Website Launch - Celebrate with Savings!

I am happy to announce the launch of my new website, AllieRae Photography

Please come in, look around and enjoy some photographs.  AllieRae Photography has approximately 7 years of experience in photographing children, seniors, families and weddings.  AllieRae offers on-location services, meaning I come to you!  I prefer shooting outdoors to take advantage of the lovely natural light, but can offer indoor services as well. 

To celebrate the new website launch, I am offering 20% off your total product order if you book a session by the end of June!!  This includes photo prints in a variety of sizes, fine art gallery canvas wraps, photo albums, unique photo boxes and greeting cards.  Looking for something specific?  Please ask!

Thank you for looking around, I hope you consider AllieRae Photography for your photo needs!

Pretty

I don't really have much to say for this entry - this is one of those "indulge me" posts of pure showing off of my daughter.

We got all dolled up yesterday to go to a fancy brunch at a fancy restaurant in fancy Seattle and the weather couldn't have been more beautiful if I ordered it myself.  70 degrees and not a cloud in sight.  Perfect for Easter dresses and white shoes.

 

 

And just because she is my daughter...  she vamped it a bit with a little Blue Steel a la Zoolander.

I'm not sure how I ended up with such a beautiful little girl, but I sure hope I don't screw her up. :)

Bubbles

Oh dear.

I have had my D200 camera body for years and years and loved it and stroked it and called it George.  It always did well for me and was a great workhorse.  However - time and technology has gone by and with the new abilities of higher ISOs and better sensors to measure exposure, it was time to bite the bullet and upgrade.

Enter the D700.  Now, I realize I'm late to this game, in fact it's any day now that Nikon will announce the next model to "replace" the D700, so ya...  I'm a slowpoke.  But I did it, dang it and boy am I happy I did.  I have been sick with what I'm certain is the Plague since my new precious arrived, so I haven't really had a chance to get to the nitty gritty with it, but tonight I whipped it out while Kayla played with her bubbles and I'm very impressed.

These were all taken at 1000 ISO (I couldn't go over 400 with the D200 without considerable noise) and NO flash.  Again, I'm late to the party with the ISO ability, but man...  what a great ability!  My mind is blown that I can now take pictures indoors without a flash.  Blown I say!

 

The inevitable "cheese face" that appears when I pull out a camera

 

Lordy - let's look past that hair, shall we?  At any rate, I am impressed with these simple snapshots and I can't wait to play with my gracious volunteer subjects to really play with this bad boy!  Maybe someday this Plague will let up.  Hmph.

Help me, Help you

I am looking for 1 - 2 volunteers to help me test some new photo equipment.   That means FREE for you!  No session fee or obligation, just your time.  In return, you'll get a FREE 11x14 print of your choice from the session. 

If you are located in the South Puget Sound and are one of the following willing to let me shoot about an hour taking photos, please contact me at missy@allieraephotography.com to schedule the session.

• Baby
• Child
• Family
• Senior

I shoot on location of your choice, preferably outdoors.  For more information about my work and style, please see my website.  www.allieraephotography.com 

Daffodils, Pirates and EVIL

I should have known.  I really should have known.  See every year here in the Puyallup Valley, there is a Daffodil Parade.  It is the joyous Spring kick off event full of joy and merriment to be had by all young and old.

It also has clowns.

Not full of merriment for this lady.

THIS IS NOT OKAY.

Sure that creepy freak of nature on the moped was handing out candy to the kids, but all I could see was this guy:

 

The only reason I didn't run screaming like a little girl was because my 3 year old daughter was with me and I was trying to appear more mature than her.  And because I was with friends.   Not necessarily in that order.

MOVING ON.

Aside from the traumatizing event I never want to talk about again, it was a lovely event.  The sun peeked out a little, there were springy daffodils everywhere (it IS the Daffodil Parade after all), and there were the local school marching bands.  About uhhh let's say "several" years ago, I played the flute in my Jr. High marching band and walked this parade myself.  I didn't envy those kids today - but at least it wasn't raining on them like it always did me.  Hmph.

Kudos to these kids... I've been there.

 

The pirates were funny!  They really got into the crowd and had them play along.  I was amused (until the evil brigade showed up, but I don't wanna talk about it)

There were so many colorful marchers, a clam, horses galore and even Darth Vader!

And then there were our Service Men and Women.  Every time a group of ROTC kids or Veterans would come marching by, there was applause.  You could literally feel the pride.  

 

 

And Kayla enjoyed waving to every single one that went by

 

A big thank you to our friends Jeff, Kari and family for staking out the spots and saving us room!  

To Fish... Or not to Fish

So The Man and I are becoming pretty outdoorsy.  We both grew up outside either endless days outside playing (more him than I), camping (more me than him) or just plain ol' day trips of outdoor fun.  We've started going back to our roots now that we have The Kid.

We live in a comfortable house - adequate bedrooms, bathrooms, living areas... but one thing this house lacks is LAND.  We have zero yard, zero privacy and no storage.  Sounds like a dream, eh?  When we want to go outside to play, we usually have to hoof it down the street to the little development community playground.  It works, but man is it a drag.  Someday I will be able to sit on my deck and watch The Kid play in the yard while Mommy drinks margaritas.  (I'm totally serious)  *swoon*

Anyway, my point is (I really do have one)...  we're venturing more and more OUT so that we don't go sitr crazy IN.  Last year we bought a travel trailer to go camping - if you want to call it that, there's a microwave and a shower for crying out loud.  We bought a boat as well, nothing fancy, it's a blow up number with a motor.   To my dismay, you can't tow a trailer AND a boat.  Hmph.   But it works to get out on the water and play while camping.

Our newest endeavor is fishing.  By fishing, I mean go out in the blow up boat, bait a hook and drop the line while holding on to The Kid because she's leaning over the boat splashing her pole in the water until we decide to pull up our lines and go back to the campsite.  She doesn't get it or what it's all about.

SO - in an effort to teach her about fishing, understand our objective and to experience catching a fish, we headed over to Bill's Fishing Hole, which is a local U-fish joint.  I kid you not, you put your hook in that water and 30 seconds later, you have a fish in your bucket.  Fish in a barrel anyone?

It worked. Kayla was SO excited over the fish, she couldn't stop giggling and she bugged us to go fishing every 30 minutes after we got home.  :)

 

A little instruction from Daddy

I love this...  You can just feel the anticipation

It's getting closer, the excitement is looming!

She did it!

She is SO proud of herself

And let's not forget the cheesy picture that Mom has to have.

 

Well, she enjoyed her fishing day.  She even ate it for dinner - really, she cleaned her plate which flat shocked me.  She has never been a fan of fish, but I guess everything tastes better when you have to work for it.  :)