archived posts
Monday, February 14, 2011 by Shutter Sisters 
It all started about a week ago with a pair of bananas in the fruit bowl and it quickly became my own personal photo project. And now, everywhere I look, I find yet another couple.
Today, as we celebrate a day of love, what could be sweeter than sharing the tenderness of two? We ask you today to bring us your images of coupling.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 by Jen Lemen 
The bottom of everything is love.
That's what I thought to myself while she cried, while I cried, while we argued about everything without ever touching the real thing. That her heart was hurting from an old wound. That she was counting on me and I was counting on her and that we had let each other down when it mattered the very most.
We won't talk about this again. Ever. Can we agree on that?
I shrug. Sure. Whatever. We can talk or not talk but the truth is it is still here, this sadness, this fierce love, this beautiful tension between what we hope for and the way it is.
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The bottom of everything is grief.
That's what I thought to myself when he smiled, when he had tried to explain over Thanksgiving dinner how they met in Beijing without making her sound too much like a mail-order bride. It's wasn't like that at all, his eyes told me, but there was no need to explain. He had found her, and something in his heart instantly mended. I could see it all over her face.
How old do you think they are? Fatou asked, motioning to our guests--the man and his not-a-mail-order-bride, the lovely Chinese woman in the fantastic red jacket.
I have no idea, I told her. But they have that kind of happiness that comes from understanding what it means to be sad. The kind of gratitude that comes after thinking for so long you would always be alone.
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These are the stories I think about later, looking at the shots of everyone's hands and that red jacket, shining in every picture.
These are the stories I think about when I want to get to the bottom of everything, when I wonder if grief will wreck us, when I wonder if love can truly be more than enough, when I want to know what it is exactly that will make our souls whole.
Leave a comment below and today's lovely giveaway winner will receive:
a collection of TRUST notes and a donation made to this project in the name of someone you love. We'll send a lovely card announcing your donation to whomever you choose.
Congratulations to Kristina of Meadowlark Days for winning yesterday's giveaway--artwork by Amy Ruppel. Lucky lady.
Thursday, November 6, 2008 by Karen Walrond 
Last week I was emailing Shutter Sister Tracey (a professional photographer in her own right), discussing some ideas that I had for marketing my new business. She thought for a minute, and then responded:
"You know what, Karen? You should reclaim Love Thursday for sure as you begin your business. How about you move it over to Chookooloonks? It would be the perfect time to do it."
And so, starting next week, after a wonderful stint here at Shutter Sisters, Love Thursday will return to the scene of the crime -- back to my photoblog at Chookooloonks. I've so enjoyed reading all your passages and viewing all your wonderful images of love -- I hope you'll follow me over there and keep spreading the love.
In the meantime, Happy Love Thursday, everyone. Please leave your links to your images of love in the comments below (or in the comments section over at Chookooloonks!). I so look forward to continuing to share the love.
Thursday, October 30, 2008 by Karen Walrond 
One day, while I was at work, a coworker walked into my office. I had my photoblog up on my screen, and on that day, a photograph of my daughter was being featured.
"She's so lucky," my friend said, somewhat wistfully.
"Yeah?" I asked. "Why?"
"She's going to have all of these great photographs of her childhood to look back on. She's very lucky."
There's no doubt that Alex has grown up with a camera in her face, and yes, there are thousands of photographs which show her at every day of her childhood. But this week, as we were taking our annual family self portrait for our Christmas cards (inspired, of course, by Shutter Sister Tracey), laughing at our reflections in the mirror as we made faces and were silly, it dawned on me that these photos we take show more than just what we looked like at a particular point in time. And I hope, when Alex is an adult, these pictures will bring back a flood of memories of how much fun we've had together as a family.
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Happy Love Thursday, everyone. Please leave your links to your images of love in the comments section, below. And check out this great shot of a family having a whale of a time, as left in our flickr pool by {Emily}.
And may you enjoy your family today.
(And by the way, if you're interested in taking your own holiday family self-portrait, you can check out my methods here.)
Thursday, October 16, 2008 by Karen Walrond As you know, I love a good found heart -- and this one, by Miss LA stopped me in my tracks. There's nothing like heart-shaped light and shadow to stir the soul. Well done!
Happy Love Thursday, everyone. I'm feeling particularly great today, because today is the first day of my commitment to follow my calling in an artistic life. Sort of like finding my own heart for the first time.
Please leave your links to your images of love in the comments below. And if you haven't already, may you find your heart very, very soon.
