by Amy | Sep 17, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
This is Allene. In case you haven’t noticed…she has aqua hair. Which, automatically makes her about 30x cooler than I’ll ever be. Sure, she may hail from small-town, Practically Canada, but she’s edgy, urban and has a do-what-I-please attitude that makes me smile. Oh, yeah…and she loves her mom–who joined us on the session. It was her mad texting skills and random comments that caused a lot of these adorable caught-me-off-gaurd smiles.
What follows here are some of my favorite images from her senior portrait session. But, there is one prized gem that you won’t see here. Remember the contest I ran for Andrew? It was such a hit, I’ve decided to run one for all of my remaining senior sessions. If you missed it, let me refresh your mind.
I’ve posted one of Allene’s best images on the Amy Allender: The Art of Living Facebook page. There are two copies–one color and one black and white. Go on over and “like” your personal favorite. If 40 people share their two-cents, Allene will receive a free 8×10″ print of the favorite. Not to mention, it’s super fun to see the battle of color vs BW rage on! So check out this post, then go vote!
I love a session that includes a few props that give a glimpse into the personality of my subject. That said, you can imagine how excited I was when Allene told me she’d like to bring some books along. I mean, books in the park…with those eyes and that awesome hair?! Yes, please.
I was so excited about her bookworm tendencies that I took things a step further by getting the okay to shoot a few inside Minot’s public library. I wasn’t sure if she would think this was a good idea or totally lame. Lucky for me, Allene was up for trying anything my crazy mind could come up with. And I’m so very pleased with the result. {Also, isn’t that dress amazing?!}
And, since the sunflowers were still blooming, I obviously insisted we take a trip to the edge of town for a little vibrancy.
There’s an time just before sunset when the light is perfect and soft–when colors melt into something totally luscious and portraits take on a magical quality. Photographers call it the “golden hour.” We just so happened to be in the wheat field when that hour rolled around. Like the time of day…I think these are pretty magical. So I’ll leave you here. In the wheat, in the golden hour.
Now, before you leave completely, don’t forget to go over to the Facebook page and vote! Allene needs 40 people to share their opinion to win the complimentary 8×10″ of the favorite photo!
PS–check out more Minot Senior Portraits here.
by Amy | Sep 10, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
Say hi to Andrew. He’s smart, kind and has mad evangelical skills. Seriously. The guy knows how to integrate Christ into a conversation. During his session we came across a drifter, and this guy–this one right here–struck up a conversation, read a Psalm, and explained the plan of salvation. Right there on the street. I can’t make this stuff up. I’m so proud to know him.
Below you’ll find a sneak peek of his portrait session. BUT–you should also go over to the Amy Allender Facebook page for an extra special contest I’m running. I’ve posted my fav-or-ite photo from Andrew’s session. In color and black and white. Go over and “like” the one you like the best. If 40 people vote, Andrew will get an 8×10 of the winner. So, you should go over and vote. And like the page. And tell your friends to like the page….so we can do more fun things in the future.
I love that senior sessions often involve a mom. It’s particularly true for guy sessions. Probably because boys don’t care as much about senior portraits as girls do. But either way…I love moms and I love when they come along. Like Andrew, his mom is a gem. This session was a blast not only because, he {being on the very photogenic side of the scale} made my job easy…but because between takes and during clothing changes I got to chat with Trish. Nights like this, clients like these…they really make me love my job.
Oh, and I must say…I’m a huge fan of the suit portraits. Girls laugh and wonder why guys always have a senior photo in a suit. This. Is. Why. Totally dashing. Girls really have no equivalent. A dress? We wear dresses all the time. A portrait of a girl in a formal dress? Nope. That’d seem weird. But a guy in a suit. Pure class.
Okay, we’ve come to the end. Join me in wishing Andrew a happy senior year. And don’t forget to go to the Facebook page and vote!
I’ll see you tomorrow…and I’ll be sharing photos and stories from the Badlands.
Amy
by Amy | Sep 8, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
by Amy | Sep 5, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
Sunflower Mini Sessions | Part Three
I am so happy to finally be posting the final round of Sunflower Mini Sessions. Not that I’m happy they are over with. That’s not it at all. It’s just that the folks you see here tonight really got the run around. First their sessions were moved because an exercise on base meant most husbands couldn’t make it. Then we got rained out–twice. But finally we had the perfect evening.
