two of our best

It's probably no secret that I use my iPhone about 99% of the time. I'm the first to admit that it's become my most favorite muse since I got it. And Instragram is my favorite way to use my iPhone. I've only recently begun to try different apps but I keep going back the the quick, easy and ever-effective Instragram.

I'm not the only one around here that is smitten. My teenage daughter also has been stung by the iBug (and she doesn't even have an iPhone). So, we spend our time passing my phone back and forth. Logging each other in and out and in again into our Instagram accounts. We shoot and share and show each other our handiwork. We oooo and aaaah at our work. We get excited about how we each see the world, compare secrets of each shot, we encourage each other.

Although it can be challenging sometimes, the trading back and forth, the logging in and logging out, I actually really enjoy it. I like getting to be a part of my daughter's photography process like this. I get to watch and witness her as she creates her art. It's a gift. At least until she gets her own iPhone.

I chose to share these two shots today as our Best Shot Monday. The image on the left is her best from this week. The right image is mine. I think we make a pretty good creative team.

Won't you share your Best Shot from the past week on this fine Monday? 

weekending by rakusribut

 

Rakusribut shoots images like this with her Olympus PEN P3/ iPhone/ Canon eos 450D and spends her weekends alternately outdoors, catching up with friends and family, and indoors with her sweetheart and their 4 dogs and 2 cats, the blinds drawn shut as a request to outsiders not to disturb.

 Rakusribut can be found online at any of her three blogs: Exploring with my Camera, iPhoneography Unplugged, or Hipstamoments.

What does your weekending look like this weekend? Do share!

fulfilled

“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.” - Forest E. Witcraft

One goal of our new homeschooling adventure with our youngest son was to cultivate his love of science.  Allowing him to guide the curriculum is proving to be exciting.  While working on mathematics, spelling, reading, we are also exploring microbiology, chemistry, geography, photography, roman numerals, and Latin... all chosen by him.

The result is bigger smiles, a soaring self-esteem, and an unstoppable desire to learn.  Think about how happy, content and fulfilled you would be if you had been able to pursue passions meaningful to you.

What would you choose to learn?

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.

Pick me up

I've had a rough couple of days. You know the ones. Where everything goes wrong and there's not enough time and you just don't handle things well. Where you lose your cool and let everything get the best of you. The days when you just look forward to bed. I know we've all been there but somehow it doesn't make it any less disheartening.

I was wallowing around, groaning and grumbling about what was probably nothing discernable to anyone, while my husband opened a package that came in the mail. As he pulled out a bundled wad of newspaper about the size of a grapefruit, he slowly uncovered a small box made of polished metal and shiny black plastic.

"I got this for you because...because...you're having a bad day", he said soft and kind with his gentle smile and extended his offering to me.

I went from miserable to grateful in an instant. As I studied the pristine vintage Kodak Brownie Reflex 20, I marveled and smiled back. Totally speechless.

"And look, " he continued, as he lifted the lid that covered the large viewfinder at the top, "it's just like you wanted."

Indeed. There is was, a viewfinder that framed the beautiful world outside of my muddled head; saturated color, bold shapes, bright light and clarity. Like a child, I began to squeal with delight and so began the instantaneous shift from pity party to creative celebration.

Playing with my new toy for about an hour pulled me out of my mood. Not for good unfortunately, for I do believe that hormones will have the best of me for a few more days, but certainly for long enough to be reminded that sometimes a kind gesture, a simple spark, a tiny new way to see the world is all it takes to shine light on the darkest places.

Tell me, when was the last time you had a shift like this, from blue to blush? Was it something someone said? What it using your own camera to mine out the gems of your life? Share with us they way you've experienced your own kind of "pick me up".

Image of me holding my new muse (above) courtesy of my 8 year old daughter via my iphone.