Allison Marie Photography Blog by Allison Roen, Des Moines area wedding photographer »

Number 60 on my 101 in 1001 goal list…Check! It was my goal to create some sort of art photo book with some of my favorite images from my year in Albuquerque, and it turned out to be a gorgeous 14×11in. book! It a book I will always treasure because it is filled with so many memories from the year. It has more than 70 photographs that depict the beauty of New Mexico, and each time I flip through this book, I am so thankful I had the opportunity to spend a year there. I am excited to announce to those of you in Albuquerque that I am heading your direction in less than a month! =)

If you have interest in purchasing this Art Book, email me at allison@allison-mariephotography.com and we can discuss the details.

A few of my favorite spreads:

See more of Allison’s work at www.allison-mariephotography.com |  Friend Allison on Facebook |  Follow Allison on Twitter

It’s been way too long since I’ve posted on checking off a goal on my 101 list! There are quite a  few that I have accomplished, but haven’t yet blogged about, so I’ll start by catching up with this one!

#38: spend a week-long retreat at my parents’ condo in Colorado

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I spent the summer of 2006 at one of the most beautiful places in the US - at Snow Mountain Ranch, YMCA of the Rockies. I was a team leader for the Navigator’s Summer training program. (Check out the promo video here.) It was an intense summer of discipleship, working at the Ranch, building relationships,  and learning how to authentically follow Jesus. It was a life-changing summer for me in many ways…and it was for my parents as well! When they came to visit me, they fell in love with that area of Colorado (near Winter Park), and a few months later, they decided to purchase a condo in Granby (small town nearby) as a get-away home. I love that they have a place there, and it’s sad I’m not able to spend time there more often! In November, my parents and I spent a week at the condo, and I loved every minute of it! It was the perfect mix of sight-seeing, going to concerts, exploring, snow-shoeing, shopping, and also reading, resting, and relaxing!

Here are my parents as we waited…and waited…and waited for our train. For some reason, they always seem to run a few hours behind!

The observation car:

The Condo:

I’ve decided that when I buy a house someday, I will build myself a wood fence! I love these!A cool bride in Grand Lake: My two favorite spots at Snow Mountain Ranch: 1) Columbine Point. Absolutely incredible view. Somehow, the presence of God feels so much stronger here than any other place I’ve been. Each time I’m here, I can’t help but worship the God who made these enormous, beautiful mountains.

and 2) this rock,  on the top of a mountain. I spent hours here during my summer at SMR,  wrestling with God about different things, and reflecting on life. A setting like this seems to put life in perspective for me!This sky show was incredible! I was sitting in the lodge, with my back to the window and when I saw sun streaming in from behind me, I turned around and saw this spectacular sight! Half the sky was absolutely dark, and half of it had blue skies with the sun peeking out! Wow!

It finally snowed the night before we traveled back to Iowa. Perfect timing! During our week there, we got to enjoy unusually warm, sunny weather, and also  fresh snow to snow shoe in!And lastly, here are my parents and I!

Posted by Allison Marie, Des Moines Iowa wedding and portrait photographer

I have been an avid journaller for as long as I can remember. I have 30+ journals filled with memories, thoughts, dreams, heartaches, prayers, and records of meaningful conversations. For me, journalling is a way of processing through life, from the little details to major events. One of my favorite things to do is to spend an afternoon reading through old journals…although I only do it every once in a while. I LOVE reading them and remembering what different times of life were like, and laughing at how such small things seemed so huge at the time!  It’s also so fun to look back at how much I’ve grown as a person and all the big things God has done in my life.

All that to say…since I finished up the last pages of a journal today (I love getting to start new ones!), I spent some time looking back at what I wrote in the past few months. This one was a journal I bought at the Van Gough museum in Amsterdam, and starting writing in it half-way through my month in the Netherlands. That month was incredible, and I would go back to the Netherlands in a heartbeat if I had opportunity! After my trip, I made a long list of 75 differences between Dutch people and American people. Reading through it makes me miss the unique Dutch culture! I though it would be fun to share a few of these differences with you. If any of you have been to the Netherlands, feel free to add to this list!

(I have no idea why these numbered points are so small…??)

