Winter Quiet

Hello my lovely readers,

I know that I have been absent of late, and I apologize. I had some personal complications that I needed to work out. It is February, the short month in which the winter often takes its most disheartening plunge into the sub-zero temperatures and everyone huddles under layers of sweaters and blankets trying to remember the warmth of a fleeting summer. However, in my home town, we have been lucky with a rather mild winter. I pray that the rest of you have enjoyed such luck as well.

As some of you are aware, I recently added a few new additions to my family. For Christmas someone very dear to me gave me Vulcan, and Instax 210, and then, in January I found Yoshi, my Yashica FX-2 and it was love at first sight. I have been learning her quirks (and she has a few) and expanding my knowledge of film these past few weeks. Below I have posted some of the fruits of my labor (all of which were shot on expired 35mm film).

I made no New Year's resolution this year. For me, the new year did bring the start of a new chapter in my life, but it also was witness to a painful end of something wonderful. So I chose not to add pressure of a resolution to my 2012 year, and am instead focusing on learning more about myself, about my art, and about life itself. Perhaps that is a sort of unstated resolution, but I chose not to call it such. I hope that 2012 has been kind to all of you, and for those of you who have experienced its more harsh side, know that my heart goes out to you. I truly appreciate every single one of you lovely readers, and I can not thank you enough for the kindness that you have shown me.

 On a quiet, misty morn, when all the frost was tinted with magic and wonder, I walked through the silent world, not quite a part of the mystery, yet still incorporated into its magic.

 May you find joy and peace this year, my dear readers :)

 -AK

P.S. I have another post devoted entirely to the lovely misty frost I witnessed the other day in the works :D

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

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