|Pets| Some Call It Puppy Love

The best and only way I could describe the day I photographed Speedbump. Toaster and Mackie could only be described as: magical. I think it had to do with the combination of things. Like the dogs having human like personalities and great all around photographing conditions.

This is Speedbump. She's the princess of the three and a beautiful old girl.

Usually I wouldn't dare include an image like this, but I feel like it's a nod to those Marc Jacob ads.[visual reference here]

Toaster! She's got a cool story: at one point he hind legs were paralyzed. The vet wanted to put her down, but her family had faith and placed her affected legs in a little cart.One miraculous day, she started walking all on her own! And now, she's just a camera ham.




Mackie is the only boy in the bunch...he is the most stately dog I've ever met so when he looks at me a certain way, I tend to exclaim, "Mackie for President!"






Thanks puppies! For showing me love, letting me play, and teaching me I CAN take photos of animals.

|Ken| Headshots

Ken and I go way back. And by way back I mean after school theater in middle school and then again in our first official theater class freshman year of high school. What? You didn't know I dabbled in acting? It's true! I have the patches to prove it.

At any rate, when I bumped into him earlier this summer, I was delighted to hear that he was going to UC Irvine to pursue a serious acting career. And when he booked me to take his headshots I was ecstatic. Because this dude has it all. Charm, boy next door looks, talent and a huge sense of humor.Photographing Ken that day showed me I could pick back up on my 'crazy' qualities all actors have, and yet, reminded me all over again why I love what I do behind the lens.



This end one is the one we both picked as a the top choice for final printing. What do you think? Would you call this guy in for an audition? I would in a heartbeat!

Ken, I had such a fun time photographing you. I really did. Best of luck to you as you work toward graduation and the rest of your dreams. And, as they say before you take the stage...break a leg.
Till next time. All my love today and always,
<>

|Sarah + Justin|

The temperature was perfect, a breeze was present, and the salty air was a familiar friend. My assistant Lacie and I wore black (as many wedding photographers do) and we were not the slightest bit phased.Then again, how could we be phased? Some people call it paradise. Others call it Santa Barbara...

But what was more perfect, present and familiar that day was Sarah and Justin's relaxed love each other. As the hours whizzed by, friends and family alike caught the pair looking into each others eyes, touching foreheads, and holding hands at every turn. And while these actions are common gestures among newly weds, we all noticed a huge sense of completeness in the both of them. Mix in the laundry list of perfection and the ocean side atmosphere, and you have yourself a total dream boat of a day.

The following images serve as the proof. Enjoy.

I've noticed that most wedding photographers start out working with the ladies. But on that day I decided working with the guys and covering them in their own, special way, was important to me. We headed across the street from the hotel to capture some moments.




Girls make the cutest faces when they do their make up...



The florals for the day were put together by the Matron of Honor and the Mother of the Bride.




Woops! Other hand!



Justin and Sarah partook in a most beautiful sand ceremony. The officiant had some really great sentiments about how the sand they were poring could never be separated; how if they were emptied from their container, they would be left to meander the world combined.

My absolute favorite from the day. Just after their first kiss as man and wife.





Father/daughter dances tug on my heart strings. This did more than usual because Sarah is a self-proclaimed Daddy's Girl.




Sarah and Justin, thank you so very much for making me your one and only choice to capture your most special of days. It has meant the world to me, perhaps more than you'll ever know I'm sure. May you both have a lifetime of happiness and love, relaxed moments and sweet embraces.

All my love today and always,
<3>

|Personal| Excited

Yes. That's me. And that's how excited I get when I'm photographing. Especially if it's Sarah+Justin's wedding.

|Holga| How I love them so

Hello my lovely friends.

Believe it or not I'm somewhat wracked with guilt that I have not posted in some months. Which may or may not sound funny or strange to you, but it's the truth. And I'll let you in on a little secret. I enjoy posting my photo journey immensely and blame the lack of such on the...ahem...day job.

