[a.w. photography]

Rain.

2012-02-11T10:52:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that two days ago, it was 75 degrees out. I even got to break out one of my sundresses to wear for the afternoon, and it seriously felt like it was July. And then yesterday Chris went out for a walk and said it was starting to sprinkle, and by the time we got in the car a couple hours later, the windshield wipers were going at a steady pace. And although I love my sundress days, I also love rainy days. My mom and I even have matching polka-dotted rainboots :)
I was hoping to take some couple portraits over the weekend for Valentine's day, so I'm hoping the sun will come through by then! Otherwise, we may have to get out our umbrellas and yellow rain coats, a la Singing in the Rain :)
Which I'm more than okay with.

Have a safe weekend!
-AW

Outtakes: Week Six

2012-02-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

Week Six

2012-02-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

Ageless Beauty
Stars
Set Yourself on Fire

This week, song and photo don't really go past face value [haaaaa..I warned you early on about me and bad puns] in their pairing, but..I think that's all right. Karly gave me some of the most beautiful, effortless expressions that I had a wonderful time sorting through. This ultimately stood out among the rest; I mean, look at those eyes!
A few more from yesterday will be up tomorrow :)
-AW

Behind the Scenes: Week Six

2012-02-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

Today was the shoot for Week Six's photo; I was lucky enough to have my makeup artist Shelby with me, who did some beautiful styling for our model, Karly. As usual, we had her prettied up on-location, usually translating to a parking lot :)
Karly brought along our friend Tyson, who was kind enough to sit patiently while much make-up play ensued.

Week Six's photo will be up tomorrow! :) Excited for everyone to see; many thanks to Shelby and Karly for sharing their talent today!
-AW

The little things.

2012-02-07T08:21:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love taking photographs of the tiny details either at a place or on a person, but sometimes it's hard to just throw one of those photos into a set. So, I thought I'd try pairing them up together :) The left photo is a lace curtain from the See Canyon Fruit Ranch, and the right is one of Anaysa from our shoot last week.

I woke up way too early this morning, and right now I'm struggling to get ready for class; it's a perfect rainy day outside, and I'd much rather be spending it under blankets. And maybe baking a spice cake. Mm...

To everyone on the coast with me, stay safe in the rain! And to the rest of you, have a wonderful Tuesday :)

-AW

PS: To those following the Tumblr giveaway, a winner has been chosen! Congratulations to Kyle Hammond for winning an 11x14 print!

Outtakes: Week Five

2012-02-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

Behind the Scenes: Week Five

2012-02-04T09:51:00.000-08:00


Photo by Michelle Roller.

As mentioned yesterday, Thursday's shoot was quite the production! Fellow photographer friends Michelle Roller and Pete Picci [who I met two years ago through Christopher; see photo below] drove down from Atascadero and Arroyo Grande, respectively, to join me in a day of shooting in Santa Maria. Our original model having cancelled, I quickly called upon friends Marynn and Anaysa to come be pretty for us. And amazingly, within a half hour of contacting them, they were in my front driveway ready to go.The power of friendship and cell phones.

June 2010. From left to right: Pete, myself, Christopher,
and bassist Joey. Photo courtesy of Luke Severn.

Once everyone was dolled up and dressed for shooting, we encountered yet another hoop to jump through.
Michelle had seen an abandoned house in some of my photographs, and had driven all the way down to see and shoot on location at it. I've had an attachment to this house for a little over a year now; I had originally found it while shooting with my friend Maddy in November 2009, and we had caught it with just the most perfect dusk lighting. Some of my favorite photos came out of that shoot, and I later returned on several occasions; once with Christopher to take photos for his then-upcoming release Krakatoa Lazer Punch on 35mm; once by myself in-between classes to take some stills of the house and surrounding property [see photo below]; and, most recently, with my friend and model Samantha to do some portraits there. And, one of the many little glories of the house was that, though
abandoned, there were no signs or fences surrounding the property to keep people out; it resided quietly

A still of the house. (c) Alexandra Wallace 2010

on a frontage road where I'm pretty
sure very few people touched it [unlike most abandoned houses I've come across, its yard was not completely littered.] So you can imagine, it was a sad moment when we reached the front yard and found a chain link fence covering the length of the yard, and signs reading 'No Trespassing'. House, you will be missed.
After discussing our next move, we got back in our train of cars and headed to a nearby field that I have photographed in before, but that still had plenty of new spaces to explore. We trekked into our new location, and it was decided at the end of the day that our field ended up better serving us than the house. At least a half-mile in length, we had everything from forestry to fallen trees, to tall fields of grass and empty space. We had the opportunity to both split off and take photos of the models

separated, and to then reconvene and get some photos of them together. In time of shooting we had the perfect lighting, ranging from the late afternoon golden sun, to the dark orange sunset. I'm incredibly happy

Photo courtesy of Michelle Roller.

with how the photos from our day came out, and really enjoyed my day with friends, old and new.

