You Or Your Memory

Digging through a multitude of miscellaneous boxes, attempting to separate wheat from chaff, I stumbled upon several photographs from almost a decade ago nestled amongst the chaos of junk mail and official documents.  These weren't just any old snapshots; they held the keys to a bounty of some of my fondest memories that had somehow gotten misplaced with the busyness and clutter of every day life over the years.

Blasting Blink182 all the way down through Santa Cruz to Pebble Beach...finding out Pebble Beach is actually a Golf Course...climbing the big pile of boulders pretending we were on our Big Rock Candy Mountain...pretending we didn't hear the maintenance staff yelling at us...watching the kite surfers soar over the bay as the sun dipped lower in the western horizon...wandering around for hours and hours with no need for either a plan or small talk...These are a few of the memories that come rushing back from one of my favorite vacations ever, visiting my dear friend Josh from high school.  And all it took was glancing at a couple photos...

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Have you ever had a flood of reminiscence wash over you simply by looking at a photo?  Maybe now is a good time to take a stroll down memory lane; go ahead--dig up the old albums and photoboxes, or scroll back to your very first photos posted to Flickr.  And don't forget to share with us your links to images and the memories they conjure up!

sunrise, sunrise

I woke up too early, again. But I couldn't help it. We'd just flown from Seoul, South Korea where we were visiting family during school vacation to Tokyo, Japan for the weekend as an early 10-year anniversary celebration, and there was not going to be enough hours in the next two days. 

So I jumped out of bed, and started packing film, water bottles and maps for the day when a sense of warmth and comfort pressed gently against my cheek and blinded me for a few seconds.

Now, you have to understand that I never get to see or witness the beauty of a sunrise where I live.

My heart gasped and paused in deep respect and gratitude.

And then I compulsively loaded my Polaroid camera with film and took this shot.

What about you? Do you enjoy watching (and shooting) the sunrise? Please share your images today in the comment section below.

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To celebrate Giveaway May leave your comment (by Monday night at midnight PST) to be entered for a chance to win a 8"x12" print of this photo of the Eiffel Tower.

Update on Sunday, May 16, 2010 by Irene Nam

Thank you all so much for sharing your images! So many beautiful sunrises (and sunsets) here. The winner of the print is Karen Travels. Congratulations Karen! Please email me your address so I can send you your print.

instant love

Polaroid lovers unite each year on flickr for 'Roid Week.

That time is here.

5 days celebrating instant film.

Do you have a polaroid camera?  And if you answered yes,  are you lucky enough to have some film?  I sure hope you do.  Click on over to flickr and join the group.  You can add 2 polaroid images a day, each day.  It started yesterday and continues through Friday.

Polaroid enthusiasts LOVE their cameras.  Which polaroid camera is your favorite?  My dream polaroid is the  SX-70 model,  the one my parents shot with back in the day.  I still remember that feeling as a kid when the photo would pop out the front of the camera and i would hold it in my hands and watch it develop right before my eyes.  It always felt like magic, it still does.  Now I get to share that magic with my own children, and watch as they get that same giddy anticipation I so remember getting when I was little.

Need film?  the IMPOSSIBLE project has what you need. When the Polaroid company decided to close shop a passionate movement began. Click on over and read their inspiring story and check out the goods now available thanks to them.

And an extra bonus of 'Roid Week 2010, the IMPOSSIBLE project is giving away 2 packs of their new PX 600 film a day to 2 random members of the group.  Who knows, you could be a lucky winner!  

Show us your instant images today.  What? No instant camera you say... Well you may not be able to join 'Roid Week, but you can still have fun with your digital images by making a poladroid and sharing it with us here.

the six questions featuring Nicolle Null

I am truly happy to introduce you to one of my most recent blog crushes, talented photographer Nicolle Null who keeps an inspiring site called Sacred Lotus where she shares daily links to beautiful design, illustration and photography, and whose film and Polaroid images are the perfect, delightful combination of great composition, style, emotion and a deep reverence for nature.

