Sunday, January 27, 2008

Monday...



...enough said.


What picture can talk for you today?

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

It Must Be Love



Oh baby, I have been waiting for this for weeks!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Lessons of a Launch

I've learned things in this process that I never thought I'd need to know; like it takes time for the remapping of urls to kick in (hence the reason why Shutter Sisters doesn't appear to be live). I've learned things that I'm happy to know--like some html code (which is really cool and all consuming). I've learned things I forgot I knew; like how trying to juggle the family on a holiday weekend while working doesn't mix. And I've learned that having an incredible amount of support around me (hello internet friends!) makes certain set backs a little easier to handle.

My sister always reminds me that these things are hiccups not face plants and someone else said something similar in an email last night when the panic began to kick in. So, although we are ready to open the doors to Shutter Sisters, the url isn't cooperating just yet. However because I just can't wait for that, I am going to invite you to visit anyway and offer this link which will work!

www.shuttersisters.squarespace.com

Keep in mind that the registration process on the blog won't work until the url kicks in (or so they say) but at least you can take a look around and see what we've I've been cooking up for quite some time now.

I can't wait to hear your feedback--she says nervously. Be gentle with me...it's still early on the west coast.

Monday, January 21, 2008

My 'Shutter Sisters' Shot Monday




It's almost launch time for Shutter Sisters! Tomorrow...we're launching tomorrow!


As you can imagine I am bursting at the seams. I can't wait to hear what you all think!



So, what shots got you excited today?

Thursday, January 17, 2008

A Giveaway with Heart

Finally, the "story" that I mentioned in my last post. Ready?

OK. At this point, everyone knows I’m wild for Nintendo. My family loves the Wii, of course. And my girls have the DS Lite handheld numbers as well. More love. You’ve seen pictures and have heard stories already I know, but wait…there’s more.

Right before Christmas Nintendo threw my daughter and a bunch her friends an all girl, Dazzling Pokemon Spa Party. I know what you are thinking. How can Pokemon and Spa be used in the same sentence? Well, the answer to that makes perfect sense if you think about it from a clever marketing perspective. When gather a gaggle of 10-year-old girls together, hand them Pink DS Lites pre-loaded with dazzling games to play (the Pearl and the Diamond versions of Pokemon), sit them down comfortably on a big sofa and give them sparkle hair dos and ice cream pedicures well, then you‘ve got yourself a houseful of very happy (not to mention busy and beautiful) little girls. The moms we’re not overlooked either, oh no! We were encouraged to slip away to a quiet upstairs bedroom for a chair massage. Hello! Talk about needing to decompress--it was only a few days before Christmas so a little relaxation was welcomed, to say the least. The party was over the top awesome and everyone undisputedly had a blast.

The festivities of the evening were beyond generous enough but it gets better: Nintendo left us with an enormous goody bag full of party favors. And guess what I get to do with it? I get to GIVE AWAY THE GOODS!

So, here’s the deal—I’ve got a few Pink Pearl DS Lite systems and a handful and Pokemon games (some Diamond some Pearl) to give away and I would like you to help me put these gifts into the hands of kids that could really use them. In other words, this is not your ordinary random giveaway--this is more like a Random Act of Kindness Giveaway. I love the sound of that. I’m sure that there a whole lot of super kids out there that could use a little Nintendo glow to make their day! If we put our collective mother heads and hearts together we can make this giveaway count.

If you know of a child that would really benefit from some kindness, some distraction, some playtime, some generosity, some fun, please let me know. Of course, you are encouraged to post comments here and if you feel you have a worthy candidate for the Nintendo Kindness Giveaway, you can email me with the details at maypapers at yahoo dot com and put Kindness Giveaway in the subject line. The object would be to get these kids the games in time for Valentines Day because, it just seems fitting. And by all means spread the word because everyone loves a good giveaway and kindness is a good thing.

Tabblo: Dazzling Pokemon Party
edited to add--
Thanks Jen Lemen for being an inspiration and a catalyst for kindness.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Happy Together



There's a story that goes along with my Best Shot Monday but I think I'll wait to share it until later this week. For right now, I want to enjoy it, just as it is.
What shot did you enjoy this week?

