Hi There, I'm Ali.
If one word were to describe me, it would be that I am a maker.
I have always been at my happiest and most content whilst creating-- especially if I am making something useful, or nurturing to the body and to the soul. Be it a home cooked meal, a silly bathtime diddy sung to my sweet boys, a hand-stitched quilt for my daughter's bed, knitted garments for myself, natural soaps, a scribbled poem, or a fanciful arrangement of hand-picked flowers-- I am never idle and every action is artistic expression.
My varied interests and skill sets continually inform my work as a photographer. They allow me room to play and grow as an artist. These diverse passions influence my use of colour, subtle texture, and poetic gesture to capture life’s fleeting beauty and give pause to the overlooked moment. Camera in-hand since childhood, I have fond memories of my mother sending me outside (and locking the door behind me) to snap away leftover exposures on our family vacation disposables. Many blurry flowers and vertigo inducing landscapes later, and I am still a sucker for film.
I have since developed my craft as an art school drop out, auction house product photographer, and a passionate documentarian of my own family chaos.
I'm just a mom with a camera...
Motherhood has shaped the woman I’ve become since birthing my eldest over a decade ago. In the nine months of that pregnancy, I went from wild and reckless to the matriarch of my own little family. The first words out of my mouth when Lenore was born were “I’ve never held a baby before”. I had no idea how to be a mother and fumbled on through until my second came along. By then, I realized that when I trusted my instincts, motherhood-- especially young motherhood-- became easier and my babies were happier because I was meeting their needs intuitively.
Over the years, my family has grown and so has my confidence. Mothering my children has pushed me to accept my faults, learn from them, and move on-- always trying to be a better version of myself than I was the day before. I’m far from perfect, and sometimes I wish I could be young and free again; but I will never turn down a hug, and if my son asks me to make a choo-choo track or build a castle with blocks, I’m going to take the two minutes to do it. No matter how busy I am.
I am the one who brushes out the tough knots. I wear their grubby fingerprints proudly on my glasses, help sound out the hard words, and pocket every precious acorn and pebble.
I am raising human beings that I am proud of.
This hardwon confidence in myself as a mother is empowering. I want you to feel that empowerment in yourself, as a mother, too.
I Believe Portraiture is Powerful.
A well-crafted photograph isn't a mirror reflection...
And it's no bathroom selfie either.
When we are looking at an artful, intentionally made image of ourselves, we are forced to step outside of the mental construct of who we are. We view ourselves through someone else's eyes-- through an artist's lens. This broadens, and perhaps challenges, our perspective.
For those struggling with their self image in the fun house of social distortion, pressing pause on the life reel in this way is a valuable tool to foster a new sense of self awareness, and hopefully, self confidence.
As a motherhood photographer, my artist's eye is trained to seek out beauty in the mundane, overlooked, and seemingly ordinary moments of your life. Let me show you that beauty.
Exhibitions
DEFAD. (August 12-13, 2022). Delaware Fun-A-Day.
Newark, DE, USA
Photo Place Gallery. (March 2 - March 24, 2023). Parenthood. Juried Exhibit.
Middlebury, VT, USA
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