my perfume

so, my first "official" perfume was purchased for me by my best friend, Adrianne. When we were in college she told me one year (was it Christmas? My birthday?) that it was high time that I had a scent that was ME. I definitely needed those feminine "throw me in headfirst" type of pushes sometimes..... I actually think I might be overdue for another one.... we'll see if it happens after this baby.... ANYWAY, we went and smelled scents, actually TALKED to the people at the fragrance counters in Nordstroms (or Macy's?) and I came away with this. Elizabeth Arden. For the longest time I wouldn't tell anyone what it was because I thought the name was kinda embarassing. I mean, C'mon. Provocative. Woman. It sounds kinda funny, but also kinda exactly describing me, and I felt strange saying it. So I never would. But, now I just don't care anymore. I love how it smells. I love the shape of the bottle. Its perfect.... probably always will be.

my soap

i love the way it smells. and the way it doesn't leave a film on my skin (like irish spring, which i grew up using). dove made me officially a NON-loofah person (though my christmas present from my sister will make me cheat on my soap a little until this baby comes). AND not only that, but I completely agree with the true beauty campaign, and love DOVE even more!

i read a book once and when the girl is describing her childhood she talks about how her mom smelled, and she never knew what the smell was (her mother had died when she was young). And when she met a woman that smelled like her mother, she couldn't help but feel instantly attached. Well, here you go, i use and smell like dove.

Merry Christmas!

Hope yours is as shiny bright and funky as mine is gonna be!

wednesdays: SNOW DAY

I KNOW I KNOW, this is completely a snapshot... but you try to take a real photograph when you're 7 months pregnant, in the snow, of a little boy who has just realized how much fun it is to THROW snow.

Inspiration

Thank you Thank you Jessica Peterson for writing about the book Dirty Wow Wow. I picked it up at the library this week, though because of your post I already had great plans laid for some catalog creating of my own. The photography is stunning in that book. Definitely large format (or at least Tilt/Shift Lens, but I hope beyond hope that it is true film, large format, because that would be lovely).

So, here is my own slant. There are a few things I own that I would be sad if lost. Things that I can tell people what they MEAN, and therefore why I have them around.... and then there is the other stuff, like what type of perfume I use, or what soap. I read a book once where a child who had lost her mother became very attached to a teacher who SMELLED just like her mother, used the same creme or something... so if I die tomorrow (lets hope not), I want my children to know my soap, and also about these other things that will become treasures to them because they were mine.


i know i own a lot of earrings, and i'm sure they'll be passed on down. but these are my favorite. one of them is about dead, the needle part is breaking in two.

this is the box i kept T's ring in when we got married. i bought it in a little shop in bloomington, indiana with my friend liz wepler. its handcarved (see how the lid screws onto the top? Talk about craftsmanship!) and was like $8. I still love it, keep MY ring in it when i'm too swollen and pregnant to wear it.

my grandmother's brooch. i had never seen this until my uncle gave it to me when she died. it was handpainted on ivory in the 50's by one of her sister's-in-law (my grandfather's brother's wife. geez. sister's cousin's friend's dog's...hehe) She had the necklace part added on later. I wear this often.

my wedding ring. my mother lost hers in the ocean in california. i always have wondered what it looked like. now, just in case, my kids will at least know what mine looked like.

Jodie Large Format

Here is the other lovely lady I photographed for that fantastic midwife you'll be hearing so much about. Jodie is truly capitivating. Lovely to talk to, comfortable in her own skin, and articulate in such a soothing manner about her ideals with life. She is beautiful. The true way. Like, the unmadeup way.

You can see more from the session with Jodie HERE.

Lindsay Large Format

I've taken a big-ish project under my belt. You'll be seeing it here. These are all women who I predominantly will not have met, and I'm photographing them my very favorite way: Large Format. My link to them is a fantastic midwife I know. She wanted her own personal MATTER project and so it began. I can already tell, by the time I have been blessed to spend with the two I have already photographed, that this is going to enrich my life in multiplying ways.

You can see the other images of Lindsay HERE.

last of colorado... well, for now

the view from my window. Waking up and falling asleep to this had a profound affect. (click image to see larger)

Colorado--something to know about me

When I was younger, I always wore sunglasses that had a "warming filter." They weren't actually rose-colored glasses, but I did like to see the world through them more than with them off. The world was a nicer color with them. The sunsets weren't quite so heavy on the blue in the shadows, and driving cross country, I have them to thank for falling in love with road trips. Every place we went (except topeka kansas. I hate that place) was beautiful.

So, you see, I look at this image, and its beautiful, but it doesn't do it, for me. That is how it really looked, and the fall colors are beautiful. But I don't photograph just to document how things exactly were... I am not bound by complete and utter realism ALL the time. (Lots of the time I am, and I think conveying real truth and keeping it real in your work is beyond the limits of measurable value).

Yes, this fits as a vacation photo.


But this is what it is like if I want it to convey the WHOLE trip in one image. The happiness, free creativity, and rejuvenation it gave me as a person and an artist.

click to see larger

I prefer #2. Photoshop does have its advantages sometimes.

more COLORADO

He's a doctor. He watched over me and gave me loving lectures about taking care of myself and the baby, the whole time we were there.

Smart as a whip and quick as one, too. Their love story will be in the ones I tell my children of REAL love stories (not the fake-y ones in current movies). Her hair is amazing.

