So I realize I am a bit behind in posting pics... its almost Thanksgiving and I'm just now posting pics from October... but I will catch up.. I will ... I will ... I will...
Anyways, about a month ago... I hopped on a boat... then in a car... and went on a little road trip south from the island... down to Chicago while passing through my hometown and southern Michigan.
I had a super cool engagement shoot with Katie & Tom (which you'll see later)... then I stopped and saw Traci & Ken for little Liam's second (in his 4 series) photo shoots. Then on my way through the little lovely cornfield that is my hometown of Ovid where I had two of my oldest and dearest friends ask me to do their portraits....
First we have Traci, Ken & Liam... its so neat to watch this little one grow... I am loving this 4 series photo shoot. It's amazing to see how a little one grows in a year!! . . . This shoot I think Liam's new favorite thing had to have been the taste of leaves... welcome to fall Mr. Liam!!
Then I was so stoked to photograph one of my dearest dearest friends. This girl and I have been the closest of friends since we were in grade school... now I just love seeing her with her family. Her two little ones are the cutest things on earth and SOOO much fun... I loved playing with them in the leaves (I don't think they even realized I was taking pictures half the time) . .Stace, Jason, Samantha & Caleb... I love you guys!!!
And to top off my weekend of portraits... a long lost friend, who I hadn't seen in over 15 years found me to take portraits of her adorable daughter Zoa.... it was incredible to see Anna after all these years and I felt incredibly honored that she asked me to photograph her little one. Although... I think Zoa was more interested in eating twigs!!!
Man... I just love how this photo thing is bringing new and old friends back into my life... what a great excuse to get together... catch up ... and capture a piece of their lives!!
Wow.. I can't believe its only a week away from Thanksgiving... may you all have the joys of re-connection this holiday season!!
Love
A
Anyways, about a month ago... I hopped on a boat... then in a car... and went on a little road trip south from the island... down to Chicago while passing through my hometown and southern Michigan.
I had a super cool engagement shoot with Katie & Tom (which you'll see later)... then I stopped and saw Traci & Ken for little Liam's second (in his 4 series) photo shoots. Then on my way through the little lovely cornfield that is my hometown of Ovid where I had two of my oldest and dearest friends ask me to do their portraits....
First we have Traci, Ken & Liam... its so neat to watch this little one grow... I am loving this 4 series photo shoot. It's amazing to see how a little one grows in a year!! . . . This shoot I think Liam's new favorite thing had to have been the taste of leaves... welcome to fall Mr. Liam!!
Then I was so stoked to photograph one of my dearest dearest friends. This girl and I have been the closest of friends since we were in grade school... now I just love seeing her with her family. Her two little ones are the cutest things on earth and SOOO much fun... I loved playing with them in the leaves (I don't think they even realized I was taking pictures half the time) . .Stace, Jason, Samantha & Caleb... I love you guys!!!
And to top off my weekend of portraits... a long lost friend, who I hadn't seen in over 15 years found me to take portraits of her adorable daughter Zoa.... it was incredible to see Anna after all these years and I felt incredibly honored that she asked me to photograph her little one. Although... I think Zoa was more interested in eating twigs!!!
Man... I just love how this photo thing is bringing new and old friends back into my life... what a great excuse to get together... catch up ... and capture a piece of their lives!!
Wow.. I can't believe its only a week away from Thanksgiving... may you all have the joys of re-connection this holiday season!!
Love
A
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A weekend of Portraits in October
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So for some reason in the heart of this wedding season I decided it would be fun to start offering some island portrait specials. The coolest thing is that out of the woodwork I was getting calls from all sorts of cool people,
First Stacy and her adorable family that were on vacation here on Mackinac. Her two boys were so much fun... they were just running circles around me! I loved it. Its amazing what you can capture in a quick 20 minutes on the island coast.
Next, I get a call from Claire and her mother, that they will be on Mackinac in a few weeks. Claire is about to be a senior, and although she's already had one batch of senior pictures taken, Mackinac is one of her favorite places on earth and would absolutely love to have some taken here. Now this family does it right, 2 nights staying downtown a few at the Grand Hotel. This way they get the full island experience. I planned for two separate photo shoots in order to document both sides of the island. I just love doing senior portraits.
