Shauni the Lioness

Hello Dear Readers!

I have missed you all very much! I apologize for my lack of posting in recent months, to be honest I have been swamped with school, work, and (of course) planning my wedding. However, I do have some lovely images to share with you today!! A few weeks ago I met up with a local model and fellow photographer named Shauni (Check out her photography here) and I must say that she was a joy to work with! She took direction well, and used her own knowledge of the camera to help create great angles and lovely lighting! I love her face, I think it is really interesting and different. She reminds me of a lioness, hence the title of this post. :)

Isn't she just lovely? The dress was a vintage find and the jacket was Shauni's own. She did her own makeup and styling as well. I can't wait to share more of these fabulous images!!! Happy Cyber Monday everyone!! Hope you have a great start to your week!!

<3 AK

Happy October!!! :D

Hello all of you beautiful, wonderful, fabulous followers of my work!!!

I hope this post finds you all doing absolutely wonderfully! I know my week has been... relaxing so far. First let me apologize for the lack of posting that has occurred of late. I promise that I have not forgotten all of you lovely people, nor have I stopped taking photos. I am, as many of you are aware, a college student, and unfortunately my classes have been absolutely crazy lately.

Hopefully I will be posting more soon. :) Starting with today's post of new photos of the lovely Brianna!! These are not from a recent shoot, but I think they are fabulous anyways! With the fall colors fading away into the dull browns of winter I find myself thinking of summer more and more (and of Christmas oddly enough). I love the feeling of freedom and love that summer always leaves me with, that feeling that everything is going to turn out better than I could ever have hoped.  In honor of this desire for the hot summer sun, I am sharing some these lovely photos :) Enjoy everyone!!! Sorry, no revelatory thoughts today!! Just lovely images :D

Have great weeks everyone!!

-AK

Fall Back

Hello lovely readers,

As some of you may know, I love fall. I love the smell and the leaves and the warm days with cooler nights. I also love the changing of the seasons, and this love prompted me to do a shoot almost two years ago dealing with the struggle between nature and the city within mankind.  The image below is one of the resulting pictures.

Well pleased with this shoots success, the idea struck me to do a sister shoot, one that involved the opposite theme, with the back being a tree with all four seasons and the background being a mix of the woods and the city. For almost two years I searched for a model willing to work with the concept and an artist talented enough to produce my brain-child, and then along came Victoria and Shandi, two talented young ladies who were open the idea and excited beyond belief to make it happen.  Below are a few of the images from this shoot.

I can't even begin to tell you how pleased I am with Shandi's work and Victoria's dedication. I would never have been able to fulfill this dream of mine without you two. <3 If you two are reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Happy Friday dear Reader,

AK

Cherry Blossoms

Hey everyone!!! I'm sharing a new photo from the editorial I just shot yesterday featuring Shandi's beautiful body-art!! Victoria is an amazing model, she is one of the most dedicated model's I've ever had the pleasure of working with! I am planning on posting more of these in a longer update, however, I really couldn't resist sharing this gem with you!!!

 

I love you all!! Have a great rest of your week!!

-AK

Only Life

Dear Readers,

I apologize for my lack of updating and blogging as of late. I have been rather busy with school, editorial and product shoots, and planing my wedding (!!!!!!), but please believe me when I tell you that I have missed you all very very much!! I depend so much upon your support and your love for my work, and I don't want any of you to believe for a second that I don't appreciate you.

Today I am very still. To be honest, I'm exhausted from another night of being unable to fall asleep. However, I have many shots from my shoot with Victoria still to edit and share, as well as the new editorial with Brianna, the second half of our last editorial, annnnnnd a product shot that I will reveal here hopefully by the end of the month!!! So you can all smile and hope, as I do, that I will soon me sharing lovely lovely images with you.

Besides the editorials, I also have images from my trip to Virginia to edit and share, as well as more images from Europe (I know, 6 months ago, but I STILL haven't had time to go through them all and edit them... If that doesn't say something about how hectic my life has been recently, nothing will haha)!!! I REALLY REALLY REALLY can't wait to share more images with you all!!! Your feedback is appreciated so so very much by me.

Also, just a quick update, I sell my photos on ETSY now!!! I currently have 10 prints listed, however I DO TAKE CUSTOM orders!!! So please please please go check my listings out and email me if you want me to make you a custom listing!!! Nothing would give me greater joy!!! :) Remember that prints make great gifts for all occasions and that my prints are guaranteed to last for at least 100 years!!

