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!

with love from nina & tom

Today's giveaway is for a $25.00 gift certificate from the fabulously hip Nina & Tom Family Fashion, whose Peace Dove Snapee/T-shirt Ben wears above.

We also love their famed I'm This Many Birthday T-shirt (Ben's got one of those too, and Evan as well), and the I'm The Big Brother (or Sister) T-shirt that Evan received for the day Ben finally came home and promptly went from two-pound otherworldly visitor to the fridge-raiding, lego-chucking, gloriously grinning maniac he is today.

Thanks, Nina & Tom, for being as cool as our kids.

Gift Exchange

Twelve dancing princesses twinkled, giggled and clickety-clicked in fancy shoes throughout my home yesterday. Twas my girl's sixth birthday party. I'm not sure why, but I'm rarely thrilled with my birthday party shots. Perhaps because they often seem overly posed. Rushed. Yes, it's great to be happy and smiling and posing in all silliness, but I prefer catching subtle glances at a slower pace. A spontaneous moment when my presence is long forgotten and they forget to say cheese.

Speaking of forgotten... I often forget December birthdays in the chaos of the holiday season. Do you? Well, Zazzle is the only super speedy, on-demand custom solution that produces products with your fabulous images and designs within 24 hours of ordering for great gifts like hip, fitted t-shirts, canvas prints, note cards, magnets and even skateboards. A perfect solution for last-minute gift givers. And in the sisterly spirit of gift giving, leave a comment on this post and FIVE winners will be chosen to receive 1 set of 20 cards and 1 sheet of 20 US postage stamps customized with your image and design. Use them for holiday cards, greeting cards or birthday thank you notes. Hey! Now there's an idea.

AND...Congratulations to busymomma66 for winning the Tracy Joy bag. Fill it well.

Handmade For the Holidays

Fabric handmade by Pippi Joe.  Shooting bag custom-made by Tracy Joy.

One of the great things about the holiday season is that I get to partake of one of my favorite guilty pleasures--without the usual amount of guilt.  I'm not referring to mere shopping (which I'm not really fond of).  I'm talking about shopping on Etsy.  I could probably spend every moment of my natural waking life browsing through all the amazing Etsy artists and never get bored.  For me, the appeal is not just the seemingly endless supply of beautiful handmade items or the idea of supporting the DIY ethos.  What really gets me excited is the ever-increasing number of people creating and sharing their art and handiwork.  I take this as a sign of hope for the future of humanity.

I've often marveled at the multi-faceted talent beyond photography that abounds amongst our Shutter Sisters community. Whether it's wordsmithing, or whipping up whimsy, or brewing beauty that's functional (or not), or making music, it's impossible NOT to be inspired when you're surrounded by so much creativity. I dare say that keeping such company lends itself to embarking on artistic endeavors you've never attempted before. And again, I take this as a sign of hope for the future of humanity

For today's giveaway, Tracy Joy--mom/wife/photographer/entrepreneur/bag-designer-extraordinaire--is offering up a Kristine Shooting and/or Diaper Bag in the winner's choice of color and flap design.  Tracy's bags are made with interchangeable flaps so you can change the design without changing the entire bag.  Perfect for the budget-minded accesorizer!  Be sure to comment on this post to be entered in the drawing.

Congratulations to Wayfaring Wanderer for being the winner of the Superhero Joy necklace. Sweet stuff!

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Edited to add: Please note that this giveaway is for a shooting bag (lightly padded for easy access to gear while on a shoot without a heavy bag).  Tracy Joy's fully padded camera bag is the Reese bag.

Also, Tracy is offering a discount to the Shutter Sisters community through December 31st.  Get 10% off your entire purchase by using the code SHUTTER.  With free shipping to U.S. addresses for December, it's a good deal!

Superhero Photo Challenge: Twilight

I saw the movie Twilight a few weeks ago, the weekend it premiered, with a sold out crowd of teens and tweens. My husband and I giggled (and felt wonderfully old) as throngs of girls screamed each time the hunky vampire Edward showed up on the screen. It was so much fun. 

Ever since, I have been thinking about twilight in general and what a magical time of day it is. The colors in the sky are often so brilliant in contrast to the grey sheen over the rest of the world. This week's challenge is to capture life at twilight. What does your world look like during this little sliver of time?

For the giveaway today, I'd like to offer up something from my company Superhero Designs. The newest item at Superhero is a starburst pendant. It's not your typical star, but a bit more organic and sea creature like; something that evokes a burst of energy or joy. It also has the word "joy" engraved on the back. I am excited for one of you shutter sisters to have it. Just comment on this post and you'll be entered in the drawing!

Congratualtions to Mod Mom of Modobjectathome for winning your very own Joy Jersey!