To the Class of 2020 - you will have a shared unique experience having reached this life milestone during this pandemic. And, I dare say, there’s no way to go but up from here!
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bittersweet :: light and grace :: personal musings and photo decor :: anna rochelle
Photo Jan 08, 5 55 10 PM.jpg
That’s the name/date stamp of this photo taken on my iphone on a beach outside Irvine California. On January 8th, as it says, of 2016.
It was a beautiful sunset; a beautiful reflection; the colors were stunning-unedited and unapologetic. That’s how nature is, it’s just there to be noticed or ignored.
Sometimes taking pictures seems to take over the moment and steal the presence of just BEING. But, I’m glad I have these images in more than my mind’s eye to remember...
This moment took place during a wonderful, anxiety-ridden, hopeful, and confusing time in my life. Somehow I was filled with hope. Knowing what I know now…having lived all I’ve lived now, it is too bittersweet to explain any other way…Simply put, it was bitter and it was sweet.
It seemed as though my life, which had felt off schedule, was finally falling into place. All the pieces were there, and I could work them together. I was sure about something, I had waited a short lifetime to feel this way. Photography wasn’t really on my schedule during those days. I had loved and lost that dream, so my “real” camera spend most of it’s time in my green camera bag and I travelled all over the U.S. with just that iphone.
Several months later, I decided to turn this photo into a wooden wall hanging. I make these routinely on a smaller scale but this 18x24 undertaking turned out to be a lot more “trouble than it’s worth”. It took me days, multiple mediums, raw fingers, odd smells…the quality lacking. The vision I started with not being realized. But, I was determined, I was this far in - invested - I would finish, even though the end product had a big crease down the center… even though big chunks peeled off… even though it was long, arduous, frustrating and disappointing. I kept going. Looking back, if I extrapolate, that process was a metaphor for what I was living and about to live in that year.
I finally came to a stopping point, but it looked like an imperfect, vintage art piece. It was lacking something. I kept toying with the idea of painting over top of it. Should I add glitter? Should I write some pinterest quote about the beach and turn it into a trendy/girly decoration? Nothing was ever quite right.
So, it moved with me across country and back. Even though I wanted to use it, I don’t think it ever hung on a wall. It sat in a few garages and I stopped thinking about it until this past week.
I sat writing in front of a blank wall. I sat, conducting my own therapy, answering my own introspective questions. I wrote about the pain of looking back, the desire to truly BE. The desire to embrace all of life as a mixture of bitter and sweet in every moment. I wrote my own bit of prose and then I read some other’s work. And, I knew this poem by Tyler Knott Gregson needed to go up on that blank wall. At first I thought I needed to go buy a canvas or a poster and then I remembered this unfinished piece in the garage… And just like that, over two years later, it became imperfectly complete.
The text can be found in Tyler’s books or on Pinterest : “I promise to find art where there maybe none, I promise to try to become it if absolutely none exists. I will live in a manner in which I look back and know I chased two things throughout: all the light, all the grace.”
Sometimes I worry I’ll never “make it” to where I want to go - personally, creatively, professionally. And, if I never get “there”, how will I know what I should have or could have done? How could we ever sift through elusive “what ifs”? See, it’s hard to stop looking backwards with pain. And, it’s often hard to look forward with clear eyes.
But, as the poem explains so well. Yes, art will forever be in my blood. So, I can’t stop seeing it, chasing it, becoming it.
For even in the least “creative” person out there, art is in the designs of your eyes; in the shape of your face; in the workings of your brain.
Art is found in so many moments - a sunrise, sunset, laughter, tears. Sometimes the bitter brings you back to the sweetness. I found photography again though all the bitter. And, this old/new hanging on my wall is the epitome of the bittersweet.
The darkness beckons the soul to chase the light. And so, chasing “all the light, all the grace” requires all that bittersweet darkness.
We write about sunshine and shadows
roses and thorns
maybe this is the essence of being.
