Inquiring.Within

I was doing some photo blog perusing this evening when I came across something extraordinary. One of my favorite photographers -Anna Kuperberg- posted the links to photo projects that she considers inspiring. Being the curious girl that I am, I inquired within and I must say, I've begun to look at photography in a completely different manner. If you have a few moments, take a look at this amazing story titled Days with my Father. In will touch your heart in ways you could never anticipate. Or at least it did mine. That's the type of photographer I hope to become.

Introducing Ashley.Photographer

I've decided to officially change the name of my photography business from Ashley.Xposure to Ashley.Photographer. It's just more fitting of the direction I'm going in and I feel like it suits me a lot better than Ashley.Xposure does at this point in time. As a result, I purchased the new domain www.ashley-photographer.com and I will be using the new address as soon as possible. I actually tried to make the change today, but it wouldn't redirect my blog readers from www.ashley-xposure.com so I'm going to have to wait a little while until everyone gets updated. Hopefully I can do this within a week or so, but I'll play it by ear.

Please update your records and bookmarks to the new address- www.ashley-photographer.com and don't forget to pass on the info to those who would be interested. This address will be up and running very soon. Thanks for your patience!

My favorite.holiday: Ketchup Edition

Halloween = my all time favorite holiday. Don't ask me why, it just is. Halloween was only 15 days ago but people have already started to decorate for Christmas! The day before Halloween, Jeff and I decided that we didn't want to miss out of the fun of carving a pumpkin. So we went to the grocery store to see what we could scrounge up. I didn't expect to find the perfect pumpkin because after all, I didn't plan ahead this time. When we arrived and began looking for that famous cardboard container where pumpkins are usually kept, I noticed that the aisle formerly dedicated to all things Halloween, was completely covered in all things Christmas! But Jeff, it's the day BEFORE Halloween! My Halloween loving self was a little angered that MY holiday was being cut short. Nevertheless, after going to a different store that didn't sell Christmas items, we found our almost perfect pumpkin and the next day, the festivities ensued.

Note: Most of these images were taken using my new favorite lens.

The pumpkin in the middle is the almost perfect one we chose and the other two we painted at Miss Em's Halloween party.

Jeff and I are huge Dark Knight fans. He painted this clever little face.

It's a pumpkin baby =).

Reason number 5,468 why I love my husband: he's crazy.

Kirby watching on...she must have missed Jeff's mom so much that watching us carve the pumpkin while taking a million photos actually looked entertaining

Believe it or not, getting all the seeds and pumpkin guts out of the pumpkin is strangely my favorite part of the endeavor. Hey, I know how to get my hands dirty, okay?

I wanted to cook them, but Jeff said we'd never get around to it. This is my last memory of those precious pumpkin seeds!

Ahh the pumpkin guts in all their slimy and sticky glory.

Now that is what fall should look like. I think the weather decided to be nice on Halloween instead of providing us with another 80 degree day.

I love this image. I don't know why. There was a bug near my face while I was posing for this picture and I couldn't stay still. In fact, you can actually see the bug near my left eye. Oh how I love a fast shutter.

Jeff's idea. Sorta posed but I like it.

I. love. him.

Now for the actual carving. We decided to use a pattern this time instead of trying to create our own face. You know, just to see if we could do it.

Then we started wishing that someone else was there to take pictures of us together.

But we managed just fine on our own.

Finished product in the dark. We also love the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Did you know they're coming out with a 4th movie? Beyond excited.

Our own candy stash. I miss my trick-or-treating days.

And our cheesy entertainment. I was laughing so hard that I had a difficult time being still enough to shoot this!

Thanks for the socks Miss Em!

98.8 percent.sure

I'm finally home from my trip to Chicago and completely exhausted! The trip was incredible and eye opening to say the least, and I spent much of the time walking around doing what I love. It's amazing how much insight one can gain by temporarily abandoning their surroundings. The colors of the leaves were breathtaking, the Italian food was scrumptious, and the weather, well, freezing! The day I left it was only 34 degrees and with the wind that the windy city provides, it made it a bit colder than I prefer. Can you blame me? I've spent my entire life living in Orange County.