Unfortunately I have to leave you all now, I have to go to class, but I will leave you with a positive thought and a new image! :)

Thank you all again for your continued support!! And don't forget to check out my etsy ;)

Have a great rest of your day and remember to smile, for it is only life.

With my love,

AK

Whispers

July 31, 2011

Fact: No one can ruin your day without your permission.

I let someone ruin my day today. I was having a great day. I was happy, talking to the man I'm madly in love with, getting ready to leave tomorrow, and enjoying a rather successful outing with a family member.

Then I let someone, a friend, ruin it. They lashed out in a moment of personal frustration, and I let the barbed words to wrap their hooks deep within my heart and squeeze until all the happiness, the joy, had oozed from my heart. I gave the words the power to hurt, the power to destroy, so they did.

Words are an amazing and terrifying thing. They describe emotions and objects, yet without the power we give them, words would be meaningless, useless. The word "love" does not dictate the heart's fluttering, rather it represents the connection we associate with the emotion.

Be careful how much power you allow words to have over you.

I have been told that my blogs are too impersonal, so today I am letting you all see what I think. What I have felt. Please be kind. 

“Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.” -Henry James

I hope you are all enjoying rather lovely weekends. I wish you all the best of luck as you re-enter the work week. Thank you.

-AK

Editorial: Skinny Love

Hello dear reader,

I hope my post today finds you in good health and happiness! Tomorrow is Friday and I'm sure we are all jazzed about the coming weekend! I leave town on Monday until the 10th!!! Don't fear, I will still be checking my emails and facebook messages regularly, and I might even be posting some more images! ;)

As many of you know, this past week I did a fabulous shoot with S, which I have decided to call "Skinny Love" in honor of the song by Bon Iver (if you haven't heard it, you should look it up, it is an amazing song!). This girl was an amazing person to work with. She was shy when a camera wasn't pointed at her, but the moment the lens focused on her she was fierce and displayed a large array of emotions. Her eyes are amazing, and I am so happy that I was able to capture her beauty!!

 <3

 I think the one above is my favorite from the shoot!!

(Though I am in love with this one too)


Well everyone, I hope to be posting again soon, but until then, have fabulous weeks and weekends and thank you a bajillion times for your continued love and support!!

-AK

Serious thoughts with some more cheerful updates later

Today Amy Winehouse died. I'm sure this is no surprise to most of you, as her death has been announced across the facebook world numerous times. Today Ms. Winehouse died, and a lot of people made rehab jokes, and a lot of people gave sad sighs over her tortured soul. Today a lot of people died. This past week tragedy struck Norway, yet few noticed the deaths enough to mention them on facebook. I know that I would never have found out about the tragedy had one of my models not been an avid fan of Norway and mentioned it.

It is thoughts such as these that has led me to wonder about what exactly makes people notice ones death. What does it say about us as people that we laugh at one singer's unfortunate end as if her death is yet another chapter in her paparazzi ridden life? I laughed when I read the first joke, I'll admit it, and I feel awful for doing so now. What does it say about us that on the day of her death hundreds of people notify their friends, while one day of Norway's tragedy I saw few status changes. Does being famous mean that your death is more important than that of a man or woman killed in a bombing?

Recently I have been trying to work on being kind. On rebuilding my confidence and growing to become a kinder, better human being. It makes me sad that so many have died in this past week. Not just Amy or the 92 confirmed deaths in Norway, but the unknown deaths. The deaths of the children who were hit by a car, of babies who were born with a horrid birth defect, of a soldier who died doing his job. The everyday deaths that we don't even think about. I know that everyone dies, and I suppose that it isn't the deaths themselves that make me sad... I think it is more the attitude we have towards them. When did 92 people just become another number? When did they stop becoming mothers, sons, and daughters? When did I stop thinking of them as people and start considering them a statistic?

I'm not saying we have to weep over every death that occurs... if we did we would never stop crying, but perhaps... I don't know. I suppose I am going to work on remembering that the numbers reported aren't just numbers, but human beings. Living breathing creatures that now don't exist.

