Since having heard a lot of stories about these old mining towns from my husband (since he is always visiting various parochial parishes all over the place), we decided to take a road trip up to these bad boy towns and of course I wanted to see what they really had to offer to a little Lehigh Valley photographer like me. Some of the towns we shot at were Pottsville, Tamaqua, Shenandoah, etc...you get the point. Hope you enjoy my side stuff & prints are available for purchase just email us. -AA

"Hairless with a toupe'e" A dog with all the personality you ever need....Ziggy is by far one of the coolest dogs I have ever come in contact with. He is a Chinese Crested - Hairless doggy.

• A couple fun facts about these dogs: 
• Date of Origin 13th Century
• they need sunscreen when outside for long periods of time
• they are hypoallergenic
• they are known for bad teeth (hence why a lot of their tongues hang out of their mouths)

 

 

 

Merry Ukrainian Christmas to everyone!  Let you guys in on a little bit of my life and let you know that I take pride in my Ukrainian/Slovak heritage, my mom's extended side of the family celebrates Christmas on January 7th vs. December 25th. Pretty interesting & cool, will post a blog with some of the traditional foods, carollers, & vodka shots!   Cheer & peace to everyone today.

Today certainly was quite a windy-rainy day... it really felt as though Fall was making a huge entrance, and I am totally digging the dark Cerulean skies.

Thought I would share some photos I shot of the cloudscapes, sun setting, and of course my two kiddies Hampton and Maylea.

 

One of my dearest friends, Rachel, has been compared to a modern-day Audrey Hepburn look-a- like.... I definitely think this shows thru in these images.  Rach called me about a month ago and told me she had a project she wanted me to work on with her. This project was to put together 3 very similar but very different concepts of sexy for a band.  The first concept was:

"Powerful and Sexy"

The Second Look was an "Over-sexed Cowgirl"

The Third Look was a "Lonely Housewife" 

I'd love to hear what you guys think, if we nailed these image personas or not!

Finally upgraded my camera to the Mark II, and had to test it out!   I really think the pictures  speak for themselves. These shots were taken last Friday after the storms had cleared up late afternoon and into the sunset. Watch for videos to be "Coming Soon!"

Jim and I went to visit my parents yesterday afternoon and from our visit we ended up coming back with a ton of plants from my parents yard!  It was really sweet my dad took time out of his day to dig up and separate parts of the ivy and other plants he included in the assortment.   I was thrilled to inherit pieces of the plants that had been growing in the backyard (the backyard I spent most of my life "growing up years" in.) Lots and lots of memories from that yard!!!  It feels exceptionally good to recycle my parents plants and bring a little piece of my old home to our new home and create life with their plants that originated almost similarly to our relationship. The Recipe: a lot of time, a lot of love, nurturing and cultivation breathed life into me and into these plants! Thanks Mom & Dad xoxo

Decided to experiment with the technique "painting with light" lastnight with my husband Jim, and my sister in law and here are two shots that ended up being my absolute favorites.  I hope you enjoy these :)

I plan on doing a lot more work like this in the next months to come, as well as bringing the concept to some of my wedding work!

So here are some more fun shots from mine and Naomi's photo session up in Cherryville, PA.... Part one was a little bit more serious with an artsier look.

Feather Haipiece was made by Lo Boheme click on the link to visit her store!

 

 

I have worked with Naomi once before and our pictures turned out amazing.  Everytime we shoot together something crazy happens and the pictures turn out to be Fine art pieces. Feather Haipiece was made by Lo Boheme click on the link to visit her store!  So I decided after shooting and looking at these photos I was going to give my lowdown on Wedding photography and how it isn't JUST "Wedding Photography" but that it is so much more.

My job and mission as a photographer is to open up people's eyes and introduce them to see more value and meaning behind a picture.  I try to get people to look at my photography as more than just a service, and that photographers are indeed artists and this is artwork.

 

In the grand scheme of things Wedding photography is an art and should always turn out as work you’d want to display on your walls… I absolutely love giving my clients “one of a kind” pictures from their wedding day. Those photos are always looked back on and viewed by your children, your children’s children, and passed down through generations...  Your wedding photos are so much more than just photographs they stand for the emotions you felt, as memories, and a visual /chronological timeline of the events that you didn’t even remember happened on your special day.  There have been a bunch of brides who have called me during/after looking at their wedding photos and said “you made me cry” and I think that is if not one of the most  rewarding  compliments anyone can get.   -AA

Of course like everyone else, I visit my Mother on Mother's Day!   We spent Mother's Day at the Andrew Household in good old Emmaus, PA.   Having just gotten married in April, my parents home is no longer where I reside. 

 

It's always really nice to reunite with all of my family for special occasions!  

Crissa got a little scraped when she first got into the tree...

She recovered really quickly and was ready to go back up into the tree like a champ

My neices are growing up so fast, and the family keeps on growing too... my sister Erin is having her 1st child come October. 

Molly is going to be turning 3 in June, and Morgan just turned 1 year old.

My nephew/ godson is in second grade and 8 years old!  He is almost as tall as me, any day now he is going to outgrow me.

While choosing a honeymoon destination (Carol T. from United World Travel in Emmaus, PA) Helped us stumble upon the El Dorado Royale in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. The service, to the 9 gourmet restaurants we had to choose from each night, to the friendly staff- Absolutely EVERYTHING and everyone was phenomenal!  We couldnt be happier with where we chose to go!

This was the view looking up at our room from the group pool

              Our Honeymoon Room was a private Infinity Pool Casita on the upper level of the resort. It was especially nice because we had our own entrance.

 

More views of our room (outdoor shower, indoor shower, bed, jacuzzi)

 

The View from the room was absolutely insane (Palm trees swaying, music being played- very very beachy.)

And then there were the occasional iguanas that lurked the property, they had signs up everywhere do not walk on the grass, I guess that was because they blend in so well! 

In our spare time in the water I shot this picture of us with my little Sony point & shoot

Real Coconuts growing wild... I was so surprised to see this, and with that we had the best fresh coconut ice cream I have ever had.

From the room service, to the special little honeymoon gifts we received every night when the housekeeping staff turned down our beds to the indoor and outdoor showers - this vacation in the Riviera Maya was AMAZING!

Last but not least while arriving back to the Philly airport we got interviewed on Fox 29 News which was really embarassing... all over the Swine Flu.  Yes, everyone we are back safe with our health entact.

 

So here's how it happened... for all of you brides who would like a little insight into  my life!

Jimmie surprised me the night before the last wedding I was shooting in the 2008 wedding season (November 7th to be exact.) We had just come home from the Allentown Brew Works (we had attended a bridal rehearsal.)  I was a little bummed because I had spent my entire summer season shooting weddings, and sharing in everyone else's wedding bliss and kept wondering when's it going to be my turn?  I was laying on the couch and Jim knelt down next to me and started pouring out his heart to me. With a little bit of emotion/ okay almost crying he said "there would be nothing that would make me happier than for you to be my wife" and then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the box!  I had no idea he was really proposing and that this was really happening to me. I kept saying "stop it, stop it" "your not doing this now" ha  and then of course I said "YES" to marrying him. Very casual proposal in our home but also VERY unexpected. It surely made me excited for the wedding I had to shoot the next day!  

Yay so our wedding date is April 18th, 2009.

So a lot of times on road trips I will be get so bored in the passenger seat that I shoot pictures as we're driving and have included some shots I captured on a trip out to Raystown Lake.