To see Michelle's photos from the day, find her on Facebook here. She was also kind enough to provide some of her own behind-the-scenes photos from the day, as you can see them at the top of this post and to your left. [Look at those sunny glows! Love it.]

To view my photos from the day, you can see them on the [a.w. photography] Facebook page. More photos from the day will also be posted on here tomorrow, but...there's a lot :)

Until then, friends,

-AW

Week Five

2012-02-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

Things are going to be a little backwards this week; but fear not! There are many behind-the-scenes photos and outtakes to come :) And I feel like I've said this every week, but...again, it was so tough to pick out one photo from all the ones that came out yesterday. I had the opportunity to shoot with not one, but two models, as well as two photographers and friends who came down from San Luis Obispo County to join me. And while it may seem like a shoot at that scale may have to many chefs in the kitchen, it was actually a really great opportunity to bounce ideas off of each other, and to co-direct our models.
More on the shoot itself later. For now, here is Week Five's photo, featuring the always stunning Anaysa Rodriguez.

Untitled [Track 4]
Pelican
The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw

Many, many more photos to come! And keep an eye out on my Facebook page - it's quite possible I will be leaking more photos as the day goes on :)
Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
-AW

And the winner is...

2012-01-31T07:56:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all who entered!
TUMBLR USERS: If you're still interested in entering a second giveway, I have one being held on Tumblr right now! Click here to find out how to enter.

-AW

Sunday Morning and Excitement for the Upcoming Week

2012-01-29T18:11:00.000-08:00

Today I had another headshot session, and whilst waiting for my client, I had the opportunity to take some shots of...geese. [The shoot was to take place at a local park.] Now, me and geese have had a pretty rough background. At age two, at the very park, in fact, one decided to attempt consuming my hand. It took me a long time to come around to them, but here we are. I wasn't expecting much, but the above photo turned out better than I thought and I wanted to share. I considered taking out some of those floaties in the water, but...if you know Waller Park, you know that the filthy water is part of the whole experience.

There were also some really glowing cherry blossom trees today, but unfortunately I am not tall enough to quite get to all of the branches. So, this [above] was the best I could come up with.
After my bout of exploration, I took headshots for Emily, who is another aspiring PCPA actress. She told me she had really liked the styling of the ones I did for Rachel Humbles [see Jan. 20th's post], so I did my best to try and recreate that same sunny, glowing effect. It didn't hurt that it was like a summer day outside today - high seventies!
I've got some shoots I'm pretty excited about coming up this week - I've had several people contact me about modeling and collaboration, and I can't wait to share!
I especially can't wait though, for tomorrow - I've got a date with my boy to go see Beauty and the Beast in 3D!
That ballroom scene? Can't wait.
Enjoy your Sunday night, and hope you have a great Monday! :)
-AW

For those with hearts in their eyes :

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hey there! TGIF, right? Finally through with my first week of classes, and though I'm very happy with what I'm taking, I'm still getting used to the routine of getting up in what, I at least, consider the early morning.
But enough about this. Fridays are for celebrating! And what better way to celebrate than early Valentine's Day excitement? [Please do not list better ways to celebrate and just let me have my dorky pre-holiday fun - I get very excited about things such as gift wrapping and paper card making, and I need an outlet!]
This excitement, of course, will also be carried out in my photo life. I am offering up really low priced photos for all those wanting a portrait to give to their beau, or for those who want a photo *with* their beau!

And although it's not as common for me to have the opportunity to take a couple's photos, I really love it when I get the chance. I thought today I'd share a few "oldies but goodies" - my favorite couple photos I took earlier last year :) I think lighting, color, and composition are always keys to great shots, but...there's something about seeing a genuine smile between two people that just makes everything else seem so unimportant :)


Matt and Amanda. February 2011.


Emily and Wes. June 2011.

Samantha and Nick. March 2011.

