Aliza Werner Photography

Heart-Shaped Pizza and Just Being There

2011-02-14T22:48:00.005-06:00

One day out of the year, chocolate, flowers, and jewelry are our nationally recognized symbols of romance and love. But my hubby and I have been different since the beginning. Neither of us were ever huge fans of reserving romance for one particularly dictated day, nor were we big fans of the usual spoils of February 14th. Instead, we decided to celebrate in our own way. The steakhouse dinner? Nah. A dozen red roses? Nah. My husband's staged living room performance of "Truly Madly Deeply"? Nah. Recreating some of our favorite dishes from our Indonesian honeymoon for dinner? YES, PLEASE! But that's just us. Seeing images friends have posted throughout the day...heart-shaped pizzas, pink pancakes, dancing to favorite songs with sweet babies, great seats at a basketball game, pink tutus, naked babies covered in cake, and scanned photos from decades ago...make me smile...everyone does V Day their own way. One friend mentioned that just returning home to see her very-busy-always-on-call-doctor husband there unexpectedly for the evening was a gift all in itself. Just like her, I hope you and your valentines (spouses, boyfriends/girlfriends, children, best friends) spend time appreciating every little moment that adds up to this crazy good life. Although, I could go for an impromptu living room a capella rendition of Hall and Oates' "You Make My Dreams"...or "Maneater"...hmmm...something to think about for next year.

My valentine and me on our honeymoon!
Bali, Indonesia

Aliza

It's An Anniversary Today!

2011-02-03T21:40:00.008-06:00

Get a cake! Light some candles! Sing a song!

It's my one year anniversary today!

With my blog.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

One year ago, exactly, I shared my first post, which actually took weeks to compose. I wanted no less than total satisfaction with every aspect of the post; the beginning of a journaling experience just as much for my readers, as it is a record for me. Thank you to all of you who follow along and check back regularly! Without you, I'd pretty much just be talking to myself, and I do a fair amount of that anyway without blogging, so I appreciate you taking the time to stop by, and for sharing my words and photos with others.

One year in the books, and I'm only getting started.

Aliza

If You Would Have Told Me...

2011-01-31T22:22:00.012-06:00

If you would have told me...

...that twenty-two years after I received my first camera , a red plastic 35 mm Kodak, I would be shooting with an incredible Canon 5D Mark II...
...that I would travel nearly four-thousand miles across an ocean to shoot an international wedding...
...in the dark room of my high school that I would be making photographic art with a digital camera and computer and not with C41 film and chemical baths (which I actually really miss!)...
...that I would be an artist, not an imitator...
...that my summer weekends would be filled with brides, babies, and blogging...
...I would be witness to amazing stories of adoption, growing families, and answered prayers.
...I would be writing this heartbreaking, yet hope-filled post...
...I would be lucky enough to photograph neighbors, life-long friends, in-laws, and a nephew...
...And watch little ones grow and grow...

If you would have told me...

I probably would not have believed you, but I would have thought that whomever experienced all of that would be one lucky chicken. And for every ounce of good fortune I have experienced, I am sure to stop in the middle of life's chaos to appreciate every little morsel of it. At the end of the day, I am the one behind the camera, but more importantly, behind me are friends, family, clients, colleagues, and mentors. There are not enough ways to thank them all...but that's another post entirely...

Here I am, and here I go...setting off on a journey through 2011. So, go ahead and tell me...it's going to be amazing and inspiring, isn't it? I just might believe you this time.

Aliza

Happy Everything!

2010-12-23T00:06:00.002-06:00

A proper adieu to 2010 will be on its way just after the new year. The blog will be on hiatus until 2011, after we dig out from wrapping paper and sugar cookies. In the meantime, we'll be celebrating the holidays in a warm, colorful, and relaxing way. The camera's coming along, so I'll be sure to share our favorite moments.

Happy Everything!

Aliza

The B Family

2010-12-15T21:42:00.005-06:00

An unseasonably warm and sunny day greeted us for the B family session. Throw in three generations, a bucketful of smiles, and two cute little peaches with blond hair and bright eyes, and you've got a recipe for some great photo memories. It's always a treat when the wee ones ham it up for the camera...so innocently adorable. A few favorites from our morning session...

The B Family | Glendale, Wisconsin

Aliza

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...Chanukah?

2010-12-13T22:20:00.007-06:00

The holiday season goes a little like this vignette from the Werner household:

(Setting: Werner living and dining rooms. The scene begins as Aliza and Nick walk in. Aliza places the Chanukah menorah on the table and sets up the candles. The room smells strongly of pine. Nick turns on the satellite radio...)

Radio: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...Everywhere you go...

(Aliza strikes a match and lights the middle shamash candle.)

Radio: Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again...With candy canes and silver lanes aglow...

(With the Christmas tune playing on the radio in the background, A&N huddle around the menorah.)

A&N: Baruch atah adonai elohainu melech ha'olam asher kiddishanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik nar shel Chanukah.

(As Aliza lights the first night candle...)

Radio: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...Toys in every store...

(With the menorah's candles flickering a cozy orange glow...)

A or N: Now that the menorah is lit...let's go decorate the tree!

(A&N head to the Christmas tree ten feet away to begin the annual detangling of lights, search for escaped metal hooks, and discovery of memories represented in the collection of ornaments. As each bauble and trinket is hung on the branches, Aliza sees one last shiny item at the bottom of the box. It's a delicate menorah ornament...a gift last year from her mother-in-law. On the tree is goes.)

Radio: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas; Soon the bells will start...And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing...Right within your heart.

Annnnnnd...scene.

The Eighth Night of Chanukah
The lit menorah glows brightly in front of the Christmas tree.

Aliza

These Boots Are So Cute!

2010-12-06T19:30:00.005-06:00

I have buckets full of beautiful babies and families and weddings and travel and news to blog...but the spots dancing in front of my eyes are nature's way of saying, "Peel yourself away from the computer!" Those little guys need a rest from the screen tonight. So, just a shot from our weekend away. Our friends N&M invited us along for our annual trek to Green Bay for a Packer game. We. Were. FREEZING! Over the years, I have acquired many fancy pieces of outdoor gear to help get me through the torture that is a Wisconsin winter. This year, my purchase was a new pair of boots! Not just any boots. Not anything like the boots the little girls in the Gap commercial sang about last holiday season ("These boots are so cute! These boots are so cute!"...has anyone gotten that out of their head yet, a year later?!) These are the kind of boots that people see and say, "Hey, killer boots, man!" (to quote my husband quoting an awful Jim Carrey movie). We are talking, learn how to walk again while wearing these boots. Soles several inches thick. Fleece. Fur. Squishy padding on the bottom. Despite ambling along looking like a penguin with bricks strapped to my feet, they were totally worth it. Not a single toe got cold during those hours out on the tundra. They were probably my best purchase of the year, as sad as that sounds.

