It's An Anniversary Today!

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...

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

The B Family

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

Sneak Peek: Lorenz Family

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

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

Three Girls in Dark Glasses in Indiana

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