing, feeding, coddling, cajoling and loving it like only true mamas can. Between myself, Andrea Scher, Kate Inglis, Sarah-Ji, Maile Wilson, Irene Nam, Stephanie C. Roberts, Karen Walrond, Paige Balcer and Jen Lemen, we’ve birthed a pretty darn adorable baby, don’t you think?

Of course, every mother thinks her baby is the cutest baby on the block, and we’re no exception. She is a beauty, both inside and out. And she’s all gussied up and ready for her debut in her red sparkly shoes even (with the help of Sarah-Ji). So, without any further delay, we present the bright and shiny new book we have lovingly named Expressive Photography –A Shutter Sisters Guide to Shooting from the Heart. 

The best part? You will soon be able to take her home with you! Expressive Photography will be officially available online and on the shelves of your local bookstore in October 2010 through our publisher Focal Press. But because we couldn’t be more thrilled to be sharing her with all of you first, we’re giddy that you can pre-order the book now, so you get your copy hot off the presses! Expressive Photography has a home on Amazon just waiting for you to come by for a visit. All you have to do is click. Cooing encouraged.

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Congratulations to the winners of the Hello Gorgeous contest:

The Grand Hello goes to Jade Sheldon of her self portrait. Stunning!

And the 2 runners up are:

Darrah Parker for her shot Reflection

& Puna Miller/Life Signatures for her shot Hello Gorgeous

Thanks everyone for playing along. We loved all of your images! The next mini-contest will be on Friday.

love life

 

Every time I try to write about Kal, I sound like a crazy groupie. It's probably not far from the truth. I've been adoring her work for years for the way she combines fine art, with graphic elements, and WORDS. I LOVE the way she sees and communicates, whether she's using a paintbrush, a camera, or a paper bag. Today's post is by (my favorite) Kal Barteski.  :)

Hey Shutter-Sisters. You don't know me. My name is Kal Barteski and I would expect you should think three of four times before taking photography ideas from an artist-but, I wanted to share two holiday-happies that a non-photographer thinks about when lugging around a camera.

First, I don't think about taking photos. Whether I'm using a camera or a paintbrush-I don't think so much about the tool as I do the idea of creating art. Magic even. That's right- a camera is simply a tool used to capture shadow and light - the magic is in the taking.

Second- I don't think about taking photos. I think about watching and catching memories and glances and those little words between what's happening and the invisible music between the hearts in  the shot. Because to me - the very, very best photographs are the ones we cherish - not for the fashion or the beauty, but for the message.

You can find Kal's blog with everything she's been working on here. She's having a holiday special on her Love Life books. It's such a good deal, I purchased ten of them as gifts this year. So go check it out, and leave a comment to win one today!

Exploring the Details

I do not travel to follow itineraries. I travel to see whatever I happen to see. All it takes is a willingness to wander, to make mistakes, to ask for help, to observe, to follow my instincts, to face fears and step outside my comfort zone. -Ordinary Sparkling Moments

Whenever anyone asks me what I do for a living, I always smile and say, “I am an artist”. Questions then follow about the kind of work I do and what inspires me, and while all of these exchanges are among the most pleasant for me (I mean really, I get to say I’m an artist...an artist!) I have lately been wondering if I should toss all formalities aside and try to express the more fundamental truth of what I do. More than being an artist, a writer or anything else, I am a wanderer, a dreamer, and an explorer. Whether I am on a journey across the Pacific or sitting in my studio pondering my place in the world, my fierce passion for explorations of any kind is what feeds my creative work more than anything else, and it is the tiniest of details in these wanderings that give me the deepest sense of delight.

I have been incredibly blessed to have traveled to many beautiful parts of the world, and on every excursion, there are two items that are always with me: my journal and my camera. I have been known to write journal entries as I’m walking down cracked sidewalks in Havana and as a woman obsessed with graffiti art in Buenos Aires. I am constantly writing, sketching, photographing and observing, trying to capture all the minutiae of new cities, unfamiliar neighborhoods and foreign cultures. Then when I arrive back home, notes, images and doodles in hand, I let all these bits and pieces spill forth so that I can re-assemble them in an entirely new way. I use my photography to express all the subtleties I saw, sensed and experienced in places where I could not understand the language yet still perhaps felt strangely at home.

To allow yourself to dive deep into the tiniest of details in any environment is to open yourself up to colors, images and textures that might go unnoticed if you’re always looking up at the skyscrapers, so to speak. There is so much to see and admire on the ground, in a drugstore window, in the layers of paint on an old building. I find that the more I let my eyes stay focused on one small area, the more I comprehend the real flavor of a city and a culture. In Tokyo, the artful details of their manhole covers helped me understand their appreciation for beauty. In Havana, the peeled paint, broken windows and piles of rubble let any visitor know this was a city lost in time. In Buenos Aires, the political nature of their graffiti gave me a glimpse of the tension still deeply felt by a city with a dark, complicated past. The personality, history and passions of any city, town or neighborhood can be found in its details, by looking in the most minuscule of spaces and letting that take up your entire field of vision.

You don’t need to travel across the globe to explore life’s details. This is a technique you can use anywhere, anytime, even in your own home. What if you took an afternoon to explore the details of your home with your camera? What would those images say about you, your family, your routines, your likes and dislikes? Giving time and attention to the smaller corners of your own living space with your camera can help hone the muscle that notices tiny sparkles in unexpected places. Then you can use those skills to capture all the peculiar, radiant, mysterious charms of any location, near or far, at any time of the year in any part of the world.

Take your time. Observe. Look closer. Let yourself get lost in the details.

Photo and guest post courtesy of artist extraordinaire Christine Mason Miller (aka Swirly Girl). Christine has graciously offered a copy of her book Ordinary Sparkling Moments to one lucky reader. If you want in on the action leave a comment here to be included in the drawing. 

Congratulations to Bridge of Ride the Waves of Life the winner of the wonderful offerings from Jen Lemen.

a resource alive with possibilities

Every so often I get this overwhelming feeling to begin again in the form of what might be considered a creative reinvention. The promise that a blank canvass can present energizes and entices me. For quite some time I have been musing about reworking my online offerings; updating my portfolio, redesigning things, switching over to a new blog platform for my personal blog, the list goes on and on. I know I am not alone here. I get emails all the time from many of you looking for some guidance as you are also in the midst of doing the same things.

When I come across resources like liveBooks it makes the idea of change something that feels pretty doable--they have designers to help you in your process. When there's a lot you want to change, doable and help make a good combination. And then I find out that they are having a huge sale TODAY on their website packages. A 24 hour sale. What luck! I was giddy to share it with you.

Whether you are looking to launch or grow your career in photography or you just need a little nudge toward your own reinvention, today might be just the day to make a fresh start.

If you chat with the fine folks at liveBooks today please be sure to tell them you came by way of Shutter Sisters.