Spain: San Sebastian

It's what he does -- what he's really good at: planning. For our honeymoon, Jose and I went to Spain. SPAIN! Jose planned every city we would visit with Rick Steves' book as our European bible. And we didn't just go for one week or to one city... we went to ... 7? Our first stop (and one of the longest) was Barcelona.

The next stop was San Sebastian. We hopped on a train, slept, read, and arrived to our rainy, chilly destination. San Sebastian has a beautiful beach, but I gave Jose those eyes of "Don't even think about it." By chilly, I mean 50 degrees -- 50 degrees + bathing suit + water don't mix well with me. However, wrapping myself up in a blanket on the beach, with a good book -- that's my thing. Jose doesn't consider "reading" a vacation activity. Luckily the waves put him to sleep and I quietly pulled my book out of his backpack, like a mouse trying not to get caught stealing some cheese.




That's just what San Sebastian was to me. A moment to act like an old couple. Or watch old couples -- there were SO many! Clearly the retirement party was happening here.




But Jose made sure there were at least a few adventures we explored. That's just how he is. Something must be explored BUT planned :) And I am always up for an adventure.



I'll have to save it for the next post! Jose wants to have lunch and my hair is still sporting my turbo-twist towel. Have a fabulous weekend!!

Bellas: Lauren Maduzia

I wish I could show you the pictures from high school. The ones where Lauren and I used my wind up camera, swapped clothes, and ate mac & cheese for energy to create our own photoshoot. Oh wait ... high school? Maybe not.

Ok, now step a little to the left. THERE. That was the perfect spot where the air would tickle our hair like a breeze on a summer day. So maybe we weren't at the beach with an ocean breeze, but the rickety fan would have to do for the shots we wanted. I mean, that's part of the adventure anyway :) We figured it out -- the poses, the clothes, and the styling.

Fast forward 10 years later. Hands down, this was one of my favorite sessions I've ever done. This girl has been in my life since high school and I can't even begin to tell you some of the fun Lauren & I have had and secrets we've shared. We had different math classes, but the same teacher and the same seat. So what did we do? We wrote notes to each other and taped it under the seat for the other to find the next day.

When I went home to Dallas earlier this month, we decided to relive this particular memory. Our photo session. Little did we know I would one day pursue this as a career....

Ok, ok. I'm doing this again instead of more photos. Those were some of my faaavorites, but I've been dying to get to Lauren's session to create this down there. I love what I do. I love the people I get to share this with!

(make sure to watch FULL screen on HD!)

PERFECTION!! Haha. According to Lauren, this is the phrase I use when I photograph. Hey, can't be a bad model if you've reached perfection, right? ;) Love you girl!

Babies: Kent Samuel Lewis

Let's keep the Christmas spirit alive, shall we?

So my best friend Kristen had her first baby a few months ago and I kinda freaked out. Lots of people around me were having babies, and yeah -- I was excited for them, but then Kristen had hers. Then I experienced overwhelming excitement. I wasn't expecting to feel so emotional about it, but there I was ... recalling memories on my blog about us drawing on the bus seats in high school of our driver that looked like a turtle.

True to social media, her husband Billy kept us eagerly posted about her delivery on Facebook. We waited anxiously and then ... Kent was born. A beautiful, chubby cheeked, blue-eyed Lewis.

The day Kristen had her baby, I said: "Today my bestfriend, the face I've been SO familiar with in my childhood, is holding a child of her own." And here is the face I eagerly waited to see....






But there was no way I could post all of them at once. Instead, let's watch them. I think that's the best way to start your week after a weekend full of love :)

(Make sure to select the HD button & press the four arrows to watch in full screen!)

They're so special to me! Have a great week everyone :)

Babies & Children: Joshua Hanson

I heard Sophie's high-pitched barks as I walked up to the door. When I walked in Kristin was scrambling to grab the tiny dog and keep her from waking Joshua up. We had wanted to eat lunch before starting the photoshoot while Joshua napped, but Sophie had plans of her own. Luckily, Joshua seemed unbothered by Sophie's cries.

