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Donate to your favorite charity and receive a gift

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As the year draws to a close and you are getting ready to send in the last of your donations to your favorite charity here is a little something for you. I thought it would be great to support the various causes dear to your heart and return the favor for your thoughtfulness.

I will be leaving for India shortly and while going through my things I found a few items I had collected through my travels. I thought it would be fun to give those away to those of you that are able to make donations to your favorite charity. The rules are simple…donate $15 or more to your favorite charity and email me a receipt from your donation. You can pick any of the items below and I will ship them out to you once I confirm your donation. Please be sure to email me to verify if the item is still available.

I am leaving for India in a week so the latest I will be able to ship out will be by Wed, 17th so please be sure to email me soon. If you are unable to make the donation please visit Care2 where you can make free clicks to donate!

You probably have your own favorite charities but I wanted to mention a few. A plug for my brother Abodh’s charity The Welfare of Stray Dogs, a non-profit that he runs in India. A few others I have supported are Doctors without Borders, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Idex, Susan G Komen for the Cure, Akanksha, and local orgs: Project OpenHand, Davis Street Shelter. On a side note, when I first started my business, I did a photo shoot for Davis Street Shelter. One of the patrons, I photographed was an older gentleman called Dale that I got to talk to during our session. Recently, Dawn my contact there got in touch with me to see if I could make prints of his photos for his grandkids. Dale is seriously ill with cancer and had a recent heart attack and not doing too well. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts.

Here are some of the products…

Tantra T-Shirt. 100% Cotton, Large

Fab India Kid’s Shirts worn on Jeans. I adore their clothes and have to get some on every trip. 100% cotton, soft and comfy. There is one photo to show the open shirt and the rest look exactly the same. Please check sizes on the shirt labels.

Anokhi Cushion Covers. These were from my 2006 travels to Jaipur, a city in Northern India known for the wonderful art of hand-block printing. These cushion covers are block printed on a tissue material backed with a cotton material. Size approx 17.5 x 17.5″. No inserts.

Can’t remember where I got these but it was most likely at a little shop in Delhi. Silk Cushion covers with cotton backing. 16 x 16″ with open back in a set of two. No inserts

Last of the mini-sessions | San Francisco bay area kids photographer

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A few for a sneak peek from the mini-sessions for mom and dad. I really wanted to get your gallery done before my trip and it should be up shortly! The little one gave me a run for my money but I was happy to capture some of the in-between pauses. I love that last image with big sis too…a quiet moment.

Joyce - Beautiful! And I love those Tea Collection togs! 🙂

Kim - your images are always so beautiful and tell such a wonderful story!!!

Vintage 2008 | Napa Valley family photographer

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A sneak peek from my last session of this year of this lovely San Francisco family in Napa. Mom had her heart set on capturing the fall colors in Napa. So we waited and waited but the season didn’t quite cooperate. Eventually, we did the session last weekend and I was really happy to find a great spot…all by accident while driving down the highway. I had an image in my head and thought this captured the essence of the beautiful Napa area. Check out the brand new vintage… little baby F is just a little over six months old and looks pretty comfortable in her surroundings.
I had a great time working with the family and thanks to dad for the offer of wine. Heh, can you imagine going out to Napa and not drinking any wine? If I wasn’t working or driving, it would have been a different story. Also, I was a bit under the weather and have been for a few days. I am almost there though…. winding down and gearing up for my vacation in a couple of weeks.. But please be assured, ff you are waiting on any of your art, you will get in time before I leave as long as I get your orders in soon.

Phoebe - Oh my goodness, she is soooo cute! You are amazing, Alpana and I am just DYING for you to make a trip East!!!
XOXO

amy boring - GREAT color Alpana! What a cutie little girl

stephanie beaty - stunning work, as always alpana! adore the lighting…

PersdibeProop - Hello, I can’t understand how to add your blog ( storyboxart.com ) in my rss reader
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Daddy’s girl | San Francisco Kids photographer

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And a few more from the recent mini-sessions…

In our conversation prior to the session, mom told me that they wanted their family pictures to be reflective of my non-posed style. It can be hard to achieve it during mini-sessions with the shorter time duration but I was happy with the way the pictures turned out. When I greeted them, they were playing with their sweet little fourteen month old on the swing-set. I thought that was such a perfect introduction to their photos! The little one kept me on my toes running around and daddy was a great help keeping her in stitches. I had a great time taking pictures of this beautiful, young family.

Laura - She is precious. Reminds me of my niece. Wonderful job!

