can you picture spring yet?

Are you as eager for spring as I am? Even beyond the weather, I am excited to announce the BIG thing that's will be starting on April 1st: Picture Spring! In true Shutter Sisters' style I will be leading a 30-day photo project to celebrate the season of promise and renewal.

Picture Spring is a daily e-class, hosted over at the ever-fabulous Big Picture Scrapbooking that will awaken your creative spirit and open your heart and mind to all the wonders that the spring has to offer. One picture at a time. 

Pop over to the Picture Spring registration page for more details and sign up if you'd like to join us. Spread the word. Invite friends. Grab a button (see it over there on our sidebar? cute, huh?). Tweet it. Retweet it. Call your sister. The more the merrier! It's going to be a perfect way to grow and bloom this spring, cameras in hand. I can't wait!

And just to help get the snow melting (come on spring!) we're giving away 3 registrations today!

Share your pictures or words that sing of spring today (albeit a little early) and you'll be entered to win one of the complimentary registrations for the soon-coming Picture Spring.

newfound identity

"We live only to discover beauty. All else is a form of waiting." Kahlil Gibran

The other day, I was having a conversation with a photographer friend and she said to me: "I am a recorder. That is what I do. I document my life." That thought stayed with me and I began to wonder... Who am I as a photographer?

Have you ever asked yourself this question?

After going through all my photos in search of my identity, I came across the image above and I knew immediately: That's it. I am a photographer on a quest for beauty. Whether I am shooting a client, a model or my lunch, what drives me is beauty. Some days that beauty comes to me as a gift and on other days, I have to look a little closer, dig a little deeper, even stage it. But I never tire looking for it and it never fails me. No matter what, somehow beauty is always there to lift me up and teach me something about myself and the world.

Who are you as a photographer? Can you answer this question with a picture?

bubblicious

Earlier this week my daughter asked to go outside and blow bubbles.  I am a big lover of bubbles.  We bundled up and took our little pink ice cream cone bubble blower outside in the snow and blew them to the sky.  I had my camera focused on her as she puffed out her cheeks in great effort to make some herself.  (At 3 blowing bubbles is a BIG deal.)  One floated over my head and i followed it with my camera clicking away trying to focus on its flight.  Just then it gently landed on our deck railing.  I assumed it would pop instantly on contact,  it did not.  Instead it balanced on the snow.  The colors drew me right in.  I was mesmerized by the fantastic swirls.  I kept snapping away, waiting for the inevitable 'pop!'.  That's when I noticed my reflection; half of me, and house behind me, was right side up and the other half upside down, twisted in the mirror of the bubble.  What a happy surprise.

Bubbles are universal.  No matter your age,  bubbles are happy makers that create some great photo fun.  Do you have any bubble magic to share?  Maybe today you could use some simple happiness that blowing bubbles can bring?  Go ahead,  the kid in you will thank you.

Oh and one more thing, check out this incredible *POP*! WOW.

Always There

Even when we weren't looking, our life was always there. The morning light was there, the mug of fresh coffee, corn flakes, milk, the shiny spoon on the counter, reflecting our kitchen and our life back at us. It was always there. Their smiles were there, their sleepy eyes, the striped socks, crayons, the big fun mess on the floor, our childhood and theirs. It was always there. The condiment jars in our pantry were there, our favorite records, the cheap souvenirs from our trips, old letters, faded pictures, things lost and things found. It was always there. Even when we weren't looking, all those things that make up our messy lives and define us, have always been there, waiting for us to notice and cherish them.

So today, show us something about your routine, your family, something that is close to your heart. Something that is always there, even when you are not looking.

Abundance

My favorite thing about this photo is the way the pumpkins seem to be spilling out from every corner. The multitude of pumpkins and fall colors reminds me of a cornucopia. I think we can all recall drawing or coloring a "horn of plenty" in elementary school in the weeks prior to Thanksgiving. It's a symbol of fortune, beauty and abundance, meant to remind us to be thankful.

Your challenge today is to take a picture of an abundance of something you find beautiful. It could be anything from paper clips to apples. Just fill your frame with your items and show us what you come up with!