Kristin is our small group's Martha Stewart. She loves to bake, she's crafty, and she's always taking care of us (usually involves food ;). Her and her husband Derek lead our small group and have the most hilarious toddler -- Joshua. I was pretty excited to do a session with her and Joshua on her fall break because he is old enough to play, get in trouble, and act like most children over the age of 1: chaotic! However, children -- unlike newborns -- require trust. They can't see you as this scary adult that is stalking them with a big, boxy gadget in front of your face. Otherwise they'll just keep running away from you! God has blessed me with an obsession of children and babies, so even if I didn't have a camera, I'm pretty sure I could spend hours with Joshua just playing. Most kids think I'm just a taller kid, which makes sense because I'm definitely a shorty ;)

Here he is waking up from his nap. I LOVE, LOVE how he's only covering one eye. Curiosity and shyness at it's best :)







I had a little helper following me around...


When it was time to eat, Kristin asked him to pray. How can you not LOVE children when you see this?!





I LOVE what I do. Drooling, combining clapping with praying, soggy diapers, an even soggier kiss, plastic microphones, wispy hair, a soft belly, cookie crumbles, the similarities between child and parent, and the smallest moments of absolute bliss. These are the moments and details I want people to remember...








Yes, this one stopped me in my tracks:





And that was my beautiful day with Joshua Hanson :)




View the slideshow HERE.

My Suitcase and I

Same game as last time. Taken with my iphone, and hopefully will remind or make you think of a quote:

"Maybe I'm dreaming you. Maybe you're dreaming me; maybe we only exist in each other's dreams and every morning when we wake up we forget all about each other."
-Time Traveler's Wife

Last time we played Jasmine sent me not only a great quote, but the quote on the photo!

Check it out:

"Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so." -David Gayson

LOVE it!

Now it's your turn!

I might do more photos inspired by The Time Traveler's Wife. It was so hard to choose just one quote.

Couples: Tony & Octavia

I yanked my headphones off and yelled "I can do this for the rest of my LIFE!!!" Jose looks up from his laptop, on the floor (his favorite spot to work at apparently), and says "Good -- because you will." I can only imagine what he thinks, watching me every now and then yell "YESSS!" or "Ahhh, I loooove this part!" to my computer as I edit a slideshow. He rolls his eyes and gets back to his own work. But I always catch him smiling because he knows how happy I am.

I'm a big "lover" of many things. I don't typically just like something -- I'll be head over heels. And when I was working on this slideshow, I was loving EVERY piece of it. I customize everything for people I photograph -- down to the song. I probably spent over an hour just choosing a song because music is SO important to me in a slideshow! Octavia and I were texting (ironically talking about love songs and their lyrics) and she said "I'm in love with love!" and I couldn't agree more. That's actually the whole point of what I do and absolutely felt the immensity of love when I was editing this slideshow. I don't usually do it this way -- post the slideshow first. However, I could barely contain myself with it and believe it's the best way to start the experience. Here it is...

(**Make sure to let it load more than halfway and watch in high quality :)

We drove to South Mountain, without a particular spot in mind. It was already 11:30 a.m. and if you live in the desert, you know you're worried at this point. The light will almost be directly on top of us, and let's not even begin with the HEAT!

And then... seconds upon entering South Mountain Tony spots this beauty:

Not only was I fan of this building's textures, broken rooms, and interesting lines...




But my first thought in seeing the missing roof and walls around me was -- OPEN SHADE!!! Sounds like crazy talk, but photographers understand what I'm saying. There is NO way I could have achieved this soft lighting without some walls or shade near me....

MMM!! The depth!!

Haha... love this :)

She'll take care of you Tony! :)

And of course, my new landscape...

Who knew a desert could be so beautiful?

I was probably telling Tony I couldn't handle his fierceness anymore. Or cracked a stupid joke about the desert and bringing on the "hotness." See Jose? Cheesiness DOES get you places!

