How we move through this world

I had lunch with a friend today. When you’re self-employed and work from home like I do it’s always a treat to meet a friend for lunch somewhere lovely: today it was Jamie’s Italian in Bath. When our starters arrived I whipped out my iPhone, stood up and took a few shots of the bruschetta slathered in olive oil and crushed borlotti beans—luckily Hanne knew not to start eating until I’d got my shot. The same thing happened when our pasta arrived, and our coffees too. It’s not often I get to eat in restaurants so taking photos to record the occasion makes sense. But I also do this when I’m at home. And when I’m in the supermarket. And when I’m eating breakfast with my 18 month-old nephew. I take photos of the fallen leaves at my feet and broken doorways and daisy circles. I take photographs to anchor myself more firmly in the moment and use my cameras to capture the potential photos I see everywhere I look. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing—for as long as I am able to take a breath and lift my camera to my eye, I will be creating images with pixels and film. Do you have this urge too?

My constant—some would argue obsessive—picture taking is simply the way I move through the world. Photography is like a form of meditation for me and when life is feeling harder than usual I take myself outside and look at the world through my lens. There’s always a new way to see things—it’s uncanny, really. When I was grieving the untimely death of my partner it was my camera that helped me reconnect with myself and my world, and it’s the reason why I know that creativity is the fastest way to access our truest selves.

Next month I’m leading a brand new e-course sharing everything I know about photography. Photo Meditations: Infusing Your Images with Soul is a five-week exploration of the inspirational and the practical for anyone who wishes to sink deeper into their own photographic journey. We’ll be diving into compositional theory, self-portraiture, shooting for your blog, story-telling and so much more. I should probably mention right now that I’m not a very technical sort of photographer—I’m going to be sharing some important basics in the first week, but I’m not concerned with histograms and what have you. What excites me, and what I hope to pass on to my students, is a passion for creating pictures that tell stories. That move the viewer. That convey what I feel. That hold layers of meaning. That delight the eye. That’s what we’ll be exploring in Photo Meditations. 

Would you like to join me? 

Please leave a comment here between now and Friday (midnight EST) for a chance to win a complementary registration for Photo Meditations!

Images and words by Susannah Conway; photographer, writer and the creator of the Unravelling e-courses. A Polaroid addict and very proud aunt, her first book, This I Know: Notes on Unraveling the Heart (Globe Pequot Press), launches in June 2012. You can read about her shenanigans at SusannahConway.com. Registration for her new class, Photo Meditations, opens this Saturday, October 15th.

**Congratulations to Julie Fairchild for winning a spot in Susannah's class! Thanks to all for commenting.

A Story of Receiving Love

Image inspired by the work of Brian Peterson

A long overdue trip to my post office box yesterday delivered all kinds of sweet surprises. I was overjoyed and grateful for the bounty that was waiting for me inside such a meager metal box. Notes of kindness and gifts of friendship. Sweet melodies and generous offerings. And The Blossoming of the World.

I poured over the stack of papers, devouring each word, holding each token, feeling the intentions of each sender. Smiling. Nodding. Heart full of gladness.

But, it wasn’t until late that night when I crawled into bed and opened this book that I was overtaken. Every page, written for me. Each word I needed to hear. Every image soulful, simple, stirring.  I took in just a small fraction of this offering, poignantly and poetically written by Brian H. Peterson intentionally, as not to take in too much at once. I wanted to savor every page and let the words swirl around me as I drifted to sleep. And I will do the same tonight. And the next…

This book will become a classic for me. I already know this to be true. Something I will cherish and depend on like an old friend. That’s already how this book feels to me.

This excerpt, from the very first page of Brian Peterson’s The Blossoming of the World, is all I need to share with you to leave you knowing exactly what I mean—

"Suddenly I was no longer looking at the mountains, the sky. I was looking at Love, embodied in the stuff of the world. Love was flowing out from every atom of creation. Love was everywhere, in everything. In me. But not contained, not limited to me, not limited in any way, just flowing, singing, vibrating, dancing, everywhere, in everything."

Share today your story of Love.

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And remember that with your comment comes the chance to win a very special September gift; a $100 gift certificate courtesy of Paper Coterie in honor of the Everyday Storytellers and our One Word Project this month; story.

stories of experimentation

 PX70 Color Shade First Flush

When the folks at the Impossible Project released their first new instant films in 2010, I couldn't resist the urge to embark on a pioneering journey with them. Now, we are not "just" shooting with instant film again, which is in itself alluring enough, but we are shooting with new, amazing films that are still up for experimentation and refinement. In this new pathway, there is surprise, creativity, variety and possibility. I know it can be daunting to work with a medium that is somewhat unstable (and expensive) but there are no wasted shots. Everything counts because we are thinking and learning every time we compose and press the shutter.

