Lanaia's Photography

NEW BLOG

2010-04-30T05:16:00.001-07:00

Baby Christos.

2010-03-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

This big boy was so strong and not afraid to show it :) He's very lucky to have a creative dad who made a sailor themed room "to die for"! Seriously his room was STUNNING with it's creamy colors and bold lines. I wish I snapped a picture there.

Session was long but very pleasant thanks so attentive parents! And it was HOT!! :) We bumpled the temperature of the room to somewhere near Hawaiian Islands in mid July - LOL.

Announcing baby CHRISTOS - a little sailor :)

Baby Loren.

2010-03-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

Baby Loren was a little trooper and didn't cry AT ALL!!! Granted she didn't sleep majority of the time but she was really content at all times so the results are great!

TWINS!!!

2010-03-23T05:15:00.000-07:00

I was SOOOOO affraid of this session. First of all those little babies were eager to come and they only made it to 33 weeks. I met them 3 weeks later and they were barely 5 lbs!! Secondly it really is a task to put 2 babies to sleep at the same time. Their parents are WONDERFUL friends of mine and their accommodation and participation really contributed to the results. THANK YOU GUYS!!!!!

Here they are: Simos and Faye

Little blondie.

2010-03-03T21:43:00.000-08:00

This little girlie was so tiny and blond that she looked like she belonged at out house with Alex's blond head. She's blessed with an awesome brother and and a rockstar grandma!!!

Big brother :)

2010-02-23T22:41:00.000-08:00

He was such a little ham in front of the camera. I wish I had some more time to spend with him. In the end of the session I had to run and he asked me if I could play with him :( I couldn't, which stinks.

Baby B - sleepy little munchkin.

2010-02-22T10:19:00.000-08:00

This little girl was a photographer's dream. She slept really good and was absolutely GORGEOUS!!!

Jess - way too fast.

2010-02-15T22:28:00.000-08:00

This little munchkin had more stamina than my child in the last 2 years. She was TOTALLY adorable and sweet. Wish she had a pause button though :)

Baby A - newborn.

2010-02-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

Squishy beautiful little boy :)

The best session EVER - thank you girls!

2010-02-06T09:43:00.001-08:00

Pictures say it all! It took us half a year to schedule - yes I'm not exaggerating - but results are well worth the effort. After an hour of getting lost in Prospect Park we finally found each other and shot those stunning images.

Hope you like them Efie & Anna :)

Getting ready.

2010-01-21T12:20:00.000-08:00

Planning for sessions with newborns is so exciting. So many colors, textures and arrangements to chose from. I hope future mommies will smile with this little sneak peak into what's coming :)

SHe will be featured at Vouge :)

2010-01-16T15:30:00.000-08:00

Emma is 4 and seriously knows how to work the camera :) SHe's the most appealing model one could wish for. This 20 min. mini session is just a teaser... mon we're meeting again to get more serious. I'm in love with her black eyes.

I love me some texture....

2010-01-07T13:06:00.001-08:00

Oh the joy of free time for whatever I like... and I like photoshop :)

Brand new romance with a savage paper.

2010-01-05T17:27:00.000-08:00

I waited too long for this relationship - but it was love at first sight :) I drove yesterday for 3 hours in traffic ( the actual distance is probably like 10 miles) to B&H to get my first roll of seamless paper. The temp. outside was unacceptably low but I still went. Setting it up was a little frustrating but it was probably me being clumsy then the paper being difficult - hehe - anyhow the stand went up and Alex posed beautifully :)

At peace...

2009-12-23T10:55:00.000-08:00

shhhh.......... :)

I'm back!!!

2009-12-20T12:58:00.000-08:00

Just one day after my last final I'm back to what I {LOVE} - I'm shooting :) This one was taken by Dh - and was a crappy dark sooc but I saved it ;) LOL. This is my "HI" and please don't give up on me.... I will be posting a lot until the end of Jan.

Quick jump into the future.

2009-11-24T12:32:00.000-08:00

I'm embarrassed to say that I sacrificed my hobby for the sake of a college diploma. I also went back to work. Result??? I haven't had a camera in my hands for 3 months - aaaaaaaa!!!! It hit me today. So in a rush I pulled out my equipment, got some candy to bribe my toddler and shot for 20 min. just to make myself feel better. I shouldn't have edited any pictures, because I have a ton of homework but what the heck.... I feel better already :)

BTW - did I mention that Alex turned 2???

AWESOME sunset to keep my spirit up.

2009-09-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

Truth be told I'm not in a great shape lately. Life is catching up for all those peaceful moments I've had last 3 years and it's kicking my butt big time :( But I can only do as much about it so rather than crying over my misery I choose to get happy on the side. Like this photo - it makes me happy.

Job - provides money - money buys things - things don't make me happy
Home - I don't love being home so I should be there only as much as required to get things done
School - I actually like is so far
Dh - he's coming around - I hope.