I love what getting out of town does for me. I love getting away from all the familiarity and the stress that it sometimes brings and allowing myself to really embrace something different. Whenever I'm away from home I always miss it, but usually return with a new found appreciation for things I often take for granted. Take the sunlight for example. Before I left I cursed the sun and wished for rain. After all, 80 degree weather in October is just not very representative of fall. But after spending 4 days in the cloudy and gloomy weather of Chicago in November, I came home and rejoiced when I had to wear sunglasses and leave my heaviest coat in the closet.

In short, I had a wonderfully busy trip that caused me to really reevaluate myself and my life. As a result, I feel the need to make some changes. Starting with the name of my photography business. While Ashley.Xposure served me well as I started my business, it's just not as representative of me as I'd like it to be. I've spent time trying to figure out the perfect name and tonight, I think it hit me. I'm 98.8 percent sure about this one and after googling it, I haven't found the name with the added details I plan to include. Thus, and I know this is premature, I present Ashley.Photographer as the name I am 98.8 percent sure I will be using from now on. I want to make sure this is what I want before my website is finished and I go any further in terms of my branding. But it just feels right for so many reasons. Photos of Chicago to come when I catch up on everything I left behind for the weekend!

Jet.Setter

I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be out of town for a few days. Tomorrow, I'm headed off to the Windy City for a nice break from my typically crazy day-to-day pace. I will be able to check my email (thank you iphone), but probably won't be able to respond until I get home early next week. That touch keyboard isn't all it's cracked up to be, but I can't complain too much. Have a great weekend everyone! You can be sure I'll have a bizillion photos to share when I return home. Hopefully one's that a bit more level than this one...

Published: numero deux

I'm ecstatic to announce that I got published in the OC edition of Riviera Magazine! They featured some of my images in two different pieces in November's issue and I couldn't be more excited about it. The best part is that you can actually find this magazine on various news stands (I know Borders carries it) so for me it just feels like a big deal. I'm still waiting for my copies in the mail, but that's always when it sets in for me. I suppose it's something about holding it in your hand and having something tangible to see. I remember the first time I got published. I picked up a copy at the office, brought it out to the car, and start screaming and bouncing around like a little girl at a Hannah Montana concert. Needless to say, it really feels good to have someone else value my work the I do. I really put my heart and soul into my photography, not to mention my perfectionistic efforts.




Now I can finally tell you about the nature of the photo shoots! I've had to be a sneaky snake about it because I wasn't supposed to blog about it until the issue came out. Now that it is, it's time for me to start splaining as Ricki Ricardo would say.

It was an overcast Friday afternoon in September. I met up with Christopher at the Riviera offices, and we headed over to the Lab in Costa Mesa. The title of our mission: Person on the Street. The purpose: find individuals who have interesting and unique personal style. My job was to somehow capture the essence of these individuals in a very short amount of time. We're talking, 10 to 15 minutes, or even while they were interviewing with Christopher. This small interviewing chunk of time is what I found myself taking advantage of. The individuals were able to focus on their interviews with Christopher while I shot away, hopefully without making them feel too much like they were surrounded by papparazzi. Hopefully the interview was a good distraction for them.

Christine was the first person we came across. She also happened to be a friend of Christopher's, and I thought she made a great first model for our mission. So much so that I couldn't resist posting her images on this blog. An hour or so later, we found Chanel. Yes folks, that's her real name and I couldn't be more jealous! She was named after the Chanel we all know and love and she wears the accessories to boot. I only own one Chanel item and that is my beloved pair of sunglasses I got for Christmas almost two years ago. Jeff originally got me a Coach purse, but because I didn't absolutely LOVE it (I'm a perfectionist, okay?), I decided to trade it in for another style. After all, I had never owned a brand name person before that day. Months passed and I still couldn't find the perfect style for me. So I ended up going to the Chanel store, you know, just to take a peek. The sunglasses weren't too much more than the purse (I lie), so Jeff caved and bought them for me. They are my first pair of sunglasses that cost more than 20 bucks and probably the most costly accessory I own besides my wedding and engagement ring. I love them so much that I even wore them in some of my engagement and wedding photos! I try to avoid being materialistic, but I must say, I've never loved a pair of sunglasses more and I really do feel pretty cool when I wear them. Okay, enough with the tangent. Everyone, meet the very stylish and gorgeous, Chanel.

