magical moments

 

There is nothing better than sisters. When we get together there is always love, laughter and if we're lucky sometimes even a little pixie dust. Spending time recently at Walt Disney World for the first time during Disney Social Media Moms Celebration was a dream come true. Upon arrival to the Magic Kingdom, our inner child(ren) was awakened and we were instantly transported back to being young girls. Giggly, happy, enchanted little sisters embarking on a magical journey together just like we did growing up at Disneyland. When childhood wishes are granted, with the help of a fairy godmother you can't help but to believe. Believe in the magic of family. Believe in the magic of Disney. Believe in the magic of the moment.

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Words and photo essay courtesy of Jessica Fuselier and Becky Silke, 2 of the three sisters of Disney Sisters. Sisters, as in real live sisters, by birth. The third sister? That would be me. I had to miss the sister trip to Walt Disney World but reading this story and seeing these pictures really made me wish I hadn't! Sniff sniff. There's just something about Disney Magic...and sisters...swoon.

I can't tell you how excited I was to have my sisters share their images here like this as our first official photo essay. Yes, we're kicking off a new feature here at Shutter Sisters. Photo essays. So fun! If you've got a collection of 6 images you'd like to see featured here as a photo essay, give us a shout. We love hearing from you and sharing your work.

As for today, let's see your magical moments, Disney and beyond. You know, those moments that make you feel like a kid again. Don’t you just love those?

P.S. Tag your images #ssmoment.

the magic of a moment

It was a 9^th birthday fit for one very special little American girl; mine. A small group of good girl friends. The women in our family. A cafe that seemed straight out of a movie. It was a beautiful day in early summer with enough noontime sun to illuminate the whole room (photo moms appreciated things like that). A savory lunch. An enchanting cake. A rousing version of the birthday song with 9 candles for one big birthday wish.

As the birthday girl reveled in being celebrated—as any birthday girl should—I observed. Each interaction between she and her guests, I heard. Every gesture and expression—the sparkle in her eye, the doll at her side and the crooked birthday crown—I noticed.

I lifted my camera to my eye. Click, click, click. I captured every joyful moment of the afternoon. But it was one single shot that made my mama heart skip a beat.

Maybe it was the sideways glance or the impish—somewhat mischievous look—as she pulled the crooked crown down on her sweet head. Something about it took me back to birthdays past when my growing girl was much younger, much smaller, much less grown-up than she looked today. In that moment, I saw both the yesterday and the today. The glimmer of the past made me teary; my heart was full of gratitude that although I can never stop the clock, I would always have that moment captured, exactly how I will always remember it, forever in one single photograph.

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We invite you to join us this month as we celebrate the moments of our lives for our One Word Project. We are partnering with Haagen-Dazs in asking you to share your favorite moments with us; with them. We’re excited to be participating in their 50 Summer Moments project and we want to encourage you all to do the same. Savoring moments through our lenses is what our community is all about, so we feel like it’s the perfect way to honor those moments and let them shine all month long.

The 50 Summer Moments project has a few neat layers to it. First off is the sharing. The second is the incentive for sharing. Every image you share, Haagen-Dasz will donate $5 to honey bee research at UC Davis. Sweet! The third—and perhaps the cherry on top (we couldn’t leave out a good ice cream pun)—is the 50 Summer Moments eBook, An Ode to Summer where 50 images will be chosen and featured with the help of the awesome chef Alex Guarnaschelli.

Want to get in on the fun? All you need to do is tag your images on Instagram and your tweets on twitter (you can share tweets about your summer moments too) with the tag #HDMoment and you might see your moment on the HDMoment website. We’ve got our own Shutter Sisters tag too for the OWP (#ssmoment) so be sure to use it on everything you want to share with us (on Instagram and in our Flickr group). Its how we keep track of all the amazing stuff you’re capturing.

And, in celebration of summer and all this moment making, we’ve also got a very special day planned. We thought it would be totally amazing to pick one day this month where we can all celebrate our summer moments together! Won’t you join us in our first ever Shutter Sisters virtual ”collective moment”?

