center stage

  

There's a small corner of my house that acts as studio and stage for many of my photographic vingnettes. Sliding glass doors to the right give me my main light source. A smaller window on the left offers a burst of fill light, or rim light (pun intended for my mug collection). Dark brown dining room table anchors my frame. A lovely pale blue wall, a china cabinet and cream colored drapes all vie for the backdrop (which I use is dictated by the subject at hand). I use this little area at home almost every day, for morning coffee, as a desk, for family dinner and of course, my photography.

My most recent muse is a loaner-mug. I actually borrowed this sweet tea mug (a la Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf) from a friend so I could capture it in "the studio". It deserved a moment in the limelight. 

After capturing it in a number of different ways, it was this shot that felt just right. It's not often that I would choose a perfect centering of my subject. Centered is usually the last compositional technique I resort too. But, in this case, the light that illuminated the mug, the dark, dramatic background, the soft lines accentuated by a shallow depth of field all work together to bring the magic right to center stage.

Sometimes the only way to be is front and center.

Have you framed a shot lately that communicated the same thing? Something that left you no better choice than to reveal it as is, no apologies, smack dab in the middle of your shot? We'd love to see your center stage shots.

snow globe

Winters where I live can be long suffering. Photography has given me a much needed incentive to be out in the elements more often.  This winter I have had fun photographing our snowfalls.  We have plenty of them, so I happen to get a lot of practice...  I love trying to capture the real feel of a storm. Whether is be the massive amounts of flakes that fall in a given moment, or the blustery winds, i want the photo to reflect those elements and give someone the feeling of being right there.  I often say I feel like I live in a snow globe and many of my shots this winter seem to reflect that.  My main tip in photographing snow is to pull the focus in on your lens,  if you leave it on auto it is sure to focus on something large in the background,  like the trees or a person,  but if you put it on manual focus and pull the focus in off the background you will capture those falling flakes giving your photo the effect of a snow globe all shook up. 

How have you pictured winter?  Did you go small and capture the fragile beauty of a single flake?  Did the beauty after an ice storm captivate you? Perhaps some amazing ice patterns caught your eye. Before the snow and cold are all but a memory, share a favorite winter shot here with us all today. 

light and dark

Lately I have been musing on the layering and juxtaposition of light and dark, both in my life and in my photographs. When the words fail and all the details are fuzzy, nothing better than a technique that calls for simplicity and focuses only on strong shapes.

How about some silhouette play today? Will you share your images of light and dark with me?

a study in focus

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs.  When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence."  -Ansel Adams

As November closes with it ends our One Word, "focus". It is clear that we are all speaking with our images as Ansel so beautifully said.  You have shared with us what you focus on, who you focus on.  How some days are clearly in focus, where others are nothing more than beautiful blur.  Some focused on the bigger picture where others focused on the tiny details.  Whatever your focus, how we see and what we choose to point our lenses at each day, is what makes this such a beautiful space. 

Thank you for sharing all your images of focus and thank you to Focal Press our fabulous publisher for sponsoring this month's One Word Project.

Are you feeling focused today?  Or perhaps things seem slightly out of focus?  Lets all pick up our cameras and share just what focus means to us this one last time.  Don't forget to add your images and words here in our comments, but also in the Shutter Sister's OWP Flickr Pool.

the six questions featuring Susannah Conway

Susannah Conway is a photographer, a writer and creator of the Unravelling e-course. 

But she's so much more than that.

She's a fellow Polaroid addict whose sense of beauty and wonder is constantly encouraging me to expand beyond my comfort zone, be playful and grow. She's a very proud aunt who loves with abandon. And a teacher, a friend, whose disarming honesty and full commitment to honoring and celebrating the beauty of life, to sharing what she knows and giving what she has, whether she is holding a pen or a camera, are a gift to all of those who know her.

Susannah kindly accepted to answer the Shutter Sisters six questions interview. And I'm most happy today to share with you her answers here.

1. What's the story behind this photo? 

On a sunny spring morning I looked out of my bedroom window and noticed the street was strewn with pink blossom; so much had fallen it was collecting in piles like pink snow drifts. It took me less than five minutes to get dressed, pull on a pair of Chucks (choosing the yellow pair over the navy - v. good move), grab my SX-70 Polaroid camera and run outside. I shot about four or five photos in total and this one was my favourite.

2. What was it that lit your photography spark? Do you remember a particular camera, course, person, roll of film?

 

I'm actually a born-again photographer, because I first fell in love with photography at art college in 1992. I can't remember what I shot but I remember developing that first roll of film and looking breathlessly at the contact sheet as I realised I'd found the way to transcribe what I saw in my head onto paper - I wasn't a painter or musician or sculptor, I was a photographer! I spent the next three years in the studio and darkroom committed to my art. The second time I fell in love with photography was in Seattle in 2006. It was my first time in the States and I was still grieving the death of my partner the year before. I was visiting friends I'd met through blogging and had brought a borrowed digital compact with me to record the week; taking shots of a new city not only brought me out of my grief for a while but seemed to wake up the photography part of my brain too. Looking through my photos when I got home lit such a fire of inspiration in me I haven't stopped shooting since. 

3. What's your photo philosophy? Does it reflect your life philosophy?

 

Film photography is like meditation for me - I slow down my breathing, I focus intently on what's in front of me, wait for the right moment and then I press the button. I don't rush taking the photograph because I only have limited film to use - I want to make each shot count, and take my time to feel that the moment is right; if it's not I move on. I try to live this way too - living mindfully in the moment and not allowing myself to get too caught up in the past or the future. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's a continual practice, just like photography.

4. Where do you look for inspiration?

Everywhere. Whenever I leave the house I have a camera or three with me - even if it's just my iPhone. Going somewhere new is a photographic orgy of inspiration, but I try to look with new eyes in the familiar places too. Even a trip into town to buy groceries can offer up photo opportunities. I take photos everywhere, wherever I am and whoever I'm with. I take photos of the stuff no one else would look at, as well as the obviously pretty stuff. I see lines and shapes first, then colours and details. I'm always composing with my eyes - I find it impossible to switch it off, actually; I'm the one who lags behind the group to photograph the rust on the side of a skip. My friends and family have learned to tolerate my behaviour :)

5. What aspect of your photography are you constantly working on, trying to improve? 

With every photograph I take I feel I am improving on the last one. I don't take my eye for granted and am always looking for new ways to capture light or colour or feeling. Shooting with vintage cameras means you have to get to know the quirks of your equipment; I don't have the guarantee of digital clarity with my SX-70 but that's one of the reasons I love it so much - it keeps me on my toes!

6. Are there women out there that you consider your shutter sisters? Who, and why?

There are the women who have gone before me that I admire: Dorothea Lange, Diane Arbus, Francesca Woodman and Uta Barth are my four guiding lights, even though my style is different from their work. And there are women I consider my Polaroid sisters: Jen Altman, Amanda Gilligan, Alicia Bock, Andrea Jenkins, Jessica Hibbard, Steph Parke, Darlene & Kristen, Cori Kindred, you, my dear Irene, and many others besides. I love how passionate and supportive the Polaroid community is!

Thank you so much Susannah!

Susannah is currently hard at work on her first book, to be published in spring 2012, and collaborating with Jenifer Altman and Amanda Gilligan on a how-to book about Polaroid photography, also coming out in 2012. You can read more about her shenanigans on her blog at SusannahConway.com and connect with her on Twitter @photobird. Also, registration for the next Unravelling class opens on Saturday, December 4th.