Little mid-term school break, the weather's been good and we were adventuring outside. We made a long walk along the Coastal Path from East Sands to Boarhills (where daddy picked us up and brought us home - I have photos from that one too but they still need a bit of work before being published). And we visited another of our favourite spots - West Sands. It was unusually lovely day for February - so much that the kids insisted on starting barefoot beach season. With us was Mollie - our dog-friend who we dog-sit every now and then. As usual, I was blamed for not taking any toys. As usual, these two have solved the problem just fine - with sticks and shells and just digging with their hands. As usual, I love to watch them play and be creative. As usual, we collect ton of shells and sticks that I am asked to carry and the bring home and we already have huge stash there - oh well :-) Masha was ahead and around, enjoying her book. They tried to build a sand castle - Mollie did...
Our first walk of the year. Stomping through the mud, and lots of it. Some of us did even manage a bit of mud sliding. The sea had this surreal turquoise color, along with grey moody sky it was beautiful. Lots of dry grass, sticks and bushes, thorns. We did not go down to the beaches, it was too muddy and slippery for it. Next time.
Every family is beautiful. Every family has its story. This one, I was humbled and honoured to witness all this love. I read recently that family photographers work in love business. It did not exactly make sense to me. Now I understand. I cannot thank you enough for this, Anna. Photographs are copyright of Julia Pagano Photography. Julia Pagano specializes in candid natural light photography of babies, toddlers and families, as well as children portraiture in St Andrews, Cupar and Fife, as well as Dundee.
This one did not feel like photo-session at all - we did take photos, it was just barely noticeable. It was like going for a walk with friends and enjoying beautiful spring day. We talked so much. About politics, knitting projects, shells and bluebells, botanic garden, teaching maths at school and photographing older kids, challenges and tricks how to do better with these last tricky bits. We explored small beaches along the Coastal Path, starting from East Sands beach, and then circled back to the harbor. Sun was shining, sky was blue and bluebells were in their full glory. Tide was out, leaving lots of treasures between the rocks to spot. The photos - they did happen too. In natural and unposed way, without tense feelings and expressions, with honest smiles and connection and fun. Like what I do? Get in touch, let's chat about photos of your family! ...
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...
Adventures of a little girl in summer garden. Palermo, Sicily. There is a story behind this photograph. It happened almost completely accidentally. Bianca was playing with her friend and having fun, till her friend left. She was disappointed. She walked away and sat alone just to show us how upset she was. But it only lasted a few short seconds before she went back to play. And I noticed something in her expression. It was a bit lonely and a bit sad, very personal. There was something really catching in it. The type of expression that lets you know everything about a person in a single glance. When her mom saw it, she could not stop commenting on this one photo because she was so excited. The picture shows the character, the special face of this little girl. And in certain sense you could say it was luck, I had no idea it was going to happen. But the magic of pictures is just that - when you capture something so spontaneous that you could never imagine it and it all comes down...
I have something to celebrate this week. All women do - it's International Women's Day today, and Mother's Day on Sunday. For me it's also 1 year since I made this giant leap of faith, published my photography web-site and decided to give it a try and make my hobby of last 12 years into something more, and share it with the world. So I am doing something very special to celebrate. It's about bond between mother and her child. It's about love, holding hands and messy hugs. It's about laughing together, exploring together, being together. And remembering what it felt like to hold the small hand of your child in your hand, or to lift up your little one and hug and twirl and laugh together. Photograph is one of the few things that can capture this special connection and love. That can help us to remember it and treasure for many more years to come. This is what my fine art motherhood photo sessions are about. And one of them I'd like t...
It's time to start the special collection - my featured work. Three of my photographs has been published by Vogue Italia. And this photograph has been featured among honorary mentions in "Best of Kids" photo contest of LooksLikeFilm, a community of creatives and photographers with over 60K members. Honoured and chuffed to pieces!