Allison V. Smith - ZINE VI

This week, our pal in Texas, Allison V. Smith, released her newest zine, ZINE VI. The zine is 27 pages of beautiful, inspiring photos of bold color and quiet moments from Texas and Maine, all made with her Hasselblad! Each run is limited to only 250 copies, so don't slack on picking up yours. (The last I heard, there was only about 60 left!) Go get one through amazon here!

Thompson & Co.

© 2012 Brian Adams

When I first started my business as a freelancer, Thompson & Co. was one of the first agencies in Alaska to give me a chance. Since then, we have done many photo shoots for clients all over Alaska and New York, all of which I thoroughly appreciate and enjoy. To this day, however, one of my favorite jobs I have the opportunity to do for them is taking their staff photos. Since 2005, Thompson & Co. has held the tradition of featuring staff portraits taken without faces, by using the environment to show each employee's personality and passion. I think it's a wonderful and creative way to give the client a better idea of who they are hiring.

Above are some photos of Thompson & Co.'s newest employees as well as a group photo of the team in their brand new office in downtown Anchorage! You can learn more about the agency and the wonderful things they do here!

Era Aviation - Bethel, Alaska

 

© 2012 Brian Adams

Check out Brian's photos from his recent shoot for Era Aviation here!

Happy Father's Day, My Love!

All Photos © 2012 Ash Adams
I always knew that Brian would make a great father; after all, he's a really great person, both infinitely patient and kind. And good with babies! Brian, I will admit, taught me how to hold Elliott, not the other way around. And of course, his good fathering started before Elliott was born; throughout our pregnancy, Brian was the most supportive husband (even though I was not always the best pregnant person). Brian cared for Elliott when he was just a faraway dream, talked to him through the walls of my stomach, and played tag with his feet. As he grew, Elliott responded more and more to his voice even from inside that ballooning belly of mine, and when Elliott was born, Brian was the first person Elliott saw.

I say all of this, knowing that the U.S.'s cultural attitude toward parenting is often very polarized; the argument goes something like men "just aren't as good with babies" and so the responsibility rests solely on mothers (this often dwindles into some theoretical-yet-biological discussion that's full of holes) or women are just more natural nurturers (also full of holes). It's true that the majority of the birthing process is incredibly unfair; women grow, carry, and birth their babies and then feed their babies from their breasts (if they choose) for a year or two after that.

But for fathers like Brian, I feel that it must be noted that this imbalance also slights them a little; I am often the only one who can soothe Elliott--sometimes the only thing in the world that he wants is to nurse. And for all of those months during pregnancy, I could tell Brian everything that Elliott was doing, how he was feeling that day, what position he was in, but I carried it around with me like a knowing. I'm not going anywhere with this in particular, except that sometimes I ache for Brian; even though pregnancy was emotional and rough at times and breast-feeding can be time-consuming, there are times that I would love so much for him to know what all of it is like from this side of things. (It's pretty great.)

That said, Brian's fatherly intuition is his own kind of knowing; the bond he and Elliott share is very different and separate from me, and I love watching it bloom. Elliott follows Brian with his eyes all day long, laughs and smiles when he enters a room. When Brian smiles that bright, big smile of his, Elliott just can't get enough. He has special coos that are just for Brian.

Brian is an amazing husband and father; he is engaging, loving, and so very patient, and he dreams for Elliott the way I do. We cannot wait to see what he dreams of, what he decides to do in life, where he chooses to go. I am so very blessed to have such a partner and such a father for my son. (No blog post could ever say it enough.)

Happy Father's Day, my love!

True North - Show Book

If you're in Anchorage and you haven't already, go see the exhibit True North at the Anchorage Museum, showing now until September 9th. And while you're on your way out, I highly reccommend that you pick up a copy of the book that accompanies the exhibit. The 120-page book that was put together by Julie Decker and the Anchorage Museum is truly a treasure to keep, especially if you love collecting show cards, flyers, and books of the Alaskan contemporary art scene like I do. Above are photos of the cover and the four pages showcasing my work! Thanks to Julie and to the Anchorage Museum for letting me be a part of such a wonderful exhibit and publication.

Tummy Tuesdays: 10 Weeks Postpartum

Photos © 2012 Brian Adams

This week is our last weekly Tummy Tuesdays post, after which we'll move to monthly updates for the next several months. The bump has come a very long way in the past 10 weeks:


Photos © 2012 Brian Adams


Most of the bump's changes took place in the first three weeks postpartum, after which its changes have been more gradual, but I'm told that this is fairly common for breast-feeding mamas like myself. (I'm also told that weight loss really kicks up again after 3 months postpartum, so we'll see if this is my story as well.)

