Sand castles on East Sands

child dipping feet in the water on east sands, st andrews
First barefoot beach day (we do not really count those short runs on the sand in February, right :-)
Really and seriously, with feet dipping and running on the water - this one is the first. First sand castle of the season. First sand fight of the season and first hand full of sand - this, and sand in the pockets, will stay with us well till November. And I truly do not mind, I love my barefoot beach days as much as these two.


Matteo is building a bunker - tunnel covered with sticks and sea-weed, then with sand. Good camouflage, it was hardly different from the rest of the surface around the castle. He tested it after completing the construction - the structure resisted his weight and survived. One very proud engineer.

sand castle on east sands, candid photo of children playing

digging sand and building sandcastle, children playing

We tried to build the moat too - it did not really work, water was too far. So it was abandoned after a short while.

children building sand castle on east sands beach

Maya was collecting small rocks and shells to decorate the walls and the big tower. They both carried big rocks to reinforce the walls. Big tower and the walls we made together. No lazying and watching them play for me this time, I have to contribute too. This is probably the reason why I have to clean my camera and lenses from the sand several times during the summer :-).

children playing with sand, fun

And the end - hand full of sand. Good fun.

Piú letti

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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Saying goodbye to St Andrews, family photo session on East Sands

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I've had several shoots lately with families who are moving from St Andrews and who wanted to have family photos in their favourite places around the town. It's always bittersweet to say goodbye to the town you grew to love, while looking forward to the new beginnings and adventures. This is what we did one summer evening in July, we met on East Sands to take some photos on the beach, the pier and around the Cathedral ruins. We timed it for the low tide - East Sands gets really small during high tide so there is not much space to run and play.  We took photos outside of the Cathedral - to avoid crowded and very touristic looking shots. It's surrounded with lovely green grass, grown quite high in that time, high grass always makes beautiful backdrop with its colour and texture. Kids loved to play and goof around in it, as well as on the ruins close to the Cathedral walls. We also took some photos of the parents on their favourite bench overlooking the pier and the sea - such...
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Visiting St Andrews

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Published on 27th of September 2022       The final weeks of school holidays we spent in Scotland - summer break is very long in Sicily, kids go back to school around mid-September. It was great to escape from the heat and mosquitoes, see our friends in St Andrews and visit all our favourite places. West Sands, East Sands, Tentsmuir, Botanic Gardens, Coastal path, Lade Braes, and of course Carnie fruit farm!  We came with quite a bucket list of things we wanted to do during our time in St Andrews, and we planned some of our walks and outings so that we were back by the time school is over and they could see their friends at Canongate. This was one of the downsides, different school schedules and limited time they could be with their school friends, so we tried to squeeze in as many play dates as possible. I think being back showed just how much has changed for us in this year - new country, big city, new language, new schools for everyone, different climate, differe...
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Photo a day - July

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Published on 12th of August 2022     Some recent photos from my 'a photo a day' project. I've been struggling a bit these past weeks to keep going, it's been too hot. Apart of sea breaks, we are mostly staying home and surviving thanks to air conditioning. Some days I look at the camera and think, it's all has been done already, I photographed this spot X times and kids or Mara doing this or something very similar another XX times. Then I see kids doing something, and inspiration hits again. When I look at the images together, its a reward in itself.  So what we've been up to - we got some new plants for the terrace, everything's been growing and blooming, our tomato plants are doing good too. And cacti, these also do very well. We get a nice breeze on the terrace in the evenings, so everyone is coming out when the day cools off a bit. Dinners are happening outside on the terrace too. Mara is very eager to help watering, but she often ends up either spilling...
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Photo a day - January

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Published on 13th of February 2024 This January has been... different. It should've been great, we had a trip planned for New Year, my brother was expected to visit with his family, Mara and Matteo have their birthdays in January too. It turned out not quite what we planned and expected. The trip to Sila had to be cut short because everyone got ill, which turned out to be Covid, which as a consequence affected also Mara's birthday and made the time with my brother and his family a bit less fun too. On the other hand, it felt like my body and my mind needed this slow time after busy and stressful December, there was a lot to reflect about, a lot of rest and quiet. It's ironic that Covid became the answer to this, oh well. The January photos reflect this slow time too - we stayed at home or visited grandma's garden to collect oranges and to play, we baked and built pillow forts, planted bulbs for spring, read books and baked some more. Cookies and muffins are usually what...
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Photo a day - February

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Published on 25th of March 2024 This February did not feel like February at all. We were hoping to find some snow and were treated to spring-like temperatures and lots of sunny days instead, slow weekends spent outside collecting oranges or playing hide and seek in a giant blooming rosemary shrub, climbing trees, collecting rocks and even some splashing in the sea. Yes it was warm. We went to Scotland to take care of some personal matters, came back with a new cough, as if recent Covid and other cough and ear infections etc etc was not enough. I made a sweater for Mara and realized I've miscalculated the size, what I hoped would last also for autumn is just right for now. She is growing so fast, which makes me both sad and proud. Still loving her dinosaurs and playing hide and seek (the laundry basket is apparently an excellent hiding spot!), discovering 'big kids' Lego and liking it a bit too much, and trying to keep up with her big siblings.   Like what I do? Get in t...
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Outdoor family photos in St Andrews

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This photo-session was about getting some natural and relaxed family photos, portraits of the girls, and some memories of St Andrews. So we went for a short walk around town, and ended up on East Sands where most fun happened. Baby Alex just wanted to be left free and crawl around. And eat sand. She was happily observing rocks and shells we found for her and did not mind some play time with daddy. But mostly she wanted to be free and explore - so we let her, and got beautiful smiles back. Big sister Rowan wanted to run around, play hide and seek, make surprise hugs and be tickled by daddy. So it all worked out really well for what we had in mind. Here are few more from this photo-session. Like what I do? Get in touch, let's chat about photos of your family! Get in touch!
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October sunset

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The sun sits low on the sky, creating gorgeous long shadows. Which I like. A lot. So here we are on a warm October evening. Playing rock-paper-scissors, carrying around first golden leaves, stumbling but still running in the sun patches, and having some serious sister-brother conversations.
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Family photo session in St Andrews, West Sands beach

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West Sands did not disappoint - beautiful dunes, moody sky, wind. But then, it very seldom does, especially if you do not mind the wind. We met on a beautiful September evening for this photoshoot with Marion and her daughters. Our destination was the very end of the beach, by the Eden estuary and sand dunes. Marion picked some flowers and decorated Keira's curls, girls shared some secrets and treasures found in the sand, wind was playing with Keira's hair. And me - I was observing it all as it unfolded in front of me, and clicking along. I often tell my clients that photo-session is like going for a walk together - this one was no exception. I am a very silent companion on such a walk - I might suggest something interesting if I see beautiful spot or some nature details that would make beautiful background for you. But more often I just follow what's happening and how you enjoy this beautiful walk and your time together. From Marion: " Very relaxed photo shoot ...
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Summer

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This week-end we were discussing, what to do with my summer project, #100momentsofsummer . Calendar was rolling to inevitable end of August, while many of our summer adventures remained unpublished. We also bought a sun dress, stumbling upon it accidentally. And we thought, it cannot be over, if we are not ready. If we still feel like summer, with all its flowers, berries, bugs, fresh Scottish winds and sand between your toes. So we went for a walk, and made a crown. We crowned a queen and a king. Thus, the Queen of Summer declares it is not over, who cares about calendar. It goes on, at least till September equinox. The Forest King in his turn orders to go on with ice-creams, sand castles, barbecues, bike rides and all the boyish summer joys and shenanigans.
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