the six questions featuring Amanda Gilligan

There's something endearing and authentic about photographer Amanda Gilligan's dreamy images that makes me want to drop whatever I'm doing and dwell in every corner of her little world. But what I love most about Amanda is her beautiful spirit of giving. She shares tips, insights, tutorials and inspiration on her blog Mocking Bird with kindness and sheer enthusiasm, reminding me every day that one of the most wonderful things about photography is the ongoing conversation between passionate people, and the joy we experience by sharing what we love.

Amanda was kind enough to answer 7 of our 8 questions. Here are her answers:

What's the story behind this photo?

This Polaroid is my little sister and my muse. I've been photographing her since she was a baby and have been so lucky to watch her grow into a beautiful young woman. The Polaroid was taken on a special trip away with our mother, just the three of us spending a special time together. She picked up the dandelion and I noticed the beautiful flickerings of the light in the trees behind her. As soon as I grabbed my camera, she knew what to do. She's my perfect model and my muse.

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

From a young age I always loved creating stories and was always encouraged to be creative. I was given my first camera at the age of 8 but remember really wanting to find the art in photography after being given a book of black and white portraits by an Australian photographer. I loved the photojournalistic style of the portraits and it felt like something I could do. The portraits seemed to be taken from quiet places. I tend to be the one sitting in a corner at parties and observing life- those photographs seemed like something I would shoot and it inspired me to buy my first SLR camera. I haven't looked back since.

3. What's your photo philosophy? Does it reflect your life philosophy?

My photo philosophy definitely reflects my life. I believe in shooting from the heart and shooting things that are important to you. I never try to be something I'm not, it doesn't work. My life is quiet, inquisitive, peaceful, full of light and emotion. I would hope to think my photographs convey that too. I believe that shooting photographs is about seeing the truth and being authentic.

4. Where do you look for inspiration?

I look for it everywhere! I'm inspired by my family, friends, music, art, books, my home, food, nature, the landscapes of my homeland Australia and my new home in Vancouver, Canada. I think we need to notice and be aware of the beauty around us. I love the films of Sofia Coppola, Michel Gondry, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Pedro Almodóvar and the music of Sigur Rós, Radiohead and Bjork. I love attention to detail and it's the little details in the big picture that I look for. The colours of the pebbles in the sand at the beach, the textures of the fruit at the local market, the softness of the brush strokes in your favourite painting...details are my constant inspiration.

5. What would you say is one of your 'signature' editing tricks, themes or style?

Soft light, low saturated colour and attention to detail. I shoot mostly film so I hope I capture that in my Polaroids and 35mm work.

6. 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?

Paris without a doubt. I have been aching to get there for so many years. I dream about wandering the hilly streets of Montmartre with my Polaroid camera, stopping in for a coffee and a baguette, hanging out in the quiet alleys and searching for the Parisian light that I've heard so much about. I will wear a scarf tied around my neck and pretend I am Amélie.

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

Oh so many! First and foremost my actual sister, Kelly. She is not only my muse and model but loves shooting with me. I love that she has followed in my footsteps with a love of photography. Myla Kent has always been a power of strength and inspiration to me. She is so supportive and a wonderful photographer. I adore my Polaroid girls Jenifer Altman and Susannah Conway. We are sharing a special secret journey together at the moment and they inspire me to be better on a daily basis. I know I can always turn to them for support and when the three of us get together there is going to be some serious Polaroid damage!

Thank you Amanda!

You can see more of Amanda's work on her blog and Flickr Pool.

Experimenting

I don't know for how long I had been salivating over Polaroid images from fellow photographers and wondering what sorts of images I could shoot if only I had the guts to try it. But no, instead of playing and experimenting, I held back because I felt some sort of confinement within the type of photography I usually do: sharp, saturated, colorful. I did not want to get out of my style box so to speak.

Then just before my recent trip to Mexico, I had a moment of compulsion and ordered a refurbished SX70 and a few packs of TZ & 600 film from the Impossible Project shop. Gulp! A few hundreds of dollars later I was highly committed to at least try it out, even if I had to hide the results forever inside a trunk in the attic!

Little did I know that it would be so much fun! Not only did I gasp at each step of the analog process with child's delight, but I also fell in love with the results achieved by trying out the different types of film. For some of you old school photographers, this may be as trivial as rice and beans. But for a digital self taught girl like me, this experience was an exciting gourmet experience. And the results were fun to see, because despite the medium, I realized that my eyes still capture and frame things the same way, which was really reaffirming and heart warming for me.

This week, I encourage you to get out of your box. If you've been shooting with a zoom lens for too long, try a prime. If you have been shooting digital, try film. If you always do color, play with black and white. Let's challenge our brain and stretch those creative muscles!

What has been begging you to try new ways to experiment? If you have already been experimenting, show us what you've got, we'd love to see!

the six questions featuring Jenny Vorwaller

As promised earlier this month, today I introduce you to another talented Jennifer. Jenny Vorwaller stole my heart the minute I came across her lovely blog True Nature where she shares insights and inspiration on photography, fashion, art, travel and motherhood. Not only is Jenny one of the kindest souls and most beautiful women I've seen, she is also a talented photographer, painter, jewelry designer and dedicated wife and mother. Her approach to life, creating and finding beauty wherever she is, is delightful and inspiring.