Octavia & Tony -- thank you. You didn't know what to expect, but you opened yourself up to me. Honestly, *I* didn't know what to expect and y'all shocked the heck out of me when y'all pulled out the intensity! Tony's face defines FIERCE! haha. And Octavia -- well, the girl is insanely comfortable in front of the camera it's almost crazy how easy she makes it look!

"When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love." -Adele

My New Website!

So here it is(!!!!!): Imaginale Design -- look, read, discover... then come back :)

Where do I even start? I'm full of excitement and emotion to finally launch a website that reflects my style of work. Thankfully this time the steamy laptop was on a TABLE.

The first time I even began building my website I ran off adrenaline and anticipation. I knew I needed a more formal way of presenting my portfolio, but I set my mind on completing it that weekend -- and I did! Unfortunately, when I did that last year, I didn't have a style or brand in mind... no direction. I saw the opportunity on Showit Sites and went for it. Yeah, I would describe myself as impulsive.

Right around the beginning of 2010, wedding planning was in full gear. Though I had amazing photography opportunities with MohkaLife -- I had to put my photography on hold. Soon enough, I left Atlanta to prepare for the wedding and came back from our Spain honeymoon to a new life in Arizona. I had so many photos that were not included on my website! The thought of creating a new gallery when I wasn't even happy with my website was daunting. I thought "why add these fashion photos when my current website doesn't even reflect that part of me?"

I HAD to build this new website, but that meant on God's timing. I knew it would be ridiculous to try and build a new website months before the wedding, in the middle of moving and while I was tying everything up in Atlanta. Trust me, patience is not my virtue -- mainly because excitement takes over.

And then... I got to Arizona. This is what I had been waiting for, right? Except, it wasn't exactly a weekend's work this time. I knew that this re-launch HAD to portray my style -- what DEFINES my photography. But what exactly IS my style?! What kind of clients do I want to hire me? What do I want people to think or feel when they see my photos? Could people look at my photos and say "YES, that's an Alejandra photo." Am I consistent?

I can't really say I'm 100% consistent YET, but I can without a doubt say that I have a more defined objective now. And you know what? This would not have happened had I not impulsively built my first website. There's no way I would know what I absolutely LOVE without having taken photos that I HATED. There is no magical door you walk through and suddenly you understand your brand. Granted, the sooner you can answer the question "What words would you use to describe your photography?" -- the closer you are to defining your style.

Then of course, you must ask yourself "So do those words reflect my CURRENT photos? If I showed my photo to a stranger and asked them to describe it, would any of these words possibly pop out of their mouth?" Try it.

I asked myself this for EVERY page I built on my website. UGH, I wanted to rip my hair out. I wanted to say "blaaaah! I can't keep caring about every detail!" And yes, I definitely yelled in frustration out LOUD sometimes. I wished MANY times I just had money to hire someone to complete what I felt I was incompetent in doing. I felt VERY incompetent sometimes and I had to take breaks. Jose pulled me away from the computer and said "let it go for tonight."

So I did. And those breaks were amazing. Even though I would read blogs and would feel a roar (yes a roar! :) inside of me because I wanted so badly to start MOOOVING -- I needed to learn to wait. Heck, I am still learning because I'm barely at the beginning of this journey right now. And now I can share that out pouring love to you. I might tweak a few things here and there, but I can finally move on from that piece of design. And now I wait some more until God reveals what his desires are for me here in Phoenix.

I'd love to hear your thoughts about my new site! But really, I just want to thank all of my friends, family, and my husband for their support and encouragement. Your comments on here and Facebook push me EVERY day. I hope for those of you pursuing photography, that I can push you as well :) I'll be posting the actual design process and how I did everything to give you a better idea of how it was all created!

Moments right before..

Why am I obsessed with photography? Because sometimes there are moments you need to remember. Or moments that you didn't know looked this way... felt that way.

I want to share one of my first shoots here in Phoenix with Octavia & Tony. A moment that I absolutely loved.

It was

right before

their...



lips met.

More on this lovely pair later.

p.s. Don't forget to vote for your favorite Spain photos! Special surprise for those who voted!