Have no fear y'all. I've been working as hard as I can to not only move away from the day job, but I do have Sarah+Justin's wedding images to post. I'm not sure when they'll be up, but, keep your fingers crossed for this month. September also look like a good month for posting. I'll be taking in a workshop with 2 of the top 10 wedding photographers, Jose Villa and Gene Higa.

For now you get to feast your eyes upon my newest collection of beloved Holgas.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

My dad is a big fan of making pancakes for us ladies in his life; on Father's Day, mom and I decided to give him a rest and do the work ourselves. We struggled to put it all together in a timely fashion. Which made me wonder and appreciate his efforts even more.I didn't take this one,but, that's my super good friend Brandon and I while he was visiting from Florida.
At the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas

My Holga has a built in flash with built in gels. I dig the blue and the red filter makes everything look very devilish.

There's another one that's quite artsy (in my honest opinion),however, I can not seem to find it so, I'll take it as a sign that time again, has run out.

Till next time ladybugs.
All my love, today and always.
<3>

|Karen+David| Engagement

My plan of attack was to meet at the Cultural Arts Center in Karen and my hometown. A very appropriate location indeed; the building formally housed The United Methodist Church before the current building where Karen and I grew up.

As I got out of my car and chassed over to were they were standing, I introduced myself to David. As my palms clammed up and my heart began to run, I decided to ask a question I had been agonizing over. A silly question to some, but an important one to me...I finally mustered up the nerve after contorting my face a bit.
"This might sound strange, but, do you guys kiss?" They both gave me utterly confused looks, laughed, and said yes. "Well, you know, I've come across a few couples in my day that wait until the wedding" I sheepishly explained.

So. How did these two meet?

"Believe it or not, I don't remember the very first time I met him," Karen bashfully stated. "I was next door to my dorm room visiting friends, and he happened to be there as well, fixing a computer. It wasn't till later that week when a group of us went out to dinner and we reintroduced ourselves."

Both just graduated from college with their bachelors degrees. Karen's in Chemistry, David's in Math. I was so humbled to be among such an outstandingly smart couple. Even more humbled to know what they have both braved together in the years they have been together.

They were both naturals in front of my lens and needed very little, if any, direction. Additionally, I give them mad props for embracing my moments silliness.
There had been an antique mall on part of the grounds. I asked one of the guys loading a truck if we could used this little set for five minutes. When I got the okay, there was some delightful squealing on my end.Karen and David braved the benches...even though they were damp with dew.

When I felt I had exhausted all the nook and crannies the grounds had, I asked the two if they had any ideas. "How about where all those chalk drawings are on the ramp?" David piped up. "Just as long as we don't stand in front of the Rocky Horror one" she exclaimed. We moved to a park near my house for the second set. After a walking sequence, Karen asked if they could take off their shoes. He spun her around . She got dizzy. He held her tight as she regained her equilibrium.They both laughed.
Karen and David, it was my extreme delight to photography you. Best of luck to each of you.

Till next time my friends...
All my love today and always,
<3>

First Thing's First

Hello world.

It is so nice to be here and I am so very glad you have decided to join me.
Allow me to somewhat formally introduce myself...why, I'm Alicia Brown!

And while I would like to say that this is my first experience blogging, that would honestly be a big, fat, dirty lie. As it turns out I have been doing this since ohhhh 2001 when I was fifteen or so...

But this is my fresh, clean slate to the photo world. Here is where I have decided to document my photographic journey of a thousand miles.While it may be a road well traveled by those who have come before me, this road is different because this one is all mine.

I must admit, I'm terribly excited (and bit nervous) to see what's in store.

Here are a few quick things you should know about me/things that are on my mind this week:

• Above all things, I believe in love
• After that comes truth, beauty and freedom.
  
• I'm inspired every single day by not only the world around me, but all artists (singers, dancers, photographers, and so on) and their work
• I can not wait to make my mark in this world
• I'm excited for Tuesday. I'll be shooting my very first eSession.
  

Till then.All my love, today and always <3>