[winter beauty]

Mid-january is about as dreary as it gets in the year, post-holiday-high, bitterly cold, grey, rainy  gloomy, not much to look forward to until mid-february... and its about right now that I'm desperately wishing I was back in hot and humid Australia and feeling really homesick. I think being cold just makes me grumpy and its been weeks of coldness, so I have been quite moody. but today we got lucky, it was so warm and sunny for these two darling sweethearts who made my day. We had a BLAST shooting in the warm afternoon sunlight. I didn't even have to wear a COAT or GLOVES!!! Nice right?? i was so happy to get out of my sweats and be back shooting and I have to admit winter is really beau-ti-ful and so GREEN! wow it was almost blinding how green the grass is right now. Its true the grass is really greener here LOL!  These pics turned out so sweet i am so excited to share them with you! These two sisters totally rocked their wintery photo shoot! I couldn't decide which one I liked more color or b&w so I just posted both.

After photographing these gals it reminded me I should to take out my girly girls for a winter shoot. Its been a long time since I've photographed them, or shot them in the winter. i will have to rug them up in some cute winter outfits and give it a whirl.

[a special engagement]

So I've been dying to spill the beans on this special engagement, but my sweet sister wanted to make sure she told her friends and family in person instead of them finding out on FB (or my blog!). I had to find out on SKYPE but that's cool. They got engaged on Christmas day!!! I'm so excited for them. Introducing my sister Natallie and her "fiance" Mac! We took these pics this summer when they came to visit!! Love them to pieces!!

It is hard to accept that someone is good enough for your little sister, but Mac is a great guy and how do I know? Cause my kids adore him! I think kids are the BEST judge of naughty or nice. Them and dogs... and Coco gave him the lick of approval too. We are happy that we will add another brother to our family. Love Love these two love birds... so happy my sister has found her superman!

My absolute FAVE! If it were me I'd have this BIG in my house!

And last one... sorry so many but I love them all!!  

I can't wait for their wedding... still TBA but sometime in Spring 2012! Sweet! I get to go back down under. And the big question will I be shooting their wedding? Of course!! Will the girls be flower girls?? YES!! They're super excited. I know she will make an absolutely STUNNING bride!  I can't wait to see which wedding dress she'll pick. And the colors... so exciting!!

[january 2011 issue & source book 2011]

Starting the new year with this CUTE FACE! Hello Micah! We love your sweet smile. The day we scheduled to shoot this it was pouring like you won't believe, the kind of rain where you can barely see the car in front of you. So there was just no way we could shoot outdoors, and normally on a regular shoot I would reschedule, but  you can't when you're working with print! So we went inside the library and Micah's adorable smile saved the day!

And I can't even be more proud of this year's selection for the SOURCE BOOK cover! What a picture perfect family. No they're not models or actors but a very sweet family here in Sacramento and they're rockin' the cover for 2011! You can view more images of their family shoot here: http://alexandrafrankel.blogspot.com/2010/11/red-barn-revisited.html

Looking forward to the new year! Thanks for stopping by... oxoxoxox

~ Alex

[happy birthday to my lil' sis]

The handmade card above was made by my talented sister. I just wanted to post that cause its one of my favorite cards that she made for me. She keeps me well stocked with lovely cards that she makes and sells. Anyways... this summer she came to visit and we did a bunch of shoots... which I haven't even had the chance to peruse. But since its her birthday today I thought I would pick some of my favs from this shoot we did in Bridgeport. 

 I love that she will pose for me all day long, and not complain! Lay on sharp rocks and get into the river! What more can a photographer ask for? Not only that she's so beautiful and she can rock some poses! My kids absolutely adore her. They think she's so cool, that she's so trendy and has the coolest dresses. They love to go shopping with her and pick out cocktail dresses and shoes. My sister should've been a shoe model cause she makes even the ugliest pair look awesome.

Of the three times she's been to visit us this was the first time she's been in the summertime and we got to take her to some of our favorite places like our club pool, tahoe, SF, and the river, without freezing our booties off. So much more fun! Everytime she comes to see us in the winter she misses her summer. so its been forever since I've seen her with a tan. The first week she was here we basically lazed by the pool, it was  heavenly. Sooo missing that now that its 30 degrees outside, sooooo wishing I was down under and drinking pina colada's right now!! One of these days I'm gonna be able to follow the summer around the globe!

Happy BIRTHDAY darling! Congrats on making it to a quarter of a century LOL! Here's the next may it be even better than the last. Miss you TONS. You're the coolest "nat" we know! OOXOXOXOXO

[pony dreams & BFFs]

I took these in November... and am just now having a chance to post them. Alannah and her BFF Kassidy have been riding together this whole year, and I have lots of pics but here are a few of our favs. This fall the girls changed from riding Western to riding English. This has been a major change for Alannah and she's loving it. We also have a new trainer and a new stable that the girls adore!   

Sometimes when we remember we bring treats for the horses.

 Alannah and Tipster...

Kassidy grooming Flash...

Lovable Chase...

The girls are learning all aspects of riding including grooming and tacking. They love every minute of it!

 As you can see by this HUGE adorable smile!

Alannah's favorite position... two point... jumping position! Eeek!!

If anyone is interested in horse-riding e-mail me for stable information we highly recommend it.