Jennifer + Aaron | Marina del Rey, CA

Jennifer and Aaron, it was such a pleasure to finally meet up with you in person! We had a great time cruising around Kenney Abbott, the canals of Venice and ending up at their beautiful loft. I guess lofts are the new thing in S CA....it was pretty awesome! I can hardly wait for their Palm Springs wedding in October.

Nyssa + Danny | Canyon Lake, CA

Nyssa and Danny are engaged to be married this coming September, down in Temecula at South Coast Winery. I am SO excited for them and their wedding, not only because of how natural they are in front of the camera, but because their families know how to throw a party! This means great snaps for them and us. Plus Nyssa's dad is an added bonus, he comes as a photo assistant! Well, not really.... I shot Nyssa's sister's wedding (Kyla + Chad) a few years back, and I've never had a dad assistant in the family photos at all, much less in baseball style. He was all over it and cracking me up! It was the most fun family portraits of all time.....all in a world record time.

Last week I was down in S CA for several photo session, theirs being one. It was during that hot spell.....HOT it was, 103 degrees at 7pm, I'd say that qualifies for hot!

Congratulations you guys!

What you get, when you mix a life coach and photographer...

click HERE to see the video of our awesome creative experience this past weekend. We had a great group from up and down the coast of California join Master Life Coach, Meadow Devor, and myself for a great time of creative learning fun! Check it out!

munchkins

Nobody stays for free....feeding the cows...

Ruby loves Gunny...




I returned from my trip from S CA with a couple of extras! My niece (Ruby) and nephew (Jack) have been visiting and we've been having a blast. Here are some snaps of the munchkins!
This week has been and adventure!

One more week to go....

Just one more week to submit your entry to my annual photo session give-away.  The deadline is June 30th, refer your friends and family who you think might enjoy a photo session.  Here are the details.  Good Luck!

Kitty + Clara | the beach

Clara is almost 13! that's around 90+ years old in people years. She's having trouble walking these days, and Kitty wanted to get some snaps while she could still move around, she's a sweet dog. We headed out to a local beach and shot these of her and Kitty (Clara's mom). Kitty owns the The Spa Central Coast, if you are visiting or live here, it's worth a trip to!
I like the sunburst in this one!

Shandi + Jason photos...

I've patched things up with Blogger and it's allowing me to post images again... yeah! Here are a few of the shots I was trying to post in my last issue.
hope you enjoy!
allyson




Taken by my lovely associate, Jill, isn't she talented?

Shandi + Jason | Carmel

So I'm totally frustrated with Blogger, it's not letting me upload photos, or it's not showing them, but is uploading them. Any suggestions? I've tried for two days. So, sorry folks, not photos in this entry, but there is a great slideshow!

The joy and happiness Shandi & Jason share are quite evident, I think you'll agree!

lucky number 8...

Did you know that the number 8 is one of my favorite numbers? probably not, but it is. Today is our 8th anniversary and it's 2008! Most certainly the best 8 years of my life, thanks to my best friend and husband. I kid Dan I planned our wedding for 2000, so he would never forget how many years we were on.....I have to admit, after being together for 15, yes 15 years, it helps to have the calendar years go with the actual wedding years. I thought you'd love to see some snaps of the "early years" so here ya go, no shame, we all have photos like this somewhere!

Check back tomorrow for a beautiful wedding Carmel Valley!

Win a photo session with me!

THIS could be you......


So last year I decided to give away a photo session to one lucky couple. I had so much fun, I'm doing it again! This year I'm opening up the floor to more options, couples, families or kids, and depending on the entries, there's a good chance you (my readers) will pick the winner. Here are the details......

• This is for a kids or family session, a "just because" session, or an engagement session
• Tell me how you met, what you love about each other, what you enjoy together, your favorite past times & hangouts.
• Include a photo or two of you and your significant other(s)
• Your dream photo shoot - if you have one!
  
• Must be willing to be published on this blog
  
• Deadline to Enter: June 30th, 2008
• Email submissions to allyson at allysonmagda.com
  

Good luck!

some shots for me....

On our way up to Ashland I saw a couple of spots that sparked my eye for a mini photo safari - that's what I call it when I "shoot for myself." On our way out of town we stopped at one of the spots, an old train depot.

I don't really know if we were supposed to be roaming around there, but a guy who worked there has a Jack Russell and liked Gunny, so that saved the day and Dan chatted with the guy, which let me cruise around and shoot a bit. Gunny is like a "get out of jail card" - he's gotten me out of a ticket or two, because he's so darn cute and got me into this spot to shoot!








If you're a photographer and reading this, take my advice, take the time to shoot for yourself periodically, shoot subjects you don't normally shoot. It's good for you and good for your clients!

Banyan

I had to take some photos of Banyan while we where here. We hadn't seen him in about 2 years and he's changed so much. He's such a cool kid....and his expressions, too fun not to shoot! Here are just a few I got of him while visiting:



he's into some kung fu or karate kid stuff....

at some point, you just give in and become a kung-fu master as well ...
The last night we were there, the light was absolutely incredible, as we were waiting for the BBQ to be done.... it was so awesome I had to climb to the roof of the fort in my pink travel slippers....you know you want a pair! Here's what I got from where I was....sometimes you just gotta deal with what you have!

Ahsland, OR

Doesn't this sign just say "road trip" to you? Well, we thought so, so we hopped in the car and drove up to Oregon.We made it up to Oregon and are having a great time. We're visiting some friend from our high school and college days. We've had some awesome thunder storms, a nice change of pace from the heat we usually have at home this time of year.

When we left last week, I decided that we needed to have a photo project along the way, it was quickly established as "rear view mirror" photos....so FUN! Well it's at least fun for me, Dan probably has a different opinion, but he loves me for my geekness. The only problem with this task, is that I usually ended up taking most of the photos while I was driving...CHP would probably not be very happy about that, but hey, we made here!





We went for a hike through the forest, which really reminded me of my Santa Cruz days.
Gunny likes to hike.
the next day we went bowling, I was kicking some booty until my arch-nemesis caught up with me! and it wasn't my 5-year old buddy, Banyan.

On the way home I saw this really cool fence, well it's really cool in someone else's yard, it wouldn't go with my house! but it was totally fun and I had to share it.
Dan & Gunny on a walk / ride, on the "kool bike."
Had to stop bye my favorite knitting store! I could spend all day in a store like this....so much creativity and beauty in the different textures and colors....gotta love it!
Banyan and his silly expressions.
one last photo from the drive up. I'll post more once I download the next batch!