Kindness has two faces. One is male, one is female. Both are shown above.
click on images to see larger

COLORADO

This was the coverlet on the bed I slept in (and slept very very well with a BEAUTIFUL view), while I stayed in Ridgeway, CO. It was made by my friend's grandmother. Isn't it intricate? And it fit on the WHOLE bed, very large undertaking!

let's be honest

NOTE TO READER: there is quite a bit of typing here. As the norm, I don't type much, moreso on the images for content. But there are a couple things I feel I must share to somewhat negate the lack of posting, etc. AND, if you've been missing your East Coast Alisha, college darling friend, well, here are a few rants that fit my classic style... the title especially is for Leigh.

my thanksgiving was insane. (we're talking multiple pies, homemade applesauce, gourmet-y stuffing and sweet potatoes. See the list on facebook. If we're not friends, add me if ya wanna. The link is up on the right) I have not found a way to intermingle my foodie abilities with my photographic ones. I love food too much to ruin it (if you don't know, food in photographs is NOT edible almost as a rule). I love to cook and sometimes (well, every time), when I learn a friend eats or uses canned vegetables, a little part of me dies. They're disgusting! How can people eat that!? I admit I'm a snob when it comes to food. Partly because I feel like ANYONE should be able to cook if they are a human being. So, the truth comes out. If you are a 20-something guy or girl, and you think you CANNOT cook... maybe you should actually try. Now, home decor, crafty things for kids, these are not my fortes, and maybe you, dear reader, think that I am a class-A loser for thinking those are beyond me. (well, maybe not BEYOND me, just out of my interest of becoming proficient at...) I completely understand if people aren't that INTO cooking. If they really would rather eat out (by the way, eating out really doesn't taste that good unless it is REALLY expensive), or do hamburger helper (we never ate this when I was small and it still has no appeal), more power to them, I guess. Just please don't invite us over for dinner. I admit it here and forever that I am a weak person who will judge you. Thankfully, my husband's family also cooks extremely well.

Our tables were very pretty and the food was divine, and it made me remember how much I love hosting company. Please remember the comment about not intermingling skills-- these are all little digital ones).

Within Walking Distance:

Have you been to the Temple Square Christmas Lights? Take your little digital, set it on night mode (or whatever with a longer exposure... just no flash), and make some different images with all the light trails, as below:



My life is either on my way to the studio or in bed, recouping from being mom all day and photographer all night. (seriously. Last night was 8 hours in the studio.) Its been too cold to photograph outside (for me at least), and I'm so freaking pregnant at the current moment (and for the next 90-ish days) that I see a whole lotta my stairs. They're a tight squeeze (to the point that I couldn't move my 1921 marshall and wendell upright grand piano to this new place and had to sell it... boo.)... thankfully, I had (again) the little digital with me and I caught this image of W taking himself up the stairs after our errands.


Lastly, WHERE IS THE REAL WORK, ALISHA?! Right? Right.

Its on film to be developed, or film to be resized or film that I just love so much I don't feel any sort of need to post it. I don't feel the NEED to post. This all began for me as a way of keeping track that I was working, progressing, getting back into my groove after my hiatus after I graduated with a BFA in photography. I NEEDED to be held accountable. Lately, not so much. I'm so busy I don't have the time to post it (so it sure is good the desire isn't there because otherwise I'd feel guilty, and THAT certainly doesn't help creativity).

I have a project I've been working on for 6 months now that I haven't even posted on here at all. The images are amazing and I love them. I know I'll unveil them sometime, but right now, what's the point? I wanna look at them (all 4x5 slide), put them together on a light table, discuss them... There is no forum (that is acceptable to me) for light table discussion on the internet.

I need to update the project list up top so the links DON'T just go to my first post of each, but have links to EACH post.... hmm.. maybe today?

I think what it all really boils down to is that I'm photographically happy and (realizing I'm selfish as I say this) it hasn't crossed my mind to share! Part of this beautiful place I'm in is having people who I respect photographically who are close by and willing to share and look at each other's work. There are some I wish I talked with more, and its been awhile, but I'm so glad that I do have the ones who I've been getting closer to. Once I've shared the images, the tangible, beautiful slides, I don't feel the need to share them otherwise. Is it self-aggrandizing? Pride? I would simply say, its having my cup filled with the right stuff.

I will say, looking over the posts that are up on the first page of the blog, my oh my! Some of them are ok, but on the whole, they are definitely not the best work I've been doing (with the exception of Kiera's family, I'm over the moon with those ones)... so I should probably step it up and actually show the good stuff, eh?

unnecessary wordage over. More to come... like real images. I promise.

the motherhood project: laurel

here are a few new images for one of my mom's from the motherhood project (those who choose to continue nursing past the age of one year. You can see more about this project on my website, or contact me if you'd like to be photographed for it).




Both images come from 4"x5" film that is exposed using a large format camera.

MATTER: Julie Jones CNM

Julie
true CARE.
was my personal angel from God
(I believe this quite literally)
when I had W.

thank you for everything. I love you completely
and will never forget the strength I gained as you
enabled me to see the power in myself
during labor.

The memory of pain always recedes. The memory of triumph does not. (ani difranco)

** In case all the above makes no sense: Julie was my midwife when I had W, my son, almost two years ago. She let me switch to her care 3 weeks before my due date (unheard of!), and enabled me to have a birth that was uplifting, unimpeded, and RIGHT for my spirit. I know there was divine intervention in my course of finding her and that it changed the course of my life as a person and as a mother by meeting her and having her provide my care. She is lovely in ALL facets of the word and a God-send. I love you.

Both images are from a large format camera. It is used with 4"x5" film.

Within Walking Distance: noted.