Lisa Marie Figueroa » personal http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog Lisa Marie Figueroa photography blog. Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:57:35 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 One day… http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2011/07/one-day/ http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2011/07/one-day/#comments Sun, 10 Jul 2011 10:27:46 +0000 Lisa Marie http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/?p=719 Truth is…no matter how hard I’ve tried…I can’t seem to blog about my Nana. This is as far as it gets.
One day, right?
One day…

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]]> http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2011/07/one-day/feed/ 0 everythings changed… http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2011/03/everythings-changed/ http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2011/03/everythings-changed/#comments Sun, 27 Mar 2011 10:04:04 +0000 Lisa Marie http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/?p=630
Once upon a time she was full of strength and zest for life. She radiated this fierceness in every word and demanded nothing less than 110%. I aspired to be her, a woman of strength and courage. As a little girl I often begged her to curl my hair like she did every night and vowed I would one day also paint my nails to match my fancy shirts. She always laughed at my requests or called me, “crazy”. She was right, I was a little crazy. As a little girl we spent many moments together. We had so many “firsts” and so many “moments”. Life with Nana has never been boring.
When my Nana was diagnosed with terminal cancer she vowed to fight. In her words, “I’m doing it for you kids”. That statement isn’t a rarity. Truth is, she always says things like that. The “kids” are all of us. Her thirteen grandchildren and well, her ten great-grandchildren. She meant those words, she truly did.
While on vacation we spoke of changes and what this terminal sentence might likely bring. She laughed away the idea that one day she wouldn’t have her strength and she actually embraced the idea of losing weight from treatment. The journey seemed all too distant and for the most part, surreal.
Changes were evident but we didn’t dwell on them, that’s never been our nature. Nana doesn’t allow any of that, she never has.
And now everything has changed…
Nana’s house that once brought me comfort and tranquilty now brings me an incredible sense of sadness. Seeing my Nana in so much pain, just kills me. I struggle everyday and cry at the mention of her name. The smiles that once came so easily to Nana are now replaced with stares. It’s as though she’s studying every part of my face, taking in almost every detail. The desire to hold her, squeeze her and embrace her overcomes me everytime I see her. I long to scoop her up in my arms and just run. It’s not ever going to happen but I dream….
The truth…which is so hard to admit…is that I am not ready to let her go….
And as of right now, I can’t fathom the idea of living in a world without her in it…

It’s true, everything in my life is going to change.

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]]> http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2011/03/everythings-changed/feed/ 2 Susan & Tom | Maternity Photography | Huntington Beach http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/12/susan-tom-maternity-photography-huntington-beach/ http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/12/susan-tom-maternity-photography-huntington-beach/#comments Wed, 22 Dec 2010 10:33:44 +0000 Lisa Marie http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/?p=535 Tom is my cousin. I would say older and wiser but that’s totally not true! (ha! I kid, I kid! sorta!) Let’s just say that Tom got me into all sorts of trouble when we were growing up!
Susan is new to our family but I already love her. We bonded on our Summer Vacation with lots of girl talk, that’s important! Of course it doesn’t hurt that we discussed some of my favorite topics…like babies, photography and trip planning. Susan is witty, honest and a great conversationalist. Though what I adore most about Susan is the amazing impact she has had on Tom. He’s soooo changed, in all sorts of wonderful ways. (awwww…)
Baby Zander is going to be one lucky little dude…
Congrats Tom & Susan…

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]]> http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/12/susan-tom-maternity-photography-huntington-beach/feed/ 0 my love… http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/09/my-love/ http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/09/my-love/#comments Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:04:15 +0000 Lisa Marie http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/?p=400 There is this obvious sense of sadness in my life right now.
It’s a pain that I can’t describe.
It’s all that I think about.
It sneaks up on me when I’m alone or sitting here in front of my computer.

You see, she’s my Saturday. The escape. My “home”.
And you see, she’s my Christmas. The joy, the light and the heart.

She knows how much I love her.
I tell her often.
She knows that I’m hurting and I know that she is too.
I can sense it and I can feel it, in EVERY hug.

And perhaps this is the reason I’ve been struggling with this blog.
So much, too much, not even really sure if it’s okay to share.
But I’m sharing because I have to. It’s a part of me right now.
It’s going to reflect in my work. It already has.

And really, all I want is more time.
Time. With Her. Just Her.
Time to never end.
Time to stand completely still.

Honestly, I can’t focus long enough to even finish this blog.

I just know it’s not easy wishing your tomorrows were your yesterdays…

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]]> http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/09/my-love/feed/ 1 For my husband… http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/04/for-my-husband/ http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/04/for-my-husband/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:51:06 +0000 Lisa Marie http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/?p=359 “One day we were brought into the world, knowing love only as being what we had for our toys, family, and friends. Then, you meet someone who alters your conception of love, and you never know how you loved anything before because this kind of love is”-Anonymous

I love you. I love you oh-so-freakin’ much!

xoxo-
me

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]]> http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/04/for-my-husband/feed/ 0 Kinda beautiful… http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/03/kinda-beautiful/ http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/03/kinda-beautiful/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:27:14 +0000 Lisa Marie http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/?p=284 I love that her hair is always a mess. It doesn’t matter how many times I put it up, it always ends up down.
I love that when her clip or hair band is caught in her hair, she turns to him. And I love that he’s always willing to help her.
“Awww, it’s okay…Big Brother will do it!”
And he will. And he does, even if it drives me nuts.
“Mom, she doesn’t like it up. Just leave it…I think it looks pretty just the way it is!”

I love that he argues her case because she can’t. And I love that when I let him win, he has to tell her that he has her back.