Two weeks ago, a reader asked me to go into more detail on my exercise and dietary routines as these obviously have an impact on the postpartum body. What I told her was more or less the following:

As for exercise:

Since the birth, I've walked about 4-5 miles each day, everyday, and sometimes more. Around week 3, I started jogging about 2 days a week. Around week 5, after being encouraged to do so by my midwife, I started doing 30-40 minutes of yoga or pilates everyday. Brian and I walk and do yoga or pilates together (for runs, I'm on my own), so these are easy to keep in the schedule everyday.

As for diet:

Breakfast:
• 1 bowl of oatmeal (from 1/2 cup 1-minute oats) with a splash of almond milk and half of a banana
or
• 1 piece light tapioca bread with 2 poached eggs and fresh baby spinach

Brian and I do not eat lunch in the traditional sense; we typically just graze here and there on healthy things until dinner, like:
• baby carrots with guacamole
• cup of leftover rice with veggies
• fruits (applesauce, fresh strawberries, apples, and grapes are our usuals)
• banana with peanut butter (or anything with peanut butter, really--carrots, celery, rice crackers are all fair game)

Dinner can be any of the following (or something along these lines):
• 1 cup cooked brown rice with steamed veggies and tuna, halibut, or salmon
• Brown rice and bean tacos
• Scrambled eggs with steamed veggies and tapioca toast (we call this "breakfast dinner," appropriately), and sometimes gluten-free dairy-free soy-free pancakes
• brown rice pasta with red sauce, broccoli, and Daiya cheese shreds (dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free cheese)
• quinoa noodles with a creamy soy-free dairy-free sauce based in almond milk and coconut milk, and veggies

I usually have a 100-calorie-ish snack somewhere around our last feeding for the night (between 10-11pm), and then usually have another after our early morning feeding (around 5 or 6) before going back to sleep for a couple of hours.

And: dairy-free dark chocolate. Brian and I each have a square or two each day

Basically, I do what my body tells me. I eat whenever I'm hungry, but only when I'm hungry, and I stop when I'm full. I drink a ton of water, and only water, really; no sugary drinks. (If I drink juice, I fill a glass with 1/4 juice and 3/4 water). I only do as much exercise as feels good to me. Walking always feels good to me, so I can always tack on another mile here and there; during pregnancy, Brian and I walked 8 miles each day, including the day we went into labor.

I wrote also that I'm not entirely certain that my postpartum exercise and diet has had a huge impact on my current body; if you look at the photos, it was changing pretty rapidly by just the second week. I suspect that the activities I did during pregnancy really had a larger impact, as well as genetics; my skin is still "shrinking" back to normal, but the amount that it has already firmed is incredible, especially considering that I didn't do any of the "oiling" or serious moisturizing that so many pregnant women swear by.

This brings me to my final point: bodies are so unique. I hope that this little documentary of my postpartum body has been helpful to pregnant women out there who are wondering what their bodies will look like after pregnancy, but, of course, my body is my body and no two will look the same following the harrowing process of pregnancy and birth. My body was underweight pre-pregnancy, and so I gained a great deal more than a woman who was at a normal weight before pregnancy (I gained 45 pounds). After the birth, I lost 20 pounds immediately and have slowly shed weight here and there since then. But for the most part, I've been focused on toning and staying healthy to feed my little man. We've come too far together already!

Photo © 2012 Ash Adams
See how far the bump has come in 10 weeks:

9 weeks postpartum

8 weeks postpartum

7 weeks postpartum

6 weeks postpartum

5 weeks postpartum

4 weeks postpartum

3 weeks postpartum

2 weeks postpartum

1 week postpartum

2 days after delivery

41-weeks pregnant

Fire Station 5

© 2012 Brian Adams

Anchorage's Fire Station 5 closed today to make way for the construction of a new station in the same location. The station was built in the 1970's, so it has a lot of flair that was fun to photograph. Our good friend Matthew Dean Herman of The Jack River Kings is one of the station's firefighters who will be moving over to the National Guard Armory until the new station is finished. Ash, Elliott, and I had fun photographing the crew and the faithful station. Thanks for serving Anchorage, Station 5!

Top 10 Ways to Cook an Egg

Check out Ash's article in this week's Anchorage Press!