Messing around with lighting at night

Here are a few images I took the other night while practicing with my off camera flash. :)  Lots more to learn but I'm definitely having fun experimenting and seeing what I can make!!!

Merry Christmastime!

Just thought I'd get you in the spirits for Christmas decorating now that Turkey day is over :)

Have a happy joyful season and don't let the shopping/$ stuff get you down this December!

Our Family 2011 ~ Olympia WA

I took most of these with my tripod and remote shutter release.  That is quite the challenge!! But I am pretty happy with the results of hard work <3  Our daughter Fierah had so much fun during this shoot running all over the place (and mommy was chasing her EVERYWHERE) But I love how these capture the essence of our family.  --Notice I don't have any classic "everyone looking at the camera and smiling" shots.  For one, those just aren't my favorite and I only get them when I know my client really wants that -- and for two, getting that shot with a toddler??? Practically impossible even when there is someone exciting and engaging behind the camera much less an inanimate camera+ tripod.... ;)
~Enjoy our sweet family love, I hope it shines through to you in the pictures <3

Fishing with my nephews and niece...

I just love .... with all my heart ... love these kids.  Here are a few images I took during their short visit to Washington.  I had to remedy the fact that I didn't have any good recent pictures of them. <3  Enjoy sharing in our fun day!

Happy flowers in my yard

Reaching up to God

I've never been much of a gardener but I can't tell you how much joy these poppies in my front yard have been bringing me every day :) If I can get myself to weed more often perhaps I'll start a real flower garden... Every day there are new poppy faces opening up to smile at me and they all look so different. When I pull out my camera to photograph them, there is no ice to break and they are 100% content with the beauty that God gave them. ;) Here are a few portraits of their happy smiles ~ (bear in mind these are not cheesy camera-smiles, they just can't help but smile all the time)


I hope they made you as happy as they make me!

These are called Danish Flag Poppies. They really do look like the Danish flag :)

pure joy

Danish Flag Poppy

“Let but my scarlet head appear And I am held in scorn; Yet juice of subtle virtue lies Within my cup of curious dyes.” ~Christina Rossetti

~Much love,

Alicia

Saying Goodbye to Beloved Life

Beloved Life was just that... Beloved. If there are any readers who do not know, it was my business name when I was merged with my best friend Rachael Isobel's photography business. Beloved Life was our baby and it received more energy and care than most starting up businesses I'm sure. Though it seemed that being merged as two photographers would be 1/2 the work, it really turns out that for us it was quite possibly twice the work, considering that we had two very different opinions regarding our art and how we wanted to be perceived as artists. We do work so very well together and intend to 2nd shoot for each other quite often in the future, and for that we are excited. Although I am thrilled for the freedom of branching back off into my own name, saying goodbye to Beloved Life is still a hard step. Hard but good... We've had a lot of wonderful times together and hopefully with the onset of our new businesses that won't have to come to an end at all.

One thing that I am most thrilled about is keeping the love fruit aspect of our Beloved Life logo... Rachael and I both loved our logos (that we worked so long and hard on perfecting) very much and when we discussed unmerging it was one of the things we were equally the most sad about losing. She and I individually explored many options for our logos and branding all to end up with sadness that we were losing something very special from Beloved Life and that its beautiful branding was going to disappear into nothing more than a memory. It was a special moment when we both realized that Rachael loves the tree version of our logo most and I love the love-fruit version of our logo most... Rachael was the one to suggest - "Why don't we each take a piece of this beauty with us to treasure as we embark out on our own?" And so we did! I wanted to share with you that you can still recognize Beloved Life living on in my new branding. I hope you find it to be as sweet as Rachael and I do.

Below are some images from a shoot Rachael and I recently did to celebrate our friendship forever regardless of the unmerger.

Taken by my talented sister in law, Angela C Photography, and edited by "us"

Alive Anew

I have been an artist for as long as I can remember. It has been my every breath to create beauty and to express... its a very long and very sad story I don't wish to re-live or expound on, but art has been a very deeply wounded place in my soul for the past 10 years. I feel that the wound is finally healing through photography and I wish to share this piece of prose that I wrote this morning

The forever night has lifted her veil to display long outstretched fingers of dawn. I lift my eyes - squinting to adjust to the overwhelming beauty and inhale- inhale only to exhale the old growth's seed which thrives and lives at last.

This seed has a better life, has a better chance to stretch, to unfold and be true. ...More of the sun, more of the water, more coddling more care. This heart's wings have grown feathers anew.

I see a sapling with leaves that heal, that is bursting with fruit - - too many for its small young boughs ...longing to feed the world with its passion and life; searching for those who hunger for beauty.

This new being is my art and my spirit alive anew - thriving in joy, in life, in love, in growing; not in sorrow and death and pain and darkness. The old growth has passed but I shall no longer mourn her painful life, nor long for vengeance over her death and over the slow death of hope. This dawn has brought life and hope anew and with that the tools to survive. Thank you Creator for a second chance... for light, and for beauty.