everyday life is sometimes messy

Looking forward into a hurricane.
Looking back into the muck from where we grow.

Everyday life is sometimes messy, we all know this. And yet so often we try our best to clean it up. We shine it and polish it and make it presentable. We photoshop and airbrush and texturize and soften and I do all these things too because I want to see what is aesthetically pleasing and so I sweep the dust bunnies under the rug. I arrange photos to put chaos into order. Yes, I do. But what is real is what is true. And if photography is mostly optical illusion, then there's something to be said for hidden beauty that is found in the mess. In the cluttered table top, the forward the backward dance of multi-tasking, the child hanging from the apron strings, the toys scattered after a morning of busyness.

This is the truth of how I work. Old school headphones to drown out the mess. In this moment I realized how funny this must look. And yet how important it is to recognize this time of my life. So I put myself at arms length to see my life for what it is right now: messy.

Messy is still beautiful to me.

Today I challenge you to put yourself at arms length. Take a look around you (or at yourself) and revel in your life for what it is. Chaotic, turbulent, or a peaceful oasis. Try to see the mess as the canvas, as the backdrop to the story of our life. Put it in your frame...today share with us what is real and true about your life. What is hard for you today? What are you trying to overcome? What makes you, you? I'm finding that when we share our truths and even our (gasp!) flaws, the more real and beautiful life becomes.

We are giving away one $100 Paper Coterie gift card EVERY SINGLE DAY of September! 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!

no distractions

Racing against the clock today trying get a million things done all at at once, I felt more scattered than focused. Late in the afternoon I was on a call with a friend (someone I'm working with on a big project) and  before we could even get into the work part of the call, I was interrupted on my end by my daughter bounding in from her first day of High School. I got immediately distracted, Uh, er, I think I have to go. But, I really need to talk to you about just a few things. Uuuuh, er, um...shoot. Let me think.I paused for a moment trying to figure out how I was going to stretch myself to be in two places at once; with  my work and with my daughter.

Go, go, my friend ordered,That is much more important than this. Go. We'll talk later.

Indeed.

How was it that so quickly I lost sight of what really was most important? How easily I tried to put off what was happening under my roof, with my kids and keep them on hold while I worked? There's a lot of that around here with projects and pressures and so many things to do. It's amazing to me how often I say, give me a minute.

But sometimes, there's the non-negotiables. The things that matter so much that everything else must fall to the wayside; the other demands of the day totally blocked out until all you can see is right in front of you; no distractions. There is such a freedom in those moments. The freedom of letting go and being all in.

When my kids were babies, there was a lot of that kind of time. When you didn't have a choice. When tiny mouths needed to be fed. When small bodies needed to be rocked. When bright eyes needed you to pay attention. No distractions. It's so different now and yet so much the same. Sometimes though, it's harder to see the need. But rest assured, it's still there.

Whether you've got teen-agers or babies or spouses or parents or pets or friends or neighbors or anyone or anything that might need you, remember the non-negotiables. When all you can do is be there and be all in. 

Show us today how you capture a moment through your lens that removes everything but what matters the very most.

dreams

"It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else."  - Erma Bombeck

As a parent, I have observed many milestones but there is something extra heartwarming about witnessing a kindred spirit's dreams coming true.  

Recently, one of my dear friends launched a custom cake business.  Looking for focus and direction, at the end of a thirty year marriage, she asked herself "Okay, what's next?"  She pulled her dreams off the shelf, blew off the cobwebs, set her intentions, and never looked back.

A month later, I am right by her side clicking away, just like a proud mother, documenting all the firsts. The first business cards.  The first clients.  The first wedding cake.  I am so proud and inspired.

Capturing the special moments in the lives of our loved ones is the best part of being a photographer. Spend some time today looking for all the dreams, big and small, that are coming true around you.  I invite you to share your images with us.

every step you take

 

I consider the various phases and stages of my life like stepping stones; one after the other being set down just in time to catch my next step. Looking at each step as an important and integral part of my journey helps me to live without regret. If I believe that each stone was essential, then what I might have considered missteps weren’t missteps at all. On the contrary, they were totally essential to get me to where I am now. I wouldn’t be who I am without everything that I’ve been through. Good, bad or otherwise. And I wouldn’t have gotten this far down my road without every single step.

I am often asked to share my story of how I became a photographer. Of how Shutter Sisters came to be. Of how all the pieces of my story fit together. So much of it seems unlikely and yet it all somehow makes sense. Telling my story has helped me remember the steps I took, one after the other; often times unaware, unsure of what my next step would be. Truth is, I just kept taking it one stone at a time. Some leaps were bigger than others from one to the next.  Sometimes I was more sure-footed than others. As I moved forward, I didn’t always see the connection or understand the correlation from step to step. But, now looking back, I can see that each step was there for a reason. Each decision I made and each decision that was made for me (you don’t always get what you want) had its place and its purpose. It’s always an empowering process for me, to share my story. It reminds me of all my stepping stones.

Today, I encourage you to think about your story. Study your past. Look back upon your own stepping stones. Remember that you have been led to this place. That you have traveled far to get here. That every part of your journey holds some responsibility in why you are here.

Let’s see some sort of stone or pathway or your own feet even...something that honors every step.