So bring on the snow and windchill! I'll shuffle into my boots and seventeen layers on top and finally laugh in the face of Old Man Winter. Ha! I can't wait to rock them again!

Hubby and me | Lambeau Field | Green Bay, Wisconsin
December 2010

Oh, and the Packers won! GO PACK!

Aliza

Sneak Peek: Lorenz Family

2010-11-30T21:05:00.003-06:00

Searching for the perfect stone...

...mission accomplished.

Just a quick peek...a beautiful family session of a mama and her two lovable boys on the beach.

Aliza

The McDevitt Family

2010-11-22T17:22:00.003-06:00

The weather was threatening to make a turn for the worse, but the girls were ready to head straight for the beach. Three girls with piercing, bright eyes, a sprinkling of freckles, and mile-wide smiles, will win every time. The family of five meandered their way down the tall wooden staircase to the lakefront at Klode Park, one of my favorite parks in the city. Large boulders stretch from the shore and small waves lap at the sand. Between hugs for mom and dad, the little girls wandered the beach, making mini sand castles, tossing rocks to the waves, and dipping their toes in the water. The forewarning breezes ruffled their dresses and wisps of hair. The storm did not catch us...we danced between the raindrops as we arrived back at our cars.

McDevitt Family | Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin

Aliza

Friday Thoughts: The Quiet Season and Sparkle

2010-11-19T16:45:00.006-06:00

As the last leaves spiral to the ground, the photo season lulls into its own hibernation. Besides the brand new babes born this winter, I am already looking forward to next year's babies, family shoots, and weddings.

This incredibly beautiful wedding, and many more to share with you as 2010 draws to a close. Images from spring and summer should keep us all warm as the first frozen flakes begin to dance on the chilly wintry winds. So much to still blog, so faithful followers, visit often. If you're new, thanks for stopping by and get ready for more!

Lush and dreamy and accentuated with sparkle.

Aliza

Three Girls in Dark Glasses in Indiana

2010-11-17T22:17:00.004-06:00

We ran down hills through tall grasses and reeds. Leaves of gold, rust, and fire, cooled only by droplets of green. An earnest sun. A motionless spider. A cold marble slab covered in carmelized sweets. Bright blue eyes and a ride in a minivan. Holding a day, a moment in time before it races on. Two girls in dark glasses. Racing down the hill. One girl in dark glasses. Click the camera quickly. It looks like they were flying. Click the camera quickly to keep the day. And hold it still.

The day. It flew.

Bloomington, Indiana | October 2010

Aliza

Let Them Eat Cake! The Tale of Thirty

2010-11-08T17:39:00.009-06:00

Twenty-nine years ago, I sank my entire face into the corner of an epic cake at my first birthday party. Let's describe this cake...it was most likely some flavor of delicious, but its standout feature was the frosting design. You might want to be sitting for this one. It was layered high in sugary smooth buttercream and covered from corner to sweet corner in, literally, every color of the rainbow. Most parents pick some type of theme for their child's birthday party, like jungle animals or Sesame Street Muppets. I'm guessing my parents' theme had something to do with RAINBOWS! And CLOUDS! And VISUAL OVERSTIMULATION! A huge rainbow splashed its hues across the cake. Plump pastel rosettes were piped around the border. A cotton-ball cloud advertised "Happy 1st Birthday Aliza". It must have been pure joy for the senses as I dove in, sans utensils, for the time honored tradition of slobbering on and grabbing fistfuls of the cake that my parents then lovingly served to our guests.

Now, you realize that a Hall of Fame cake this incredible cannot be retired forever. We agreed, it was time to bring back the champion. The record-setter. The standard by which all insanely decorated cakes are compared. And for no other event than *sigh*.........*sigh again*.....my 30th birthday!

Despite what squinty-eyed disbelieving bartenders who glare at me regularly might insist, I have not, in fact, lied by a decade and a half over on my driver's license. It's simply true. I have hit the big THREE-OH. Instead of celebrating with champagne and caviar (which I eat every night anyway, if not for lunch, as well), we decided to keep humor and color and fun on the table in the form of a to-die-for replica of my first birthday cake, right down to the candle on the cake. Moist chocolate cake, vanilla mousse, and about three feet of buttercream on top. Not just any buttercream, but melt-in-your-mouth primary colors. And pastel, too. As the design was a funhouse of "loud", I closed my eyes, and surrounded by cake-savoring family and friends, took a mouth-watering bite. I couldn't help but smile, thinking how the past thirty years have been a busy and wild ride. And like my cake, life has been a colorful mish-mash of deliciousness. I'm looking forward to discovering even more in life that is colorful and delicious over the next decade with the kind of reckless abandon that makes one dive face first into frosting-topped pastries.

The dive into the first birthday cake...

The thirtieth birthday cake...

Aliza

Bennett Eric | Ten Months

2010-10-28T09:29:00.016-05:00

"I would like to get one good photo of him for his first birthday invitations," my sister-in-law, Katie, says to me of her son, Bennett. "Can you bring your camera to Sunday dinner for a couple shots?" My husband's family tries to get together every few Sundays for a nice quiet family dinner. Okay, I can't even keep a straight face on that one! By the time we leave, we are always full with mama's home cooking and thoroughly convinced that nieces and nephews and their boisterous ways silence even the most faint ticking sounds of any biological clocks that dare to be audible to my hubby or me. But for all their noise and energy and excitability, we love all three of them to pieces. The youngest is Bennett, who will be one year old this month. Katie and I decided a mini-shoot of Bennett would be sure to capture a moment worthy of his first birthday party invitations. In Grammie and Grampie's backyard we set him down in the grass for what I assumed would be a relatively easy ten minute session.

Twenty minutes later, I walked back into the house sweating like I had just outrun a pack of hungry wolves. Collapsing onto the couch ready for a nap and some of mama's spaghetti, Bennett was just warming up. The previous twenty minutes consisted of him making it as difficult as possible for his Auntie Leez to do her job. He would sit, I would get set, he'd crawl away. He would smile, I would focus, he would look elsewhere. He would kneel in the grass, I would kneel in the grass, and he would roll over. Always two steps behind him, I ran around to shoot in whichever direction he decided to go. Several times I tucked my camera under my arm, scooped up the baby in the other, waddled over to a plush patch of grass, plopped him down, begged him to stay put, finally got set, and off he went. And, of course, his biggest smiles naturally came when I was in the middle of changing lenses. In the end, I had a lot of "action" shots, but also many that caught the essence of the little man. Bennett is ALL boy...as witnessed below in his tough-guy black eye, the blades of grass he mistook for the salad course before his strained carrots hanging out of his mouth, and the "I dare you to get a sharply-focused photo of me" sassypants look in photo #2. But honestly, the photo shoot-slash-aerobic workout was all worth it to have memories of those striking blue eyes, crinkly nose, and tongue wagging out. He'll be walking and running soon, learning to play baseball with his Uncle Nick and helping to grill burgers with his Uncle Andy, and good luck to me to try to keep up! Yup, it was worth it...black eye, sweat-soaked clothes, and all.