1. The Dutch are tall.
2. The toilet flushers seem to be different in each bathroom!
3. To turn on a light, you push the switch down rather than up.
4. Everything is small and compact.
5. The stairs can be incredibly steep!
6. Everyone rides bikes…even men wearing suits and women wearing dresses!
7. Dutch are more fashion-oriented, Americans are more comfort-oriented.
8. The Dutch are healthy and fit, only a small percentage are overweight.
9. It gets dark around 11pm in the summer and the sun rises at 4:30am!
10. They do not wear white tennis shoes or white socks.
11. Clothes dryers are very uncommon; clothes are hung outside to dry.
12. Dutch women are not concerned about their hair and hardly wear any makeup
13. The Dutch have the most amazing pindakaas!
14. The Dutch don’t eat very many sweets. A typical dessert for them is plain yogurt.
15. The Dutch view Americans as very hospitable.
16. Talking on a cell phone in the Netherlands is illegal. Instead, they hook up their phones to the car and talk hands-free through the car’s speakers!
17. In the Netherlands, bikers have their own lanes on each road and even have their own traffic signals.
18. Shopping malls are more classy/upscale in the Netherlands.
19. Dutch meals include a lot of bread and spreads: bread with cheese and jam, or bread with butter and chocolate sprinkles.
20. Straight hair is uncommon for Dutch women.
21. Hitchhiking is normal in the Netherlands.
22. It’s challenging to find public toilets in the Netherlands, and you have to pay to use them.
23. There are no screens on windows in the Netherlands.
24. Overall, the Dutch use fewer appliances; most don’t have air conditioners or dishwashers.
25. Shops in the Netherlands close at 6pm, but stay open later on Thursdays.
26. The Dutch greet each other with 3 kisses on the cheek.
27. Owning a car or even having a driver’s license is uncommon for the Dutch.
28. Americans greet each other with much more enthusiasm than the Dutch.
29. To the Dutch, our prayers in English are beautiful and poetic.
30. The Dutch believe Americans use a much larger vocabulary.
31. The Dutch are much more direct in their language.
32. The Dutch can get anywhere by train/public transportation, and travel much more than Americans.
33. The Dutch are fluent in multiple languages.
34. Opportunities for kids to be in sports/music groups are rare.
35. Dutch Christians place more emphasis on prayer, the Holy Spirit, and experiencing God, and American Christians put more emphasis on knowing the Bible.
36. Dutch women are much more independent and generally will not accept help from a man.
37. It is typical to go out for coffee/drinks before a meal, and then again after a meal.
38. There are canals all throughout the major cities in the Netherlands.
39. There are some incredibly beatiful gardens in the Netherlands
40. To get coffee, you should not go to a coffee shop…you must go to a cafe (otherwise you’ll get drugs!).

Later I will do a post about a week of my trip that I spent in Norway…but here’s a sneak photo of the beautiful Norway!

I am starting a new series! My goal is that once a week I will write about something I really love…something that’s most likely random and unrelated to photography. I could share tips/ideas/recipes/cool websites…anything I love! (#89…check!)

So for my first one…I really love these sweet half-hat, half-headband things! I have no idea what to call these! I was at Jordan Creek mall yesterday and I was sucked into purchasing something at one of those kiosks in the middle of an isle. This is the first time I’ve even stopped to look at something at a kiosk, and I LOVE love love what I found! I am a huge fan of green, which makes this adorable hat even more exciting! So what you can’t see is that it doesn’t cover the whole back of my head. It’s like a band with buttons on the back rather than a whole hat. If you are searching for Christmas ideas, I think this would be a hit for any woman!

If I would have been home when my big box was delivered, I think I might’ve hugged the delivery man! This is a very exciting day, as my new equipment arrived!! It was like Christmas tonight as I opened my packages and took in the smell and feel of my new camera and lenses! I purchased a Nikon D700 camera body (which I am stoked about!!), a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, and a 50mm f/1.4 lens. I have also ordered a 12-24mm f/2.8 lens so hopefully it will come soon as well.