Then finally, my long lost friend Heather from high school (hadn't seen her in 15 years) shows up on the island with her family and tracked me down. It was awesome to get to catch up and photograph her family. Especially since she was around when I picked up my first camera.. . 7th grade, hot pink point and shoot (at least now I'm not cutting off the heads in the pics... well, unless it's on purpose)
One little last thought to leave with you with for the weekend.. this morning, the blinding sun shining in my window woke me up .. although I didn't appreciate nature's alarm waking me two hours before my actual one went off... I did appreciate that this blinding light was that of a cloud's silver lining... it made me stop and take moment and go ahhhhhh!! May you all be blinded by silver linings today... and not left in the shadows of clouds.
Love,
A
First Stacy and her adorable family that were on vacation here on Mackinac. Her two boys were so much fun... they were just running circles around me! I loved it. Its amazing what you can capture in a quick 20 minutes on the island coast.
Next, I get a call from Claire and her mother, that they will be on Mackinac in a few weeks. Claire is about to be a senior, and although she's already had one batch of senior pictures taken, Mackinac is one of her favorite places on earth and would absolutely love to have some taken here. Now this family does it right, 2 nights staying downtown a few at the Grand Hotel. This way they get the full island experience. I planned for two separate photo shoots in order to document both sides of the island. I just love doing senior portraits.
Then finally, my long lost friend Heather from high school (hadn't seen her in 15 years) shows up on the island with her family and tracked me down. It was awesome to get to catch up and photograph her family. Especially since she was around when I picked up my first camera.. . 7th grade, hot pink point and shoot (at least now I'm not cutting off the heads in the pics... well, unless it's on purpose)
One little last thought to leave with you with for the weekend.. this morning, the blinding sun shining in my window woke me up .. although I didn't appreciate nature's alarm waking me two hours before my actual one went off... I did appreciate that this blinding light was that of a cloud's silver lining... it made me stop and take moment and go ahhhhhh!! May you all be blinded by silver linings today... and not left in the shadows of clouds.
Love,
A
Lynsey Fraser Philipsen:
Hey A, great pictures as usual! I love looking through your blog...see it's not just your mom looking at your blog. Can't wait to see some of the pics you did for us....oh the suspense
(09.03.10 @ 10:20 AM)
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Portraits, Portraits, Portraits...
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About a year ago I had the great pleasure of being a part of Traci & Ken's beautiful Mackinac Island wedding... just take a look...

And then about 9 months ago... I get an email from Traci telling me about the newest addition to their family due a little later in the year!! I was so honored and excited that Traci would track me down. And now... I am so stoked to be able to document little Liam's first year... keep your eyes peeled as he grows. I love doing "1st year photo shoots)... every three months I get to see how the little ones have grown and changed... so, last month I took a little drive to the south of Michigan to visit Traci, Ken ... and little Liam in their home!
World... meet Liam... can you believe his personality.. can't miss it!!
(by the way Ken.... thanks for the art direction... great props.. hahaha)
Love,
A

And then about 9 months ago... I get an email from Traci telling me about the newest addition to their family due a little later in the year!! I was so honored and excited that Traci would track me down. And now... I am so stoked to be able to document little Liam's first year... keep your eyes peeled as he grows. I love doing "1st year photo shoots)... every three months I get to see how the little ones have grown and changed... so, last month I took a little drive to the south of Michigan to visit Traci, Ken ... and little Liam in their home!
World... meet Liam... can you believe his personality.. can't miss it!!
(by the way Ken.... thanks for the art direction... great props.. hahaha)
Love,
A
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Traci & Ken welcome little Liam
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So, you've heard me talk about my best friend Gianna, she's the one that said to me ten years ago.. you have to come out to Santa Barbara you can sublease my friends place for 3 montsh... its NOW or NEVER... my thought, "really, I'm not a California girl... I'm going east my friend... NY, Boston... here I come... BUT when someone says, now or never... there's an urgency that must be met.. SO my three months turned into ten years... and I can't thank her enough...
Here we are, how many years later... and G with her amazing family... in fact I'm sure you've seen her little boys Leo and Luca all over my blog. Well, I'm in the process of documenting Luca's first year... we did a shoot with him back in March... and now here he is in July... along with Luca, we've been doing a "lifestyle shoot"... life around the ranch was this day's outing.
G's ranch is one of my favorite retreats on earth... we sit on the front porch drink homemade lemonade .. its just like a CountryTime Lemonade commercial!!
