Search
Categories
"photo essay" #hdmoment #shuttersisters #sscolormonth #ssdecember #sselevate #ssmoment #thewrittenwords abstract adventure aperture archives art autumn babies beauty black and white blur bokeh books business camera bags camera gear cameras camp shutter sisters celebration, change childhood children cityscapes classes color community updates composition contests crafts creativity creatures details diptychs discovery documentary documentary dreams elevate equipment events events events everyday exposure expressive photography fall family fashion featured products film flare flash focus food found words found words framing fun gallery exhibitions gather giveaway giving gratitude guest blogger healing heart holidays holidays holidays home inspiration instant interviews interviews introspection iphoneography iso jump kitchen landscape landscapes laughter leap lenses life light love love macro mantra medium moment moments moments, mood motherhood motion muse nature nature negative space night photography Oasis one word project patterns perspective pets photo essay photo prompts photo walk, picture hope place places play poetry polaroid portraiture pov pregnancy presets printing process processing processing project 365 reflections savor self self-portraits sepia series shadow shop shutter speed simplicity sisterhood skyscapes soul spaces sponsors sports spring step still life stillness stillness story storytelling, inspiration style styling summer sun table texture thankful time tips tips, togetherness travel truths tutorial urban, video vignettes vintage vintage effects visual poetry water weather weddings weekend weekending windows winter words workflow you

archived posts

Entries in laughter (30)

Monday
Apr262010

cute overload

Sometimes I'm amazed at how amused I can be by some of my kids toys. It's as if we have all these little personalities hanging around the house; googly eyes, goofy crooked grins and furry bed-head. It often feels like at the most mundane moment something catches my eye that just plain makes me laugh.

Today, I urge you to go on your own cute overload scavenger hunt if for no other reason that to bring a little levity to Monday. We can all use a good giggle now and again.

Thursday
Mar112010

the best medicine

"A day without laughter, is a day wasted."  -Charlie Chaplin

An ordinary afternoon with my youngest.  Just the two of us playing together in her room.  She trying to hide from me, me grabbing and tickling her,  she laughing wildly and popping up for more.  That gapped toothed grin she has had since she was one, when she fell face first and broke her tooth.  Somehow I can no longer picture her without that gap, it is just so her.  That crinkle in her nose and that loud crazy belly laugh.  

We can have our kids pose and smile but the photos i love best are the spontaneous ones.  They capture personality.  A moment shared, forever saved in one snap.  Some I'd swear have sound, like the one above.  Some times blurry and imperfect, yet so full of life.  

Show us some happy today.  A shared laugh , a serious case of the giggles, a silly dance,  or a funny face that just plain makes you smile.

 

Tuesday
Jan052010

keeping it light

My feet are good at keeping me grounded. I plant them firmly and move forward one step at a time when life gets heavy. Sometimes I'm so focused on putting one foot infront of the other {busying myself with stepping around the weight and rocks} that I forget there is a lighthearted side to life.

My mom keeps an umbrella in the side pocket of the driver's side door {just like me} I made a mental note of it on one of our excursions together during my visit home. It's not too often that I use props with photography. In fact, the opposite is quite true as most of my photography comes about like spontaneous combustion. I glance again at the umbrella and think to myself, "hmm. That could be fun." 

It was windy that day, and bitter cold at the edge of the earth. {Have you ever tried holding a travel size umbrella on a blustery day?} My prop umbrella had turned inside out twice already from the gusts of wind and I was starting to turn into that 3 year old stompy child version of myself that shows herself periodically. I was becoming increasingly unhappy with my mock photo session by the sea, things were not going as planned. Then for some reason I randomly started jumping with my remote in hand.

My laughter was contagious and my mom began laughing too, just watching me be a silly goof like the kid I always was before life got so heavy. I jumped and jumped like a six foot leprechaun clicking her heels. The sun seemed to shine brighter with our laughter. We kept laughing all the way home.

This photo still makes me laugh.

Keep it light today, will you? Something silly, something contagiously funny, a well timed jump, or just a priceless expression will do the trick. What makes you laugh?

~~~~~

And speaking of light hearted fun: be sure to check out the latest addition to our Shutter Sister featured photo list! {Click on 365 to explore daily features from the Shutter Sister 365 flickr group} Yay! 

Saturday
Dec262009

angel

I'm lucky to have a spouse that is often a willing participant in my artistic endeavors. Occasionally I have a slightly off-the-wall idea and John is usually the one I turn to for help. In this case, it went something like this..."so I was thinking that we should go in the backyard and take pictures of each other making snow angels in a foot of snow. And by the way it's 5 degrees outside" Not only did my husband gladly take part in my little project, but also climbed over the railing of our deck and jumped backwards into the yard so he wouldn't make any footprints in the unmarred snow. But what we didn't really realize was that this particular snow had a thick layer of icy crust on top. So when John fell backwards to create his snow angel, his limbs just sort of stuck there all bent in every direction and he reminded me of the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. I think our whole neighborhood heard my laughter. Eventually he was able to break through the crust and make the classic snow angel. And while my vision didn't exactly match the outcome, it ended up being a memorable moment and a I got a pretty cool souvenir. I ended up turning this little diptych into to/from tags for Christmas gifts this year and they seemed to be a big hit amongst friends and family.

Do you have a willing model? Someone who will humor you when you have an idea for a photo?

Friday
Nov272009

friday's featured resource - live, laugh, celebrate

During yesterday's festivities of doing a whole lot of what I should be doing more of...eating, laughing, strolling, chatting and even swinging I took a few minutes to honor the day to give thanks through my lens of what matters most. It was a delightful prompt from Kristin yesterday that helped keep me in the right state of mind.

It's images like this that remind me to live, laugh, celebrate.

And Live, Laugh, Celebrate is exactly the title of the latest National Geographic book of photography. 

The new release is an extraordinary visual celebration of the human spirit, by legendary author Ferdinand Protzman that offers a radiant and compelling collection of celebrations from around the world that captures the miracle of human life and the bond between parents, families, and friends.  

Like love, the urge to celebrate is common to every culture around the globe. Live, Laugh, Celebrateoffers a fascinating array of shared moments of love and togetherness as it celebrates the lives of friends and families at play and at home.  Whether it's a new baby, a first birthday, losing a tooth, a bar mitzvah, a quinceanera...a debutante ball, an evening at a night club, a wedding.  This beautiful book will make for a wonderful gift this upcoming holiday season and should hopefully inspire all mothers and parents to take photographs and capture images of their children, their families, their friends.  It is also a beautiful book to share with children, as it captures children from around the world in tender moments with their parents, friends, and each other. 

What better way to further celebrate our lives and what we are grateful for than a giveaway of this extraordinary visual journey of life?  Show us how you Live, Laugh, Celebrate between now and Sunday at midnight PST by leaving a comment here (and of course a link to an image is a bonus). We've got 3 books to giveaway which is 3 good reasons to celebrate together.