outdoors
Passion Project: Woodland Waiting
outdoors, passion projects, pregnancyI’d been on hiatus from shooting for quite some time when I was asked by Michelle if I was available to do some pregnancy portraits for her & her husband, Cory. It’s hard to describe how special Michelle has been to our family; I’ve probably never even been able to fully express it to her. She has been the kindergarten teacher to all three of our children. The number of days & hours she has spent over the last six years nurturing our children…*sigh*… I struggle to even find the words! What can you say to thank someone who has had the patience & caring to bear witness to what your children are when they’re five & six years old? Someone who has helped them through tears & fears, guided them from chicken scratch to words on paper, from illiterate to literate? Someone who, even before she was a mother to her own, raised my children & so many others, & taught me how to be a better mother myself? Someone who taught me how to see in my children what I might not see?
I didn’t think I really could thank her in words. So, I hoped to with pictures.
I hoped to capture Michelle’s spirit–her playfulness, her love of nature, her creativity–& the love between Cory & her–the story of who they are as they awaited their daughter. He’s a photographer, & she’s a teacher. But there is always so much more. It is a story that children only know about their parents through photographs & tales told that seem unbelievable. You went to Burning Man?! You went paddleboarding with me in your tummy?! Oh, yes, little Sprout, your mom did those things & more!
Dearest Michelle, may all the love you have poured upon so many children come back to your own many times over! May you & Cory be both comfortable & changed in all the ways that parenthood can bless you. And may you always look upon these portraits & remember who you were & who you are.
With infinite gratitude,
Alice. XOXOXO
beach memories • the mallia family • manhattan beach, ca
beach, little ones, outdoors, we are familyI have had the wonderful chance to get connected with Amy & Joe Mallia through my husband & the awesomeness that is the CrossFit community. The Mallias have three gorgeous girls, & we love looking into our future a bit & seeing how a dynamic couple manages two careers plus parenting. It was a bittersweet portrait session with them & their extended family in Manhattan Beach; the Mallia family is off to new adventures on the East Coast! Hopefully these pictures will help them remember their home by the beach…& bring them back for visits soon! Here’s to new journeys & the gift of love & family…
sunset trail • the kloes-corwin family • palos verdes estates, ca
little ones, outdoors, we are familyIt has been so great to be back in touch with Regina, an old colleague of mine from Beverly Hills High School. Since we both left there, we’ve moved to the South Bay, had kids, & crossed paths once or twice. We have friends in common from Beverly, but also now from Ridgecrest Middle School; the world of education is a small one when you get to know a few teachers in a small community. It was great to have Regina attend my first “Capture Your Kid! Photography Workshop for Parents;” a familiar & supportive face in the classroom is always a bonus! I’ve now had the pleasure of meeting her sons, Cristian & Ashton, a handful of times, & I am always bowled over by how absolutely gorgeous they are. But even more so, they are so kind & so full of joy! On the afternoon of our session, I got to capture Regina, her lovely husband Pat, & the boys just taking a walk & being the warm & fun-loving family they are. It was such a pleasure to see these boys, these brothers, together—how their personalities are so unique, & how there is just so much love between them…