I have a ton of editing to do tonight, so I haven’t played with my new toys too much, but here are a few photos for you:

Incredible apple muffins were coming out of the oven right as I got home to open my package! Mmmm Mmmmm, the taste of fall!

And here I am, really excited about this sweet 50mm 1.4 lens! The extra f/stop compared to my 50mm f/1.8 lens is incredible!!

And lastly, this is totally random…a couple weekends ago Samantha and I had a house-warming party, and she made some really really delicious cake balls. I had never heard of them before, and they’re my new favorite! Well, I was looking through this new cookbook  and look check out what I found - that’s funny! I didn’t realize I was famous for my cake balls! =)

Have you ever done something when immediately afterwards you said, “I will NEVER do that ever again!!”…but then find yourself thinking only a few days later, “oh, it wasn’t really that bad…I could do that again”?  That’s exactly how I feel after my adventure last week! My dad and I flew to Flagstaff, Arizona and drove and hour and a half to the breathtaking Grand Canyon. An extremely beautiful, “words-just-can’t-even-begin-to-express” sight. Even simply standing at the top of the Canyon, I felt so small because of its enormity. We spent the evening enjoying the beauty at the south rim of the canyon, and then got up early the next morning to begin our backpacking trip to Phantom Ranch, the bottom of the canyon!!! It took us 6 hours (including breaks) to hike to the bottom. What an incredible feeling to backpack to the depths of the canyon! It’s a feeling words can’t express. At every curve, I had to pause for the breathtaking WOW that stood in front of me. We arrived at the bottom and nearly every part of my body ached…my shoulders and back from a heavy backpack, my hands and arms from the hiking poles, my neck from a sunburn, my calves from all those steep steps, and my feet from huge blisters! Here are some photos from our journey to the bottom:

Some fun colors on the cabins at the top of the Canyon. The view from the top at sunset.

Our tent! Yes, I do believe that was a one-person tent…or as my dad said, “it’s a great tent for a husband and wife, but a bit snug for Dad and daughter!” It was cozy for sure!

We hiked down the Bright Angel Trail, which is 9.5 miles to the very bottom.

All geared up and ready to start our descent!

See that patch of green trees way down there? That’s not even half way to the bottom!!

This was a (imagine me singing) “HA-le-lu-jah!!!” moment, as there are way too few restrooms with as much water as we have to drink!!

This was at the half-way point to the bottom…it was HOT!! I loved the sign underneath the thermometer!

Check out this incredible bridge! What a beauty! It goes over the Colorado River, which was chocolate brown when we were there! Right after we passed over the bridge, we finally reached our destination: Phantom Ranch! While I was walking across it, I couldn’t help but remember the 35W  bridge collapse in the Twin Cities a couple years ago. Scary!

So, the rest of the pictures are from the hike up, which unfortunately, I was not in a state of feeling eager to take photos! After my Dad and I arrived at the bottom, I began to have a  terrible stomach ache. Well, without telling you all the details (you’re welcome!), I ended up sick all night. What a terrible memory of the bottom of the Grand Canyon! That was not in my plan!!!! We got up early the next morning to start our journey up the canyon, and of course my body was extremely weak and dehydrated. It was a very very very challenging hike up to the top (at many different points, I really didn’t think I would make it out alive! ha!), because I had such little strength. But…we made it! It was a bummer of a night at the bottom, but I survived!

My dad and I took a long break under the shade of a tree before made the final ascent to the top. As we were resting, this photo below shows what was ahead of us to endure! I counted TEN switchbacks that looked incredibly steep (this pic is taken from above, once I had made it half way up), and to show you perspective, I circled the person in the photo. Talk about steep and long! When we made it to the top, I had tears in my eyes because I couldn’t believe I made it!! Wow, what a huge sense of accomplishment!And, for the final photo…here is our “tent” for the last night! Yes, we slept in our car the last 2 nights because we were way too tired to put up the tent! And oh boy, did a hot shower at the top of the Canyon after a few days without a shower feel AH-mazing!!

