Amelia Strauss Photography Blog » Amelia Strauss >> Southern California Editorial Photographer / Destination Wedding Photographer

UNBELIEVABLE!

On January 30, 2009 I published a list of 101 things I wanted to do in the next 1001 days. The 101 in 1001 list is an interesting collection of goals, as it brings together personal and professional ambitions, as well as seemingly difficult and seemingly simplistic ideals to reach for. Let’s be honest, there is an obvious reason for this - I wanted to be able to actually cross some of these goals off of my list. And for others, I wanted the list to act as a swift kick in the pants to go after my hearts’ desires.

Then there were just a few, that seemed somewhat out of place…yet, I added them to the list anyway. Why? I’m not really sure. But maybe, perhaps, it was just because these were DREAMS more than GOALS - ludicrous ideas that would be fantastic if they somehow came to pass. And it was bold and fun to add them to my list.  Case in point - Meet Bill Simmons. I have no idea how to make this happen, save some twitter stalking (which is obviously unacceptable). It is an unattainable and insane “goal” - it is out of my control. Another item on my three year agenda was SO unattainable that I forgot I had even put it on the list. But, lo and behold, it happened! So, here I am, three months later, checking it off…

Watch the Alabama Crimson Tide win the National Championship - DONE!

Remember the Rose Bowl? We’ll win then.

So, on January 1, 2010 around 5am, my husband and I walk out of our house for the last time, carrying our two dogs, and pack into our SUV with a U-Haul attached. We drive half a mile to pick up John and Heidi Steakley, who are making the trip out with us to Los Angeles. This is our “official” move date. We drive for 35 hours straight. No stopping. Bathroom breaks alone. It quickly becomes a cherished nightmare of an adventure. Fueled by insane amounts of caffeine, we finally all break down and take a 30 minute nap somewhere on the Mexico border in easily the sketchiest parking lot I’ve ever seen, (which is saying a lot mind you). Heidi and I buy toothbrushes at a gas station that could best be described as “straight out of a horror film”. We brush our teeth in industrial sinks.  Our teeth bleed. We head back out on the road.  We roll into Southern California on a beautiful day, January 2, 2010, completely exhausted, with Lady Gaga welcoming us to town. When we arrive at the house in Manhattan Beach, the real work begins…immediately.

The very next day - the first sunrise from the porch on the roof of our house!

Furniture is delivered. We unpack and clean in a whirlwind of madness. We have exactly three days to get this house together - because ALL of our family is flying into town.  Not to mention countless friends.  And for some reason that I still can’t put my finger on, I thought it was a fabulous idea to have a house party the night before the big game at our place on the beach.  What the what?  It was chaos.

Everyone begins to arrive on January 5, 2010.  There is this incredible excitement in the air - it doesn’t seem real.  I feel as though all the people I love the most have made this trip for me.  They didn’t.  It was for the Tide.

I really didn’t put much hope or thought into the National Championship.  It was so surreal that we were even playing.  Surely we would lose at some point in the season.  Someone would get hurt.  Someone would do something stupid.  Tim Tebow would crush us in Atlanta.  Right?  But somehow, we made it all the way to The Rose Bowl.  I couldn’t get my hopes up for #13 - I wouldn’t be able to deal with my husband’s disappointment…

We have our house party and it is an absolute blast!  We go out afterward to South in Santa Monica.  It seems as though the entire State is here.  The experience starts to sink in…just a little.

Me and Heidi that night:

The next day, we are Pasadena bound.  I’m dressed in the exact same outfit I wore to the very first game of the year against Virginia Tech at the Georgia Dome.  Alabama won that game - and my husband made me wear something from that original outfit EVERY SINGLE SATURDAY for the rest of the season.  Even though I didn’t make it to another game.  Even though I was shooting every Saturday.  I had that stupid cami on under every outfit.  So, naturally, the Rose Bowl called for the outfit I wore to the Georgia Dome…in entirety.  I look like a tool.  Unstylish and absurd.  Whatever.

And then, before I know it, we’re there.  This is actually happening.

(Thanks to my Dad for the rest of the images in this post!)

Me and Haley before the game:

My Dad, Margo (my Sister-In-Law), me, and Lucy!

The Million Dollar Marching Band - I love the energy and the light of The Rose Bowl at this point!

Okay, we are playing Texas in the National Championship.  I’m so nervous I can hardly stand it.

Dad and Margo meet the most enthusiastic Texas fan since Matthew McConaughey…

Dad makes a bet with him…he seems pretty happy about it…

The 4th quarter creeps down.  This game is getting pretty dang serious…I am in total shock.