Kristy - What gorgeous photos & such a beautiful child! 🙂

Little Ms. J in the woods

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I am trying to work at warp speed to try to get the proofs ready soon. Please keep in mind that I will need your orders in soon to be able to get them back to you by the holidays and before I leave on my vacation. Thanks so much for being wonderful clients 🙂

A few for a sneak peek from a mini-session with sweet baby J. I photographed her back in August and mom brought her in for her six month photos. I don’t really have a baby plan in place yet but am considering putting something in place next year. It has been such a delight to follow the progress of this wee little one. She is now sitting up all by herself and still her happy little self. It was such a joy to see Mommy and Grandma again for the photos too!

Daveen - Alpana – these are so beautiful. Love the light, airy feeling. Darling baby and amazing images! Lucky family!

The McPets Unplugged | San Francisco Bay area family photographer

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I first met this mom several months back at a local coffee shop. Instantly, I loved how warm and friendly she was. We ran into each other a few times and over the course of time she got to know of my work. Recently, when she called me to connect I was really happy to hear from her. She also said she wanted to book a mini-photo session to celebrate her daughter K’s successful surgery to lift her eyelids, which was such a momentous time in K’s life. She was born with “congenital bilateral ptosis” which means she was born with droopy upper eyelids. K is such a sweet little girl just like her mama and I had a great time taking her pics. And not to forget her impish little brother too.

I also wanted to add that Jennifer mailed me the cutest family photo to wish me a Happy Birthday! How cool is that? Hope you enjoy the sneak peek, McPet family!

Harrrumph……..

JP - I like the title! K & D are beautious woodland creatures … thank you. XO, JP

Katy Chung - I know this gorgeous family & they have some beautiful children who you have captured on film …their spirits jump off these prints & I feel like I’m giggling where they are too. How wonderful these photos are & boy do I miss living in San Leandro…please come visit Seattle area & I’d ask you Alpana to take some of my family too–they’re grrreaat!

Leanne T. - Wow! What fantastic shots of the kids! What a treat to see such great pictures of this fab. family!

Linda Javier - If this is a sneak peek, I must have more! Love these photos and the family too. Annie Liebowitz, watch out!

Paula E. - Thanks for sending the darling photos of your family Jennifer. Loved it! The kids are sure growing up fast! You and Sean look like you are having a lot of fun and they keep you young. Keep enjoying them!

Love your cousin, Paula Miss you all!

kirti - AMAZING! simply brilliant…..love the wonderful shots…..beautiful family!!!!
..kirti n anuj

and one more…

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of little Ms. R. Mama had asked me if I had any other good ones from the rest of the shoot so I had to post it as a sneak peek from the series. Going back to the clothes, I had to squeal when I saw this cute little dress that Mama had for Ms. R. Don’t you think it is adorable on her?

siblings | san francisco bay area kids photographer

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I knew this was going to be a fun shoot when I met the mama for the first time! We went through her clothing choices for her little girl and I was really excited. FYI, when a client books a regular session, I am available for help with clothing choices if you need it. I send out a fabulous clothing guide to all clients that book a shoot (regular or mini) and for a regular session and am happy to do a pre-consult if needed. When I saw the clothes, I thought it would be fun to have an urban shoot and mom was all for it. We went back and forth with a few location choices to settle on an area. Eventually, we ended up doing a few spots in the area including one I found by chance during the shoot. I love scouting locations to find unique spots.

The siblings were 16 month old baby R and 4.5 year old R. They were quite the opposite with one being pretty active and the other not which always makes for a challenging shoot! The beauty of it is that things don’t have to be perfect…I try to capture life as I see it which is far from perfect 🙂 I loved how the shots turned out. I have several more to proof that I won’t get to share now but might at a later day.

Meet the siblings…this pic cracks me up!

Little Miss R on her trike

And the handsome Mr. R. This little guy reminded me of my son. The little things that he said were just like deja vu. Check these out…Gap model, don’t you think?

Kye - Wow, stunning. I’m R and R’s proud father, and you have done an incredible job capturing the spirit and personalities of my kids. Thank you and I can’t wait to see the rest…

Alyssa Anne - Oh, wow! These are wonderful portraits…love the processing!

cherie yost - what cute kids! I love the last one!

ashley - These are awesome! Great captures and love the colors!

Kimberly Kyle - Awesome work!! Absolutely gorgeous kids.

Kristi - Alpana these are just spectacular!

marie - what awesome clothes they had on…love all the expressions you got.