Become a full-time photographer… Check!!!!
A little more than a year ago (September of 2008), I posted this on my blog. Since then we’ve put our heart and souls into both being full-time and having our own business. We’ve been busy – maybe a little too busy – but that comes with starting a business. We re-branded from Allie Marie Photography to The Reason, started a new blog and website(s), and started booking weddings. A few months later, Chris was able to quit his day job and focus only on photography. I had to hang in a little longer to make sure things would work out. I’m EXTREMELY happy to tell you that the day has come! I am officially a full time photographer!!
Since it’s also the Thanksgiving season, I’m writing this to say THANK YOU…
… to all of our brides and grooms. You rock. You don’t know how much your compliments have helped us take steps forward. And for those who constantly spread the word about The Reason, we can’t do it without you.
… to all the bosses and colleagues at all the jobs I had before reaching this point. For the friendships I gained out of it. For knowing what I was working towards and being understanding when the time came to move forward.
… to my friends for being interested and understanding how busy we are. For never giving up on us, always asking how the business is going, and believing in us.
… to my family for being so supportive, believing in me, helping us when things were crazy, and offering advice. I can’t believe I was blessed with such a great one.
… to Chris for being the love of my life. For his willingness to learn something new just to spend more time with me (and being ridiculously amazing at it). For his ability to be great at anything he puts his mind to and for challenging me to be the best I can be.
And also… thank you to our blog readers. We know you’re out there, we have the proof. Thank you for being interested at all, leaving comment love (you know we love it!), spreading the word, and cheering us on.
Annnnnnd… here’s ALL the links you’ll need to stay in touch and up to date with The Reason!
I LOVE MY JOB!
allie
Send out your ray of sunshine.
Listen to the song that inspired the name of my blog here. It’s called “Sunshine Song.” I stalk www.archive.org for Mraz recordings (he’s awesome and lets people record and share). This song showed up on one of his set lists at the beginning of the year and I’ve been listening to a crappy recording of it for the past few months. When he played it at the show in July I was so happy! So, now it’s being released on his new Live CD. Yay!

This CD/DVD are definitely on my Christmas List… such an awesome tour.
Silent Inspiration.
I’ve been really inspired by silent films lately. For those of you who don’t know me very well, I have a major in Film Studies. I watched many, many silent films in my film history classes during college and learned to appreciate them. I’ve just recently been reminded how wonderful they are. Because the actors had to use so much body language and facial expressions, I figured the stills of these silent films would be awesome inspiration for my photography. So I Googled, and found this website! Check out these photos (all taken from the site):











So what do you think? Could any of these stills be translated into engagement or wedding photos today?
Did you know you can watch a lot of silent films online? Yep, go to http://retrovision.tv/movies/silent.
allie
Open Mic.
Last year, I wrote this post. I figured I’d do it again because there’s some new songs and artists I’m in love with. It’s all about the girlies this time.
Ingrid Michaelson singing Be Ok. I love pretty much all of her stuff. Also check out “Far Away,” “Keep Breathing,” and “The Way I Am.”
Nataly Dawn. I found her through another photographer’s website and think she’s as cute as a button… and her voice is magical. This is a cover of Seven Nation Army, but she also has some really cute original songs on her YouTube page.
Priscilla Ahn playing I Don’t Think So. She plays guitar, harmonica, ukelele (“Find My Way Back Home”), AND kazoo (“The Boob Song” – very funny!)… therefore, I like her.
Aaaaaaand…. Mraz plays I’m Yours for the first time ever in 2006. It’s fun to see how it’s evolved over the years. If you’re interested in all the different versions, let me know. I might send you some and let you know what my favorite one is.
allie
Keep an inspiration journal… underway.
Inspiration is everywhere. Lately, I’ve felt it tugging at my heartstrings rather harder than usual. I’m not really sure why – maybe the people I’ve met, places I’ve seen, and ideas I’ve come across the past few months have really settled in my memory and are begging for me not to forget them. One of my life list goals is to create and keep up with an inspiration journal. Of all times, I figured the best time to start would be right now. Since an amazing journal my parents got me has been collecting dust since Christmas, I wanted to put it to use. It has owls on it, and they inspire me – so it’s perfect. Here’s a photo :
He looks pretty excited to get started, don’t you think?
I’m setting a few rules for myself so that I can ensure dedication to this journal of mine :
1. Carry it with me everywhere.
2. When anything inspires me, write it down and collect as much information as possible.
3. Don’t write something and forget about it – keep reading what I’ve written.
4. Put the entries in motion – be creative with the inspiration that comes.
5. Share with others.
6. There’s no boundaries!
Following Rule #5, I’ll be sharing certain entries with you lovely people by way of this blog which I’ve renamed Ray of Allie. Why? Because, according to some of my favorite lyrics – “there’s a light in everybody / send out your ray of sunshine.” So I’m sending out mine – a little ray of Allie. I hope you enjoy – or maybe get inspired yourself.
allie
Do you keep an inspiration journal? Leave me a comment – I’d love to get some ideas about how you use it!!
Old becomes new.
Do me a favor.
Take a moment and really look at the photos below.







Believe it or not, these were taken by Mervin Joseph Pius O’Gorman in 1913 with an autochrome lumiere. I’m in love with the way photography has pretty much come full circle – people try to adopt this look using Photoshop. Maybe it’s my love for the whole toy camera look, but there’s something about these photos that makes my head turn with ideas – the textures, locations, composition, model, poses, and wardrobe. Hmmmm…..
I’d love to know your thoughts – pretty, please?
allie























