A bit of magic

 I have a secret. It is about magic, so do not tell anybody! It is a very magical trick!
We got this idea with Matteo to fill a hat with autumn leaves and play around. This is what we've got :-)





Piú letti

Blooms

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I've put together some of my nature - mostly flowers - photos. And I'd love for you to have some - they are free. They can be used in any way you'd like. A screensaver on the phone, a wallpaper on computer screen or cover for your facebook profile are just some of the possibilities. They can also be printed if you'd like. The photos with 's' in the title are compressed for facebook or phone. The ones without 's' are for computer screen or printing. You can find them here :
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5 fun games for natural family photos on the beach / family photo shoot on West Sands

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I'm often asked, what do we do during our photo shoot, and what do we need to bring with us?  The answer to the first one is - do you have a favourite activity, or something you usually do when outside? No worries if not, or if every walk is a new adventure (our family walks are often like this, so I understand!).  Here's a list of 5 simple activities and games for the beach that kids love (and adults too!), and that result in great natural photos. We did most of it during this family photo session on West Sands with little Noah and his baby brother. Most of these activities don't require any additional toys or equipment, which is great if you plan to walk and move around, and don't feel like dragging with you bags of toys and stuff. The few things I always have for a walk on the beach, and suggest to my clients are water, wipes and change of clothes. Treasure hunting Shells, rocks and sea glass are the obvious choice for this. Can also be funny-looking seaweed, sticks ...
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Botanical Gardens. Boys' style

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A walk in Botanical Gardens of St Andrews with a little boy. Forget about appreciating creative landscape design, enjoying alpine terraces and the pond, admiring cacti collection and finding all the spring flowers. This is about run, hide, find something interesting, invent games and more run. Some good finds. What can we do with them? A boat? I am a bit skeptical here. Nope, did not swim the right way. Some major engineering work to do. For some other story :-)
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3 reasons to have your family photos in Villa Giulia park

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Villa Giulia is a park in historic center of Palermo. It has its origins in 18th century and is remarkable for its perfect square shape with diagonal alleys dividing the park in different sections. Marble statues and fountains, a sundial, shady alleys and open spaces, and wide variety of trees and shrubbery make it a popular spot both with locals and tourists.  If you'd like your family photos to have lush green background with a touch of special Sicilian atmosphere, this park definitely should be considered. It ticks all the boxes - plenty of space, nice surroundings, easy access, lots of options for things to do during your photo shoot to get natural and emotional images (anyway we don't do posed photos on the benches or next to flowering shrubs!).  Here are my top 3 reasons why villa Giulia is a great location for family photo sessions. Reason 1  Lots of space and diversity. The park has an alley with Ficus trees, a little bamboo forest, a hill with cacti and succulen...
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First spring story - discovery

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Discovery it was, of spring at its very beginning. New bright colours appearing in the midst of still brown forest, and smells, trees and young leaves to touch. And run, run and feel the wind and sun in your face. Still cold, but undeniably brighter and well, springier :-).
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Puppet master story

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Once upon a time... This was a fairy tale story running in our house theater. And the prince was missing - what can we do without a prince? Who will be the hero, how should the story go? The villains we had, the beautiful princess too. The performance had to be saved, and puppet master had hard time. So - the princess went for a walk with a pirate, who left her in the middle of the jungle and she was nearly eaten by a tiger. The good monkey and elephant saved her, and they went to play together. The moral of the story? A good princess should not trust a pirate. And also monkey likes to be a hero sometimes :-)
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Little things with lots of sun

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Photography is about light, capturing it and "painting with it". Light and sun we had plenty of that day, lovely sunny morning. And our little girl was sleeping, covered and wrapped and bathed in light. All the lovely tiny things - fat fingers and wispy hair, golden lashes and pinkish skin in the bright sun. And then she woke, made a face, gave a kick, grabbed the bear. Bathed in golden sunlight.
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Forest walks

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Forest walks with a toddler are quite an exercise. Especially with an added bonus of a camera :-) What's involved? Jumping in the mud and trying to jump in the river. Collecting sticks. Collecting leaves. Walking in a wrong direction. Falling. Standing up. Stopping. Turning around. Then there is possible game of peekaboo. And of course trying to escape, especially when mom is taking pictures of some flowers and escape involves jump in the river :-)
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