G, you are my sister... and with everyone of these pics, my heart laughs with joy at the pure happiness that shines through you and to your boys! THANK YOU for being in my life and letting me be a part of documenting this golden era!!
Love
A
Here we are, how many years later... and G with her amazing family... in fact I'm sure you've seen her little boys Leo and Luca all over my blog. Well, I'm in the process of documenting Luca's first year... we did a shoot with him back in March... and now here he is in July... along with Luca, we've been doing a "lifestyle shoot"... life around the ranch was this day's outing.
G's ranch is one of my favorite retreats on earth... we sit on the front porch drink homemade lemonade .. its just like a CountryTime Lemonade commercial!!
G, you are my sister... and with everyone of these pics, my heart laughs with joy at the pure happiness that shines through you and to your boys! THANK YOU for being in my life and letting me be a part of documenting this golden era!!
Love
A
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Lemonade with Luca, Laughing with Leo
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I was so excited that Lauren and Jeff found me on the island... I had a BLAST showing them all around the island... shooting pics and documenting their excitement over what had just happened.
Jeff had JUST proposed to Lauren on their trip to Pictured Rocks the day before... and then they were off to the island for a night. When they arrived they thought... geez... we should get some pics taken. It was pouring rain... and the hotel where they were staying (Harborview Inn) called me to see if I were available last minute... so we met up and crossed our fingers for a beautiful day the next afternoon. Well it was... we were having so much fun going to all sorts of island locations. (from the Grand Hotel to the Pink Pony, Anne's Tablet, the park and the harbor). What started as a 1 hour photo shoot ended up being a 2.5 hour island adventure... that ended with an island specialty... Rum Runners at Mary's Bistro... where Matt (the incredible bartender) shared is fancy bar tricks with Jeff.
Lauren and Jeff. .. I cannot tell you how excited i am for the two of you... remember what I had mentioned... you two are such a TEAM... I loved getting to know you and showing you my magical island. Come back and visit!!!
I had such a blast doing this shoot... I would love to do many many more... I love being part photographer... part tour guide!! So, if anyone is heading to the island this summer... look me up I have portrait shoots that begin at $75... and if you mention this blog entry (Lauren & Jeff) I'm offering an extra $30 print credit.
May you all find joy and love in what you are doing.. its not always easy, but its there if you look close enough!!
Have an awesome fourth of July!!! Happy Red White and Blue day!!
Love
A
Jeff had JUST proposed to Lauren on their trip to Pictured Rocks the day before... and then they were off to the island for a night. When they arrived they thought... geez... we should get some pics taken. It was pouring rain... and the hotel where they were staying (Harborview Inn) called me to see if I were available last minute... so we met up and crossed our fingers for a beautiful day the next afternoon. Well it was... we were having so much fun going to all sorts of island locations. (from the Grand Hotel to the Pink Pony, Anne's Tablet, the park and the harbor). What started as a 1 hour photo shoot ended up being a 2.5 hour island adventure... that ended with an island specialty... Rum Runners at Mary's Bistro... where Matt (the incredible bartender) shared is fancy bar tricks with Jeff.
Lauren and Jeff. .. I cannot tell you how excited i am for the two of you... remember what I had mentioned... you two are such a TEAM... I loved getting to know you and showing you my magical island. Come back and visit!!!
I had such a blast doing this shoot... I would love to do many many more... I love being part photographer... part tour guide!! So, if anyone is heading to the island this summer... look me up I have portrait shoots that begin at $75... and if you mention this blog entry (Lauren & Jeff) I'm offering an extra $30 print credit.
May you all find joy and love in what you are doing.. its not always easy, but its there if you look close enough!!
Have an awesome fourth of July!!! Happy Red White and Blue day!!
Love
A
Jenni Paradise:
Beautiful pictures and beautiful couple! Congrats to them and great work as always to you A.
(07.04.10 @ 11:18 AM)
Jenni Paradise:
Beautiful pictures and beautiful couple! Congrats to them and great work as always to you A.
(07.04.10 @ 11:22 AM)
Lauren Freeland:
Thanks for capturing our excitement! You did such a beautiful job, we had such a great time with you on our personal island tour!!
(07.05.10 @ 05:56 PM)
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Lauren & Jeff are ENGAGED!!
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