Thursday, January 10, 2008

And Photo Justice for All



Most photographers are somewhat protective of their images. And they should be. If you shoot it, the image belongs to you and no one else should be using that image for anything without asking. There are exceptions to the rule but for the sake of simplicity, I won’t go there.

Now, let's say you are not only someone who takes a lot of pictures but you're also a parent. Suddenly, the word protection can be written in all caps and followed by at least three exclaimation points. We photo parents are not only worried about protecting our images (our creative work and for some of us, our livelihood) but now we’re dealing with a subject that is far more important; our children. It doesn’t matter whether you post photos of your kids online without much worry or concern or you covet your family photos never daring to risk the wrong person seeing or stealing them (and therefore opt not to post them publicly), we all want to protect our children. There’s no debate there. Just like the million other judgment calls we face every day (what food to feed our kids, what bedtime to keep, how much TV is too much) ‘to share or not to share’ is a choice every parent has to make for themselves and their families. And, for the record, I’m asking that we not judge one another on our decisions, kay? I’m nipping that baby in the bud right now. Instead, let’s band together and empower one another by putting our collective (and creative) heads together here and hammer out some workable solutions to this universal issue.

After a number of emails from concerned moms asking ‘should they or shouldn’t they’ and reading posts addressing the topic, I have intended to tackle the subject myself many times. I just hadn't gotten around to it. But, when I got the query from the supermoms of The League of Maternal Justice, asking me for my thoughts on the matter and my take on any solutions, I decided the time is now. They'd like to compile some insights regarding the photo sharing concerns of moms and even more importantly offer some good advice of ways we can protect ourselves and our photos. We're talking insights, tips and tools for moms from moms. We’re all in this together, so why not demystify what’s going on through some discussion, shall we?

I realize that neither talking nor implementing all the safety precautions in the world can give us any guarantees (just as locking our front door doesn’t mean no one can break in) but I believe we are all better off arming ourselves with knowledge. Let’s uncover and discover what it is we can do as mothers to ensure to the best of our abilities that the photos we choose to share of our children remain safe.

I hope to hear your thoughts on the matter; your stories, your concerns and what you are doing (if anything) to combat the risk of having your photos used without permission, blatantly misused and/or stolen. Do you choose to share your photos online? What service(s) do you use and why? Do you tag your images? What kinds of photos do you share and what is off-limits? Do you use copyright notices, watermarks, shrink wrapping, or any other tricks you can enlighten us with?

OK, it’s up to all of you, my fellow mama lions…let me hear you roar!


*the photo above is my submission for Theme Thursday (contrast) at Stacy's.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Reflecting on my Best Shot

As our winter vacation comes to an end and Monday marks the beginning of the normal daily routine, I'm reflecting on the past few weeks and acknowledge that the Clark family had a really nice holiday. No drama and even better, no illness. That's huge! We also managed to cram in all sorts of very cool activities (without it feeling frenetic) and even enjoyed a few nights of grown-up time while the kids lived it up at the Grandparent's. All in all, it was a stellar vacation.


I tucked my girls in early tonight and already I hear the deep dreamy breathing of children exhausted from a fantastic two week break from the daily hustle and bustle of school, piano, ballet, homework, volleyball, hula and girl scouts. No doubt we will all wake tomorrow bleary eyed and one step behind as we stumble back into the daily grind but I for one can't wait to get my time back.
Big grateful exhale.



My Best Shot this week is one from the many great places we visited. There's just something about this photo that I love. How about you? Have you had a chance to reflect on your holiday? Would you care to share a shot or two? Come on, you know you do.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Greetings from Paris

As far as having a Happy New Year I can say, so far, so good.




I'm calling this one 'scarf, stripes and Stella'.


Paris for lunch and then to Monte Carlo for Dinner.



Tom and Katie have nothing on us...except maybe their own private jet. Do they have one of those?
Regardless, here's to livin' large in 2008!