Blog Posts – Page 4 – ALLYSON ELL PHOTOGRAPHY

September 30, 2014

Outlook on life | Victoria life photographer

Sometimes I need to really remind myself about how blessed my life is. I have two beautiful children and a loving husband. I have two careers that I am good at. But sometimes it’s hard not to get caught up in the stress and business of life. Sometimes keeping up with life really takes it toll. Sometimes I really want to scream – ENOUGH. I’ve had enough. And then I take a moment and I breathe… just breathe. And I break things, throw things, hit things, eat sugary and salty carbs, drink adult drinks… and then breathe again. It’s hard not to give up. It’s hard to keep going. It’s hard not to keep yelling at my kids. I’m hard on me.

Then I breathe again.

And I remind myself to just be.

Just be.

Then suddenly I catch a moment when I see the world through the eyes of one of my children… the big wonderful, awe inspiring world. And it is enough. I take a breath and I can feel blessed once more. liam_fisgard2

September 10, 2014

Vacation with Gerome | Tofino BC Photographer

So in the main office of my daytime job lives a little gnome named Gerome. He sat on a long time on my manager’s desk – and then Gerome would vanish for little short spurts. We found out that this little gnome was travelling the globe. He recently stowed away in our luggage as we went on a family vacation to Tofino, BC. (I will have to post my photos from that amazing week later). But here is what happens when a gnome stows away with a photographer and her family.

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Adventuresome little gnome, isn’t he!

September 9, 2014

Life in Black & White | September

Welcome to another glimpse of my life in black and white. After reading my post, please continue on in the blog circle to see a glimpse of Melissa’s life in black & white.

It’s September… and it should be the second week of school for my son. Usually by now he is settled into his classroom, pencils sharpened and notebooks tucked into his desk. He would be telling me about who he gets to sit with, who is and isn’t in his class this year, and what his first impressions are of his new teacher. But this year is different.

Here he is waiting for his little brother to finish breakfast so we can leave the house. But he’s also waiting to start fourth grade.

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This year has started the way the school year ended in June… no kids in the classroom and no teachers doing their jobs. Instead they are walking the picketlines outside of empty schools, trying to fight so my son can have an education he deserves.

The BC Government is slowing tearing away at the foundations of public education. Students in BC get $1000 each less funding than other provinces. Teachers are spending money out of pocket to create resources, learning materials and educational supports. Children with special needs are losing access to much needed supports. The government insists there is no money to meet the demands teachers are placing on them for (well deserved) wage increases, and class size and composition. While I understand budgeting, the government is also being unrealistic with it’s expectations of these hard working individuals. Class size restrictions and composition supports were stripped out of the contracts with teachers a few years ago. These need to be returned. Two courts have ruled that the government needs to bring this back. And yet, the fighting continues. Caught in the middle are the kids. Kids like my son, who is a well behaved student, who does his work and doesn’t need much help. The silent ones who don’t have behavioural issues or extra needs that demand more time. Classrooms have gotten so crowded and teachers are dealing with so many challenging students, they don’t have much time to spend with someone like my son. They don’t have help to deal with those that need extra attention. Their time is spread thin. My child deserves better than this. Yet we can’t afford to place him in private school. We can’t afford to have me stay home and homeschool him. Why should we have to do that? My husband and I were educated through the public school system. My children have a right to that same education.

Wage issues aside, these two opposing sides need to get it together. They need to negotiate, mediate, arbitrate… whatever it takes to get the kids in the classrooms – with the supports they need; with teachers who feel valued and supported; with the education they all deserve.

I am frustrated, tired, angry… and most of all sad for my son, and the thousands of other students out there waiting… just waiting…

September 3, 2014

Embrace. Life. Moments. | Victoria Storytelling Photographer

Dish duty – Liam, age 4… also known as the day he spent 40 minutes happily scrubbing out silcone muffins liners, plastic containers and my French Press until they were all super extra clean (along with his shirt and the floor!) He was so proud of the work he had done. I was proud that he had learned a few life skills. My husband was happy he didn’t break our coffee pot. His big brother was happy he had 40 minutes of uninterrupted time. Mostly, I realized how much my baby was growing up, and becoming a contributing member of the family. He is on the bridge between young child and independent boy, and time seems to be moving at increasing fast intervals. I can’t stop time, but for a millisecond I can freeze it into a thought-provoking, life embracing moment that I can look at and revisit over and over, and we can all remember those 40 minutes.

