alyssa miserendino photography : amimagery : little inspirations

FotoFest 2012, Houston Texas

imagine being surrounded by other people in your industry for five days straight from 9am until about midnight each night... this is the intense high i was on just a week ago at Houstons's FotoFest. i barely read an email or answered my phone. i simply took it all in, and best of all, i had the opportunity to meet other incredible photographers, whose work i've seen in magazine spreads or hanging on gallery walls. this was magical; especially when touting someone's name just 30 min earlier, then getting to meet her in person. synchronicity i say!

we were a group of image junkies getting our fill. we sat around in between meetings and shared some of our most personal and powerful work : the work that comes from within, that we do for our selves, from our heart & thus inevitably brings our viewers, & the larger world together. This is our Element.

 

a new website, new work, new colleagues, new inspiration...

i'm excited to share with you some local folks i've been working with behind the scenes to design a new website. it's been an incredible jouney thus far -- both challenging and exciting. i believe it is the connections we share & the talents, aspirations and stories of others that bring us closer. 

life is full of litte inspirations : celebrate them, celebrate each other

i look forward to showing you the collective brain power of these folks -- until then, let me introduce the following :

2012 love card

a new year, and a new love card, with new work featured. i mailed a whole box full of these yesterday. i've been having some pretty amazing dreams for the last 6-8 months, which is the inspiration for this year's card. the dreams have been so vivid and magical - i hope these bring you some magic as well. each year these cards come with a little gift inside, for those of you i've had the pleasure to collaborate with, on a photographic endevor. if you'd like to be included, please email the studio here: studio@alyssamiserendino.com, with your snail mail address. this year's cards are going as far as new zeland, brazil, england, thailand, hong kong and germany. i can't wait to see how far they go next year. Happy year of the dragon!

 

our wedding photos published on 100 Layer Cake

Our wedding (sept 2010) captured by the talented One Love Photo and ceremony/reception brought to life by so many talented artists, in different ways, was published by 100 Layer Cake. Click on the image below and scroll to the bottom to learn about all the hands who helped us make this a very special day for Conor & I. t h a n k  y o u everyone!

and I found Heather published it here with our awesome friends who gifted us this.

image © One Love Photo

i'm taking you to NYC with me...

thank you everyone for allowing me to share time with your family and document you. some of you are coming with me to New York today for three days of intense portfoilio reviews. You continue to inspire my portrait work (shown here) & my conceptual work .... t h a n k  y o u.

steve jobs & looking back

I hesitated posting this about six months ago, and instead sent the video of the below speech to someone I felt could gather inspiration from it. it was the best words I could find to help another. it's why I started this blog. why, what appears so seamingly disconnected in life, most often brings about the most ah ha moments. little inspirations. celebrate them, celebrate each other.

Steve Jobs at his home office, 1982 {Diana Walker}  

 

from tree to home - Greta de Parry

remember Greta? photographing other artists is always such a pleasure. especially when it's in a beautiful place of inspiration -- i adore the farm she works on. From literal trees sourced around the area, to beautiful pieces of furniture ... among other materials she transforms.. 

check out Greta's work here.

 

silver award in paris

i am crying. i guess i didn't realize how much my heart is in this work. i'm incredibly honored. Our World Insideout : Brazil has been awarded a silver in this years px3 competition. i may just be on my way to france soon!

"Px3 asked each judge to use the same criteria when reviewing the photographs: originality, creativity, excellence of execution, and overall impact. The identity of all photographers is not shown during the voting process to insure fairness and the integrity of the competition."

thank you dearly to all of you who supporter me via Kickstarter, & to those from around the US, Central America and all over Brazil that made this possible. my dreams just got bigger, and very much because of you....  

Our World Insideout is currently working in conjunction with a Rio based organization, Chiq da Silva, to project the imagery on the side of the most popular squatted government building. The goal is to raise awareness & the necessary funds to finally build the first centralized urban public housing in Rio. In addition the documentary is in it's final stage of subtitling!!! thank you Isabela Alzuguir!

Spread the word. If you'd like to be involved, with the Chicago portion, I am currently looking for a story to cover & submit to two editors. I am excited to work towards awareness & change in my own hometown. Please contact me here if you have a story to share: alyssa@ourworldinsideout.com

.t h a n k  y o u world.

the honorees

Ellen & John Tighe were honored in Nashville last week with a human relations award. They have done quite a bit for their current community and the communities they have lived in across the US over their life. It was really sweet to see John get all verklempt when speaking of Ellen. Conor's parents are quite an act to follow -- I look forward to us learning from them ... congrats you two!

commission your own art

i'm so excited to showcase this piece, as a limited edition large print. in the beginning of this year i was commissioned to create a piece for a special place. below is the what won my clients over. as some of your know, conor is graduating this year from law school & i am supper proud of him. his graduation gift is a trip to hong kong, & with it i will be taking film once again. if you are interested in a commissioned piece, please let the studio know (studio@alyssamiserendino.com) and we'd be happy to arrange a site visit to your personal space you are looking to fill with a little magic...

the magic was in the creation. conor & i decided it was time after a couple days in Yagon to visit the breath taking Shwedagon Paya. not realizing it was right down the street from where we were staying, we walked on over and wandered around in amazement. we happened to be there on a day when they light the entire place with candles. we had no idea this was about to start at sun down. as usual i went into my own mode with a film hasselblad in hand and decided to just sit in the middle of it all, on the floor. watching as tourists, locals, and monks passed through the frame, it was like watching my own little movie pass through the view finder. not more than a minute into it, the people parted in synchronicity, as a monk decided to stand dead center for long enough for me to create an image with a slow shutter. his friend approached us shortly after, and started to explain how we are all connected. i started tearing up as he continued to speak, in an absolute moment of all encompassing love for the world internally. conor & i were then treated to a personal tour of Shwedagon, as his friend who is pictured here followed close behind, taking in everything around him... it was one of the most amazing moments of our trip.