AND WE WIN!  WE FREAKING WIN!

Number 13.

Unreal.

Dad trying to collect on the bet…the Texas fan is no longer happy.  He refuses to turn around for this final picture…

After the game I lose my group for a while.  I end up stuck on the opposite side of the tunnel the players…excuse me, National Champions…are walking out of to head to their buses.  AND, I see Rolando McClain.  And I attack him.  I don’t know what happened, it was so fast.  I dart out like a blur and bear-hug him with all my might.  He laughs…

BEST. DAY. EVER.

Yep - that’s right. 10 solid days on the Vegas Strip.  Where to begin with the madness?

In MY mind, March Madness no longer refers to the NCAA basketball tournament, but to a little convention called WPPI.  And what SEEMED like a great idea a few months ago - following up the biggest convention I go to all year with a trip for my husband’s 30th birthday - maybe wasn’t the best plan.  On top of all that, I added a couple days on the front-end to check off a major 101 in 1001 item…

Seriously?!  What was I thinking?  *Sigh*

I’m seeing glitter and hearing slot machines in my sleep…hoping I won’t roll sevens in my dreams…

Regardless, I am very, very glad to be back in Los Angeles.  In true SoCal fashion I trekked out across the desert to Vegas on a road-trip (and only almost died about 6-7 times).  Thankfully, my husband drove my car back, and rolling into L.A. was the best relief I’ve had in a really long time.  All the transitional hardship apparently needed, was an extended stay in a city with no differentiation between day or night, to put it in it’s place!

I’m completely exhausted - and ready for real life again!  On a side note about real life, I lived through my first earthquake early this morning…

And, for all my friends and colleagues who experienced that insane weather last week; the wind and rain and cold.  This is what happened the day y’all LEFT Vegas:

Undertake a video project to market the studio - DONE!

{AMELIA IN ACTION} - NEW PROJECT LAUNCHED

I’m excited to finally share this new project on the blog!  This was a major and fun undertaking, and how awesome to check this off the 101 in 1001 list.

A few months ago I started talking with my buddy Seth Newell about doing a video project for the studio that would show a behind-the-scenes view of a real shoot with real clients. It was important to me to give people visiting my website a taste of a real relationship instead of using models for the shoot. We started brainstorming different concepts, and then just got to work on making it happen. Due to the crazy weather we had been having in Alabama (where we shot the video), we had to really work around a lot of schedules and weather constraints. And then, finally, it just all came together at the right time with the right clients!

We shot video of me on seamless paper run sideways - which I thought was brilliant - and Seth and Sean had me just run around and be. I was pretty nervous about their plan to interview me off-the-cuff, but in the end the guys were right - the monologues are unscripted and from the heart, and I think it lends even more authenticity to the final product.  Following that portion of the day, we met up with Ashley and Owen for their actual engagement session and got behind-the-scenes footage of our afternoon shooting together in rural Alabama.  It was kind of wild driving around with an entourage, but it was a ton of fun!  Unfortunately, we had to wait a couple months to launch the whole thing due to a death in my family and a move to the West Coast. Now, the day has arrived…

A huge thanks to Ashley and Owen for being willing participants in this experiment! Y’all are amazing and I am so thankful to be your photographer. I can’t wait to see you two tie the knot next weekend back in Alabama!

And a HUGE thank you to Seth and Sean of Green Block Productions for your creativity, patience, hard work, talent, laughter, and friendship!

And Graham, yet again - what would I do without you?! Thank you for integrating the website and being so awesome. And for the chapstick and coffee…

Yay for fun projects to kick off the new year! Is it wrong to say that I’m looking forward to tackling 2010 Elin Woods’ style? Yes, I’m sure it probably is…but I just did.

Thanks for checking out our new video!

Well, I never thought it could actually happen. This is my last post of the month of blogging EVERY SINGLE DAY! I can’t believe I made it - it seemed an insurmountable thing to take on. And now I get to check this off of the 101 in 1001 list!

One major benefit of embarking on and finishing this venture, is it really got me to start thinking about blogging in a whole new way. I’m gonna be honest here - I don’t particularly enjoy blogging. Up to now, I really only looked at this blog as a way to update work, as my website was SO outdated (soon to be fixed!), and give clients a little bit of a peek at their images as they were waiting for proofs. But now, I’ve started to enjoy the blog. I can’t believe I just wrote that…I’m picking up my jaw as I write. I’ve realized that this blog can be an incredible networking tool, and a way to connect with people in profound ways.