I apologize for the sad turn my recent posts have taken. I really don't know why all these sad words keep spilling out of me. However, I do have happy news! I have new cameras, the two that I mentioned in my past post that I bought at an antique store, and one that was given to me by a friend of the family!! I'm super excited to use them!! :D

The cameras in this image are: 1 Kodak Bantam RF camera with original leather case, 1 Mercury Satellite 127, 1 Kodak Folding Brownie Six-20, and 1 Polaroid SX-70 

Also, I had a fabulous shoot with Serianna yesterday! We made a makeshift outdoor studio in my backyard and played with crazy makeup, sprinkles, honey, and food coloring! I can't wait to share more of the images with you!!

Isn't she stunning? This was the third shot we took yesterday!!

Also, I have a shoot on Sunday with a model from Fargo that I am beyond jazzed about!!! ANNNNNDDDDDD I will be leaving for Virginia in a week and two days!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D If anyone wants to set up a shoot in this next week or for when I return from my vacation, please feel free to send me an email or a facebook message!!


I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your weekend!! Thank you for reading!

-AK

Unusually Personal

I am not generally known for sharing my personal life. It makes me uncomfortable to open my true heart to unknown strangers, and it can be dangerous. I learned from an early age that some people will always take the secrets of your heart and use them to ridicule and bully you, even those who would call you friend. I don't entirely think that this lesson has made me unfriendly to others, but rather it made me very close about my relationships. I love meeting new people and connecting with them, and I love allowing them into my life, however I am not so comfortable letting people see the loves of my life, or I should say, the love of my life. You have all seen him in my photos before, and I have even shared some of our joy with you, but this...

Below is a poem. Please know that I don't normally do poetry, for I don't think my writing is full of much style or notable flare, but I wrote this today after editing the above image. Simply put, I miss him. Please be kind.

For a Nameless Soldier

Come home.
Hold me in your arms,
swing me through the air and laugh at my silly antics.
Come home.
Come prowl the streets with me and my camera,
come lead me to new places, hidden secrets within this gossipy town.
Come home.
Come tease me mercilessly,
pull at my hair, poke my side when I'm not paying attention.
Come home.
Come lay next to me in my backyard and stare up at the numberless stars
and feel the contentment of two souls in harmony.
Come home.


I apologize for the personal nature that this post has taken, it wasn't my original intent. My original intent was to thank all of you for your support of my photography. I know I thank you often, but for me it is never often enough.

Also, I wanted to let you all know that the Art and Wine walk from this weekend went fabulously well! I was very much pleased by the event, despite getting soaked in a sudden thunderstorm. The weather cleared up and the turnout was great! For those of you in Grand Forks, please check out True Colors!! The staff is amazing and the clothes are in fabulous condition!

On a slightly different topic, I am super excited for a shoot this Friday and another one this Sunday with two different models! :) :D I adore meeting new people and I'm super psyched to see what fun we have and to share it with all of you!! :) Also, I found two old film cameras in an antique store yesterday for really cheap! I'm beyond jazzed about it, even if they end up not working, they are in rather good exterior condition and I can't wait to use them in shoots!!! :D

Also, I would like to remind everyone that I do sell my prints, and also that I am looking to book a wide variety of shoots! Seniors, maternity, product shots, family portraits, and (of course) fashion and editorial work!! If anyone is interested please don't hesitate to email me!!

Well I think this about wraps up this blog post!! Thank you all and have fantabulous days!!!

<3

-AK

Friendly Friday

Hello dear readers,

How has your day been? I'm hoping that it was fantabulous, and if it wasn't, I hope it gets better. Today has been rather stressful... I won't bore you all with details, but I still managed to get some editing done on a series I did a while ago that I can't wait to share with you all! :)

However, today those aren't the images I'm sharing. Today I'm sharing images from one of the coldest and most miserable shoots I've ever been a part of. The two models, Bri (who you all have seen often) and Shelby (who's senior images I did earlier this year) were wrapped up in huge sheets on a cold and sleety day with huge gust of freezing air sweeping by them as they stood in the mud and snow and were basically miserable, however, they didn't ask me to stop. I kept asking them if they wanted to and they kept saying they were game for whatever I wanted. They also kept rather cheery attitudes through it all, making jokes and laughing. The day could have been awful, we could have been crabby and miserable, instead the girls and I committed ourselves to staying positive and had a really fun (if slightly miserable) day. Lesson: Attitude matters. :)

Hope you have enjoyed the images, and remember to have wonderful Fridays and excellent weekends!!! :)

Also, for those of you in the area, remember that next Saturday (the 16th) I will be in the Art and Wine Walk!! It is $15 dollars for entry and for those of age there is free wine to sample!! Please come and support local artists!

