life in a day

The other evening I had the honor of seeing the unique documentary Life in a Day. It is the project that brought National Geographic and YouTube together with a mission to tell the story of one of day on earth. Let me tell you, it was wonderful. You can read more about the concept of the film and how it was created (the idea in itself is totally inspiring) at the Life in a Day site. Once you watch the trailer and all the hair on your body stands on end, you'll know what I mean when I say wonderful.

The points of view, the perspectives, the subject matter, the video shorts themselves; all totally unique and even still, there was a Universal cohesion, beauty, and honesty that left me feeling so grateful to be alive on this planet.

With our One Word Project wordthis month celebrating life, today I ask you to pick up your camera and capture yours in way that's both everyday and unique. Capture a moment of your life, just as it is, that you never ever want to forget.

And be sure to visit Ali Edwards this week as she's inspiring us to document our life all week with her Week in the Life. Talk about sweet sisterly synchronicity!

smiling at strangers

I don't think people smile enough anymore, myself included.  In New York City, most people are too caught up in the hustle bustle of every day. We move through life without looking up, often not connecting with any of the other 8 million people who live here. Believe it or not, sometimes it can be a lonely place.

 This is especially true underground on the subway where everyone has their own little routines and distractions--reading the newspaper, listening to music, swiping away on smart phones, kindles and iPads, or even sleeping. We have our commutes down to a science.  We know exactly where to stand on the platform to be in the perfect spot when the doors slide open at our destination so as to not waste a single moment.  And although we sit, stand and hover a mere inches from each other every day there is rarely any eye contact, and definitely not enough smiles.

So I decided to play my small part in trying to do something about it. I recently started leaving notes on the subway that simply say "smile at a stranger today."  I've typed them, handwritten them and even had some little cards made. I've taped them to walls in subway stations and train cars and I often leave them on the seats where they will catch the most attention.  Yesterday, a woman picked up one of the notes I left as she sat down across from me.  She read it, looked up, and smiled.  And today, these two people struck up a conversation after I left my notes on the seat next to them.  I don't expect to change the world but I'll take what I can get, one smile at a time.

How about you?  Have you sent any messages to the universe lately? Whether it's literally with notes or words, or creatively through your photographs, share with us today what you are saying to the world around you.

Images and words courtesy of iphoneographer Christy of Urban Muser. You can also find her at Mortal Muses every nine days or so. 

A Little Bit Awkward and Anxious

I love moments like this... a little bit awkward and anxious. Sometimes I can feel them coming. I get this tingling sensation of anticipation that drives me to reach for my iPhone. And then I wait. It's like following the lift and fleeting magic of a bubble... waiting for it to pop. An odd split-second of time when objects align and there's enough weirdness in the air to qualify as a moment meant to be preserved. I typically don't center objects in my compositions, but this image wouldn't have worked any other way.

Show us something a little bit awkward and anxious. Make us tilt our heads and say, "huh."

I shot this image with my iPhone 4 using the Hipstamatic app (Blanko film and John S lens) and processed it in black and white using the Photo fx app. Learn more about The Art of iPhoneography: A Guide to Mobile Creativity.

Something Borrowed

I didn't think she needed a veil. It seemed old fashioned. Maybe excessive? When I was in second grade preparing for my First Communion, I remembered shopping with my mother for a pretty white dress to adorn the occassion, settling on a lace bodice with sheer long sleeves and a soft pleated skirt. Feminine, but not frilly. It had to feel like me. "Do you really want a veil?" my mother asked. Yes. Yes, I course I wanted a veil. That was 34 years ago.

So on the day of dress rehearsal for her First Communion in our cozy little Catholic church, my girl snuggled up close to me between instructions to whisper in my ear, "I want a veil." Just two days before we made a mad dash to the mall to find a new dress because the hefty splint on her broken arm had rendered the delicate borrowed dress with slim sleeves no longer borrow-able from one of our closest family friends. Now I had less than eight shopping hours to fulfill the veil request. Two baseball games would consume at least five of those hours. And let's just say access to shopping venues offering child-size veils in my small southern town would be... non-existent. Stumped, I unloaded my woes to a friend in the fellowship hall as she waited for her son, clad in a miniature suit and tie to join us.

"Borrow my daughter's veil!" she insisted. "I still have it from her First Communion eight years ago." Relieved and grateful, I drove all of ten minutes to my friend's house to pick up the veil and fulfill my girl's First Communion fashion statement. Was the veil really necessary? No. Would the day have been as special without the veil? Yes. Was it a memorable site to see my girl adorned in her borrowed veil tread softly down the center of the church toward the alter with a shy grin? Yes, indeed.

I shot this image with my Nikon D3s with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens set at 24mm with f/6.3 aperture setting. ISO was set to 400 and I fired my speedlight. I processed it in Sepia Tone set to .41 intensity to give the image a timeless feel.

Show us something old, something new, something borrowed, or something blue.

the muse of connection

1. wildflowers and sunshine via instagram, 2. flare me. first iphone selfie. this is a whole new learning curve!, 3. 横顔, 4. Ghost leaf, 5. Open the doors...., 6. green, 7. Bad mother alert, 8. Untitled, 9. Watching Monsters Inc, 10. Paper thin, 11. Fresh cut peonies, 12. sunflower

A few weeks ago I went right out and got myself an iphone. It wasn’t exactly that simple or that easy. It came after months—ok years—of deliberating, debating and planning. And after all that, I still hesitated. Until one day, I didn’t.  And then, it was that easy. I walked right in and got myself an iphone.

I cannot claim it’s the best thing that has ever happened to me, but I will say, it’s pretty great. The ironic thing is, it has absolutely nothing to do with the phone. As you can probably guess, it has everything to do with the camera. But not just any camera. The camera that gets transformed by the apps.

I’m not a gadget and gear girl nor a techie so I haven’t taken much time to load up on igoods. But what I have found are some of the super-fun photo apps that I had only dreamed of using.  Enter Instagram; my new favorite photo toy.

Yes, I am having a blast with it. The whole world looks like a photo to me now (even more so than usual) but in a totally different light.  I am seeing all the things I want to share. I am compelled to capture all the stories I want to tell. Because the most compelling part of Instagram is its instant connection to the rest of the world. Sure, it comes with and easy and awesome 1-click edit tool that turns your snap into a little work of art. But the fact that almost immediately after you shoot, your image is shared. And—just like that—you’re connected. Your image is shared. Your vision is expressed. Your story is told.

I am fascinated by this new wave of creative connection. Of sharing without saying a word. Of shooting exactly what we want to share, when you want to share it. It’s empowering, it’s liberating and it’s really fun.

In the name of our many muses and the many ways we connect with each other, let’s share some of our favorite visual stories and let's comment! Let’s click around today and really see each other for who we are; sisters who find joy, strength, encouragement and inspiration through our connections.

Share your links, comment, tweet, facebook, flickr, instagram; let’s talk today in all of these places. Let’s show each other how much our connection means! If you want to hashtag it, use #ssconnect. It will be like our own secret handshake. I can’t wait to see you out there connecting!

Oh, and please, come find me on Instagram! I’m traceyclark (how totally original of me). See you there!