Bennett Eric | Ten Months

Aliza

Cole | Three Months

2010-10-19T22:15:00.004-05:00

With a sparkle in his eye and a contagious smile, baby Cole snuggled into a blanket to capture his three-month shoot. Big sister Chloe couldn't resist jumping in to love on her brother for several shots. For an energetic three year old, she was calm and thoughtful near her baby brother. She pressed kisses onto his head and insisted on driving his stroller on our walk through the zoo later on that day. Cole has a loving big sis to look up to already, and it will be an amazing experience to watch them grow together. A brother and sister with identical initials, bound to be best friends.

Cole | Three Months

Aliza

Sneak Peek: Grace Adelle | One Year

2010-10-11T19:59:00.006-05:00

It's hard to believe this little bundle is already one year! Spitting image of her daddy and bubbly personality of her mama, this sweet miracle will have stolen your heart before you even realize it's gone.

Sneak Peek: Grace Adelle | One Year

Aliza

Bennett Eric | Three Months

2010-10-05T18:02:00.007-05:00

I was ready to post one of my latest super-cute baby shoots today, but realized I just couldn't without showing you his first shoot at three months. Now, normally, I would not reach back several months for a post, as my images/ideas/equipment are growing and evolving, but this will be an exception to the rule (besides the photo I included on my first post ever!).

First-time parents Katie and Todd snapped baby Bennett into his brand new Brewers baseball onesie, complete with appliqued retro logo, a gift from his aunt and uncle, for his shoot. He was a cool customer resting in dad's arms and hanging out with mom. Dad, a Disney fan and high school basketball coach, influenced the design of Bennett's room. A mobile of Mickey Mouses (Mickey Mice?) holding footballs and basketballs floated above the crib. He even had baby slippers in the shape of basketballs on his feet! What a sporty lad.

I must admit that Bennett is my exception to the rule shoot-from-the-past post because he just happens to be my nephew! And since he is our only nephew, he is also currently our favorite nephew. I am also the cool aunt, if you are following this equation carefully, who bestowed the aforementioned onesie upon him even before he was born (hubby and I could NOT risk any Cubs fans getting a hold of him first!). Another fun fact? Bennett and I are twins. Granted, a couple decades separate us, but we get to share our special day! We have already decided that we each need our own cake should we ever celebrate together...he was totally cool with that...we even shook on it with a highly complicated handshake routine. So, with no further ado...heeeeere's Bennett! His ten-month photos are just around the corner.

Bennett Eric | Three Months

Aliza

Sneak Peek: Cole | Three Months

2010-09-29T22:46:00.004-05:00

You thought Chloe was cute?! Well, you were totally right. Just before we hopped over to the zoo to capture her three years of adorableness, we spent time cuddling up to her new baby brother, Cole, for his three months of adorableness. With eyes as big and bright as his older sister, and a sweet simple smile, he's bound to steal dozens of hearts. Although, I'm sure he already has.

Sneak Peek: Cole | Three Months

Aliza

Chloe | Three Years

2010-09-27T13:30:00.008-05:00

Three-year old Chloe loves animals. I tagged along with Chloe, her mom, and baby brother Cole, as we explored the zoo together. Racing to keep up with her, I hurried to snap shots before her attention wandered to the next exhibit, the next animal, and ultimately to the playground. With her baby-hair curls bouncing as she skipped along in her purple floral dress, she was eager to pose, and even directed the shoot at times saying, "Aliza, let's do a picture here." Chloe would climb up on a fence, sit tall, turn her head and throw a smile my way, her big brown doe eyes sparkling in excitement. I have been lucky enough to photograph Chloe growing up. It's hard to believe how big she is now compared to her 18-month shoot, and is proud to be a big girl and big sister. Baby brother Cole will appear on the blog soon with his three-month old shoot!

Chloe | Three Years

Aliza

Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue....Aquarium Tank

2010-09-15T18:31:00.003-05:00

I don't know what it is about this photo, but I just keep staring at it. A baby beluga (cue the Raffi music) followed its mother, swimming through the murkiness of the deep salt water tank at the aquarium. As we watched from the viewing deck, many feet under water, mother and newborn traced circles around the depths of the tank. I couldn't help but wonder if the mother was purposefully teaching her child to swim and glide through the water, or inadvertently demonstrating patterns of boredom in captivity. The circular swim was mesmerizing. Each time their bulbous white bodies darted gracefully (yes, gracefully) past us, I aimed to freeze a moment with my camera, but with the very low light and surprising speed with which they sailed by, the images were nothing but a blur. So, I timed it differently. To get them as they swam towards us. Far enough away. Zoomed in. I love that the moment is so dark. So quiet, almost haunting. Hardly discernible. Just the curve of their bellies-up bodies, a hint of light from above. Just mama and baby, circling their own private ocean.

Aliza

"My Kind of Town, Chicago is..."

2010-09-13T16:33:00.006-05:00

We boarded the early crack-o-dawn train, and sat next to passengers on their way to work. Home. Anywhere but here. The red-head in frizzy braids and sweatpants next to us conducted a loud private conversation on her phone. After hearing about her hangover aftermath at her third shift waitressing job due to five too many Red Bull and vodkas the previous evening, I was thankful that I had toasted my own bagel that morning. Newspapers whipped open. Used college textbooks were highlighted. Lipstick was applied. iPhone apps were downloaded. We watched the farm fields and small towns blur past us. And it was no time before we got there. We stepped outside and immediately looked up at the buildings, and the sun streaming through the few cotton ball clouds.

Our bitter rivals in all games athletic, their pride resting on their ketchup-less hotdogs and thick-crusted pizza, chewing gum and wind, gangsters and Oprah. Big buildings. Big airport. Big history. And all that jazz. Chicago. We spent the day 103 floors up, and under the sea before a sleepy, and quiet, ride home on the rails.

Chicago, Illinois
(Willis Tower Skydeck, Shedd Aquarium)

Aliza

Mushroom in the Rain

2010-08-30T16:21:00.010-05:00

I had an entirely different post in mind to share today after my hiatus from the blog. But sometimes things don’t always go as planned…in business, in art, in life.

When I was very young, my aunt, uncle, and cousins from Colorado came for a visit.

I was at an age where memories of it now play more like random snapshots of moments, rather than a true overview of what really occurred. The funny thing about childhood memories is that while we regard the details we remember as quirky and by chance, we grow to realize that they contain the most honest essence of whatever it is we are recollecting.

