Passion Project: Sunspots & Spirit

beach, fitness, passion projects, pregnancy

My husband & I own a small CrossFit gym in Lomita. The “box” is our home away from home, & everyone there is family to us. For a few years, we were a purely CrossFit gym, but soon we realized that our members could really benefit from more mobility coaching–& from a balance in spirit & energy. As the universe will do, it sent us someone who would be a perfect fit for our box family–Julia. Our gym motto is “little box, big heart,” & Julia is one of the biggest hearts we’ve ever met!

Julia is a yogi who teaches all around the Beach Cities. She is funny, attentive, & grounded. She comes each week & gives us an unique opportunity to pause, breathe, set an intention, & pay close attention to all the things that are going on within that we never give ourselves time to observe. She gives us the chance to struggle & to apply to our lives what we discover about ourselves in yoga practice. And she laughs with us when we invariably discover all the little things in ourselves that we are really working on in yoga, things beyond our tight hamstrings & trembling abs.

This fall, Julia & her husband RG were awaiting the arrival of their first baby! I was so honored to be asked to make some portraits for them. It just so happens that Julia & RG got married at exactly the same spot that my husband & I did at the South Coast Botanic Gardens. It’s such a special place with so many delicious nooks & crannies filled with the beauty of nature. So we started our session where they started as a family–in the round where they exchanged their vows.

From the very first pictures, we were visited by beautiful sunspots. It was like the spirit of Baby Clancy just dancing right there with her parents, glowing & twinkling in the warmth. She was there where they said their vows two years before, in the fig tree grove where the trunks grow strong & the roots & branches spread wide, & at the beach where Mama Julia emerges from the frothy waves like Aphrodite.

Wishing Julia & RG & Baby Violet the sweetest time in the newborn cocoon. It’s the best place on earth.

We will miss Julia while she is nesting at home with their baby girl, but if there’s anything we always work on in yoga, it’s patience…See you soon & your whole CrossFit 1440 family can’t wait to meet the new addition!

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Passion Project: Woodland Waiting

outdoors, passion projects, pregnancy

I’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

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li’l pun’kins • the buccolo family • palos verdes estates, ca

little ones, pregnancy, we are family

I had the pleasure of getting connected with Gina through our mutual midwife, Diane Dawson—& it’s always so wonderful to meet other moms through friends. Gina is a true Renaissance woman—a working mother who somehow finds time to take pastry classes & blog her thoughts & information about the sustainable lifestyle. And she manages to be super chill & easy-going too! Her husband Jeff & their beautiful boys Thomas & Theodore joined her for her Beautiful Belly Pregnancy Portrait session. We all headed outside in the glowing, late-afternoon light for a little hike down the trail. It was a gorgeous autumn afternoon—perfect for capturing Gina’s flowing hair, her pregnant curves, & the family just having fun together.

mama L. • beautiful belly extraordinary pregnancy portraiture • palos verdes estates, ca

pregnancy, we are family

What a spirited, energetic, luscious session I had with Mama L.! She is an actor & first time mommy, & her personality just filled up the room in such a warm & wonderful way. Being a performer, she was so game to play! And she was so grounded in her baby-bearing body, so full of life & the happy anticipation of being a new parent. I loved capturing her fiery red hair that was like an extension of her joy & movement. Even after only meeting her for one day, I can tell that she’s a force of creativity. And since our session, she & her husband have welcomed their baby boy into their lives–& he couldn’t have chosen two more passionate & animated parents. He is going to have a life filled with love & fun! Congratulations to you all! {And a special shout-out to Melissa Pizzamiglio for the gorgeous hair & make-up, & for getting me & Mama L. connected in the first place!}