• Twitter
  • Facebook
  • instagram
  • Snapchat

anya elise

  • About
  • Blog

photography

Archives

December 30, 2011 by Anya Elise

a retrospective slideshow || 2011 in review

a retrospective || 2011 in review from anya semenoff on Vimeo.

10 states.

Two oceans.

Lots of driving miles (yes that’s the official tabulation: lots).

A theme park, a national park, a fancy phone, thousands of pictures.

Four whales, several buffalo, a llama, iconic sites.

A business, weddings, two churches, one arch, lots of dancing, old friends and new.

One family, three siblings and an adopted transplant from the east coast.

A blog.

You.

Add all these ingredients together in a blender, puree, and the result will be my 2011. It was an incredible year.

Thank you especially to Mom, Emily, Chris, Elise, who will always be my favorites; my whole extended family, who I wish I could see much more often; our 2011 couples, who took a chance on a new business and trusted us with their love stories – we’ll never forget that and owe you so much gratitude; my friends here, old and new, who always offer fun, laughter, support and inspiration.

And, of course, to Dan, who pushes me to dare. Dare to be something more, dare to reach further than I think I can, dare to allow those dreams to be a reality even if they seem too extraordinary. I really couldn’t do this without you.

Finally, thank you to all of you who come here every day to look at my photos, read my (frequently) ridiculous musings, and share in this journey.

I love you all, so very much, and look forward to 2012. It’s going to be a big year – I can feel it.

BUT, before we drop the big flashing ball and pop open that champagne, here’s a 2011 year-in-review slideshow. It’s a little random — but when am I not? — and pretty silly. But then again: when am I not?

Much love, -a.e.

Posted in fancy phone photo, personal, photography, slideshow, travel, wedding · Tagged 2011 year in review, anya 2011 year in review, retrospective, road trip, slideshow, year in review · 4 Replies ·

Archives

November 22, 2011 by Anya Elise

strengths and weaknesses || sports photography

University of Denver versus Colorado College hockey game on Nov. 12, 2011.

It is important to recognize your strengths and weaknesses.

In sports, each player has a specific task to complete that speaks to his or her strengths. Like the pitcher in baseball. He can throw a 90 mph fast ball, but when it comes to being on the other side of that ball, he can’t always hit it out of the park.

In photography, you have photographers who can shoot just about everything from sports, to features, to concerts, to portraits, and in the world of photojournalism, it is so important to have these dynamic shooters out there. Typically however, most photographers really excel at just one of those, like sports.

I am here to tell you today that I am not that photographer.

Continue reading →

Posted in editorial, photography, sports · Tagged black and white, Colorado College hockey, DU vs CC college hockey game, University of Denver hockey · Leave a Reply ·

Archives

November 21, 2011 by Anya Elise

a boost || Jasmine Star magazine

I have been tied up and held hostage by questions I wasn’t quite sure how to answer lately.

You know that feeling, right? You have a vague idea of where you want to go, but you can’t develop a strategy for getting there. It’s like you know there’s a peak somewhere up in the distance made of glistening Answers, but an evil posse of Doubts has tied your feet to a massive rock of Questions and to get to that shining peak you have to cut yourself loose first. Bit by bit. Obstacle by obstacle.

Well, recently, I’ve felt like the cutting away of those questions hasn’t gone very smoothly.

Dan and I and our photography business have made a lot of progress in this first year. I won’t sit here and tell you that I’m not proud of what we’ve accomplished. But, there’s so much more we wish to accomplish with it, and sometimes, it can feel incredibly overwhelming to consider how great that distance is from where we are, to where we want to be.

Cue the classic Journey song, “Don’t Stop Believin'”!

Continue reading →

Posted in personal, photography · Tagged business, Exposed magazine, Jasmine Star Exposed, Jasmine Star magazine, keep the dream alive, photography dreams · 2 Replies ·

Archives

October 10, 2011 by Anya Elise

Washington Irving & Sleepy Hollow || New England road trip

As it is now October (the time doth fly rather quickly, posthaste, forthwith and such), it seemed only fitting that I introduce this little look at Washington Irving and Sleepy Hollow. Yes, as in, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, pumpkins, a headless horseman, a bridge, an Ichabod Crane.

That Sleepy Hollow.

Emily and I visited said place while road tripping around New England at the beginning of September. We wanted to visit because of Ichabod Crane and our love of literature. In fact, almost our entire route was inspired by Sleepy Hollow in that after we decided to stop in this town, we decided we should continue to hit destinations that famous authors had once lived in. (Nerd alert, nerd alert.)

Such as Washington Irving.

But we’ll get to that.

Continue reading →

Posted in photography, travel · Tagged Ichabod Crane, nerd alert, New England road trip, NY, October, Sleepy Hollow, Sunnyside, Washington Irving · 2 Replies ·

Archives

September 22, 2011 by Anya Elise

Mike + Anita || Denver engagement photography

If you’ve visited A&D Photography in the past few weeks, you’ll already recognize these two: Mike and Anita.

They hired us to photograph their September wedding, but before that day we all headed to Washington Park to play in some flower beds and shoot some photos.

Continue reading →

Posted in engagement, lifestyle portraiture, photography · Tagged a&d photography, Anita Gartner, engagement photography, Mike Eck, Washington Park · Leave a Reply ·
← Older posts
Newer posts →

hey, hi & hello

Photographer, writer, over-enthusiastic coffee drinker. Intrepid defender of Colorado's western status. I live in Denver, Colo., with my husband, Dan Petty. This blog is where I share our triumphs, troubles and everyday slivers of life.

Questions, comments, thoughts, concerns? Shoot me a message: hello@anyaelisephotography.com

(And if you say Colorado is in the "midwest," we are going to have some words.)

Recent Posts

  • Assemblé Dancewear || Photojournalism
  • We’re moving! Well, sort of.
  • Globeville Riverfront Arts Center || Photojournalism
  • Disneyland || 10 on 10
  • Cherokee Ranch Arts Afield || Photojournalism

Search this blog

Archives

All content © 2026 by anya elise. Emporia WordPress Theme by Graph Paper Press