A Sister's Picnic

What a fun afternoon!  I had the pleasure of photographing Katie and Elizabeth this past weekend. It was nearly impossible to narrow down the photos to just a few for the sneak peek.  These sisters are absolutely beautiful, sweet and full of giggles. My job has never been this easy!  I set out to capture exactly who these girls are to each other and their parents.  Comical, serious, silly and ultimately very sweet - how often does a photographer get to join in on a picnic and get fed green M&Ms in the process?! It could't have been more fun to capture these big sister, little sister moments. Enjoy!

Not only did these two lovely sisters provide me with smiles and giggles, they managed to completely relax and throw a few pensive moments my way! Jackpot!!  What a treat to catch a few thoughtful moments on these young faces.

In a few weeks all the photos will be ready to view at www.alicerichessnow.com! I am so looking forward to finishing all the edits and creating a few sepia and black & white collections for this family!

Celebrating Independence Day!

We had a lovely weekend!  The weather has been beautiful, the food was great and Monday was a vacation day!
Saturday we spent the day in Boston for Harborfest, we walked all over the city, enjoyed an amazing lunch in the North End at Damianos and dessert & cappuccino at Cafe Vittoria.  Right before we headed back home we watched a skirmish between the militia and red coats...want me to tell you how it ended ;) Enjoy some photos of the day!

On Monday we tried to have a lovely picnic at our favorite park but lightning sent us home pretty quickly!  Instead we grilled back home and enjoyed some delicious Garlic Lime Chicken Kabobs. Recipe to follow soon! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. Enjoy!

Boys Will Be Boys!

Boys will certainly be boys!  I was thrilled to photograph William and Henry at the beach last week, we've had some wonky weather so I was very happy to see the sun come out for our session.
It didn't take long for William to start taking in the beach but Henry was a little less than excited with the idea of a camera in his face!  When photographing children it takes a degree [or two] of patience and flexibility.  You need to expect that they will be shy, fast and sometimes downright pouty!  Luckily, most kids when they pout, it's still pure gold. Here's a little [somewhat large] sneak peak, there are so many adorable shots to choose from I had a hard time narrowing it down:

Despite everything, I am very happy with the results.  These two brothers were such a joy to photograph and so beautiful!  Off to finished the rest of the photos and get them loaded on to www.alicerichessnow.com for the client! I hope they are pleased! 

Making a focal wall, but taking the time

Recently, it was time to update the color of paint in our living room. We had gone for a lighter green the first time and didn't really like it the minute we finished. "Oh it only needs one more coat" I would say. Not the answer. Really, I didn't take enough time the first time to test my options. Conveniently, Home Depot just came out with small containers of test paint for a reasonable price! As you might recall, I used these for the post on a new color for our wild and wacky office. The office is nearly finished but I painted the living room at the same time and managed to get a focal wall in place.
I found the necessity of taking your time in order to get the results you want! Here it goes:
 First step, plan out your attack in the same space your art, photos or shelving will reside. For us, it was still going to be a photography wall but with a different flair. Here's what it looked like before:

I chose to mix and match frames to create a less "put together" or "matchy-matchy" feel. We're cool people, let's think outside the box. I didn't hate it, but because I didn't think it through first I felt there was something missing to the wall. I think I found out it was organization of the original idea. So, next I decided to expand on the current idea and add more to make a bold statement:

Notice that I laid out the frames in the same measured space as the wall. This allows you to visualize how it will look up on the wall - without turning your drywall into swiss cheese. I wasn't crazy about this arrangement and tried it a few different ways. The bottom line, the room just isn't big enough to have a wall with this much going on in one space. It looks artistic but completely chaotic in a smaller room. So, alright Martha Stewart, let's try being "boring" and stick to frames of the same color instead:

Hey there, that's not so bad. Actually, I loved it. The 'S' added a bit of art without over-doing it. The frames fill up the wall but don't overtake it. Also, each of the photos I plan to put in the frames will be all black and white. The wall itself is a statement in a bright kelly green, therefore making it appropriate to keep similarity in frame color, photo color and theme. It'll tie everything together without scaring/overwhelming your guests as soon as they enter your space.

Right now, I'm carefully choosing photos for the frames but we decided to go travel and architecture, clean lines but still interesting and a story of where we've been - and can't wait to go back. [3] of the photos are staying and the rest need to be filled in. Here's what it looks like for right now:

Here, the wall is nicely centered and uniform. However, the photos we chose to put in the frames will spice it up. The wall color is exactly two shades darker than the original and in person, it's just lovely. Very happy and less "in your face" green. 

Another thing, don't feel pressured to immediately finish your projects all in one tiny moment, let it stew, make a plan and move on. Not everything is an HGTV show with a finish product in 72 hours or less. But, go ahead and invite some over for dinner in two weeks, you'll be more likely to finish and not place it on the back-burner :) I know, I would also rather sit and watch episodes of Cake Boss on Saturday morning than measure, measure, measure! It takes work to make a home a home, do the work, then catch up on Netflix later. 

Oh and on that note, do yourself a favor and when you measure the length and width of your picture frames, plus the location of the hanging apparatus on the back. Jot it down! Write in pencil on the back of the frame and when you decide you need a change, you don't have to do that part all over again! What am I here for except to make your life easier? You can thank me the next time you move or change your next focal wall. It's the little things people.

Coming soon, the extremely improved office space! Still wondering what color we chose? Oh alright, we went yellow! See it soon :)

Sweet Sixteen

Here is a glimpse from a surprise sweet sixteen party that alice.RICHES.snow provided a few of our brand of skills. We were happy to provide party organization and scheduling, homemade cupcakes and photography.  
We ran into some challenges with the photography due to the orange tinted lighting in the venue space.  I used my digital camera for the event so the tuning was easier to handle.  However, for a primarily natural light photographer, we still feel confident that we captured the surprise and happiness of the event.  

Cake provided by: Di Cupcakes provided by: alice.RICHES.snow

Surprise! 

Finally time to have some cake and cupcakes!

Never underestimate the love between a child and her cupcake.

Congratulations family, it was a great success!

Other Things and Stuff for this event:
Party supplies and balloons: iParty, Newington, NH; Piece O'Cake, Somersworth, NH

Ready. Set. Publish!

A business of mine has been growing since 2009...I didn't start pushing my ideas forward until I was consistently asked to provide my artistic services for various events, moments and publishing.  Well, not to mention the overwhelming need to fund one's own future once temporary jobs come and go.  You have to love what you do. You just have to. If you wake up every morning and can't stand going to your current job, just do something about it. So I did. I've been researching Master degrees in everything from Interior Design to Psychology - all the while continuing to look for art classes to feed the need to create. I am still on the hunt for a Metals and Jewelry class (despite the terrible smell of a pickle pot). I think I've narrowed down the best approach for my current working life and have armed myself with the world's most delicious cupcakes, a stellar new camera that is still surprising me with functions and the overwhelming need to create. There is something so beautiful about creating things that are indeed pretty. Ever since my plunge into Art History this has been my favorite quote:

“For me, a picture should be a pleasant thing, joyful and pretty! There are quite enough unpleasant things in life without need for us to manufacture more." Renoir

There is my goal...pleasant things in my work. Of course, as a former art student, I can appreciate the gritty, emotional and messy part about art. For me, it's all about the joyful and pretty.

Source: alicerichessnow.com 

Pete Eckert

Beautiful.