The Hunton Family - Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods is my new favorite place to take family portraits. I had a great time with Mary, Trent and their precious baby Caroline a couple weeks ago at the Garden. I love when families are so happy and they just interact without cue; it makes for the best, most natural portraits ever! It also didn't hurt that we had a perfect blue sky, sunny Colorado afternoon.

Thanks Hunton's for a great session.

-Ali

Bonnie the Golden

Soooo, as I said a few posts ago, I'm adding a little something to my portfolio. Colorado Springs is one of the most pet friendly cities in the United States. I LOVE that. Everywhere you go here, you see people walking their dogs, hiking with their dogs, taking their dogs to the dog park, and even taking their precious pups to dinner with them! Everyone loves their dog, and who wouldn't want some amazing photographs of them?!

This is Bonnie. When I did this session, it was just Bonnie, me, and the camera. She was a little camera shy, but she forgot about it as soon as I started throwing her tennis ball. She is such a sweet girl.

Waguespack Fam

About a week and a half ago I did a photo session for the Waguespack family. The blond girl in the photos, Andrea, just happens to be a great friend of mine. Her husband, Darick, was home for R&R and thus, they had A LOT of family in town. :) They decided to take advantage of the opportunity and do a portrait session. This group was so much fun...for real! I think they had me laughing the whole time!

I did the session at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It was a beautiful day, a great family, and wonderful weather.



















Thanks Wags,
-Ali

James Lee: A Photographer in Afghanistan

Just yesterday Stoney sent me a link for the blog of a photographer, James Lee, who is currently photographing from the Kunar province in Afghanistan. This is the first time I've heard of him, but his work is fantastic. The combination of his photojournalistic talent and his insightful written explanations/background of the photos give you a real glimpse into the actual Afghanistan. I believe that the general U.S. population only knows as much as they see on the nightly news. When in fact, there is so much more depth to the story.





Do you really know what our soldiers are doing over there?
Do you understand the turmoil and suffering innocent Afghan's have been through?
Do you realize how many heros are fighting for you?
Do you see that in the midst of war, our brave soldiers are working to help rebuild the country?

These are all questions I'm asking myself as well.

Please just remember that there is always more to the story. We get so caught up in our own little bubbles that we forget there are real people over there. Afghan families, American families, Canadian families, Latvian families, even families all the way from New Zealand, and everywhere in between - we are all in this story. There are so many that have lost their loved ones. I don't understand this, but I believe that our soldiers are there for good reason. Our soldiers are amazing, brave, strong, courageous, chivalrous, tough, loving, and devoted. They are hard workers, proud American's, and loving husbands, wives, dads, moms, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters.

You may not believe in this war, but believe in those fighting for us.



Please pray for our soldiers. Pray for all those fighting for our country. Pray for the innocent who are caught up in this war.

If you are interested in learning more about the area, this is a great book:


Much love.
-Ali

Tonni Maralena - headshots

Here are some photos of a beautiful and talented person who I feel so blessed to also call my friend. Tonni is a "West Texas-born designer responsible for Tonni Maralena silver belts." She has recently taken these belts to Market in Dallas and I'm so excited that her "wearable art" is now out there for everyone to see! These belts are gorgeous! To take a look at her products you can check her out at www.TonniMaralena.com, and you can also become a fan of Tonni Maralena on Facebook.












How cute is she?!

This is Tonni's logo. Awesome!



Miss you Tonni. Hope to see you soon, and keep up the fantastic work!