seeing a different side of you

'Tis the season for being someone or something other than who we really are. It's not that we're trying to hide our truest selves, no way! This dress-up game is just for kicks. Scary, funny, adorable, whatever it may be, it encourages us let our hair down and have a little fun.

Who doesn't like a little make-believe now and again?

Whether it's you in disguise or your little ghosts and goblins behind those masks, share with us how you will celebrate this All Hallow's Eve.

moo and you

We tell the world a little about ourselves with everything we do. How we act, what we say, how we dress, what we carry. From our bags to our blogs from our coffee mugs to our cameras. Our words, our images, our facebook status, all express who we are.

In the theme of this month's One Word Project, we have partnered with MOO to encourage you to really express yourself this week! Who are YOU? Share it with us through your shots this week for your chance to win some super-cool prizes from MOO. MOO offers a ton of ways to express yourself through business cards, mini cards, post cards, stickers (total cuteness), and holiday cards. We know you know all about them (coolest cards for photographers ever) so why not offer this fun contest in celebration of MOO and YOU?

Here's the scoop:

For a chance to win – all you have to do is post a URL to a photo in the comments which resonates with this month’s theme of ‘YOU’. You know how the OWP works! We want to see shots that have YOU written all over them! We are looking for beautiful, creative, unque or just fun shots of/or about YOU.

Prizes from MOO

Grand prize – 100 business cards (or 200 minis), 25 Christmas (Holiday) cards, 20 postcards & 52 stickers!

2^nd place – 100 business cards (or 200 minis) & 52 stickers

3^rd place – 100 business cards (or 200 minis)  & 52 stickers

You've got until  Friday, 10/28 at midnight EST to leave your comments and links here for a chance to win.

We can't wait to see YOU in your entry image!

i am...

I love how self portraits can be so emotive. 

Whatever you are feeling on any given day can be expressed through the click of your shutter.

They often seem to fit this formula "I am ______ ."

I am... brave, sad, fragile, strong, unsure, sexy, powerful, scared, fierce, tired, trying, angry, loved, exhausted, beautiful, imperfect, worthy, creative , empowered.... the list is endless. One day we readily fill in the blank with something positive, and the very next day it may be quite the opposite. With each click we can express a number of emotions. Trust me, I do not find self portraits easy, but what I do find them to be is 100% cathartic, especially on those not so shiny happy days...  So, if you have not turned the camera on yourself, do try.  Trust that the beauty you find when pointing your camera outward is sure to be found when you turn it on yourself.  

In celebration of this month's One Word, YOU, fill in your own blank today.  What are you feeling right now, in this moment?  Express your word and yourself in a photo and share it with us here today. 

Me?  I am a work in progress .... 

What to Do If You're Not at Camp Shutter Sisters

Life is known to be unpredictable, unsteady, uneven, un- lots of things despite our best laid plans. I am sadly not at Camp, but sending good thoughts and so much love to our Shutter Sisters gathered on the west coast today. One of the things I was most looking forward to was a hefty dose of the unfamiliar and unexpected. Yet as much as I wish I was there, I've decided to reverse the natural instinct to be unhappy and give myself some latitude to unleash an extra dose of creativity while Camp is in session. Are you with me?

Your challenge today - Wednesday: Seek and share the unfamiliar or the unexpected.

Find something odd within a mile of your home. Turn something upside down (or inside out). Meet a stranger. Wear something funky. Shoot a view of yourself you typically wouldn't see in the mirror. Place an object in the wrong environment. Tie a balloon to someone's car. Pick up an inexpensive mask and leave it on the kitchen table. Put a candle in the meatloaf and make a wish. Defy the familiar.

Tag your images with #beyondcampsisters

Add your images to our Shutter Sisters Flickr group or share images in Instagram (with the tag in your image title) and leave your username in the comments so we can find and follow you. There just might be an unexpected surprise for an unsuspecting winner on Wednesday.

* * *

Congratulations to Natalie Pigliacampo (@nataliepigliacamp on Instagram) for sharing a most awesome #beyondcampsisters photo via Instagram. Look for the red balloon. Happy to send a signed copy of "The Art of iPhoneography: A Guide to Mobile Creativity."

heart of a wanderer

 "Not all who wander are lost." -J.R.R. Tolkien

I am not sure if there is anything I love more photographically than wandering around with my camera in hand.  I live in suburbia, but whenever I can, I take a short drive north to a more urban setting.  Though I am completely unsure if I would love living in a city full time (though I do muse on it),  I do know I feel right at home on photowalks in one.  A city is ripe with color, texture, decay, progress, noise, rhythm, diversity, strangeness, art, people, LIFE, beautiful life. That just excites the photographer in me. The shyer more reserved me seems to fall away in an urban setting. Perhaps I feel I can hide more in a city, blend with the many others slinging cameras and pointing their own lenses this way and that. Or the city is just too busy to notice me and my constant desire for a shot. Whatever the reason,  I relish the anonymity and become freer with my shooting.

This weekend I took a little jaunt north with a sister friend.  It was a bit rainy, but we were not deterred. We walked in sync, pausing here and there clicking away in between laughter and nods, never needing to say, "hey wait one minute I just want to take a shot of this", that was exactly why we were there. It is always a blessing to share time like that with someone who gets "it". When I have the chance to walk freely, uninterrupted, it opens me up to really seeing.  Instead of just moving straight ahead, I linger, look down, look up, explore more. Words seem to call out, wanting to be noticed.  Shiny surfaces become self portrait opportunities.  Puddles, a mirror for the world. All the people, faces, tattoos, hairstyles, fashion statements grab my attention.  This is when the beauty of digital really hits home.  I can walk for 2 hours and shoot 2 to 2000 shots if I want.  There are no limits, just shoot!  I liken it to a treasure hunt. A bit of a euphoric photography fix. I get home and can't wait to load my photos and click through the images of the day.  This particular walk seemed to be ripe with words.  Perhaps it was my headspace at the time,  needing, wanting, desiring messages from the universe to materialize for me.  "TRUST IT please", "FATE", and the handwritten sign above with the the words, "FIND YOUR VOICE",  left on the side of a building where a rally had gathered spoke directly to me that day. Each click I felt my heart race a little faster as I nodded internally to the words I found, yes yes yes!  I went home feeling so satisfied with the beauty I witnessed and shared that day.

What makes your heart race photographically?  What are you drawn to when given the chance to wander?

DO share!  I think how and what we see says so much about who we are.  We are the seekers.