Any Central Coast residents interested in some photos, let me know! Otherwise, everyone please have a wonderful, celebratory Friday, and a safe weekend! :)
-AW

Outtakes: Week Four

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

And, this is an absolute favorite. Rikki looks so glamorous, classic and 'old Hollywood' in this one:

Also, just a reminder that there's still time to enter for the print giveaway! I'm sending off an 11x14 print to one lucky follower of this blog! All ya have to do is click one of the two 'follow' links on this page [one on the sidebar, one on the top menu], and you'll be automatically entered! Good luck! :)
-AW

Week Four

2012-01-25T13:31:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the unintentional suspense - I just started up my spring classes, and am happy to say I am taking five this semester! [Four classes qualifies as 'full-time student', so I guess I'm a super full-time student and photographer :) ] Anyways, I promise to not let that keep me from updating frequently.
Without further ado, here is Miss Rikki Dowhower, in Week Four's photo! :

"Alligator (Choir Version)"
Lyrics

This particular song doesn't have many words, and some of you may recognize it as the end credits song of the film Blue Valentine. [A film that I highly recommend, though I will warn many that it isn't for the faint of heart - it's a very emotionally exhausting movie that requires something lighthearted directly afterwards.] I think it has a beautiful sound, and won my choice over The Psychedelic Furs' "Pretty in Pink".
Tomorrow [I promise] there will be a set of photos up from this day of shooting. I was really excited to channel some Autumn in this particular photo though, and Rikki looks ~~pretty~~ gorgeous in pink :)
Hoping everyone's week is fairing well!!
-AW

Behind the Scenes: Week Four

2012-01-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today's shoot was a little unlike any of the others I've done so far for the [fifty-two weeks.] project. My lovely friend Rikki was in town from Bakersfield, and I had the opportunity to have a day of shooting with her, assisted by her cousin [and Week One's model], Samantha. Clothes, makeup, and camera in tow, we headed north and spent the afternoon shooting. Sam was even kind enough to take some photos of me taking photos...I know, it takes a second to really absorb that sentence.

Week Four's photo will be up shortly - I'm excited for you to see it! There's also a slew of other photos from the day that will be up as well in the near future! :)
-AW

Headshots & Updates

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

The spring semester is quickly approaching [classes start on Monday -- eep!], and I've had the honor of photographing the upcoming talent at our local theaterfest, PCPA. These lovely ladies [Rachel Humbles, left, and Amanda Faries, right] asked me to take their headshots, and I'm so thrilled with how they turned out. Aren't smiles beautiful? :)

I'm currently recovering from a mean cold, but high doses of Theraflu, The O.C., and a visit from Christopher are making things much better. I've got a shoot coming up on Saturday that I'm hoping to be at 100% for, and I can't wait to have some photos to share!

Wishing everyone a safe weekend, and encouraging you to fight off the common cold,
-AW

PS: Almost up to 1000 views on this blog already - wow! Thanks so much, everyone!!

Outtakes: Week Three

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

Week Three

2012-01-18T18:25:00.000-08:00

"Oh My Sweet Carolina"
Lyrics

This week's photo features the lovely Maleah Rivera! We caught the perfect lighting tonight, and there were so, so many photos that turned out from this shoot that I cannot wait to share.
But for now, enjoy :)
-AW

Photo Diary: Cabazon

2012-01-17T06:30:00.000-08:00

Our last day on the road, we took a stop to Claude Bell's Cabazon dinosaurs. For a glimpse into the personal significance, please click here and have a listen. <3
It's been an exciting and exhausting trip, which was all topped off with a beautiful drive home. The sun was peeking through dark storm clouds all along the coast, not to mention Christopher and I got some great caffeine-fueled Beach Boys harmonies going :) I love that boy and my family, and I'm so glad we had the chance to spend some getaway time together.
Thanks for following along, and stay tuned for Week Three's photo!
-AW

PS: I'm having a print giveaway! Interested in entering? All you have to do is hit the 'follow' link, found both a the top and right hand side of this page. Ends January 31st.

Photo Diary: Sky Valley

2012-01-16T06:30:00.000-08:00

Photo Diary: Indio & Coachella

2012-01-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

Coachella at sunset.

[Left:] My brother-in-law hiking up some pretty intense rocks. [Right:] The sun hitting the mountains *just* right.

Coachella.

Christopher browsing Shield's, a local natural grocery, specializing in dates.

