Let Them Eat Cake!

This adorable fellow turned one this week!

I’ve working on updating my website, so we thought: CAKE SMASH!  Turns out, Tyler had little interest in the cake! Who knew? haha

Broccoli and carrots it is then, good for you kid!   Even unsure about what this cake thing is, Tyler is still quite a cutie.  Happy birthday little guy!!  Wishing you a wonderful first birthday!

 

 

Family Photos

This post is long overdue, but lots of photography has been happening and a new website is in the works!

Before the holidays, I had the pleasure of photographing my coworker Angelina and her family.  Working at Otis College, I meet and photograph lots of wonderful folks.  At an Art College you find a certain vibrancy, not only in the art, but also in the people you meet.  Photographing coworkers with their families can be especially fun!  Angelina and her family, certainly exemplified this sentiment.

Creating exciting and beautiful family photos is very gratifying for me.  I love being able to capture kids as their parents see them: lively, unique individuals.

And there’s no greater compliment to me, then when a parent looks at a photo and laughs and says, “that’s my kid!”

 

 

Happy 2017 everyone, a little late, but more coming soon!!

Wearable SOS Ring – Mangos Ring: A Product Shoot With A Cause

Dodgeballers do more then play hard and create cute babies; they also work hard and have brilliant and creative minds.  Last week, I met up with Mark Hardy, a Westside dodgeballer, to do a product shoot for his Kickstarter Campaign for the Mangos Ring, a wearable SOS device that allows you to call for help discretely and easily, by pressing the front of the ring.

Mangos is a simple, yet stylish looking ring, that works with an App on your phone to help notify loved ones when you might need help or could be in danger.

It is exciting to be part of something that could save a life.  It is also something special to be part of something from its infancy, right now Mangos is partway through their Kickstarter Campaign and is looking for more supporters; we all can help bring this awesome device to market!

For more information on the Mangos Ring, check out the the Mangos Website here , the Mangos Kickstarter Campaign here or the Mangos Facebook Page here!

“When Water was Everywhere”, Portraits of an author

Of the  many things I love about photography, one on the top is the list is the people I meet.  Barbara Crane came to my studio to take author photos for her book, “When Water was Everywhere” a book that discusses the history of water in Los Angeles.  Barbara was a delight and I am happy to announce that her book is now available on www.Amazon.com and at Barnesandnoble.com.

 

Water is a hot topic these days.  The promised El Nino pretty much skipped us and this week’s heatwave has sent many of us running for water: beaches, pools and even sprinklers.  But as I am reminded every time I open my water bill, though when we look out at what seems like a vast ocean body, our water in California is actually becoming more and more precious and scarce.

“When Water was Everywhere” Book Synopsis: “Once upon a time in Los Angeles, water was everywhere—in rivers that rendered the vast plain marsh and woodland; in underground streams that provided an abundance of water for people, cattle, orchards and vineyards. The American Henry Scott encounters this fertile landscape in When Water Was Everywhere. Arriving in the Mexican pueblo of Los Angeles in 1842, he meets Don Rodrigo Tilman (based on the historical John Temple). Scott becomes the foreman of Tilman’s newly-purchased cattle ranch along the Los Angeles River, the present day Rancho Los Cerritos. As Scott learns about ranchos and cattle, vaqueros and Indians, Mexican California and Tongva Indian village life come alive under Barbara Crane’s deft grasp of narrative and history. Tilman, Scott, Big Headed Girl (a young Tongva Indian woman) and Padre José’s (a Franciscan friar) unfolding stories assure the novel’s themes of loss, hope and redemption resonate from every page.”

– Allison

 

 

9 Month Old Cutie!

One of my favorite baby “models” came back to the studio this past weekend.  I didn’t think it was possible, but little Simon has gotten even cuter!  I mean look at that smile and look at those curls!  Oh and Simon’s parent’s clean up pretty nice too!

 

9 Months is a fun age, babies are sitting up and interacting; they make faces at you when you make faces at them.

We were also able to do our first shots at the park around the corner.  Midday and we were able to find shade to shoot in!  I will definitely be coming back to the park for more shots in the future; it’s a great spot of children and family photos!

 

–  Allison

Dodgeball Baby GIRL!

 

I’m pretty excited for this newest dodgeball baby; a baby girl!! Finally!  Like a true dodgeball team, it’s been mostly boys, but finally another girl!

 

 

I met both Dave and Roni through dodgeball, before they started dating.  They are two of the sweetest, goofiest, nicest dodgeballers.  More likely to make you fall down laughing, rather then fall down from a headshot!  It has been fun seeing their relationship develop, from those first few months of a new “dodgeball relationship,” to marriage and now parents!