I used to be terrified of blogging. There, I said it. Petrified really. There were all the normal fears - what to write? would anyone read it? does anyone CARE? what if people hate what I have to say? what if they hate my work? It’s really scary to put yourself out there for the world to see, and then evaluate! But I got over the initial fears with a little help from my friends. Encouragement came from the most unexpected places. And so I moved on to my more specific issues and insecurities to work through. How to portray myself - I’m a southerner after all, and bless my heart, I better act like a lady on the blog! And yet, I wanted to be myself, and…shocker…I’m not always wearing pearls with sorority t-shirts - I mean, there’s a little funky-ness to my personality. Could I be that person on the internet? Is it unprofessional? What about the fact that I’m an atrociously terrible writer? Well, this past summer has taught me how to work through all of that as well.

Picture me looking in a mirror here and having a Stuart Smalley moment. But really, it has been a big lesson that you can connect with people, grow as an artist, and settle into yourself. I feel like by putting myself out there - I’m still working it out a little bit - but, I have started to come to grips with who I am as a photographer, and where I want to go.

Sure, there have been not-so-fun lessons learned. As readership has grown, so have random haters. Always anonymous of course - but you learn to laugh at those who take the time to try to tear you down. My favorite hate mail I’ve gotten so far was, “You’re over-rated and I hate your dogs”. I mean, really? I absolutely love it. And, some friends pointed out that if I wasn’t getting more and more random hate posts, then I wouldn’t be growing my readership base and studio presence. True. Or at least I chose to believe it - and that’s all that really matters. At the end of the day (or month), I learned to be myself, look for the positive, take things in stride, and choose to be remarkable - in my own way and on my own terms. All good things.

So, thanks for reading! You have each been so important to this journey and I am forever grateful. Here I am with a few of my friends, all of whom have been vastly encouraging and supportive! And this is how dang happy I am to have finished this month of blogging!!!

After waiting almost an entire year to complete new album designs and find new vendors to work with, we finally have a complete set of new sample albums in the studio! This was a great item to check off of the 101 in 1001 list, and I am so happy to have these beautiful albums to show.

Finding the right albums for your work is not an easy task, and we worked with numerous album companies until we finally found the right ones for us. Once we found the companies we worked with best, and the styles that best bound together our clients stories, our wedding photography really came into its own. Now, album design is by far one of my favorite aspects of our wedding photography. I love to tell our clients’ stories through their design. Getting albums in is always one of the highlights of each week!

I slowly narrowed down the album companies we work with by talking with other photographers and studios and going through some painstakingly detailed research at WPPI. To the fellow photographers who read this blog, I would really encourage you to get out there and look for what you really want out of your albums. There are some beautiful and unique products that will fit your brand so well! I think the main thing I’ve learned about albums over the past couple of years is that they can be what you want them to be. Don’t settle for any products just because they are more mainstream or seemingly easier to work with up front. I found some companies that would work WITH us, and help us create the products we were looking for. I found wonderful reps and incredible support by simply asking.

I am thrilled to have the albums that we wanted, that fit our brand, now complete and in the studio. Drop by and check them out if you are in the neighborhood!

Visit my brother in Marion - DONE! And just in time, as he is leaving his current job and moving back to Birmingham in just a couple of weeks. I barely checked this one off the 101 in 1001 list.

My brother Rob has been working as an admissions counselor for the past year at Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama. MMI is the school that Rob attended the year before he headed over to The Citadel, and also where my Father attended school for a year before heading up to West Point. I drove down last night to see Rob and his new puppy, Molly Pitcher.

Random images from our evening…

Rob in his office.

Rob and Dad’s brick in the courtyard.

Part of the campus.

The original Marion City Hall, which was moved from downtown to campus and is now the Alabama Military Hall of Honor.

The barracks where both my brother and father lived - 40 years apart.

Seemingly completely random image - but see the dip in the sidewalk? That exact spot is where my father was standing when he heard that President Kennedy had been shot.

Rob and Molly!

You know you’re in a guy’s apartment when there is a scene that looks like this…

Fun evening - and I can’t wait for Rob to move home, right before we move away! See you soon buddy!

Details Communications hooked me up with this amazing new blog!!! And even though I had already technically checked off #1 on my 101 in 1001 list when I left my old squarespace blog, this recent upgrade and gorgeous customization called for another check, plus some major props to the great folks at DC who made this thing happen. I am incredibly excited about my new website they are making for me! Be looking for it to launch in the next month.

Thanks so much to all of you at Details, you have made me a happy happy girl!

Okay kids - here is my complete list of 101 things I want to do in the next 1001 days! I will be referring back to this list as I work on checking things off. DISCLAIMER: These items are listed in no particular order!

