holly

i like

her. so much.

instants

personally, i love this. 

such a great face.

halfsies

this crop and composition seems to be calling to me lately.

fuji 100-c instant film. 4x5". f/5.6 @ 1/4sec. thanks for holding still.
window light
on location @ carolee's.

what its been like:

I've done the market half of my dates, 2 out of 4.

Watching people's responses (all joyful! yaya!) show up in the blogosphere, on their facebook pages, and via my fanpage, its been really cool. This week you'll be seeing some more scanned negs from the black and white instants I shot on the 16th, but alas, my color ones (which had me emoting. LOUDLY. ) are truly one of a kind. The negs get funky color (that can be very cool sometimes) when the back is bleached off. So the prints are truly their own little art pieces.

One of the greatest things about the 16th was watching some plans come to fruition. A fellow photographer  was so taken with the idea of instants that she planned it into a project she has been doing (which is breathtaking), and I was able to link her with a painter. It was beautiful. You can check out her post about it. I'm flattered, to say the least. I ended my day creating images of her.

Here's another from that day:

T at a BBQ

this was the only picture i could snap of him. stains? oh yeah, those are from sharing bratwurst with E. I love this picture. So much. My american-man husband, doing the man thing at a BBQ. Can't describe it more than that.

instants

Fuji Instant. Measures 4x5". Straight outta camera. From the other day out with the ladies. Like what I'm doing at the market.  Jessica is gorgeous, talented and real. This image = worth every second to haul my camera down steps. The instant gratification is so tasty. Especially when the results are this divine. Slowing down and taking the time to really really look makes for  beautiful beautiful images. Holding this print was a highlight to my week, and also a rejuvenation for me about images I create.

beautiful beautiful beautiful, beautiful girl

at a party awhile ago, me and a dearie tried to get over stranger fears when photographing. Mine is somewhat beaten out of me because I have been known to ask strangers to come in and be subjects for my personal studies (the images are worth the few minutes of sounding like a moron).

this is my personal stranger of the evening. asked to photograph her. her response was beyond sweet. I love her face, so classic.

the test shot

This is Cecilia. She's my assistant this summer. I'm beyond pleased with her. On Saturday, at the market (next confirmed dates are 8/13 and 9/17. mark your calendar), she sat for the test when I switched film stocks. I kinda wanted an image of her anyway.... and didn't really need to test. don't tell. I love this image. I love the color stock of instant. I love how utterly unique it is. The negatives get beyond funky when you bleach off the back. They have their own appeal, of course, but for now, the positive is embedded in my heart.

two matrons

On the right is Dixie Snow Huefner. She recently was awarded Distinguished Woman of the Year. If you pay attention to Utah politics at all, you may have heard in recent years about the push for an independent ethics board for our legislature. Listening to her speak was enlightening, to say the least. Talking to her during their commission was awe-inspiring but also rekindled my activist gene. Her mother (on the left), is her main inspiration, she said.

wednesdays: bookshop

I love the written word. I hope the countless hours of story-reading to my children (by me and T both) helps them love reading as much as my mom reading to myself my siblings created a love of reading in all of us. E is rummaging in my purse, but W is "reading" a book. W and I just read a book that was a little scary for him (didn't know) but it was touching to watch him be brave til the end of the story.

nephew!

I am so thankful to my sister for making me an aunt. I wasn't one until this little guy came. I am grateful to have a sister I can share with, about birthing, breastfeeding, everything. I seriously have no idea what I'm going to do when she and her husband (and baby) move out east for law school in the fall. Just the thought makes me have a pit in my stomach. The closeness that I have with my sisters is the stuff of which dreams are made.  I am thankful that I have saved millions of dollars in therapy bills because of the bond I have with my sisters. smirk. Seriously, though. I have no idea how I was chosen to be with these amazing women, so fused, linked and bonded. I especially like that I have the privilege of hearing their insight on my woes and emotional upheavals. But even more it is knowing that there is no conflict/jealous/anger over each other's accomplishments. We are truly happy for one another. Of course I have relationships that are similar with other women (and I count myself lucky) but to have 4 (four!) amazing women who get me, and that I can help and support like its second nature-- it is just a special thing. My relationship with them is a breeding ground to make me better in all of my interactions.

I'm especially thankful that because of them, I can still be not quite done with processing an experience in my life. That is a heaven-sent gift. That I am not alone with this.

ring light.

35mm slr.

fujifilm.

What I Submitted

to explain:

the top image was the first one i thought of when i heard about this competition. I feel like it is the way my work is headed right now.

the second one is the one of my strongest pieces from a commissioned series (did you know i accept commissions? I do.)

the third- week 31 of my sizes series i did when i was pregnant with e. i love the colors, i love how softly the focus fades (gotta love large format and skewed focal planes. yummy).

SO, we'll see. I guess I hear in a month. Congrats to my friends Kiera, Carolee, Katrina, and who also entered.

last from the studio day

I was pleasantly surprised to find some very interesting potential models for my creative work this year. Especially this one.

MATTER: Briana

briana

she's so beautiful, inside and out.

so thankful I was commissioned to do images of her.

she's a midwife for homebirth.

she was at E's, support of two, i had.

you should be a fan of her.

the january roll

so i stayed true to my word about shooting a roll a month. part of the reason i wanted to do this was that we lost ALL of our snapshots from 2010 through a fight to the finish with our computer, i won't go into details. but it won.

these are the ones that speak to me from last month. i really love the one of W. I love how craze his eyes look. I completely remember exactly when i took it. And it says so much about his little "taking it all in so quick" state.

february is a color roll.

ordered

quite a while ago, I met a gorgeous pregnant lady in the smith's parking lot. She was breathtaking. I had her come into the studio.

a month or so back, I got a email from her, their computer had crashed and they lost all their pictures. She wondered if I still had the ones we did (yes).

Open to the beauty of film. It is fairly indestructible. Here is one of the ones I printed for her. I love love love it.

technical difficulties are great during the holidays...

Not sure exactly what is up with my webhosting account, but for now, please send all emails to alishastamper (at) gmail (dot) com.

Its frustrating. The runaround is the most frustrating part.

But, when I'm frustrated, looking at this helps... so here's one for you just in case you're also feeling a little need for a pick-me-up:

MATTER: jacob

For ready laughs, being a fabulous actor, for looking forward and up towards your siblings. For striving for educational heights.