As I look back, would I backback the Grand Canyon again?? Welll….yes, maybe! It was more pain than I had ever been in, but it was SO worth it! If any of you blog readers desire to do it, maybe we can plan a trip next fall…I’ll just make sure I don’t get sick at the bottom! ;o)

OH and I almost forgot…maybe you’ve noticed that I have been really bad about continuing my 1001 in 101 goal list! Well, this trip checks off three of my goals in one! #31, go camping - Check!   #33, hike the Grand Canyon with my Dad - Check! And #35, sleep under the stars - Check! (I slept in a hammock at the bottom of the Canyon!)

Thank you to all who stopped by to my booth yesterday at the Everything Bridal Show! It was a very successful day, setting a record number of visitors! To all of you to-be-brides, I hope it was extremely helpful for you as you plan your wedding! An event like that can be so overwhelming, but also very valuable! Here’s a photo of my booth:

The other night, there was a really funky bug on my doorstep, and he decided to stop by again yesterday. What a sweet bug! It makes me laugh that God has the sense of humor to create a bug that looks like a leaf! I wonder what this fella does all day long…as he was on this railing for hours without moving an inch!

This weekend marked three weeks in my new condo! It’s coming together, but there are definitely some finishing touches that still need to be made. It’s been so fun to have my own place to decorate, and to make it feel like “home”! The front living area will by my client studio area, where I will have client consultations and ordering appointments.  These first couple photos are of my favorite details!

This is the view from the front door. It’s a challenging room to take a picture of because of the dramatic differences in light, but you get the idea!

My favorite part of the room: Look at that gorgeous canvas print!!! It’s 30×40 inches, and I think it’s a “must-have” for every living room! =)

Another angle of the canvas print. It’s pretty hefty, at 1.5 inch thick.

And my bed, which is a treasure because I’ve slept in a teeny tiny twin all my life! Remember the headboard I found at a flea market and painted? There it is! Every day these past 3 weeks I just can’t wait to go to bed because I sleep so well in this monstrous bed (though it looks small in this photo for some reason…)!

Next week I will be the proud new owner of a townhome!!! I will write more about that later…but because I will be moving into a new place, I thought it would be the perfect time to buy my new favorite flower. When I was in the Netherlands last month, so many of the homes I was in had a beautiful white orchid in their window sill. They were enchanting! I stopped in Flowerama today, and there it was! A beautiful purple orchid! I learned that this flower shop only gets these in 2-3 times a year, so I knew this one was meant for me! =) I ended up buying the full-size purple one as well as a mini white one. I love the desctiption of their benefits on the card that comes with it:

“Exotic & Everlasting

This plant offers a wide variety of benefits, including:

• creates a relaxing environment
• generates oxygen
• cleanses the air of impurities
• adds humidity to room air during dry conditions (ha, this one doesn’t apply to us in Iowa!)
• effectively reduces noise
• adds color and textural interest”

So fun! I love, love, love decorating, and finding little treasures to add beauty and life to a room! Plus, they will always remind me of the Netherlands and all the incredible people that I met there and miss dearly!

I also saw some monstrous flowers while I was in the flower shop, and I just couldn’t resist. These funky yellow beauties are called “Teddybear Sunflowers”, and rightly so! They are so lush and intricate!, and they seem to scream “Hug me, Hug me!!”

Stephanie Bloom (a photographer in the Twin Cities) introduced me to the Shootsac Bag when I second shot at a wedding with her for Ginger Murray. After I saw her in action with this sweet bag, I knew I would buy one someday…and that someday has come! I used my new shootsac bag during Jacobo & Stepha’s wedding, and it worked great! I love it! It’s a hefty price, but it’s so worth it!

I also made another investment the other day  in a Thinktank carry-on photo bag. As you can see in the photo on the right, I was lugging around waaaayyy too many bags to weddings.  Not to mention my tripod & lightstand! I’ll be traveling to a couple weddings this fall, so this bag is perfect to fit as carry-on luggage. Every piece of my equipment now fits in one bag! Amazing! It has some pretty sweet features - I always worry about someone walking off with my equipment…problem solved with this bag! It has the capability of locking the zipper so it cannot be opened, and it comes with a cord and lock so I can lock it up somewhere, and not only can no one take it, but no one can even open it! Genius! The only bad thing is that my lovely shootsac bag doesn’t fit. That will have to go in my checked luggage!