Start Date: January 30, 2009
End Date: October 29, 2011

1. Update and fully customize my blog.
2. Visit my friend Hadden and her husband in NYC.
3. Update my website.
4. Finish the studio renovation.
5. Take Gracie to enroll in and complete an obedience class.
6. Make dinner for my husband every night for an entire week.
7. Read three books to benefit my business.
8. Run a half-marathon.
9. Learn to brew my own beer alongside the Back-Door Brewery.
10. Be a guest at a wedding.
11. Buy a house in Charleston, SC.
12. Complete and execute the Alpha Kappa Camera plans.
13. Plant flowers in my flowers boxes and keep them alive for an entire season.
14. Attend ‘The Image is Found’ workshop with my friend Cristi.
15. Fulfill all of my commitments to my volunteer charity organizations.
16. Start sending out anniversary cards to past clients.
17. Blog every day for an entire month.
18. Second-shoot for fun with three local photographers.
19. Shoot a wedding on another continent.
20. Get my friend Ben to compose a song for my website.
21. Learn how to change a flat tire.
22. Surprise my husband with a crazy fun adventure trip.
23. Take a dance class.
24. Do some first-year sessions for Miller Fields.
25. Learn to play poker.
26. Go to Symphony In The Park.
27. See Criss Angel live.
28. Take a vacation with my friend Lucy and our mothers.
29. Do a crazy high-fashion vintage shoot with some of my friends.
30. Attend a OneLight Workshop.
31. Go white water rafting.
32. Come up with a killer playlist for client meetings.
33. Photograph Gracie and all the puppies!
34. Get to know my neighbors better.
35. Learn to whistle.
36. Explore the nooks and crannies of Central Alabama on scout days.
37. Take a fun trip with my mom to make up for Memphis.
38. Network with other photographers by linking Facebook and Twitter to my blog.
39. Join Twitter.
40. Shoot a Bridal Couture Trash The Dress session in a body of water.
41. Take a defensive driving class…for fun.
42. Document the locations of my personal history.
43. Master my own texture technique.
44. Do a “Top Five” blog post.
45. Read the entire Bible in a year.
46. Do a portrait session with our friends, The Giffens.
47. Make a floral arrangement by myself.
48. Beat my husband at an Xbox game.
49. Go to Lebowski Fest.
50. Get a cake from Duff at Ace of Cakes.
51. Learn to cut grass.
52. Purchase an Abe Morrell print.
53. Go to San Diego.
54. Win a WPJA award.
55. Create a studio manual.
56. Go to Sips-N-Strokes.
57. Hit up another Panic Show.
58. Host a “Lost” Party at my house.
59. Take pictures of my friend Jasika Nicole.
60. Go to Dubrovnik on my 5 year anniversary.
61. Start sending out business holiday cards.
62. Go back to New Orleans…
63. Take one of Ruthie’s workout classes.
64. Undertake a video project to market the studio.
65. See The Boston Pops.
66. Go on a missions trip through my church.
67. Get a new laptop.
68. Complete the Man Cave.
69. Cut down my own Christmas Tree at a Christmas Tree Farm.
70. Coin my own term and patent it…for fun.
71. Take a pottery class.
72. Have my brother-in-law design a house for us.
73. Find and buy the bow earrings that I have been looking for for three years.
74. Take my sister-in-law on a fun trip, just the two of us.
75. Visit my brother in Marion.
76. Host a dinner party for my bible study.
77. Shoot a wedding for free - which would be chosen through a selection process.
78. Organize the office production area and client files.
79. Have a professional portrait session of me and my husband in Fenway Park.
80. Sell “Changing Shoes” to the Citadel bookstore.
81. Convince Anna Maner to hang out with me for an entire weekend.
82. Second-shoot for my childhood friend Kerie Cleveland.
83. Meet Bill Simmons of ESPN.
84. Paint my living room and back bedroom.
85. Go to a ‘Journey’ concert with Lucy.
86. Donate photographic services to Lifeline Childrens’ Services.
87. Donate photographic services to Big Oak Ranch.
88. Finish my Father’s Christmas present from two years ago.
89. Take formal portraits of my Grandmother Josie.
90. Do a portrait of Lucy for her facebook profile picture.
91. Have my quiet time every single day for six weeks.
92. Design new client packets.
93. Have a lighting workshop with my photographer friends in town.
94. Have an open house party for the studio.
95. Watch the Alabama Crimson Tide win the National Championship.
96. Take shots of my Father’s and his friends’ planes…to feed the aviation addictions.
97. Hire an intern.
98. Order all new sample albums.
99. Get Heidi to answer the phone when I call her…just once!
100. Get new headshots of myself for my website and blog.
101. Learn to grill.