The snapshot in my mind from my Colorado family’s visit has always been this: My older cousin Colette hunkered down next to me on the floor of our living room. Sitting on the green shag carpeting, we huddled in close as she read one of my favorite books to me, “Mushroom in the Rain”; a story about various animals who squeeze underneath a mushroom to take shelter from the pouring rain. The animals continue to wonder how any more of them will be able to fit under the mushroom’s cover, until they discover the mushroom’s magical secret about the rain. I especially coveted this book because it was a library book, which meant it had to be returned, and I’d have to hunt it down again to read it in the near future. The image of sitting close to my cousin, admiring her natural warmth and beauty, sensing the bustle and buzz from the other family members, hearing the crack of the book’s spine, and smelling that library book smell as the book fell open hits me every time I think of Colette.

Last summer, Colette decided to make a trip back to see her family in Wisconsin for our wedding. We were thrilled to hear of her plans and especially more so since she had learned the previous year that she would have to battle breast cancer. News like that makes for longer and tighter hugs, and after not seeing her for years, our rehearsal dinner naturally turned into an all out hug fest! Months of highs and lows had us wondering how she would be feeling around dozens of relatives and a high-energy weekend. Looking beautiful in a black dress she boogied down on the dance floor with us, beating the cancer that night, not physically, but with her spirit, vibrant smile, and positive attitude.

That weekend, she pulled my three sisters and me aside to give us each a gift she had made for us. They were necklaces on which hung charms etched with the messages: “Love life. Live life.”, “Follow your heart.”, “Trust in your dreams.”, and “Be Free.” (see photos below). Despite a cancer that would only continue to grow and challenge her body, these were the messages she wanted to ensure remained with us.

This morning I received the news. Colette passed away yesterday morning. 38 years old. Surrounded by her husband and family, she was finally allowed to…be free.

Even though Colette was the one facing this aggressive disease, she was always one to see the glass half full, to give of her heart, and to demonstrate resilience. In a crazy irrational way, her battle with cancer caused our family to be inspired by her unwavering determination to live life fully, to appreciate every random mental snapshot, and to remember to cling tightly together and to shelter each other to weather the worst storms.

Do you know what happens to mushrooms in the rain? They grow.

They also cause whoever is gathered beneath them to stay close, be thankful, humble, and reflective until the sun shines again.

All photos from our wedding rehearsal dinner July 10, 2009. Pictured are my sisters, me (green dress), and cousin Colette (blue shirt & scarf).
Many thanks to A&A Photography for capturing these images...it goes to the heart of why we take pictures at all.

Love and peace finally...xox

Aliza

Something Blue...and Green

2010-08-10T14:46:00.005-05:00

My mind is racing today.
I am so super excited.
I feel so super lucky.
I know I am so super blessed.
Because...
Something big is about to happen.
Something inspiring, humbling, sacred...

I thought I should let you know that the blog is going to take a snooze for a couple weeks as an incredible opportunity has come my way. I'm gathering, packing, checking, double-checking, and triple-checking all my photo equipment as I prepare to shoot the wedding of a lifetime. All details to be sliced and diced on the blog soon...I'm zipping my lips and throwing away the key until my return to the blog-o-sphere!

To get specifically into this wedding's spirit..."something old (10 years ago)" and...

..."something blue (and green...(yup that's me on the coast!))"...

Aliza

Friday Thoughts: Up Nort' Wisconsin

2010-08-06T21:22:00.007-05:00

Every year my husband's family travels "up nort' Wisconsin" with fifty of our closest family and friends. We rent out the same resort (I use this term verrrry loosely) and bum around for a week. I only took along my little Sony Cybershot point-&-shoot, because, believe it or not, I like to actually just stretch out face down on my pink South Beach Miami towel (talk about a cheap & useful souvenir!) and get my tan on. There's nothing like arriving at this resort (which could be marketed as a "diamond in the rough" or "an antique") after our four-hour drive with full bladders and finding our cottage's toilet sitting in the shower while the owner was crawling around trying to fix the plumbing. Welcome to vacation! At some point in between watching my nine-month old nephew eat half of the beach, mixing up enough bloody marys to quench the thirst of the entire population of a small African country, whacking my 10,000th skeeter, recording an acapella version of "Single Ladies" with my three year old niece on my hubby's iPhone (hours, literally hours of entertainment), building campfires that would make Smokey the Bear quit his job in frustration, having a "tea and crumpets" (read: "cran-apple juice and Cheez-Its") party on the beach with enough children to compose a decent-sized pre-school classroom, making my mother-in-law a salami sandwich so good that when it accidentally dropped in the sand, she shook it off and still ate it, and marveling that the "quaint" and "cozy" cottages have defeated all laws of physics and are still standing...I managed to grab this shot of friends both young, and, um, younger...ahhhh, vacation...nothing like it...

Rhinelander, Wisconsin | August 2010

Aliza

Friday Thoughts: Peek-a-Boo!

2010-07-30T17:22:00.006-05:00

Peek
a
boo.
I
see
you!

One of my favorite "in between" moment shots from Chloe's three-year shoot...coming soon.
Check out her 18 month shoot here!

Aliza

How Many Hearts Do You Count?

2010-07-20T22:16:00.007-05:00

Sometimes a girl from the city needs to surround herself with the opposite. The crowded space filled with buildings, deadlines, meetings, emails, appointments, and housework fades away. The space fills up with hikes in the park, wine tastings, crossword puzzles, bookstore browsing, and mugs of hot coffee. Just a few hours in the car and we're there. Door County. Our getaway at times when Italy's not an option.

This is what we saw.
Do you see the hearts? How many do you count?

Aliza

One Year Ago...

2010-07-12T22:12:00.012-05:00

One year ago I...

woke up early, threw back the covers, and jumped on the bed

stood at the top of a hill hearing the dreamy notes of a guitar swimming through the air

walked slowly to make the moment last

sneaked a peek at my grandmothers over my shoulder

kissed and kissed and kissed

wore purple 3 1/2 inch heels. On the beach.

ate my entire dinner

laughed so hard when he said "I agree with everything Aliza just said."

was hoisted into the air on a chair for the loudest, wildest, most energetic Hora ever

wore gold 1/2 inch flip flops. On the dance floor.

scarfed down a pizza at two in the morning

...married my best friend.

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary yesterday, reminiscing about the day, the whirlwind year, and thought about the future, but really only planned as far out as the wedding cake dessert course...which, by the way, was incredibly delicious! It was an amazing day as I became a wife, a newlywed, and a Werner (no easy feat!). With the love and support of our family and friends, we've started a marriage that, in my humble opinion, rocks my socks. Happy Anniversary to my hubby and "hip hip hooray" for marriage!

Images from our wedding day courtesy of our rockstar photographers, Amy and Andy Holley of A&A Photography! Some of our favorite memories...

Aliza

Wesley Douglas | Newborn

2010-07-07T17:35:00.027-05:00

Expectant parents Kim and Terry had the longest wait, and yet, only a whirlwind couple of weeks to prepare for their new arrival. It had been one year since they had decided to become parents through adoption. While they were ready to welcome their first child, Kim and Terry knew they would have to be patient. Through the year, they kept a positive attitude, learning to balance their determination to become parents with an acceptance that all the best things come in their own time.