[Left:] A stop at the village market. [Right:] Christopher at the poolside.

[Left:] Did I mention my boyfriend is the best at making a cup of coffee? [Right:] Suite plant life. Pun intended.

Last week, Christopher and I embarked on an adventure to the desert with my brother's and sister's family to Indio [closely located to Palm Springs]. We just returned tonight, and I thought I'd share some of the moments of our stay :)
The above photos are from our first two days at the Worldmark resort in Indio, and more photos to come tomorrow of our next day in Sky Valley!
-AW

Before and After: Week Two

2012-01-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

I am a strong believer that a photo should not rely on Photoshop to make it. But, there are some cases where a little fixing-up is necessary. [I almost feel like this is one of those 'How Many Differences Can You Spot?' games.] I thought I'd share the s.o.o.c. image [straight-out-of-camera] in comparison to the final product.
-AW

Outtakes: Week Two

2012-01-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

Going through the photos of Monday's shoot was wonderful and terrible at once; I love seeing a finished product come out the way I had envisioned, but when you are left with a slew of options, it can be tough to decide on just one. These are the few that didn't quite make the cut, but that I still wanted to share :)
-AW

Week Two

2012-01-10T10:33:00.000-08:00

Click here to listen to this week's song pairing, and here for lyrics.

Make-up and hair styling by Shelby Stone, and modeling by the lovely Taylor Rodrigues. Some more photos will be up tomorrow - it was a hard decision for which one would make it!
-AW

Behind the Scenes: Week Two

2012-01-09T21:57:00.000-08:00

Please check back tomorrow to see Week Two's photo!
-AW

Why I Want to Be Autumn DeWilde When I Grow Up

2012-01-08T15:12:00.000-08:00

For the majority of early childhood, I knew who I wanted to be when I grew up: Snow White, of course. I had planned my future of adulthood to take place in an idyllic cottage, spending my afternoons singing in the middle of a forest while little birds landed on my hand. Writing it out, I still see few flaws in this plan. [The few flaws being my lack of a local forest, threats of bird flu and the fact that I am remarkably close in height to the seven dwarfs.]
Other career possibilities following this were: zookeeper, Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, and legendary rock star. We're up to about age twelve here.
Although I believe my frame of mind is not much more realistic or practical as it was back then, I did settle; I want to be Autumn DeWilde when I grow up.

I followed the work of Autumn DeWilde mostly through library copies of Spin magazine, as well as an afternoon of my boyfriend showing me his copy of Elliott Smith in his studio. Last Christmas, I bought him a copy of Autumn's then-latest release, Death Cab for Cutie; I was not only in admiration of her photographs themselves, but that she was one of the few notable photographers I was seeing use 35mm film, as well as other 'vintage' mediums. [I learned photography through my dad's 1970s Nikon, and only within the past year took the leap to digital.] And, to our luck, Autumn was making an appearance in Silverlake that February.
After swinging a stay at our friend's apartment in North Hollywood and a meal of french fries at a sketchy El Pollo Loco, we were in line at the classy coffee shop Intelligentsia, within feet of Autumn DeWilde.

Autumn DeWilde is beyond great. She was incredibly nice about me excitedly blurting, "You're my hero," and although the signing itself went quickly, the excitement lasted...well, I'm still excited about it, to this very minute, almost a year later.
Ideally, I would like to see myself making a living by sitting backstage, on a bus, or in front of a brightly colored brick wall, taking portraits with my small camera collection, intermittently taking notes of the conversations between myself and my subjects. Maybe one day even Autumn and I could have a casual afternoon of photographing a mutually admired musical group together before a sold-out show, and in-between shots we could share our shutter speeds.
I could write about this for days. The main bullet point to take away from all of this is that I have a deep appreciation for DeWilde's work, and that I feel I have come incredibly close to moments of reaching that level of *insert synonym of choice for 'awesome'*, but that I have a long way to go. It's a ride I'm thrilled to be on, though, and I have no regrets choosing it over being Snow White.
-AW

PS: Autumn DeWilde, Conor Oberst, and this cake, all at a hotel within 40 miles of my house. So close to greatness, yet so far.

Photo by Autumn DeWilde.

