bon appetit!

1. November 13th, 2. 10-11-2010 Rincón / Corner, 3. Bench Monday 80: Baking Up a Storm, 4. Buttermilk cake, 5. 365/226.  Fresh., 6. 365:177

Today's one word photo prompt is "kitchen". Perfect word for this time of year. During the holidays the kitchen becomes the center of activity.  Cooking, gathering, celebrating, eating. Family recipes handed down and shared. Little ones with flour covered fingers waiting to lick the beaters clean. Warmth radiating from the oven. Laughter unfurling as many hands make light work of dirty dishes. The sound of glasses clinking as toasts are being made.  Mom's apron.  Nana's tattered index cards of handwritten recipes in that familiar tin box. Beauty in the prosaic.  The moments that bind us together as family and friends.

I myself will be spending many hours in my kitchen today prepping for tomorrow's Thanksgiving meal. Recipes handed down from generation to generation, will now simmer on my stove top. Familiar smells of my childhood will permeate my kitchen as my little ones will watch me as I once watched my mom when I was their age.  Traditions, food, family, life, love.

Julia Child, one of the masters of the kitchen, may have put it best, "Find something you are passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."

Today lets combine our passion for photography and Julia's passion for food and share an image of your kitchen here.

"BON APPETIT!"

(kitchen images above from the Shutter Sisters photo pool on Flickr. *don't forget to tag your images #shuttersisters)

weekending by Polly Scott

Polly Scott shoots images like these with a Canon Rebel T3 and spends her weekends camping and paddling!

You can find her on her website destinationdriftless.blogspot.com and on Flickr as DriftlessDestination.

What's the most adventurous thing you've ever done with a camera in hand?

Today's One Word Project prompt: two

Sunday's One Word Project prompt: marigold

weekending by Judy Salcedo

Judy Salcedo spends her weekends wandering a sanctuary near her home, taking photos of nature.

You can find her on heyjudephotography.com

Today show us your favorite nature macro shot!

Today's prompt: sleep

Sunday's prompt: teal

Weekending by Suzanne O'Brien

Suzanne O'Brien shoots with a Canon 7D and her typical weekend includes the outdoors, exercise, some friends and a lot of family!

You can find her on her website SuzanneOBrienStudio.com. 

Have you captured any down and dirty photos lately?

Today's prompt: orange

Sunday's prompt: knits

playful you

"It is a happy talent to know how to play."- Emerson

Today's one word prompt is whimsy. Whimsy can be a tricky thing for us "adults".  As children we were once endless fountains of play, pretend, imagination and fun.  We paid little to no attention to what we looked like,  or who was watching.  None of that mattered. All that mattered was the play.  As a mom I get to witness this wealth of carefree-ness each day in my children,  I spend hours photographing their play and joy.  Photographing myself in that same spirit of play was so much harder. What would I look like? (Why did i care?) Someone might see me! (maybe it would make them smile) So little by little I began to practice being more playful in front of my camera.  Capturing myself in moments of joy and whimsy through self portraiture.  Some days pulling in my little muses for a little photo fun. They are the masters of the silly faces!

When Meredith and I embarked on creating our first self portrait e-course,  we sat down and came up with a list of themes, one of them was "whimsy".  Funny thing about that theme,  so many women balked at the idea of capturing their silly side,  that "whimsy"  was just not them...  but you know what?  Once they took a deep breath, and leaped into the fun, they wound up loving some of those images the most.  Seems all we all needed was a little nudge, permission to throw off the shackles of adulthood and just be silly. 

Today I challenge you to capture yourself in the joy. Blow bubbles. Hula hoop. Make funny faces. Put on a mask. Maybe a fuzzy mustache. How about a tutu. Photobomb a friend. Sticking out your tongue and crossing your eyes is encouraged here. Get silly with a friend or your family. Watch the laughter unfold. Share your images and thoughts with me here and don't forget to tag your images, #shuttersisters.

Today get in touch with that little girl inside you.  She will thank you for it.

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Interested in digging a little deeper into self portraiture?  Meredith Winn and I are launching our brand new e-course this fall, NOW YOU : Digging Deeper.  Registration is open now.  Class begins soon.  Join us!

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Congratulations to Amy Gillard documentary moment winner of the book Lens on Life: Documenting Your World Through Photography by Stephanie Calabrese Roberts. Thanks for all of your submissions!