After years of mental finger-crossing, yogic patience, and hopeful prayers, the phone call that they had been waiting for finally came. A woman in Florida had selected them to be the adoptive parents of a baby girl. Excitedly, Kim, an elementary school teacher, and Terry, who works at a printing company, spread the news that they would be bringing home their daughter...in a month. They prepared at warp speed: painting the walls of the baby's room a sunny yellow, collecting boppies, burp cloths, and booties, buying pink onesies, and deciding on names. Like any expectant parents, their bags were packed, ready to head to the hospital, but just days before the due date, they received a phone call.

Heading into a morning staff meeting overwhelmed by emotion and excitement, with misty eyes, Kim told her co-workers that she had just heard from the adoption agency and that something had changed. The pink onesies would have to be returned, because, the baby would actually be...a boy! Thankful that their child was soon-to-be born, the gender news hardly elicited a second thought, just brief stunned jaw-dropping and relieved laughter. However, just before heading to the airport, they threw a baby name book into their carry-on bag. Back to the drawing board. During the few hours in the air, they paged through the book discussing and deciding on a name for their baby boy. It would only be a matter of hours before holding their sweet new little boy, Wesley Douglas.

Over the next several days, their I's were dotted and their T's crossed, and the family of three boarded a plane back home. Kim and Terry naturally fell into parenthood, thrilled to share the world with Wesley. A flurry of family and friends have been in and out of their house to celebrate this moment, but somewhere in between the activity in their first week home, we fit in a few hours for a newborn photo session. It was an honor to capture the occasion and share this heartfelt story. Welcome to the world Wesley and congratulations to an incredible new mom and dad! The long journey was worth it.

Wesley Douglas | Newborn

Aliza

Seven Years

2010-06-29T11:16:00.008-05:00

Time to catch up on some blogging!

Here's a riddle: What took me nearly seven years to complete that really should have only taken me three?

A) My new gangsta rap album
B) The blanket I am knitting for the world's tallest man
C) Reading the entire Oxford English Dictionary
D) None of the above

If you said "None of the above", then clearly you've never heard me throw down the ever popular "Times Table Rap" that is a knock-it-outta-the-park hit with my third grade homies. But you'd be right. The dictionary gets a little dry by the "J" volume. Really thought the author could have done more with building the plot there. It's hardly fair to give a multiple choice test without including the correct answer, so we'll just grade on a curve and I'll tell you that it took me nearly seven years to complete my masters degree. Check out the name of this degree that allowed me to sit in the third row at graduation: Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction with a Focus in Language and Literacy. That, is a mouthful, so chew on that while I share that it took so long because, well, life got in the way. I started a new job, got engaged, bought a house, watched Project Runway on Bravo, got married, watched Project Runway on Lifetime, started a photography business...but it's finally over and I celebrated by attending my graduation and just barely restraining myself from doing one-handed cartwheels across the stage when my name was called. Another chapter of my life has drawn to a close. Speaking of chapters, now that I have some free time, I should give the dictionary another chance. Hmmmm...*flips through pages*...ahhh, here we are! Chapter "K"...

That's me!

Dad, Mom, and me

Hubby and Me (He's so proud!)

Hubby, sisters, and me
Grandma and me

Aliza

Back Home & Happy Belated Father's Day!

2010-06-22T14:56:00.006-05:00

After some time traveling away from home, unplugged, the hubby and I are back home, and plugged back in. In the meantime, we missed your status updates, the DVR filled up with guilty pleasure reality shows, and some really spiky weeds grew in our lawn. We were busy eating the freshest homemade pastas and gelato, strolling through gardens, laughing with improv comedians, cracking lobster claws, and singing "Sweet Caroline" while taking in a game of baseball in the most beloved park, among a zillion other things, in Boston. Can you imagine giving up the pulls of email, blogging, and Facebook for a few days for that? We try to be vacation purists, staying away from most technology, exceptions only for making dinner and/or spa reservations. Going out to Beantown is like going home for me, after living there for four years in college, and I get homesick when I've been away too long. Boston is also the spot for a very special moment in our lives...and I leave you hanging there, unless you already know, but that's a story for another day.

Besides missing the emergence of way too many ginormous weeds in our yard, we were 1,000 miles away on Father's Day...don't worry, we celebrated early! But I wanted to make sure I wished my dad a belated Happy Father's Day with a photo of us on a pretty good day.

Dad and Me

Lots of babies, families, vacation photos, and other fun summery stuff to catch up on...Baby Wesley coming your way next!

Aliza

Breaking the Rules

2010-06-01T17:07:00.010-05:00

"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun."
Katharine Hepburn

"I like rules that are broken."
Shelby Lynne

Aliza

Sneak Peek: Wesley Douglas | Newborn

2010-05-25T17:19:00.009-05:00

I just finished editing a beautiful photo session of newborn Wesley. These images were extra special for me to create, as the story of how parents Kim and Terry started their family is unique and incredibly emotional. I'm looking forward to sharing a part of their story just as soon as I've selected all of my favorite images. For now, a sneak peek of brand new Wesley...

Sneak Peek: Wesley Douglas | Newborn

Aliza

Friday Thoughts: Happy Birthday to My French Fry

2010-05-20T23:05:00.011-05:00

Have you ever been out to eat when your grilled chicken sandwich basket arrives at your table, you squirt ketchup in the corner of the wax paper and begin dipping your hot-outta-the-grease french fries into the vinegary red goodness, when all of a sudden you grab the end of one fry and keep pulling only to realize that you have most definitely snagged the world's longest french fry? You stop to admire it. Point it out to all of your fellow diners. Observe it from all angles. Hold it up a little too high in the air so that if your waitress passes by and sees it you can mentally high-five her for slipping you this record setting potato stick. You definitely don't eat it right away, because this fry is unique. This fry made your day. This fry put a smile on your face. I suppose it's only fitting that this quirky anecdote comes to mind when I think about my husband. He's the most unique, day-making, smile-inducing "french fry" I've ever met. I like that in a person I love, so, naturally, I married him. And Friday is his birthday! Join me in making a special wish for him today. Happy birthday, hubby! You're the cheese to my macaroni, the frosting on the cake, the cherry on top, and the incredible french fry with my grilled chicken basket!

Aliza

The Very Best Part of Spring

2010-05-17T23:32:00.011-05:00

"Just now the lilac is in bloom | All before my little room."
~Rupert Brooke

All of these gorgeous lilacs grow in my sweet little backyard. Is there anything more perfect than the day when lilacs bloom to their fullest?