We are living everyday we’re dying
the living is bitter; the living is sweet
some endings are painful,
others with joyous tears we meet. - Anna Rochelle
Fashion Product Phoenix + Albuquerque Photography :: City Limit Nation Tees :: City Rooftop to Desert Scape
I love partnering with businesses, both local and not-so-local, to create content and capture images selling their products! City Limit Nation is a new company selling shirts for U.S. cities, for folks who want to rep their hometown in comfort! These tees are soft and simple (and beyond the usual "Los Angeles" and "NYC" fashion statements that are easy to find). So, my dear local Phoenicians, here is something for you!
You can also purchaes Albuquerque, Austin, Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, & Boston!
Thanks to my awesome models for braving the HEAT for this one!
Thanks for being a great client, Sara/City Limit Nation!
Seniors :: Class of 2019 :: Creative Senior Photography :: High School, ASU Tempe Grads and More
When you look back on your life, it will be made up of a moments and blocks of time (a.k.a. "seasons"). One leading into the next. Moments that prepare us and shape us for what's next!
Photographs capture, celebrate, and commemorate. They serve as reminders and momentos for us and our families/friends.
So, maybe you're graduating from High School and getting tired of the "So, what are you going to do with your life?" questions. Or, maybe you know exactly what you're "going to do with your life" and you're excited to run down that next path!
Or you could be graduating from a career/technical school; a four-year degree; a masters program - whatever the case may be, I want to capture this moment in your life!
No matter where you go from here, your graduation is a special-transitional moment to commemorate. Let's get out there and showcase - YOU!
So, check out some varied sessions below and then head on over to my Senior Contact Page and let's capture some memories!
“They couldn’t have turned out better!”
“Thanks so much for the super cute pictures!
I showed my friends and they said ‘she is an amazing photographer’”
“My parents and I love them! You did so great. We appreciate you so much.”
- Anna
Downtown San Diego Waterfront :: Model Fashion Creative Portraits
The day of this shoot was one of those days I felt nervous and unsure. I was overthinking and exhausted, but thankfully, I've learned to SHOW UP. I've learned to trust the process, lean into the unknown and uncomfortable and let it be.
Boy, am I glad I did.
This turned into one of my favorite shoots to date.
My model Ellie is gold! She is game for anything and has the most epic hair (obviously!) as well as a laugh and spirit to match!
San Diego always holds a little bit of magic, this evening did not disappoint - from golden hour to blue hour and all!
Take a gander!
She was free in her wildness. She was a wanderess, a drop of free water. She belonged to no man and no city.
- Roman Payne
Iceland :: Summer Travel Photography :: Ring road images
in travel, iceland, summer roadtrip
The mountains do call; and you should go.
You should definitely defy TLC; go chase all the waterfalls.
**Insert John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, or even Ron Swanson quote here**
When I saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in 2013, it sparked my interest in Iceland. I had never before considered that as a travel destination, but good Lord, the moody vibes and epic vistas piqued my interest. So, this trip was epic and a little surreal. At times, I had to remind myself where I was, because I wasn't so far outside a western comfort zone. Yet, I was halfway around the world, eating the freshest food (even tho it cost an arm and a leg); drinking the purest water (even tho, at times, it smells like rotten eggs); and freezing half the time (even tho I'd walk right back into that cold to escape the AZ heat!)
But, how can I even begin to sum up roadtripping Iceland's ring road?... let's get to the pictures!
Sheep, horses, dogs oh my!
Red roofs on farm houses; red roofs on lighthouses.
One of the most special moments for me.
Finding this beach beyond the rolling hills behind the historic church.
blues & greens; rain & snow; fog & mist; 24hr sun/24hr clouds - saw it all.
Another favorite - icebergs behind you, sunny beach in front of you. Wow.
And... there's so many more. I hope too see you again, Iceland.
Images are the property of Anna Rochelle ©AnnaRochelleImagery and may not be used in any format or for any purposes unless requested and received written permission in advance.