We’re declaring Saturday, July 28^th the day that all of us are going to “Take a Moment” together.  We’ll be sharing more details throughout the month but for now, put us in your calendar because we want to celebrate our summer moment with you!

For today, help us kick off this month of moments by sharing a moment of your own!

The 'Non' Pose

 It seems you can always find someone willing to do something different or silly for a photo.  For awhile, photos of people jumping on hotel beds seemed to be the thing.  So much so, they've devoted a whole website to it (I so know you're going to check it out!).  More recently, planking was the popular thing to do.  It's so popular, here's what Wikipedia has to say about it:

 Planking (or the Lying Down Game) is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. Both hands must touch the sides of the body. Having a photograph taken of the participant and posted on the Internet is an integral part of the game.

I, myself, haven't tried jumping on hotel beds (well, not for a photo to be posted on the internet, anyway. Oh, and it wasn't me.  It was my kids, I swear) nor have I tried planking.  What I have recently photographed is people doing a 'non' pose, which usually consists of people (or person) standing still, arms down at their sides and not smiling.  It can be anywhere from one person or more.  You can even find a Flickr group for the 'non' pose.  I tend to like this one the best because unlike hotel bed jumping or planking, I seriously doubt there's much chance for being injured (though there's always a first time, I suppose!).

When I did the above prom shoot I explained to the kids what I wanted to do but I could tell by the look on their faces that they thought it was a strange request.  However, once I shot the photo and they saw it, they were quite pleased with it.  It's different, and I like it.  Or, as my girlfriend commented when she saw my photo, "Very 'Children of the Corn'-esque, but I like it!".  Hey, works for me. :)

How about you? Have any hotel bed jumping shots, planking pics or photos with uncoventional poses? If so, share away!  We'd love to see them. 

a happy accident.

This was not what I intended for this photo, but when I discovered it amongst the hundred or so shots I had taken, I quite liked it.  Sure, it's out of focus and blurry, but it has an etheral quality to it and I'm lovin' the bokeh goin' on.  Don't you just love it when you find an unexpected gem tucked amongst the photos you've taken?   So today, this is my happy little accident, imperfections and all. 

Today, share your little gem of a find with us, and don't forget this month's word is discovery.  So go.  Discover.  And be sure to add your discovery images to our OWP flickr pool.

a timeless sparkle

Wrapping up a long, busy week I spent some time sorting through some things. Thoughts, feelings, and stuff. Funny thing about going through stuff (on any level) it takes a lot of work. But, it also often yeilds surprises and maybe a treasure or two.

 I found this pristine Polaroid that I forgot I had. Camera case, manual and a few other accessories made the discovery all the sweeter. Despite her age, she's got plenty of sparkle left in her. And I'm guessing because of her age, she's got shine that only a gem like this one can provide.

I loved the synchronicity of this find as I have had all kinds of nostalgia on my mind lately with the coming of my next class Picture Black & White. Class begins this week and I am all geared up for some monochromatic magic. I do hope you join me.

And speaking of joining in, I want to thank you all so much for supporting the #shot4shot project over hte last week. Today may be the last official day of the project but the need for support and awarenss will continue so please, keep spreading the word about Shot@Life! Don't forget if you did play along to send a link to one of your shots from the week to our email so you can receive your complimentary 'thank you' photo journal from Paper Coterie. YAY!

Speaking of your shots, today is Best Shot Monday and the last day of April so it's time to share your best shot with us and send off this month with some sparkle and shine.

Just for fun, we're giving away a spot for Picture Black & White today so leave your best shot link to be included in the random drawing. Commments must be left by midnight EST  tonight (4/30) and winner will be announced on Tuesday. 

Oh, and the lovely Kate shared such a sparkly weekending shot and the link to her blog was broke. So be sure to pop by today and tell her what a great shot it was!

***congrats to Heather for winning the spot in Picture Black & White. Woot!***