I must say. I LOVE the color of her lipstick. I could never pull it off, but she makes me want to try!

One of my favorites.

All I want for Christmas is...a Chanel necklace like this one. Just kidding Jeff!

After searching for potential interviewees at the Lab for a few hours, we headed over to the Camp across the street. There we found Gabriela. It was her blue pants and amazing curly hair that caught my eye. Come to find out, she was actually waiting to interview with someone at Riviera! We took a few minutes to interview her for our piece and I snapped a few photos. Her interviewer arrived and our interview/photo session got cut a bit short. When I received the news that my photos of Chanel were going to be published in Riviera, I also learned that my photos of Gabriela were also going to be used for a different piece. Come to find out, the person from Riviera who she was waiting to interview with, would eventually need a photo of her for the piece she was doing. Coincidence? I think not. When I found out that my image would be used for a second piece in the issue, I began counting my blessings. Meet Gabriela.

Testing my light. Can you find me?

My favorite photo from the set

Do you think I beat the record for most links in a single post? And I wasn't even trying.

Making.Friends

My grandma used to tell me I could make friends anywhere. This discussion arose quite frequently, most notably, when she and my grandpa moved from Long Beach to San Diego. One of my best childhood friends lived next door to her house and when it was decided that she was going to move, I worried that I wouldn't have any friends to play with when I went to visit her. It was then that she reminded me, Addie Boo, you can always make friends where ever you go! Those probably aren't her exact words, but everything she said was always that simple and enthusiastic. It's funny how when we become adults, we begin to realize that all those things our parents and grandparents and teachers used to tell us, are not only true, but very profound.

A few weeks ago, I went out on assignment for Riviera Magazine. It was my first time doing this type of shoot (type to be revealed later), and I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't be able to deliver what I always seem to create on my own time schedule. It was then that I met Christine. Christine not only ended up being my first subject of the day, but a friend as well as she kept her eye out for great photo opportunities for the remainder of the day.

Just last week, I went out on another assignment for the same magazine, and you'll never believe who I ran into. It was Christine! She asked me if I had done many photo shoots for Riviera, and I told her that it was only my 2nd time shooting for them. Both my experiences shooting for them have included seeing Christine and let me tell you, it's going to be weird when I finally end up shooting without her there! Since the photos I took of her did not end up getting published, I told her that I would be more than happy to edit them for her and send them her way. She contacted me, and when asked if it would be okay if I posted them on this blog, she enthusiastically agreed. While I only had about 10 minutes to shoot these images during my first assignment, I love how they turned out. Christine, thank you so much for being such a great model and for helping me to realize that I really can make friends where ever I go.

Christine has an AMAZING smile.

And AMAZING style.

Christine is also a film major. See how contemplative she is here? It's takes a creative mind to be a film major!

When we first met, she educated me about her hat. It's called a pill box. I told you she had amazing style.

Sneak.Peak!

Wow, it's been a busy week! Three photo shoots. That's definitely more than the pace I'm used to, but I loved every minute of it. Photography really doesn't feel like work to me. Maybe that's why I feel like it's the perfect profession for me. Last Saturday, Jeff and I shot a "day after" session for his cousin, Brooke and her new husband, Jake. Saying we had fun would be an understatement. Here's one of the images I fell in love with immediately. The best part is that this moment wasn't staged at all. No instruction needed for these two lovebirds! I found myself hurrying with delight to capture all these amazing moments. Stay tuned for for images from their shoot in the next few weeks.

Then on Tuesday, we did part II of Jasper's session. Some of you may remember Jasper from the sneak peek I posted a while ago. I can't believe how much he's grown since then. He's crawling now! It was really beneficial for us to do half the shoot a couple months ago, and then half now. You could really see the age progression and I can't wait to put everything together to show all you bloggers out there! For now you'll have to be content with what has become one of my all time favorite images. Happy early Halloween!



Oh, and you're probably wondering about photo shoot number three. It was a shoot I did yesterday for a magazine to be named at a later date. I would give you a sneak peek, but I have to wait until the images are published! Stay tuned for that as well.