Personally, I've had a bit of a hard time shooting with the PX70 First Flush (an earlier release of the now more stable PX70 color shade). But I persisted and I played with different exposures, light sources, intensities, etc. After many shots - a couple of (not wasted) packs - I got the shot you see above. Although it is still developing as I type (it should get less blue as it settles more), I already love it as is. Right now it is the perfect kind of weird for my taste. I love the bluish tones, the painterly feel and even the snake pattern in the lower left corner (my 1 year old model ain't half bad either ;))

What about you?  Impossible film or not, how do you push yourself and your medium? Today, share your shots and stories of experimentation with us.

And remember, we will be giving away one $100 gift card EVERY SINGLE DAY of September to one of YOU! All you have to do is share a comment each day before midnight EST for your chance to win that day's random drawing. Be sure to leave links to your story shots.

Story Time

We indeed are the lucky ones. The ones who not only have creative tools at our fingertips but the ones who use those tools to tell the stories of us. Our milestones, our struggles, our successes, our relationships, our family, our love, our joy, our daily lives, our most mundane and our most magic. We point, focus, shoot. We talk, write, share. And with it all, we are documenting what's most important to us.  We are writing the story of our lives, with every photograph, every word, every memory.

This month you are invited to join us as we honor the power, the beauty and the truth of our stories. It's definitly going to be a celebration as we join forces with the amazing folks of Paper Coterie. This month they introduce their Everyday Storytellers; some amazing women (who you may recognize) who will be sharing their stories over there in hopes to encourage you to tell your own, which is why for this very special One Word Project we have chosen the word story.

As we head into September, the summer bids us farewell, the kids get back to school and routines settle in, let's have our very own, grown-up girl, Shutter Sister Story Time!  Heck, why not make it a party! Our stories are worth all the hoop-la!

What would a party be without presents and prizes? Your heard right, we've got lots of gifts to give this month thanks to Paper Coterie. They really know how to throw a party!

Can't wait another minute to hear more? Then let us unwrap it for you...everyone who chooses to share an image with us in our One Word Project flickr pool this month will receive a special gift from Paper Coterie! Everyone! All you have to do is:

1. shoot your story (for more info about how the OWP works, check out the about page)

2. upload your image to the Shutter Sisters OWP pool on Flickr (tag it "story")

3. visit Paper Coterie on Facebook and tell them, that you shared a story with Shutter Sisters

4. graciously receive your gift

And be sure to check in each day on the OWP photo features page here at Shutter Sisters to see if your images gets featured. If it does you'll be getting a bonus gift from Paper Coterie. That's 29 story winners this month! Totally awesome!

And if that's not enough, we will be giving away one $100 gift card EVERY SINGLE DAY of September (starting today) to one of YOU! All you have to do is share a comment each day before midnight EST for your chance to win that day's random drawing. Be sure to leave links to your story shots.

Can you imagine?? All this goodness just for doing something you already do? Tell your story. We just love that!

It's going to be quite a story celebration this month, isn't it? We're so glad to have you at our story time party with Paper Coterie and Everyday Storytellers. As far as we're concerned, September doesn't get better than this!

shine your light

We are all good at shining the light on others. Singing praises, commenting on the beauty of everyone else's art, photos, and lives. Why do we forget that our own light is so very precious and needs to be nurtured and deserves to be praised? As women are we just so busy taking care of others that we forget to stand in our own light? Or do we buy into the belief that such behavior is boastful and prideful, rather than brave and confident? Have we been conditioned to hide our own light? Do those dreadful words, 'who do you think you are?' ring in your ears? I am guilty of this. Someone praises my photography, or something I wrote, and I can feel the heat rising in my face,  I actually get a physical response to it. Forget about tooting my own horn, ugh, no way. But why not? If I cannot believe I am worthy than who will? Allowing myself to stand in my own light is something I am truly working on.  Just when I needed it, a very special gift came my way. A locket, a keeper of treasures and sacred things, worn near my heart. Inside, a whisper to my soul... "Stand in your light". Four little words that speak big to my heart.

We each have our own special gifts to share with the world, rather than being shy or embarrassed by that, why not shout it out instead!  Today shine the light on YOU. Have you done something new or exciting with your photography?  Perhaps a gallery showing, a first photoshoot, opened a shop, entered a contest, been published, taken a class, printed one of your own photos and had it framed just for you? Perhaps there is just a certain photo you are SO.VERY.PROUD.OF.  Go ahead, tell us! Show us! Celebrate it! Whatever it may be, share it with us here today.  Say yes to you and your light.

Like the locket says, stand in your light, you deserve to feel the warmth it holds.

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As extra incentive to shine your light with us, the multitalented artist Liz Lamoreux, creator of the beautiful locket above, is gifting one simple soul mantra locket necklace to one lucky commenter here today. Liz's shop, soul mantras and other stories, is filled with beautiful pieces each imprinted with special words that speak straight to the heart and soul. Perhaps there is a message your soul is in need of right now. Just leave a comment here by midnight PST to be entered in today's giveaway.

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GIVEAWAY UPDATE: congrats to Amy, the winner of the simple soul mantra locket giveaway. xo Amy!