Christmas Time Is Here...

Christmas Time Is Here…


Carols in the air… I love the Christmas season. The lights, the festive decorations, family and food, gifts: love all of it! As the year comes to a close the last quarter has been a blur. I ended my time with the Census Bureau at the end of September. October I set up my photography website and blog. November was pretty much one long vacation with my road trip to Disney and back, and I signed a year long lease on the house I am currently living in. I came back from my trip, packed, and moved down to Soldotna. I also landed a job to pay the bills. Whew!

In between all of that I had a few photo shoots. I love the space I have in my house, and will be setting up a studio after Christmas to really get into the swing of things. With my full time job at the credit union, I will have limited slots available on most days, but we’ll get ‘er done!

So here, to satisfy my need share, are a couple from my latest photo shoot. Pretty handsome family if I do say so myself!

Back in Action

Vacation this month was an awesome experience, but I will never drive to Walt Disney World from Seattle again. At least not in the marathon that we did this time. Still it was great to see so much of the country, and it did give me a few ideas for road trips in the future.

Disney itself was magical as always. We were there as Christmas was taking over the parks, and I was blown away by the wonder of it all. Christmas is already my favorite time of year, and Disney just expands anything I've ever seen!

Here's just a little taste of the sights I got to see while in the parks. I may share more later as I revisit the memories.

Our wonderfully beautiful hotel: Disney's Coronado Springs Resort.

Cinderella and her Prince during the Castle Show.

Belle & Beast in the Beauty and the Beast stage show.

Osbourne Family Lights. WOW.

Partners statue in front of the Castle lit up for Christmas.

That's all for now. I will be moved into my new home in Soldotna (!!!) by the 15th.

Kardinals vs Stars for State

Yesterday I braved the cold and attended the Small School Division State Championship Football game. Lifetime rivals Kenai and Soldotna high schools battled it out. SoHi won with a record making score of 77 to Kenai's 42. As an alum of Kenai, you can imagine the disappointment, but at the same time our boys played the game and they have every right to be proud of their season.

I, of course, took my camera to practice with my new telephoto lens (which I am in love with now and forever, by the way) and shot most of the game. Yesterday was downright freezing and I'm surprised we didn't see snow. My camera gave out towards the end of the third quarter as it was just too cold (I was, too. Major shivers!).

Here are a few shots from the game (I did not shoot this in any official capacity. Check out ASAA.com [org?] for the official photos).

Congratulations to Soldotna High School for a great exhibition of athletic ability. Wow.

Just Mommy & Me

Gotta love toddlers! Had a sweet shoot with a mother and daughter a couple weekends ago and just realized I hadn't shared with everyone. The little one is all energy and on the go, but we managed to come away with a few keepers! I think they're sweet. I am loving watching this little one grow up.

**I will be gone from November 7 - November 24, 2010. Please book before then if you are wanting family photos for Christmas cards!**

Senior Photoshoot Time!

On my "working vacation" to the Peninsula I had the honor of taking Miss Chloe's senior photos. Her family is so sweet, and are now good friends with my parents, but I was very surprised when she called and asked me to do her portraits! The weather all week was... less than desirable and we postponed the shoot only to have the best weather of the week happen when she was to have had the photos taken. Go figure!

But we were blessed the next afternoon that while we were out taking the pictures not a single drop of rain came down, we had perfect, even lighting! What was really cool was that she lives on the Kenai River so the backdrop was perfect! And two seals made an appearance as well (but the focus of the shoot was her, so I didn't break out the long lens! ha ha!).

Chloe is a lovely young lady who was a joy to work with. She was up for pretty much anything, even getting wet as the lawn was over saturated thanks to all the rain. I had a great time, and I'm pretty sure - aside from the wet - she did too!

So now, a sneak peek of what we ended up with! Lovely!

Congratulations Kenai Kardinals

I was in Kenai this weekend watching my former high school's homecoming festivities. My brother is a sophmore at Kenai right now and plays in the drumline. Took pictures - of course - of the bonfire and the game with my new lenses. I LOVE my 100mm-400mm lens. Fantastic.

So, in honor of Kenai's win on homecoming, I will share one from the game. A larger photo post will have to wait till later as I'm still editting all of the photos from this weekend. Enjoy!

Team huddle before game starts.

New Site, New Outlook

After a 20 month hiatus, I'm back in action as a full time photographer. Working for the Census was a great accomplishment, but now I'm ready to dig in deep and let the creative juices flow. In the coming weeks I hope to add a lot of photos and stories to this blog as I gain a following here in Alaska.

I am looking forward to meeting you and working with you to create one of a kind memories on 'film'. The digital age has made for many improvements in photography, but it takes a special touch to make those images pop, Photography by Antonia can do that for you!

Check back often as I hope to keep you up to date with what my camera and I are experiencing!

-Toni
http://www.photographybyantonia.com