Julia Pagano Photography

This blog is on hold now. I stopped liking the format of photo stories which I have posted here, and did not come up with anything else. I also started using Instagram and Facebook to share my work, and just repeating things did not seem right. Please check my Instagram for my personal work featuring my three children. And my Facebook photography page , which is a mix between personal and clients' work.

Last week-end of winter, it did not feel like winter at all. On Saturday we went to Lade Braes, our local wood. It was full of sunshine and spring blooms. We did not have rain for the whole week. So finally it was OK to roll in the grass. Some things never get old. Like boys throwing sticks in the creek. Or sunshine. Or spring vibes in the air. There are so many things to do outside, games to play, discoveries to make. These two may shout and complain about getting out, and then shout and complain more when it is time to go back. Hello Spring!

This one is about portraits of Masha. I photographed a lot more on that day. And then I was not sure what to do with them. Cause when I look at them, something feels off. So much so that even those I liked felt tainted. Usually it is either about the person whose portrait is made. Or about the edit. Or about the mood. Or pose. Or expression. Or some trend which is fashionable now. Or the overall message. Or the photographer. It can be just one or all of these things, it does not matter. The picture does not touch you anymore. I learned my lesson here.

Spring, it is in the air. In the color of the sky, in the lush greenness appearing everywhere. You want to go outside more, and soak it all in. We did it, and had some nice adventures. Like Maya always trying to keep up, or when a decision has been made to pose for a picture with all three of them. Masha and Matteo proposed it, and implemented nicely as you can see above. This is Maya with her most versatile toy ever. She is collecting sticks by dozens now. Matteo looks nice with all sorts of leaves and flowers. I do not even need to put them in his hair, he does all the decorating himself :-) Masha and the trees. This could be a separate photo story, probably.

This is second part of our adventures in Tentsmuir fores t. I do not have much to say, I loved it and pictures tell it all much better than words :-) I thought that I've included about half of the photos in the first post. How wrong I was! This one is interesting, because it shows the face Masha makes, when she does not want to be photographed. This time I did it though. With Grandpa. This boy, making faces and running away. Then coming back :-) This girl, with messy bun. She is a modern version of Little Red Riding Hood, in red converse instead of the hat. It was good. We should come back.

Let's blame Instagram for this one. I was invited to participate to a photo challenge dedicated to the theme of sun flare on one of the communities I follow there. Parallel to it I was trying to bribe, torture, blackmail etc everybody and anybody (read Maya and Masha :-) to do something with the light shining on their back, so that I could experiment with shooting counter light. So it kind of came together. It is an experiment. I am still not quite sure I like it. We'll see at the end of the year, if I include these pics in the photobook. Or what happens with the Instagram challenge :-) And here's my Instagram , that is to blame :-)

 Another throwback to our Sicilian holidays for Christmas. We went to Mondello to take family photos. And photos we took. Well, I was taking photos. The others were playing with the ball, digging sand, walking along the sea, talking, having clothes malfunction and doing other fun things. I am convinced that the easiest way to photograph more than two children together is to pile them one on top of the other. Cause this way they cannot escape :-) As you can see, the family photo session was quite productive. The sunset also did not disappoint.

She picked her dress today. And some of the toys to play with. So the poor Bear (which has no name and had indefinite gender so far), had to keep up with pink, necklaces and other girly stuff. There was even mirror, a hairbrush and lipstick involved (fortunately a wooden one :-) So the party got started! Then the Bear was abandoned for the blankie, keeping up with the pink theme of the day. And peekaboo we played.

When you live 10 minutes away from the sea, you may end up there more often than not. Especially as there is added attraction of a playground on the beach :-) Sometimes we go for the playground, sometimes for the walk, or a bit of both. This walk was grey as the sky, Masha overcame all her records of falling in the mud, Matteo had freezing cold hands, and Maya was crying just for sake of company and maintaining general mood :-) The sea was grey and stormy, as the sky. Then there was another walk, and sunny day. Still freezing cold. We have lots of spring blooms already, but it is too early to dream of warm days yet.

We went to Botanical Gardens on Sunday. I found this wall still covered with the leaves of last year, and I absolutely wanted to photograph Masha there. Here's what we've got. As well as lots of flowers, dry and new. And then there are these three flowers. It takes an effort to get them together and sit quietly, and look at the same direction, oh my.

If I'd be asked to describe West Sands with one word - it would be windy. It is of course nice, big, fun - you can do kite, play ball, run, play with sand, collect shells, chase seagulls,  watch sand dunes. Swim, when it is warmer. People do all kinds of things on West Sands - there even used to be a motor bike race. Now it is mostly around the wind - all kinds of wind surfing on sand and kites, horseback riding. Then there is Chariots of Fire run , which we plan to do again this year. Matteo was racing too. Against the wind mostly. Maya was the pit stop. Fuel was chocolate. And then he was too cold with purple lips and hiding as deep inside the hat as possible :-) We played some ball, which wanted to roll into the sea. We also did some kite. It was mostly getting twisted and falling down. Our kite looks much better on the photos I have to say :) Despite the cold and wind, there is always time to be a goofball. And sticking tongue seems to be the favorite in this