From California, With Love

2012-01-07T19:04:00.000-08:00

Today I had the pleasure of photographing Sarah, a foreign exchange student currently attending school in Santa Maria, and her boyfriend, Nico, who traveled to the United States for the first time to visit her for winter break. Both Sarah and Nico are from Germany, and are newly acquainted with the beach. [This is something I hardly think of, considering I have lived within ten miles of an ocean my entire life.]
Whenever I am asked to do photos, I always put forth my best effort to avoid the traditional/expected shots. For Sarah and Nico, they wanted photos that were 'California', and so I put every hesitation aside and made their photos as 'California' as I could, golden sunset and all.
Best wishes and safe travels Sarah and Nico!
-AW

Outtake: Week One

2012-01-06T10:57:00.000-08:00

It's always difficult to narrow down a shoot's photos to just one; even if you immediately recognize the perfect one, there's still some you come to look at afterwards that really hold their own.
This was another photo from Week One's session that I just wanted to share before we get to Week Two! Samantha has some incredible smizing going on, and you can see a bit more of her lovely dress in this shot.

Thanks so much for the supportive comments and feedback on this weeks' photo, and I'm looking forward to next week's! Have a great Friday, everyone,
-AW

Week One

2012-01-04T12:18:00.000-08:00

A short preface:
Music has a strong influence in my work, regardless if any is playing during a shoot. I believe that the music you listen to affects certain mindsets, emotions, memories; and that being said, each week I'm going to have a song or piece accompanying a photo. To get the utmost experience, please click here to listen to Bon Iver's 'Roslyn' while viewing this week's photo [and you can even read the lyrics, here.]

That being said, here's week one's photo! :

Model: Samantha Silveria. Make-up: Shelby Stone. (c) Alexandra Wallace

Thank you to Shelby Stone for providing her make-up artistry, and to Samantha Silveria for always following through in being a trooper in carrying out my eccentric ideas :)

-AW

Behind the Scenes: Week One

2012-01-03T12:38:00.000-08:00

Please check back soon, as first photo of the [fifty-two weeks.] project will be posted tomorrow!

Have a very merry Tuesday, everyone!
-AW

let's get aquainted.

2012-01-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Seeing as we will be embarking on this photographic journey together, I feel that we should properly introduce ourselves. And by properly introduce, I mean share a small number of esoteric facts about each other. I'll start us off!

1. I am an avid fan of Star Trek. [And if you must know, my favorite of the films are tied between 'Voyage Home' and 'Insurrection', my least favorite being 'Nemesis'. ]
2. I have a strange fixation with using brackets rather than parenthesis.
3. Fleetwood Mac Live in Boston 2004. Memorized.
4. Hate the word 'redonkulous'. Just, don't.

So, there we go! I'm sure you'll pick up more practical facts about me along the way, and if not, I think those four will sufficiently fuel a conversation that could at least last thirty minutes.
Now, it's your turn! Please leave a comment with your introduction!

-AW

ahoy! : an introduction.

2012-01-01T11:47:00.000-08:00

Photograph by Oriana Sage Stevens.

Hello there, friends! I went in on writing this post with the full intent of having an essay-length insight into the thought that went behind setting this whole site up, but I've already gotten up at least four times since writing that first line, including two trips to refill a bowl of Cheerios, and multiple Spotify playlist changes.

I'm awful.

Last year, I made it a [public] goal to take one photo a day, for each day of the 2011. While there were many late nights of me dragging my feet, sleepily trying to find something to photograph, I managed to do it.
And while I like to think that I will continue to take at least one photograph a day, I have something else in mind. For the year 2012, I will be working on the [fifty two weeks.] project - one photo a week, for each week of the year.
Now! Don't think I'm going easy on myself - while this will be an easier task at face-value when looking at the end number of photographs, there will be a significantly larger amount of effort put into each image. For now, I'm looking at doing a somewhat conceptual portrait for each week. Think along the lines of Annie Leibovitz. This first week's portrait is already lined up, and will be shot and posted before we see next Sunday! Excitement!

I will also be continuing to do traditional portrait sessions for individuals, aspiring models, couples, and families, as well as event photography. I'll try and have a 2012 price list up in the near future, but until then, please feel free to contact me here.

*And* - I will also be filling the pages of this blog with photographic tricks I learn along the way, inspiration I find, and fun behind-the-scene candid photos of shoots. I promise there will be no estrogen-fueled, weepy posts about how men are terrible and how hard it is to find a job these days, because my boyfriend is awesome and I just quit my day job. More excitement!!

I wish each person reading this the very best new year, and a wonderful Sunday. I'm excited to be sharing this new adventure with you!

Cheers,
-AW