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During the last several months I have been on a journey to take my photography to the next level. As I gain a deeper technical skill set, I’m also working on deepening the meaning behind my photography on a personal level. I don’t want to just capture smiles in my photos – I want the smiles I get to be from looking at the moments I capture. I want show a glimpse at my life now, so when I look back I can transport myself right back to that moment, those feelings, those sounds and smells, and emotions.

I also want to do this for you. If you are interested in having personal, meaningful, memorable moments of your life preserved – send me an email. squishy.prints@gmail.com I want to tell your story.

August 17, 2014

Happy Wedding Shower Day Doodlebugs!

In January of 2013, we took a trip to Disneyland. (One day I will finsih editing those and blog about the fun we had with the kids). While there we were able to meet up with my sister and her boyfriend who had gone on a trip to San Francisco. While there, Jordan proposed to Megan on the Golden Gate bridge . We were the first to know when they met us in Anaheim. We were sworn to secrecy… until they could get home and tell our family the news in person. I made them get the wedding Mickey and Minnie Ears to celebrate, and then dragged them around to take some fun photos of the newly engaged pair. At one point they even got serenaded by the mariachi band in California Adventure Park – how cool is that? I’m so glad I got to be a part of their engagement in a small way. And umm… Megan and Jordan – here are those photos a year and a half later. Just in time for the wedding shower we are having for my sister today. Happy shower day to my baby sister. I love you Doodlebugs!

August 5, 2014

Life in Black & White | August

Thanks for joining me for another glimpse of my life in black and white.

The last month I have been on such a personal journey to find and define my voice and my style in photography. I have come to realize that I love capturing those moments that make you look back on life and really remember it – good times and bad. As I work on my journey, along with my other full time job, parenthood, and marriage, I realize I owe so much to my husband. He helps to hold things together. He currently works from home two days a week so that he can look after and spend time with our four year old. Some days I arrive home to find them at war with each other. All this time together means they know how to push each others’ buttons. But they also have a very special bond. While I was in post c-section surgery, my husband was the one to hold and snuggle Liam during his first year of life. The very first smiles Liam gave out were to his daddy. So when I captured these photos of the two of them, I knew they portrayed that special connection they have. I hope as the years go by, and the arguments get louder, that they will always remember these daddy and Liam days – the good and not so good ones… and that they celebrate this time that they had together.

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Please continue on in the blog circle to have a glimpse at the life of my fabulous friend (who takes the best self-portraits ever) Alice Che.

August 2, 2014

My Voice & The Yan Fam Way Experience

I have finally found my own voice…

It’s taken me almost two weeks to compose this blog post. Two weeks to take in, chew-up and process the experience I had in Seattle.

But I have found my voice, my vision… I found me.

I recently took a trip on my own (no kids, no husband) to Seattle, WA. It was to attend a photography workshop with a group of talented women, and lead by the very talented Yan Palmer. I adore Yan and her work. I fell in love with her images a few years ago while she was going through a difficult time in life, and I was too. I watched as her images told the story of her emotions, her thoughts, her rawness and even her vulnerability. So when she announced her workshop dates, and I saw a location only a few hours from me, I jumped at the chance to meet this person who had so inspired me.

She taught me things – but not about how to be like her, or pose and shoot and process like her. Although we did get to watch her do a family shoot – and I learned a lot of great tips from that. She really does some magic with families.

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But mostly, she taught about connections. About how to connect with myself – and how to connect myself to my work. She taught me how to become a purple cow. She challenged me. She was honest. Somehow she made us all open up to our vulnerabilities and work with them. She lead each of us to the start of a path and left us starting on a journey.

I left inspired, renewed, and a little raw. And then I saw it.

The voice. The vision. The person I wanted to be. The photographer I wanted to be. The photographer I am. I know that I want my work to please someone – me. I am working on pleasing me. Shooting images for me. Taking the style that I have been trying so hard to find, and now running with it. I found it.

My style. What makes my photos, my photos.

So now I am about to embark on a journey to be able to share my voice with you all. Some people may not like it. And that is okay. But I will love it. I will own it. I will rock it.

My family has had an incredibly hard year – and we are facing a tougher year still. But through these emotionally challenging days, I have stories to share. Memories to cherish. Moments that will inspire. Moments that will leave me breathless. I am going to capture these moments, so every time I see these images, the emotions they evoke will flood me with the feelings, and reconnect me to me.

I hope that out there, there is another mom like me, who wants her story captured too. Because I am going to capture that for her.

Was the YamFamWay workshop worth it – absoultely. Did I learn all of Yan’s secrets? Nope, proabably not all of them – but I did learn so much more. Did I figure out what was missing from my photos – you betcha. But I’ve found it now. That raw honesty and the pure heart and soul that she pours into her workshops make it the amazing experience she promises it to be. She is open and honest and soul seeking. She really is as wonderful in person as her on-line presence. And she really did help me to figure me out and find my way.

