what she needs to hear

                      what she needs to hear

Usually she's all about knock knock jokes and nutella but every once and a while she gets so deep into her head that I can tell she needs a break. after some pretty grown up questions tonight we had a talk about dying and if it meant being gone forever. we talked bout how its ok to miss someone or something and we shouldn't be embarrassed to be sad. Just then I watched as her lips quivered and her eyes watered. She nervously shrugged her shoulders and started looking away. 

"i really miss him"

 Who babe? Who do you miss?

"It's paul, I miss little paul" 

she continued to break down, losing her breath on my shoulder and into my dress.

little Paul is a small blanket she had when she was a baby. he must have been dropped on a walk or coming home from the park early last year and we never found him. Its been months since his missing last came up. 

Tears and holding went on for a few minutes. We talked about how just because her blanket was gone, it didn't mean that he had died. How he is most likely loved by another family who found him when he was lost and took him home. This sensitive, emotional and intelligent little girl has me swollen with love and pride for who she is becoming. I don't always know that I am telling her exactly what she needs to hear. I do know that she keeps coming back to me with more questions and I will be here to talk bout it every time. 

t h a t s a g o o d t h i n g

 t h a t s  a  g o o d  t h i n g 

Our first christmas together aaron gave me a camera and later that year I took my first photography class at nku. I have always considered myself an artist, but have struggled to find a medium that I completely connected with. It was a slow start, but having a camera with me was something I was beginning to get used to. It gave me the freedom to share what I've been seeing all along.The quiet freedoms of childhood and the small unnoticed moments of motherhood. The connections surrounding all people and the conversations that go unsaid. Chris Smith, my very first photo professor pulled me outside of class towards the end of the semester. lets be clear, school has NOT been my thing so I was well prepared for some negative feedback. "hey alex, you're kinda good at this. and I'm not being nice, I'm being honest." It was Chris that pointed and pushed me in the right direction and I have been hooked ever since. being able to make photographs and connect with a group of photographers creatively has shown me who I am. I see everything so differently and my confidence as an artist and a woman has grown. Today was my last day in a photography class in college. Ironically, it ended with the professor who started it all, chris smith. On my last day I took the elevator up and the stairs down and both times I cried, heavily. It only felt right to end my time on the fourth floor in the studio goofing around with my family. most importantly my daughter. I was three months pregnant when I decided to go back to school because I knew something was missing and I wanted to show her I could find it. I'm so proud of who and what I found. Like most things in my life I'll always feel like I was just getting started, and thats a good thing.

o u r n e w h o m e

o u r  n e w  h o m e 

every sunday for the past six months we've given up our brunches downtown to work hard on our new home. we are starting from the ground up and doing everything ourselves. I mean EVERYTHING. The walls are up, the lights are on and we can finally see the floor. These sundays have been so extremely special to us. every once and awhile we will get a great friend to help us dig out the basement finds or peel back aluminum tile but most of the time its been my father and mother in law with us till dark. afterward we share a home cooked meal and some laughs in our dust covered clothes talking about our plans for our new home. 

    we found this note the first demolition day hidden behind one of the many bookcases covering each wall. paul e lukey was the previous owner of this house and next door neighbor to aaron's parents. he passed away this year and after talking with his son and daughter we decided to take the house and give it our hard work and love to turn it into something new. when i first saw this, i cried. not that there was ever a noticeable tension in the house but with this note came an understanding of a gift.

    

 we don't usually get to bring august with us while working on the house but she hasn't stopped talking about it. so last monday we took her over to help with some yard work(digging small holes and filling them with plastic vegetables apparently). she was more than excited to help her papa sweep inside and i caught some of the amazing light coming through our small west facing house. i can't wait to see two little ones running through the halls and soaking in all that perfect evening sunlight. 

l i t t l e b r o t h e r : t w e n t y t w o w e e k s

l i t t l e b r o t h e r

we bought our first home in july, we were married in late september and pregnant with our son in early october. here in the strasser family, we like to knock all of the important events all at once. our daughter couldn't be more excited to have a little brother to love on and hold and i can't believe there will be a boy in this house. we are due July 5th or as august likes to say "the day after all the fireworks" and i couldn't have planned a better celebration. I've been terrible at keeping track of my growing belly and the short important conversations we have had with august about the baby, so here is where I begin. twenty two weeks along with her little brother.  

"good morning momma. hey, how about we name my little brother steve?"

r o g e r + r o b e r t

r o g e r  +  r o b e r t

last week in class we were asked to shoot someone with their pets. one of my friends and fellow photo students taylor was the first person I thought of. my idea was to get her looking all bag lady like surrounded by her cats + a few extra for emphasis. my plan turned slightly but worked out beautifully. she showed up with red lipstick and a couple of silver cats in a cardboard box (cats who just so happened to match her silver locks). meet roger + robert.

s h e m a k e s t h i s e a s y

she makes this easy

well, this is it. it's my last semester here and after 30 years as an undergrad the university is literally yelling at me to get the hell out. but before i go i have one last chance to pick up some new skills in the studio. thank goodness for good friends with beautiful faces who are willing to meet me at odd hours, trust my commands and even bring me hot jasmine tea. kasey bird is a dear friend and a photography student who graduated NKU five years ago. she is coming back now as a model for me.  she makes this easy.

t h e  h a y w o o d  h o s p i t a l

If you travel the windings of Route 8, Ky you will soon run into the most adorable, welcoming, small town Kentucky has to offer. I’m a sucker for a corner town where everyone knows each other’s names and stories, where everyone seems to be painting or gardening and they all come out right as the sun rises. I walked a few loops through Maysville before I ran into the infamous run down Haywood Hospital. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that this building was on my list of things to catch with my camera that day. Haywood hospital (originally Haywood seminary) served its people of KY well since 1923 until the towns needs outgrew the building over time.  Soon the building was bought in a public auction where it would sit in limbo, where it still sits today. 

Haywood hospital is known to be one of the top 3 most haunted sites in Kentucky and possibly the world. The ghost stories told of this building started well before the deterioration but they continue to be told today.  One of the most chilling tales is the sightings’ of a woman carrying her crying baby through the maternity ward.  People reported that she would walk back and forth through the hallway and stand underneath the doorways.  The Maternity Ward happens to be exactly where I shot this panoramic. Could you imagine if she would have popped into frame over in the left of this photograph? Although these scary stories continue to be told, it wasn’t a scary energy I felt walking through those halls. The light was beautiful and warm and the silence was almost comforting, much like the town.