Jenny kindly accepted to answer all 8 questions of our Shutter Sisters interview. Here are her answers:

1. What's the story behind this photo?

My best friend from Buenos Aires was visiting me in Seattle, and we had been walking around Alki Beach that day. I remember walking by this adorable little girl and struck up a conversation with her mother. We were collectively admiring her shoes, her pull toy, her doll-like appearance. Before I knew it I was asking permission to take some Polaroids of Sally. She was really hard to resist and I just wanted to remember that moment.

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

It's always been there... I think it's been with me so long that I don't remember one marked incidence or first camera. Tracing back to those first moments learning in the darkroom is sort of like remembering my first kiss. Sparks! And there was this one time when I was a kid... I remember taking pictures with a cheap disposable camera out the window of our family van while the van was moving, I was always aiming at everything. My brothers had fun with that. "Look Jenny! It's a field! Take a picture! Look Jenny! It's a cow, take a picture!" We were awesome. And the more I think of my childhood photography skills, the more I see I haven't changed all that much.

3. What's your photo philosophy? Does it reflect your life philosophy?

I'm all intuition: in my art, in my life.

4. Where do you look for inspiration?

Outside. Magazines. Music. Fashion. My boys.

5. What would you say is one of your "signature" editing tricks, themes or style? What do you think makes an image recognizable and uniquely yours?

I'm not sure how to define it - but looking through the viewfinder, I would recognize it if I saw it. My husband would say, "if it moves... (brief pause) or not." So true!

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

Developing my film. It sits around for ages before I get those pictures printed out from the rolls. But it doesn't slow me down from shooting, and if we're being honest, I think I subconsciously let them pile up because then it's all a surprise once I see the photos and I love that! It's like opening a present that you always wanted but didn't suspect anyone would ever get for you.

7. 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?

Morocco. Seychelles. Santa Fe! Right now I am so determined to go somewhere sunny that I'm looking at locales with sandy beaches and summery colors. We might even be booking a flight tonight: this is what Seattle February does to a girl. I have this dream of bringing an air stream trailer full of my beautiful friends (they are all so beautiful) and I would pack with us lots of bright colored, neon frocks and drive into the desert. I'm dying to see that contrast of the landscape against flowing dresses and scarves... It will be done!

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

I'm so used to being the one in my circle with the camera that people usually rely on me to be taking all the pictures, which I secretly love. When there is an opportunity to meet up with friends who are obsessed with photography as I am, we have a blast! Taking pictures with my younger sister is always a pleasure - we can have gooey beauty facemasks on, I'll bring props into a photo booth with her, trade big hats on the beach... I love that feeling when you are at ease enough with a person to want to take hundreds of photos together and still want more.

Thank you Jenny!

You can see more of Jenny's beautiful work on her blog and Flickr pool.

iPhone Photography Intrigue

I've always been drawn to artful process of photography. I make my documentary images by selecting lenses and adjusting the settings on my DSLR. Then I rely on Aperture, my photo editing application, to make minor image adjustments. I might increase the definition of edges to emphasize the texture, tone down harsh highlights, trade color for monochrome, or add a subtle vignette to pull the viewer closer to my subject. But I don't use Photoshop and frankly, if someone asked me to smooth out her smile lines, I'd frown. Admittedly, I use a light hand when it comes to digital image processing.

But I am becoming increasingly intrigued with iPhone Photography as a means of exploring my fascination with composition, and have just started experimenting with some clever iPhone apps. I'm finding that because I don't take these images too seriously, I'm eager to try more liberal processing experiments on them - like making quick marks in a sketch book or scribbling phrases in a journal. I'm allowing myself to create a bit of fiction, and it's been really fun. So if you too are looking to loosen up a bit with your iPhone, consider downloading these cool apps in the App Store and share your results with us.

ShakeItPhoto ($.99) - Like Polaroid for your iPhone, this app lets you shoot, retake and shake. Shaking your iPhone gives you a cropped and color washed Polaroid-esque image. (See my image at left, above.) Check out the ShakeItPhoto Best Of flickr group to see some super cool results and this experiment using ShakeItPhoto and another app, Colorsplash.

CameraBag ($1.99) - Quick and easy photo filters to adjust the mood of your iPhone photos. This app gives you 10 image filters such as Helga (square-format, washed out highlights and old-school vignetting) and 1974 (like your mother's camera: faded & tinted). (See my image at right, above, with 1962 filter - high contrast B&W.) Check out the CameraBag flickr group and this fabulous set that inspired me to explore.

Got any other iPhone Photography tips or resources? Do share.

point of origin

I am the youngest of three children, so we took turns holding the polaroid. Happiness was experiencing the magic that developed instantly.

Those memories planted themselves firmly in my subconscious. {How he smiled with his camera slung around his neck, a cigar hanging off his lip.} Looking at that polaroid camera will always make me his little girl again, eager to explore the magic of photography. {The story goes that when my brothers were young my dad walked into a pawn shop in San Diego and walked out with a polaroid camera.}

I spent most of my early adolescent years saving money to buy and develop film and annoy friends. {My brother calls it the curse of the photographer.} Later as I left for college I inherited his old Pentax. {You might know the one with the broken light meter.} My cameras always morphed into something new, something different over the years and many states I photographed. For me, somehow 'things' always turned into cameras. Follow the signs, my cameras always led me down this path marked  P A S S I O N.

And here I am.

So, hello. I'm fairly new here. My name is Meredith and {blush} I'm addicted to photography. It's so nice to meet all of you. {Hey, I see familiar smiling faces! Come here often? Want a cup of tea? I think we are sisters cut from the same cloth.}

What's your story? What do you see as the point of origin for your love of photography? Is there a moment, a person, or a camera of your childhood that stands out as the spark that lit your fire?