 

It was difficult choosing what images to post; baby Emma is a doll, such a cutie!  I can’t wait to see her grow!

 

Welcome to the world Emma Chaya Lindenbaum!  You have some pretty awesome parents that are going to show you so much love and laughter!

 

Thank you Roni and Dave for a special testimonial!!

 

Allison Video Testimonial from Allison Knight on Vimeo.

 

– Allison

 

 

Valentine’s Love: Cupid’s Kiss

 

There are many tales of cupid, a rosy cheeked babe, fluttering around with arrows that pierce a person’s heart with love; but a real live cupid?  Well, Simon might not have the wings and arrows, but when you look at that face, how can your heart not melt?!

Simon  is a special repeat visitor to studio; it was a pleasure photographing this little cutie for a mini Valentine’s Day session.  It is amazing to me, the changes that a few short months can bring.  It is too much fun to see babies develop into smiley little people and being able to freeze those moments in time helps us reflect on how great those small changes really are.

Valentine’s Day is a time for love and kisses; Simon has a lot of both; he’s a regular little cherub, round cheeks and all!  These photos bring a smile to my eye and fill my heart with the joy of Valentine’s.

 

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!

Hoping you get to spend the day with the ones you love,

Both big and small!

 

February Love, 10 years of Love for Ashley & Kyler

October, November, December and January rush by in a frenzy of festiveness.  From Halloween to Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, spending time with friends and family can fill each week to the max!  February is a time to relax a little from all of the crazy holiday madness and take stock in the ones closest to us.  Love is in the air in February .

In addition to Valentine’s Day, Ashley and Kyler celebrate 10 years of dating this week!  That’s a lot of love!!  These two are a fun loving couple.  Living out of state, they still foster a love for Disneyland, visiting the park more often then some California residents!  They love Vikings football and Super Heroes!

 

Here’s to Ashley and Kyler!! Wishing you both an amazing 10th Anniversary, with many, many more years to come!!  – Allison

 

Family Photos, 100 Years Young.

The DeLongs have a special place in my heart.  I suppose that’s appropriate with me dating a particularly awesome DeLong!  Family photos also hold a special place for me.  They preserve people at particular moments, blinks in time really, for a lifetime.

These pictures can call back to times that may be hard to remember years later.  Do you remember when your little brother was smaller then you?  It’s hard to fathom when he’s 6 feet tall and shaving.  Or when Uncle Franks still had hair?  Life happens, you blink and now the children are the parents and the parents are grandparents. Capturing these moments are particularly special in a family lucky enough to have four generations; with the patriarch checking in at 100 years young!  That’s right, Howard will be celebrating his centennial this Sunday.

Howard, aka GGdad (Great Granddad), is a smart, funny and an unbelievably caring man.  The past 100 years has been filled with lots of cross-country travels, golf, laughter and family.  Howard and his wife have two sons, four grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.

And the family is still growing….

I love my family.  While I wish we lived closer and could get together more often, it’s always a treat for me to spend time with other people’s families.  I see the same smile reflected in children, grandchildren and even GREAT grandchildren’s faces.  Being able to capture those moments is significantly gratifying.

 

Happy early 100th Birthday Howard!  I can’t wait to celebrate with you this weekend!  Wishing you a birthday full of love, family and laughter, much like the past 100 years has been!

– Allison

New Year: New Beginnings

Welcome to the world Brandon  Michael Marchbanks!

I’ve always enjoyed January, the start of a new year, new possibilities, the excitement of what the next year might bring.  Babies are sort of like that, the possibilities for them are endless.  Who will the be, what will they become a a doctor, a teacher president, a pro dodgeballer?

Brandon is a dodgeball baby, but not just any dodgeball baby; the son of Vince and Lelia Marchbanks!  We’re talking dodgeball royalty, the son of the co-captain of Team Doom, 3 time winners of Ultimate dodgeball, USA gold medal winner; you get the point, this kid has dodgeball in his blood!  I’ve known Vince for as long as I’ve been playing dodgeball, something like 5 plus years, and I’d must admit, he scared me on the court when I met him.  Vince throws hard, I mean really hard; my largest dodgeball bruise is from Vince,  a giant purple and green, 8 inch wide thing on my thigh (thankfully it was my thigh!). Ok, he still sometimes scares me on the court…  But off the court, Vince has a soft voice and a gentle demeanor, seeing him with an infant seems only too natural.

It was an honor and a pleasure to photograph the Marchbanks family off the dodgeball court, but I can’t wait to see them back on the court as well!! … Well, preferably on the same side of the court…

 

 

Cheers to a New Year!! I can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store for us all!