Thanks for helping me find it Yan! (You might want to consider renaming the Yan Fam Way workshop to the Yan Find My Way workshop!)

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Thanks to Heather for opening her home to us. and to Katy for letting up capture her beautiful family during the workshop shoot. Aren’t they the adorable!

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To that group of women I connected with in Seattle, and to the inspiring Diana Palmer – thank you for letting me open up and share, and laugh and cry. Thanks for the fun times, the emotional times, the honesty, the love languages, the process, the Tarasco! (Special thanks to Kristin for hanging out and taking my new head shots… and for that embarrassing moment at PF Chang’s!)

XO
Ally

July 30, 2014

Apple | Victoria BC Photographer

I am so lucky that I am part of a large family. We all meet every Sunday for dinner at my grandparents’ house. This is a tradition that started when I was a baby and has continued on. My children now spend Sunday evenings at my grandparents’ house. I love watching them get the same love, attention and experiences as I did. Right down to picking those apples off the trees. I know one day there may be a day when we will no longer be at that house and in that backyard; where Sunday dinners at that house will be only a sweet memory. But until then, I am going to suck up every delicious moment of these nights with my family.

July 17, 2014

VOICE gallery selection | Victoria BC Photographer

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I am incredibly honored to have one of my images make it as a selection and semi-finalist in the VOICE digital print competition this year.
The purpose of VOICE is to recognize and celebrate images in 14 separate categories that encapsulate the spirit of this special collection – vision, originality, inspiration, creativity and overall excellence. From over 8,000 entries, the VOICE judging panel selected 268 images for this year’s collection. This is one of those images.

You can check out the full gallery here: VOICE Digital Print Gallery

July 8, 2014

Life in Black and White | July

It’s time for another glimpse of my life in black and white…

Summer is officially here, and with it come sunny days with harsh bright light. So,this month I really played with lighting and shadows to try and get some really rich black and whites. Also, since I featured my nine year old last month, I thought the four year old could use his own post!

Thanks for taking a glimpse of my monochromatic life. Please continue on in the circle and check out my fabulous friend Jennifer.

July 3, 2014

Canada Day 2014 | Victoria BC Photography

I realized that I have never photographed an entire day of our life as a family. It’s on my list of things to do. I did shoot many moments from our Canada Day celebrations this year. It was a very busy, fun filled day, and I hope that these memories are ones that our children remember.

This year the boys made their own Canada Day t-shirts. I pretty sure I saw this idea on pinterest… if not someone can feel free to pin it. They traced their hands as maple leaves and then added the rectangles for the sides of the Canadian flag. They both signed their names and for good measure Liam added a cow, sheep and horse to his. This is the shot I got just before Liam pulled down his pants and mooned me. Sigh. Boys!

We then headed into town in the afternoon to join in the Canada Day celebrations. We met up with my sisters and brother-in-laws, and my adorable one year old nephew. (We snuck in that monthly family photo!)

Things got goofy.

These are moose antlers (not bunny ears) – we are Canadian after all!

Charlotte Diamond was giving a concert, but my kids and husband showed very little interest in those classic kids songs (I am a Pizza, 4 Hugs a Day, Slippery Fish… come on – those are classic sing along songs!) So we wandered. Liam really wanted a balloon – he got an orange dog. Caleb got a blue squirrel.

After that we stopped for some ice cream from Beacon Drive-in then headed home to BBQ up some dinner.

This was followed by a little backyard marshmallow roast and running off some sugar sillies.

It was a pretty fun day! Happy birthday Canada!

June 3, 2014

Life in Black & White | June

It’s time for another glimpse of my life in black and white… today’s glimpse is a special one.

Nine years ago today I became a mom. My world was changed for the better, and a sweet little baby boy claimed my heart and made it his own. Caleb you are such a friendly, charming, empathetic and caring boy. You give the best hugs (which seem to be reserved just for me). You are a loyal friend and try hard to be a patient big brother. Thank you for making me a better person, for teaching me patience, compassion and composure. You, with the beautiful soulful eyes, made me who I am today. As I teach you about growing up in this sometimes difficult world, you have taught me to slow down, look around and appreciate my life. I love you, my Squishy. (Incidentally, dear followers, this sweet boy is how Squishy Prints Photography got it’s name… because of my little Squishy!)

Happy birthday!

And just for comparison – here is my little Squishy nine years ago… and also a glimpse of my photography nine years ago. Yup, we have both grown!

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Please follow the circle to see a glimpse of Vanessa’s life in Black and White.