Aliza

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T15:57:00.023-05:00

Who would have ever thought that my own mother would be able to receive Mother's Day wishes via a blog post?! Up until recently, she and technology were not well acquainted. Did she have email?, friends would ask. We're still working on convincing her to find the "on" button on the computer, we'd reply. My youngest sisters started training her on computer basics, as the "baby" was off to college last fall, and wouldn't be around to print itineraries and seventeen-times forwarded email jokes from the AARP crowd relatives. "Move the mouse," they'd say. "AAARRRGGHH!!" she'd scream as she jumped on a chair. "Where's a mouse!?" I know she'll read this post and roll her eyes, because she subscribes to my blog (!) and eye rolling is an endearing family trait. But she'll also be proud of me in all my endeavors. So, this post, this space, this time, this technology is dedicated to you, mom! Thank you for all you do, and I'm glad you figured out the techie stuff in order to follow my blog. Happy Mother's Day!

By the way, if you wanted to call and wish my mom a Happy Mother's Day, you might have to try a few times until she picks up. She doesn't have an answering machine.

Mom and Me

Aliza

A Day in the Life of Nicholas is All Riddles

2010-05-03T21:57:00.024-05:00

A few weeks ago, the hubby and I very desperately needed a getaway. We reached the point where the noise got too loud, the air got too heavy, and the "to do" list seemed to replicate tasks on its own when we weren't looking. And so we returned to one of our favorite places on earth to relax, refresh, and renew...even if only for a few days. Leaving behind our lists of to dos, we hit the road...

When we're there, we wander a lot. We peek into shops, sit and drink coffee, savor homemade chocolates, sip and swirl wine, walk to the edges of piers, and hike through the parks. We also pop into a lovely little independent bookstore, where the service is friendly, the books are treasured finds, and the owner will sneak you galley copies of yet unpublished reads to keep. They just moved down the street to a cozy little space, where we caught them half unpacked, but welcomed us in just the same. As I browsed, I found a homey comfort in the unorganized shelves of used books; like discovering family heirlooms in your grandmother's dusty attic. The classics: Dr. Seuss, The Hardy Boys, and Little Women, were mixed among Pubs of Ireland and Dinosaur Poems. The shop's character and charm were irresistible, and so its contents get a post of their own. This is also the first sneak peek at my handsome hubby in one of my favorite photos from the trip. Here he is posing with the "Ridiculous Nicholas Riddle Book". His name, of course, is Nicholas, and if you knew him, you may jest that "a day in his life" is, indeed, "all riddles". He does, after all, have a unique sense of humor. So, did we buy that riddle book? You bet your hardcover Nancy Drew series we did! It's bound to be a classic.

More photos from our lovely getaway to come. I figured I'd ration these slices of heaven.

Aliza

Collin | One Year

2010-04-25T22:04:00.018-05:00

I met him for the first time at my own engagement and housewarming party. Just a few weeks old and bundled up for the crisp fall weather, his soft little nose poked out from the layers of blankets around him. He was so tiny, so brand new, and so adept at further defining that line in the sand just behind me...that one that separates your childhood from adulthood. Sweet baby Collin was born to good friends of mine, Scott, whom I have known since first grade, and Katie, a high school softball teammate of mine. They were high school sweethearts, and now, proud new parents. When they asked me to photograph Collin as a curious one year old, I was thrilled at the opportunity, as I remembered spending many hours with Scott, processing and developing film in our high school photography classes. Who knew I would be using some of those same skills ten years later to capture his baby boy?

{To see more of baby Collin's shoot, click here to visit his gallery!}

Collin | One Year

Aliza

Wings on Their Feet and Victory in Their Hearts

2010-04-19T21:50:00.019-05:00

Today's photos are shared with you not because of their stunning quality, their sharpness, their composition, or prize-winning potential. Clearly, they lack all of that, but I put these types of photos in a category all their own. These are the kinds of photos your great-grandma or five year old niece took...the kind that are over-and-underexposed, blurry, and unintentionally show more of the sky than the people mugging for the shot. These are the kinds of photos that endure and are cherished because of the story behind them. We all have them. And because the stories and the memories themselves transcend the amateur images that illustrate them, we share them.

During my college years, I lived in the great city of Boston. I admired it for all it had to offer: the arts, history, diversity of people and foods, world-class everything. Although I live far from Boston today, I look back on those years and sift through the memories, and a favorite always stands out...Patriots Day and the running of the Boston Marathon. Today was that day for the 114th time in Beantown!

The route of the Boston Marathon snaked it's way through my Back Bay neighborhood. I stood on the sidelines cheering the weary runners on, as they toiled through the last leg of their journey. My house stood alongside one of the very last miles of the race, and so I watched the raw determination of blistered, bleeding, sweating, delirious athletes making their way to the finish line. Above is the men's 2003 winner, Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya, as he flew past me on his way to victory.

Above is Svetlana Zakharova of Russia, the women's 2003 winner. At the moment I captured her, she was literally flying. Both feet off the ground. Her shadow racing to catch up. Honing in on the win.

And with more guts, talent, athleticism, and determination than I'll ever have, Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa lowers his head, grasps the spinning tires of his wheelchair and zooms toward triumph.

The sun sank lower in the sky, its rays bouncing off the Hancock building and the Prudential. Fenway Park sat calmly and stoically in the near distance as hundreds of feet pounded over the bridge into Kenmore Square. I am so thankful to have these photos, blurriness and all, because they remind me that a moment in history was captured and displayed in my dusty college photo album, and that, in a city brimming with legacy, I was there to experience history in the making.

Aliza

Friday Thoughts: Time is Flying

2010-04-16T17:58:00.010-05:00

How did it get so late so soon?
It's night before it's afternoon.
December is here before it's June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?

~Dr. Seuss

{Image courtesy of www.inewidea.com}

I admit it.
I spent too much time soaking up the spring sunshine on my deck this week.
Time flew by...
So, here's to ensuring a little Aliza Werner blog lovin' before the week is out.
Oh-so-many fun photos coming up next week!
Heading out for some more Vitamin D...happy weekend!

Aliza

It Was a Gray City Day | Part Two

2010-04-08T16:14:00.010-05:00

They say...if you don't like the weather here, wait a minute and it will change.

My forearms are still red and tender from a sunburn I received in
sunny eighty-degree weather at the ballpark on Monday.

My fingers are still red and numb from the snowflakes I caught in
thirty-some-degree weather at an outdoor shoot today.

They say...if you don't like the weather here, wait a minute and it will change,

but it's been gray all day.

Shot on C-41 film.
Images from a gray day other than today.

Aliza

Burgers, Brats, Beer...and BASEBALL!

2010-04-06T20:26:00.048-05:00

For some,
Spring
means
tulips and daffodils reaching toward the sky
orange-bellied robins pecking for juicy worms
rumbles of thunder and fat drops of rain
new leaves peeking out of the tips of tree branches
early glasses of lemonade and ales in the backyard
pumping up bicycle tires
children chasing soccer balls and toy trucks down the sidewalk
neighbors waving across fence lines
palmfuls of delicate seeds spread across plots of dirt
and
pushing up long-sleeves and long-shut windows,
but for us,
Spring
means
igniting the grill
singed brats bubbling and bursting in their casings
melted cheddar dripping over burgers' curled sides
bean bag toss and comfy lawn chairs
early glasses of lemonade and ales in the parking lot
peanut shells and baseball bats cracking sharply
racing sausages kicking up backstop dust
polka, pitches, and Prince
9 innings, 54 outs
and
sunshine streaming through the open rooftop.