Nicolle kindly accepted to answer our Shutter Sisters interview. Here are her answers:

1. What's the story behind this photo?

This photo is a self portrait polaroid that I took last year while doing a little shoot to celebrate polaroid week on flickr. It incorporates my love for flowers, the outdoors, and film photography. It also symbolizes the act of gathering and giving.

2. What was it that lit your photography spark? Do you remember a particular camera, course, person, roll of film?

I have always loved photography ever since I was little. My grandmother introduced me to the work of Ansel Adams when I was around 5 years old. His black and white film work was so dreamy to me when I was a child and still is to this day. I think though the big thing that really lit my spark was the birth of my son and our move from California to Oregon. I had a little Nikon point and shoot that I took everywhere with me and was constantly shooting him and all the beautiful nature that Oregon has to offer. Over the years I did a lot of reading about photography and taught myself the basics and then made the jump to a Nikon D40 DSLR. That camera was awesome and taught me a lot. Then after I got used to that one I upgraded again to a Nikon D300, it's the main camera I use now and I have to say I love it!

3. Where do you look for inspiration?

Everywhere! That might sound silly but it's just so true. Life inspires me, people inspire me, music, nature, the little details... there is just so much I find fascinating about this world we live in. I'm a very visual person so I often find myself spending way to much time looking at flickr and soaking up all the amazing images you can find there. 


4. What aspect of your photography are you constantly working on, trying to improve?

Shooting people is something I really want to focus on this year. Learning to give models direction is another thing that I want to improve. I'm not good at telling people what I what from them when I'm behind the camera. That's why I use myself as a model a lot in my photography. I'm easy to work with. ;)

5. If you could go anywhere in the world for an epic, weeklong photo excursion all by your luxuriously unhurried self - regardless of money, time or childcare issues - where would you go and why?

Oh that's an easy one. Japan! It's an amazing place filled with so much beauty and history. It's a dream of mine to go and photograph the blooming cherry trees, geisha girls, and the magnificent temples.

6. Are there women out there that you consider your shutter sisters? Who, and why?

Wow this is going to be a hard one because there are so many, this interview could go on for a very long time!

Ok let me start with just a few people that have given me encouragement and have inspired me in many ways over the years. First would be the lovely Lori Andrews. I have been friends with Lori for years now and she always has such lovely things to say about my photography and has inspired me to try new things and to think outside the box.

Next would be my good friend Bree Walk. Whenever I wanna geek out about photography or just hit the road to find some old abandon run down building to shoot in. I can always count on Bree to be there with her trusty camera in hand. She is defiantly one of my shutter sisters for life.

Another amazing lady that I admire is Whitney Johnson. I like to call her the queen of polaroid portraits. That girl knows how to take amazing polaroids, plus she is super fun to be around!

All the girls from PDX Photo Adventures have a special place in my heart too. Last but not least is another one of my favorite creative people, miss Jenny Vorwaller. Jenny is a wife, mother, photo taker, jewelry maker, artist, and world traveler who always has something beautiful to share. Her film photography work is just beautiful and inspires me so much. I feel very lucky to know so many amazing talented women!

Thank you so much Nicolle!

You can find out more about Nicolle's work on her Flickr Pool and blog.

body type

Let's talk camera bodies! A few weeks ago I had a first hand experience with shutter death. It was quick (and totally unexpected... um, and not so much painless.) It left me without so much as a goodbye from my beloved Nikon. It also left my hands empty and found my heart wanting.

Well, now what am I supposed to do? How do I create without the perfection of glass and mirror? I did what my heart insisted. I started a project.

This blend of photography and words might manifest a camera. But what camera? I've been pouring over all the reviews... but what I really want is the opinion of fellow Shutter Sisters shooting every day just like me.

So let's sit down and chat about camera bodies, shall we? What's your opinion? Share it in the comments today. Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Polaroid? Let us know your favorite camera. What do you shoot with every day? What camera would you never leave home without? I want to hear your suggestions, your stories, your thoughts on what camera body you own or would love to own.