A Yearning, A Story

I don't know where it started. I went to high school for theater. My acting? Sub par. Creating stories? Fascinating. I would make up monologues in front of the mirror as a child -- characters that would cry, characters in rage, and characters in love. My improv teacher asked me to take on playwriting.

Movies began to stir me, and in high school when I saw Memento it was the first movie that gripped me and begged me to be a part of something like this. Nike commercials fascinated me. Throw in the right DP and song... music videos inspired me.

I went to college for Film... but it was all theory. I wrote plays, I took photos, and I read a lot. I was always drawn to photography, but never fathomed I would do it professionally. And slowly, this past year has revealed what ingredient God has composed me of: story telling.

(collaboration with Jasmine :)

When I started doing video for the first time this year, I would often be asked how these shots occurred to me. I couldn't explain it because... I don't see them any other way. It's the way that I, Alejandra, visualize a story. And I realized that as a photographer, my goal was always to tell the story of my client.

I have NO idea what this will entail and what this says about my business in the future... but oh it feels so good to better understand these yearnings I've grown up with. Jose brought a book from work home that I had no interest in reading at all titled Now, Discover Your Strengths. He told me he had heard how good it was, and in a spontaneous moment one day, I picked it up from the coffee table and started to read it.

On finding your talent: "While your spontaneous reactions provide the clearest trace of your talents, here are three more clues to keep in mind: yearnings, rapid learning, and satisfactions. [...] Your strongest connections are irresistible. They exert a magnetic influence, drawing you back time and again. You feel their pull, and so you yearn." How I love the word yearn. It describes the feeling perfectly.

He defines strength as = talents + knowledge + skills. Buckingham and Clifton basically break down the concept of "strengths" so that we learn what people mean by capitalizing on them and managing our weaknesses. VERY interesting read to say the least. I think we all have an idea of what comes naturally to us, but to dive into a deeper understanding of it and apply it professionally is new to me. A dreamer is nothing without the right tools and knowledge. That's why I consider myself lucky to have married an engineer.... he helps ground me every now and then. But not without tainting him with some spontaneity ;)

I leave you with a video Jose found by Albin Holmqvist that reinforces my passion of story making...


Anything that stirs you up like this? What makes you yearn?