Spring hasn't truly arrived
until we hear the official Opening Day words,

"Plaaaaay baaaaaaaall!"

Happy return of Spring and Baseball!
I hope your Opening Day was as filled with sunshine, good food, and good friends as ours was. The boys of summer are back!

Aliza

Through The Door...A Breath of Fresh Air

2010-04-04T21:43:00.016-05:00

Ahhhhhhh....the hubby and I just arrived back to reality after a much needed getaway to one of our favorite little niches of the world, Door County. A visit to this area is literally a breath of fresh air. As a little girl, my dad, sisters, and I would venture up to the northern end of the great Wisconsin peninsula for a long weekend of attempting to accomplish all of our traditions: camping, mini golfing, shopping, fish boils, eating Swedish pancakes with lingonberries...and now this slim slice of land continues to provide a rejuvenating retreat as I have grown older. My patient husband waited for me to capture all of the shots I wanted this weekend, and I will share some of my other favorites with you soon. For now, a shot straight out of the camera...a view of Horseshoe Island from Eagle Tower in Peninsula State Park. Inhale. Exhaaaaaaaale.

Aliza

Friday Thoughts: Epic Beards and Fish Meatballs

2010-04-01T22:06:00.021-05:00

The weekend starts early this week, not only because it reached 80 degrees today in our city, which could still very easily be buried under ten feet of snow at this time of year, but because it's finally time for the hubby and me to spend time in one of our favorite places. Photos from this haven will appear in a post next week...we'll keep you guessing until then.

This week also brought our families together for one of my favorite holidays, Passover. It's a holiday during which you can recline at the table, drink four full glasses of wine, and watch the tanned and muscled greatness that is Charleton Heston's portrayal of Moses in "The Ten Commandments". His beard is seriously epic at the end of that movie. Santa and ZZ Top ain't got nothin' on desert-wandering Moses. After celebrating a holiday for decades, many quirky traditions emerge. My dad and I compete to see who can eat more horseradish slathered on matzah without crying, we all dare each other to eat the gefilte fish (essentially a cold fish meatball...ugh), and...it always goes back to Mr. Heston...we marvel at the special effects of the Red Sea parting, the Nile turning to blood, and how they got Yul Brynner's bald head so shiny and smooth! Seriously. Is it turtle wax? Olive oil? Questions for the ages.

While I head off to breathe in some fresh spring air with the hubs, I'm sure many more holiday memories will come to mind. In the meantime, a quick *happydance* for my friends MJ & J on the birth of their new baby boy this week, who will most likely to be found at the other end of my camera within a couple weeks and shared here! Ooooh, how I love brand new bundles! Happy weekend!

Aliza

It Was a Gray City Day

2010-03-28T22:18:00.017-05:00

The city was swaddled in a ghostly gray fog. Low-hanging wisps of clouds silently swirled and encircled the top floors of stout skyscrapers. She had been hoping for sunshine to paint the city with light, but found an intriguing tranquility in the slow-motion cloudy day...

Shot on C-41 film.
More to come from this urban landscape shoot, in the meantime...
...it's your turn to cross the street.

Aliza

Hang Onto Your Hat!

2010-03-25T22:01:00.007-05:00

"Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn."
-L. Grizzard

{Image courtesy of booksinckids.blogspot.com}

Hang onto your hat! Spring really is here!
We're just waiting for the weather to catch up.

I hope your first week of Spring was delightfully and wonderfully unpredictable, like the season itself. Have a relaxing weekend!

Aliza

Behold, The Power of The French Fry

2010-03-24T21:30:00.039-05:00

Something you should know about me: I am a foodie. I am, according to dictionary.com, a person keenly interested in food, especially in eating or cooking. It is a distinct possibility I will allude to this theme in future posts, because many of my favorite experiences have occurred with wine glasses clanking, marshmallows melting, corn kernels stuck in my teeth, and sumptuous sauces trickling through my fingers and down my arm. It's the simple and delicious things in life that make the best memories...and the best temptations (see those expertly crafted fries below that make all my will-power vanish!).

I was raised in a Jewish family, and anyone who is a careful study of religious history knows that even Noah didn't board the ark until his mother sent him off with a brisket sandwich, some noodle kugel, a bowl of matzah ball soup, and a loaf of challah. There might be a touch of revisionist history in that statement, but, truthfully, we joked in my family that with our mouths full of our lunch, we would fervently discuss what we would eat next for dinner. Every yin has its yang. Every day has its night. My family has its warm, filling, soul-satisfying "nosh". It was ingrained in me to associate feasting with my family...

...but then, I married an Italian.

It was inevitable that my hubby and I would find ourselves on our own savory journey, throughout our own city, and far and abroad when traveling, learning to appreciate delicate and bold flavors, and tasting culture, language, and culinary folklore with every bite.

Tonight's foodie stop: Cafe Hollander
The Deliciousness: Bitterballen, "Westsider" Bloody Mary, Grilled Pesto Chicken Sandwich, Pomme Frites with Indonesian Peanut Sauce and Curry Ketchup...mmm, leftovers!

What deliciousness satisfies the foodie in you?

Aliza

Friday Thoughts: Dear Spring...

2010-03-19T17:26:00.011-05:00

Dear Spring,

Hurry up and get here.
We can't wait any more.
Neither can the tulips.

Aliza

Chloe | Eighteen Months

2010-03-16T22:42:00.025-05:00

The city was caught in the slow sleep of winter. With the holidays on the horizon and the sun streaming down, Chloe toddled into the Mitchell Park Domes. Her baby curls and big brown eyes took in the wonder, warmth, and color of the cozily decorated Show Dome. Hundreds of red and ivory poinsettias lined every path. Her carefully paced steps turned into a trot as she sped off towards the center of the dome. Wide-eyed, she glanced up at the tallest Christmas tree she had ever seen. So many shiny ornaments and so much more to explore...

Chloe | Eighteen Months

Aliza

Nora Audrey | Newborn

2010-03-09T19:12:00.018-06:00

Two and a half years ago, my husband (fiance at the time) and I purchased our first home. We scoured maps of our part of the world, searching for the perfect neighborhood, and ended up narrowing our quest to an area four blocks wide and twelve blocks long. Fortunately, we found "the one", moved in, and shortly thereafter, a brutal Wisconsin winter set in. Wading amidst the snow drifts, our snowblower routes crossed paths with all of our new neighbors. Bundled in layers of warmth, noses growing red, we shook hands and introduced ourselves. We realized that we not only had a welcoming and wonderful neighborhood...but that it truly is a small world, too.

