What Catches the Eye

It's no suprise that I move through the day with my iPhone camera in my hand. Sometimes I use it to make calls, but mostly, it's a magic device for collecting moments that catch my eye. I shot this image with the Cameramatic app and processed it with Snapseed on my iPhone 4S. Two of my favorite apps.

If you're looking to expand your creativity with mobile photography, join me a host of talented mobile photographers for a day of iPhoneography at the annual MacWorld / iWorld event on January 30, 2013 at Moscone Conference Center in San Francisco, CA.

going underwater

One of my highlights of Shuttersisters Oasis was playing with the Lifeproof cases… Playing with submerging my iphone in the water… (yikes)… playing with a new medium of photography… playing with light and texture… playing with a new way of seeing... and playing with chance.

It totally made me let go of chasing a "perfect" shot and made me surrender to those happy accidents you sometimes find among your camera roll.

I loved capturing people swimming and others taking photos with Lifeproof cases - you really can't see clearly what you're shooting under the water, so you just point the lens in the general direction and click away.

I also loved being in front of the camera and working with Kristin and others to make pretty shapes and textures in the water… we used scarves and ribbons while gliding in the water.

I can't wait to dive in a pool and play again… that's not going to happen for quite a while over here in the UK!... so I'm going to have to take my Lifeproof case out in the rain splashing in puddles instead.

Please share today any of your Lifeproof photos... Tell us how have you found it? What happy accidents have you created?

inside outside upside down

How we view the world through our camera lens often helps us shape the world we experience in our day to day life. One of my favorite photographic perspectives is the simple act of reflection and inversion. This post processing "flip" lets my world become the abstract surrealist version of life that I often perceive in my imagination.

The morning I saw this image in the puddle reflection, we were both feeling something in the space between mother and son. It was a hug and a tug of parenthood and childhood. We were bridging a gap and it conjured up memories and old stories long forgotten. I wanted to document the feeling of this morning in a way that didn't show a particular expression, but instead, painted a picture of how I felt from our conversation.

Since I have a camera with me absolutely everywhere I go, my son is used to this fact even in his rebellion of it. I now find myself explaining my process to my son, as he is often the witness to my creative spark (and with reluctance to have his photograph taken these days) I hear myself telling him, "I'm focusing on your shoes, the details of your face with be lost in this puddle reflection." By talking outloud to him about my process it puts him at ease that I won't try to sneak in a picture of him unwillingly. This also gives him the ability to be part of it the process. So, when we view the final image, perhaps he carries that vision with him as he ventures out into his world. And the next time I see him gazing into puddles looking for another dimension, I will smile to myself at the future he might hold in his own imagination.

Do you seek reflections? Abstractions? Do you flip your images to create an optical illusion to wrinkle your brow with a millisecond of confusion? Show us how you play with photography by sharing your images in the comments below.

Squared

Lately I've been loving square photos. It's funny, it goes in stages; from square to landscape to portrait. For several months, before the square thing, I was cropping almost everything 4 x 5. 

Maybe it's an instagram thing....seeing the world squared? I'm not sure. But I do know I've always been drawn to square photos. 

How 'bout you? Do you crop? Squares... love 'em? not so much? Share with us today.

aim high

These days all photographers seem to let loose and aim high at the sun, letting the light sip into their pictures unapologetically. Let's face it. We all love flares! I wonder who was that first guy though, that broke the rules and showed his pictures with streaks and dots on it, just for the sake of sharing a pure feeling versus a well practiced technique. I'd hug this guy, wouldn't you? 

This made me think about real life too, and the fact that it might be nice to break some of our own self imposed rules once in a while. Even if it is just to see what happens, like in a photo experiement. It could turn out surprisingly beautiful and moving. It is our audacity after all, that brings on innovation and (dare I say...) more beauty to our lives and the world.

So I wonder, what sort of rule, small thought or confinement, you could choose to break today? Be playful. Be bold. Aim high. Whether you are aiming with your camera or just your heart, choose to do something that will bring you a godly feeling.

Then join us with a flare shot today, so we can all share in on your magic.

Remember to tag your images with #shuttersisters so all sisters can find and enjoy!