This bond they have, well it’s kinda beautiful. And really, so is her messy hair.

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]]> http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/03/kinda-beautiful/feed/ 0 Show and share Friday… http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/02/show-and-share-friday/ http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/02/show-and-share-friday/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:24:29 +0000 Lisa Marie http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/?p=276 I have a few things in the works right now that have been taking precedent over this blog. It’s such a sad sorry excuse but it really is true. So I figured why not share something so this blog doesn’t appear so pitiful and sad.

In the works:

1. Image/Brand overhaul:

I’ve decided it’s time to make my image/brand a little less conventional and really go with my style. In lieu of the popular damask, I’m going with an idea that I think is going to be uhhh-mazing. I found inspiration in this little picture. You are going to have to wait for my unveiling to know I haven’t gone mad but believe me when I say it’s so damn cute!

2. WPPI:

I firmly believe I have a Fairy Godmother. She is this magical force in my life that from time to time grants all my wishes and makes all my dreams come true. The truth is that a month ago I was not going to WPPI. Though I really wanted to, my Husband and I just couldn’t make the numbers work or figure out our schedules. I was saddened but I had moved on. Then rewind back two weeks, some incredible vendor on Facebook decided to hold a contest. It’s so silly really, all you had to do was be one of the first people to email them and if you did, you would win an all access pass to WPPI. So I did…and I won!!!! I cried. Yes, like a total doofus but it was so darn exciting.
Sal and I talked, he knew how badly I wanted to go and how important it is to attend and he was like, “Alright, sure. Let’s go!” As a new face in this biz I can definitely benefit from this convention.Oh, and I’m also toting Sal along with me so perhaps he can pick up a thing or two, or realize that it’s vital to my life to have that Canon Lens that I so badly want….lol
And for those of you who aren’t familiar, WPPI is this huge convention in Vegas for Wedding Photographers but really it’s for all photographers. Amazing artists from the industry will be sharing secrets about everything and well, now you see why I wanna go so bad! In typical cheese Lisa fashion, I bought myself a new special notebook and pen. I’m going to look like such a newbie, I’m sure of it but at least I will look stylish when I take notes!

3. Trash the Dress/ TDT Group Shoot:

As in, Trash a wedding dress for fun while a photographer captures it on camera. And guess who is going to be doing some capturing with her camera during this TDT shoot? Oh, that would be me!!! And I will be doing so while in Vegas! Sooooo excited. I cannot wait to see what fun stuff we will endure. My friend Syl, who is from Vegas, will be taking part too! Syl is trying to figure out where we are going to be shooting because apparently, “Vegas is all up-tight about camera’s”. I’m figuring we’ll end up behind some trashy liquor store or behind some scary motel on the strip! ahahaha…don’t worry, there are 40 of us shooting in this group, I’ll be safe!

and that’s pretty much it, for now.

Easter is coming up! That means shooting in floral fields! Wooo-hooo! Cannot wait!

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]]> http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/02/show-and-share-friday/feed/ 0 My Sweethearts… http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/02/my-sweethearts/ http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/02/my-sweethearts/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:43:45 +0000 Lisa Marie http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/?p=269 Valentine’s Day was a gorgeous day. As far as gifts go, my amazing husband bought me a new fabulous LCD monitor. I must admit, editing is now quite the experience. Wow!!! Good bye 20″ monitor and hello new world! When it came to gift giving, I was a good wife and did not buy my husband a thing (per his request) and instead I fixed him his favorite meal.
Unfortunately Sal had to work on Sunday, so I spent the day with my two favorite pea’s. It’s cah-razy how fast they are growing. To be honest, I feel like I need to take 10,000 more pictures so I do not miss anything. I know Isaac hates when I tote my camera along to our family outings but too bad, sometimes a Mom just needs to capture herself some moments.
Of course in typical Figueroa fashion, our escape to the park lasted only an hour because shortly after arriving my Sweet Pea decided to fall on a piece of wood. No big deal except she was wearing shorts and managed to get roughly 30+ splinters in her shin! Well, it was fun while it lasted….

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]]> http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/02/my-sweethearts/feed/ 0 Just a lil bit of inspiration… http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/01/just-a-lil-bit-of-inspiration/ http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/01/just-a-lil-bit-of-inspiration/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:18:50 +0000 Lisa Marie http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/?p=213 I love photography. I love everything about it. I love the idea of capturing moments and the idea of sharing what I see. I love having full control on my post production work by deciding the hues, the tones and the essence.

Inspiration for me comes in all forms…from my indie folk music to the beautiful arts on etsy.
But currently, I am moved by this masterpiece:

This amazing music video

Is there anything more inspiring than watching something that likely took days months to create? Seriously, I can’t help but love it…and how much fun does that party look? I need to get on that!

Over the weekend I witnessed something beautiful. Luckily for me, I was also able to capture it with my camera.
Here is a hint of what’s to come:

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]]> http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/01/just-a-lil-bit-of-inspiration/feed/ 0 Pretty and Magical…. http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/01/pretty-and-magical/ http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/2010/01/pretty-and-magical/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:35:25 +0000 Lisa Marie http://www.lisamariefigueroa.com/blog/?p=157 My Husband isn’t fond of Valentine’s Day. He thinks surprise gifts are far more superior than those that are “expected”.
Hmmm…well, I kinda like both:)
So for Valentines Day I’ve been kinda eyeing a few things…::Sal please take note:::

1. This pretty fabulous lens

2. This pretty cute moonstone ring

3. This pretty awesome bag

4. This pretty adorable necklace

And keeping with theme, here are some pretty magical fairies…

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