Small enough that our neighbor across the street attended high school with my hubby! At the time, she and her husband had a beautiful new baby girl, Keira. Over these past couple years, we have had the unique opportunity to reunite or to enjoy a new friendship. Recently, they added onto their family, welcoming a sweet baby girl, Nora Audrey, shared below, at less than two weeks old. Welcome to the neighborhood, little one.

{To see more of baby Nora's shoot, click here to visit her gallery!}

Nora Audrey | Newborn

Aliza

Friday Thoughts: Thankful for Toothpaste

2010-03-05T14:09:00.013-06:00

Today's thought is inspired by the history nerds within my husband and me as we are making our way through the John Adams miniseries DVDs. All I can say is I am so thankful someone had the idea to invent toothpaste after seeing the inside of those 60 year old colonials' mouths in high definition.

Visit again early next week as new shoots with some precious babies will make their debut! Happy weekend!

{Image courtesy of picture-book.com}

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
John Quincy Adams

Aliza

The Games are Over, Eh?

2010-02-28T21:18:00.034-06:00

As I sit here watching the Closing Ceremonies for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, I realize three things:

1. I am really going to miss watching every random winter sport that exists packed into two weeks.

2. I will finally get back to my neglected DVR and all that it has preserved for me, including who's been "auf'd" on Project Runway and all the hoopla surrounding the disastrous male singing on American Idol.

3. There are more Olympians than Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Ohno, and Shaun White?! Who knew?! Thanks NBC for your EXTREMELY in-depth coverage of 3 out of 216 American athletes and 2,629 total.

While I haven't seen this many maple leaves, since...well...October, I haven't tired of every quirky aspect of these red-mittened games, even those P&G commercials thanking moms that made me tear up every time.

At one point in my life, I wanted to be an Olympian myself. A figure skater. Kristi Yamaguchi to be exact. Although my dreams of gold ended with the single toe loop perfected at the peak of my "career", being a Wisconsin girl, other winter sports were always near. My dad and grandparents loved to take us sledding down snowy slopes, and while we were no Jamaican bobsled team, we enjoyed soaring through the wintry powder. Here I am 20-some years ago with my Grandpa Riley, getting ready for our flight, which was always heart-pounding fun....

...until one winter I gracefully soared into a tree and broke my elbow at age 8. Here with broken bone twin Grandma Riley and her sledding-unrelated injury:

*Sigh* No, Olympic gold was never in my future. We'll leave that to the pros...Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Ohno, Shaun White...and oh yeah...those 2,626 other incredible athletes, whatever their names are.

Aliza

It's Never Too Late to Be a Rock Star

2010-02-23T21:22:00.023-06:00

I have a confession.

I have a day job. And it's not photography. I am a third grade teacher, and have been known to sing songs about photosynthesis, participate in "Wacky Hair Day", and make a full spread breakfast for my entire class on one griddle (yes, that includes chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, and square hashbrown patties that you can very literally feel lubricating and gelling in your arteries). And while I think I'm not too shabby at the teaching gig, it is not the whole of who I am. I am still, as I tell my students, trying to figure out "what I want to be when I grow up". And what I have discovered is that I can be more than one entity. In this very moment, I can be a teacher, a photographer, and a pancake flipper all at the same time.

I keep a framed quotation on my desk that is attributed to one wise-beyond-her-years twelve-year old that reads "It's never too late to be a rock star". It is my constant reminder, my kick in the tush, my daily dose of self-inflicted sass with a wink that light-heartedly nudges me in the direction of my photography. Some people are content and successful as Monday through Friday 9-to-5ers, but I'm also driven to be a 5-to-9er, or however long the sun hangs out in the sky for a shoot.

I have a confession. I'm a photographer, because I'm taking that twelve-year old's advice. Who is your inner rock star?...the type of rock star you have always wanted to be? Leave a comment. :-)

Aliza

Chase...A Dream and A Six Month Old Baby

2010-02-17T17:21:00.044-06:00

It was exhilarating to publish my debut blog post for Aliza Werner Photography. Hitting the "Send" button on the email that shared the news with my family and friends that I was punchin' the pedal on the right on my business had me feeling energized, enthusiastic, anxious, and eager for the opportunities ahead. It felt like that moment when you've gradually clicked your way up to the top of a roller coaster, and you have a split second to look up, look down, and look around before you zoom into your adventure. A moment to appreciate where you are and where you are going; to hold your breath and scream. Although, I personally chose to do my "happy dance" all around my living room.

After consulting one of my sisters about what should appear in my sophomore post, she didn't hesitate to say, "Well, post some pictures!"...and I didn't think twice. It's quite apt that the first shoot I'm sharing is of a six-month old baby named Chase. His smiles and laughter and big bright eyes during our shoot caused me to pinch myself as I headed home. Chase. For his parents, a beautiful baby. For me, a dream job.

Chase | Six Months

Aliza

It's Always Best to Start at the Beginning

2010-02-03T19:16:00.025-06:00

"Once upon a time" begins so many cherished stories. Stories that have a familiar and comfortable predictability about them. A balanced plot line and a tidy resolution. And because of that, "once upon a time" is exactly how I will not start the blog on my photography experience, which has tread its own unique course, far from any art school, dark room, or heavily acronymed convention. I could wait for the elusive right words to kick off this first entry, but just like my decision to dive deeper into my photography without waiting for the perfect moment, it's simply my time to begin sharing my adventure with you!

In the words of one of my childhood heroes, Glinda the Good Witch, “It’s always best to start at the beginning…”. And you can’t argue with a woman waving a glittery wand, and wearing 6,000 yards of pink tulle, so, here goes…welcome to my blog!

To kick off the grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony for my shiny brand new blog, complete with an over-sized pair of imaginary scissors, I thought I would share with you the very beginning of my photography career. It all began at age 8 when my parents bought me a red Kodak point-and-shoot 35 mm camera, complete with a sliding lens cover and a wrist strap. Safety first. My dad, a photo hobbyist, took me out for my first photo shoot around town to try it out. I loaded up one roll of film in that red bad boy and headed out the door!

This is the first photo I ever took, in all of its underexposed un-retouched glory…

…and so began my love affair with freezing moments in time on film. In my photo album, I captioned this one “Dad and the Minivan”. I worked on the wording for days. Between then and now, my dad got a few gray hairs, ditched the beard for a goatee, and upgraded to a Honda Odyssey, and I retired the red Kodak memory maker, moving up eventually to my current Canon digital SLR.

I’m looking forward to sharing my more-accurately-exposed-work, thoughts, moments of brilliance, and progress with you. Even though I literally began my blog with the words “once upon a time”, I hardly expect my story to take that predictable path. It hasn’t yet.

So, here’s to new and unexpected surprises along the journey! Thanks for taking a peek at where it all began.

Aliza