<3 AK

Thinking Thursday

Dear Readers,

Thank you. Thank you for taking interest in my work, thank you for pouring out so much positive feedback on my images, thank you for so much. I just feel like I can never express how truly grateful I am to the kindness you have all shown me.

On a slightly different note, here are some images from the town fair that occurred a week or two ago. I was personally really disappointed in this year fair, finding it super small and with few rides. However, Brianna and I still managed to get a few shots throughout the day, some at the fair and some further afield.  Hope you enjoy them, and more will be coming sooon!!!!! 

Have a great day!!

-AK

Slacker Sunday

I dub today Slacker Sunday because as I look back at my day I feel I must admit I did nothing useful until about 5 this evening. All day I have been laying around without any thought of moving, nor any real desire to move. Rather puzzled by my attitude my fiance decided to go running, which for some reason upset me immensely. After he left I was forced to consider the implications of my anger and realized that I was upset because I was being slothful and a rather large brat. I decided that I could either stay grumpy and make everyone miserable, or do something about it.

I chose the later option and went for a run with my Father as a sort of second Father's day gift (the first being one of his favorite books). I must say, running improved my mood immensely and motivated me to actually start getting things rolling.

I unpacked and repacked some of the pieces that I used at the Art and Wine Walk (which by the way went fabulously well!!! I'll write more on it below) and submitted some photo orders. I also started a ledger to keep track of my photographically related spending. While it may not sound like much, I am quite pleased with my work thus far. :)

On the topic of the Art and Wine Walk: I had a blast! The Moo-cards were a huge hit and I got some really positive feedback on my work. Of course, I learned a lot about what I can improve for next time, but overall I am very pleased by the event. I hope that those of you in the area will come to the one in July, since I know that many of you worked during this one.

I hope you all had amazing weekends and great Father's Days!!!

Oh, also, I did an impromptu shoot with Brianna Friday morning and below is one of the images we captured! 

Well I must go eat now!!! 

<3 you all! 

-AK

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

I Want To Hold Your Hand... 

Such simple words, such a simple desire... such a complex truth. Recently I have been extremely busy and stressed due to a multitude of reasons, some of which I will divulge later on in this post, and I have found that now more than ever my greatest desire is to hold my boyfriend's hand. The feel of his strong, rough fingers encasing my own fragile bones is an indescribable comfort. We are not so strong as we appear, we are human. Breakable, flawed, yet when we weave our lives together we become something stronger, something that can not be broken. When the time is taken to untangle the threads of a life and then twist them within the fate-strings of another something wonderful happens. Twist and twine your fate with another soul... with the right soul, and you reveal parts of yourself that you never imagined could exist. 

I want to hold your hand. 

The Beatles, for all their faults, were able to capture the innocence and the strength of such a simple request. Find the one you are meant for, and hold their hand dear reader, and find a beauty and a comfort that only grows stronger with the passage of time. 

<3

On another note, I was in Minneapolis this past weekend visiting a friend of mine for her birthday. I had a blast, but have fallen a little behind, so please everyone bear with me as I catch up. I really appreciate all of your support and patience.  Below is an image that I snapped with in Minneapolis of Conor <3

 

On yet another note, I have some exciting news to share with you all!! I am participating in the 2011 Grand Forks Art and Wine Walk!!!! I will be an artist at the walk on June 18th (this Saturday) and on July 16th!! Please come and attend the event! It is $15 and runs from 1:00-5:00 P.M. The even begins at the Guest House Town House in Grand Forks and the Blue Moose Bar & Grill in East Grand Forks. The walk ends with a champagne reception at the Empire Arts Center. They only except cash or checks, and the $15 gets you a map (which is stamped at each location visited) as well as free food and (for those who are of age) free wine. It should be a really fun event and I would love for you all to make it and help support myself and the other artists in the event!!! :D Feel free to email me if you have any questions!! :D 

As promised, here are some more of the images of Brianna from our Fairy Nymph shoot :) There are tons more that are super amazing and I can't wait to share, but alas, that will have to wait until another day!  Hope you like them!! :D As always, comments are appreciated :D  

I hope that all of you have GREAT TUESDAYS :D and fabulous weeks :D 

I also hope that I will see many of you on Saturday (bring friends :D)! 

<3

-AK