The ground was still a little soggy. My shoes ended the night caked in mud and gravel and a few items of clothing got a little dirty. But no one really seemed to mind. In the end, it was all about capturing a few dreamy North Dakota moments–in the last moments of summer, before winter comes again and we count down the days to another season of cool breeze, open skies, mosquitoes and sunflowers.
by Amy | Aug 28, 2014 | Blog, The Art of Art
After I posted the first Community Canvas I did for Minot’s Arts in the Park program I got a lot of positive feedback. Enough people took notice that I was contacted by someone involved with the Festival on Main, an annual end of summer street festival. She asked if I’d like to do a canvas that would be on display for a while the morning of the festival that kids and families could paint on.
Yes, please!
So I made a canvas. This canvas to be exact. It’s “downtown” themed and inspired by the actually buildings on Minot’s Main Street. I like it a lot.
Then the weather turned and I heard that the festival was cancelled. To confirm I texted my contact to be sure. This is how that came out.
Nothing like an awkward auto-correct to a person you don’t really know. Especially when it’s someone you would like to think you are professional and responsible…a person appropriate for public events.
So awkward. And the worst part is, I sent this when I was at a birthday party, so I wasn’t really paying full attention. I didn’t realize what I’d said until the next day. The. Next. Day. I wrote back saying that I meant “canvas” not “Canadian.” She hasn’t responded.
Why would I have a Canadian all dressed up? Darn my will to be witty. Just a little witty. Very little.
The moral of the story? Read your texts.
xo
Amy
by Amy | Aug 25, 2014 | Blog, Devotional, The Art of Faith
Those of you who have worked with me or close to me {especially in my early self-employment years} know that I’m not opposed to taking unusual payment. I guess in that sense I’m very old fashioned. The kind of girl who could accept a dozen eggs for an hour of cow milking. Okay, so–maybe that exact deal never happened anywhere. Ever.
But I have been known to accept the world’s greatest chocolate chip cookies, meals, banquet tickets, and {recently} a Muppet-esque puppet made to my likeness. {It’s not quite done but I promise I’ll show it to you when I get it.}
My most recent barter was exchanging some graphic design for two tickets to a local positive music festival called Rock the Leaves. If you live here in Practically Canada you should check them out. They put a second event on in the spring called Beardstock, which I’ve heard had a pretty cool promo in the Rock the Leaves program.
You got me. I made that. To be fair–I genuinely do think it looks cool.
As part of my payment I got a VIP experience with this year’s headliner: Sanctus Real. I took a friend and together with the other VIP ticket holders we got to hear Santus Real play two songs from their new album acoustically followed by a question and answer time, followed by photo and autograph time.
Something they said in response to one audience question really stood out to me. A man asked what the best part of their job is as a touring band. In response, lead singer, Matt Hammitt, told us that the absolute best part is when they meet up with people from the audience who share how God has used their music to speak to them. He told us that he uses song writing as a way to cope with hard times and turn to God. He said he loves learning how God has used the words He inspired to work in others’ lives.
I love that. So what I’ve been mulling over is the idea that we all have songs and music running through our lives. Maybe not literally–believe me, no one wants me to write a song, much less sing it. But our struggles, the way we move in times of hardship, our testimonies, the stories we share, the words we use…these comprise our song. The same way God can use their music to reach someone, help them, pick them up, direct them, affirm them–He can use our lives’ songs to do the same to all the people we see and interact with.
It’s a ripple effect and I believe most of us will never know just how far our ripples have spread. Hard times are…well…hard, but if we use our free will to choose to continue to proclaim the goodness of the Lord, He will carry our song far and wide. The strain of a trial and the victory found afterward become our song, a song that can speak volumes to an unknown mass.
by Amy | Aug 23, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
Mystery solved. It’s Michelle and Dan! A long journey has led to this point and I couldn’t be more thrilled to share their pregnancy announcement with you. For the record–this is my favorite chalkboard I’ve ever drawn for a session. So sit back and enjoy. Bask in the glow of happiness and triumph.
by Amy | Aug 21, 2014 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
Sunflower Mini Sessions | Part Two
Lots and lots of things going on this week…with tons of amazing photos on the desktop waiting for their turn to be edited, you can expect to be seeing a lot of pretty faces here on the blog in the near future. But let’s pace ourselves.
A week ago I shot these amazing, super-pretty shots of Naomi in the sunflower fields as. All the other sunflower mini sessions got moved, due to work conflicts. That’s okay, though. Naomi and I had a great time. And there was no rush, since it was just the two of us…which is fine by me because she is incredibly easy to photograph.
Just don’t be bummed out…the others didn’t get cancelled, just moved. So there is still one more sunflower post to come before the season is over.
