By Carol H.
I traveled to an Oasis in the desert. A
gathering of women who use a camera to express thought and feeling, to share a
moment of beauty, to elevate the everyday. It was a 5-day ‘camp’ hosted by
Shutter Sisters. I had only discovered them a few months before, but the words
and imagery on their website touched my heart. When they announced Camp Oasis
at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, I knew I had to go. I knew of some of the
women who would be there through e-courses and social media sites, but I’d never
met any of them face to face. Normally that would have been enough to deter me
from going – but not this time. I knew I would be there.
And I was. It was a
profound experience that my words fail to describe, which is why I have not
written about it before now. It wasn’t about photography, though we did take a
lot of pictures. It was more a gathering of souls that spoke the same language.
Our eyes gazing upon one another, with open hearts and gentle smiles. We were
patient and kind to one another with mutual understanding.
At the time I didn’t
realize that experience would mark the beginning of a transition for me. The
women I met there were inspiring and their work continues to touch my soul.
Some of the women I met would become my Life Sisters right here on this very
blog where I have had the honor of being a regular contributor.
My photography has evolved as well with my heart and my eye learning to sync with one another. I still struggle with my writing, crossing out this word or that phrase, but there are more moments of clarity these days.
The Shutter Sisters
organization has experienced a transition as well. The group has joined forces
with The Cameramen to form Our Collective, and a new chapter has begun. And
this is fitting because life moves forward and change is inevitable. We need to
embrace the change and trust in the mystery that lies ahead. But…
Those of us who were there
know that we had an experience. We had a moment in time that was larger than us
all, yet each and every one of us were a key ingredient to that magic.
We were
Beautiful.
We were
Kindred Spirits.
We were
S H U T T E R S I S T E R S
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Theme this month is Fall and all of you have been posting some absolutely breathtaking pictures of this beautiful season. Please continue to post to the Focusing On Life Flickr pool and remember to share your mobile photography images on our Phoneography Flickr site.