Summary - let's just focus on the photo, shall we? :)

Pink wall!

2009-09-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

If only it was somewhere close.... but it's far far away.... This pink wall was such a great background I'm a little mad it was built in Greece *stomping my feet*. I have to find another one just as good! LOL

Now help me decide if I should print those in color or B&W?? I love vibrant photos but when I convert to B&W it just gets super powers and all of a sudden the color version looks blank. What do you say??

Greece - {Kerkira} {Ioannina} {Athens}

2009-09-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud to present you these. I knew coming back from Greece that my memories and the instant beauty of it will stay with me forever. Our whole trip was so intensive we could barely catch a breath during those hours spent moving from one place to another under the cruel, harsh sun that never gave us any relief. Majority of houses there were not air conditioned and we just didn't have the energy to fight it so siesta wasn't even an option - it was a necessity.

We started of in Corfu {Kierkira} where ALex got Baptised. That took a ton of our time to prepare for. Then took a ferry to Ioannina from where we drove to a village so old and separated from any everyday pleasures that I take for granted like drinking water that I can't even remember the name of it. I didn't even know that close member's of Dh's family grew up there.... This was by far the most impressive place from all of our trip. From there we moved down ( down the mountains driving those nauseating roads) to stay in Ioannina only few hours and back on the plane to go to Athens. I saw absolutely nothing in Athens because: a) we were wiped out of energy and any good will what - so -ever , b) we got there the day the fires started and it was difficult to move around the city, c) Danai's baptism was a big event we had to attend to and prepare for, d) and that probably was the biggest reason - we were invited every day to spend time with Dh's family which was very nice but ohhhh so "family like" - if you know what I mean.

4 days after arriving in Athens we were back on the plane to go where we started off in Corfu... and that was the time we all could relax some. We did the beach, local taverns, and a short trip with a boat and that was the end of our trip. I'm very happy with our stay there even if it wasn't as relaxing or didn't include as much sightseeing as would have imagined... but that's what happens when you hang out with your family. It just required some extra organizing skills.

So here's a little bit of Greece in my eyes :)

One little bee.

2009-09-06T13:47:00.001-07:00

She was so busy she didn't even see me coming :) I took her by a surprise and *snap* here she is :)

Danai's Baptism

2009-09-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

My SIL's daughter is the sweetest little angel. I love her so much and it was a pleasure being invited to her baptism. I wasn't asked to take photos but when you have a camera you just take it every single place you can. Here are the results. Some taken before the ceremony, some after... I have so many more but those caught my heart right away.

WHy do we ALWAYS leave stuff for the very last minute??? WHYYYYY??

2009-08-10T20:02:00.000-07:00

I've purchased out flight tickets over 2months ago.... I knew exactly what will be needed for this trip and what paper stuff needed to be finished. Guess WHAT??? Everything is happening NOW - 24h before our flight and I feel like I'm about to scream....

Here's the list of things that where important and got done in the past 24h.

Get the translations of our marriage certificate from English to Greek - $ 450 ( AAAAAAAAAAA!!! - why so much???) Dh drove 1h one way to pick it up and pay this OUTRAGEOUS amount.

Laundry + ironing - I HATE ironing. I never do it and for people following this blog I don't have a dryer so everything gets hung outside my window and really doesn't look like it was ironed since it came out of the packaging... or a hanger in store lol. So 6 loads of laundry + 2h of ironing and I'm still not done.

Buying suite cases - we thought we had some.... we didn't. Thankfully our Chinese store on the corner has EVERYTHING you'd need. $70 for 2 huge ones. DONE

Nails. I'm not a princess type of a girl ( I always wished I was ) but you just need to get that stuff done when going nice places..... I showed up 25 min before they were closing so I only got pedicure... wonder if I'll have enough time tomorrow to get the my hands done?

Fish - I have a saltwater 10 gallon tank with 2 clown fish. One is Ocellaris the other one tomato - you're not supposed to mix 2 species like this, but of course those eager sales people didn't tell me that - so I have them both. They're doing just fine... I think they they both hate me for putting them in this glass box and this feeling unites them.

..... oh so about the fish ..... knocked on my neighbor's door to ask him to come upstairs twice a day and turn the light on and off for them, feed them, clean their water and pamper in every way. As you can imagine he said that he always dreamed of doing this..... NOT :) lol
Missing gifts. Since we're going to Greece to throw a baptism party for our son we jsut had to get a ton of gifts for family and friends. As if we were religious in first place. So after getting " just a small thing" for everybody out budget for this trip is now cut 50%. pheeeewww.

Multiple trips to the bank.... transferring from one account to another to another... just to stay on the budget.

Things to get done that I STILL didn't do - scratching my head - why didn't I???

This one is a good one..... I need to drive to Manhattan tomorrow.... just few hours before our flight to................. TAM TADAH DAM.......... exchange the remote that I got fo my camera to use with my tripod because IT'S NOT WORKING!!!! That's what happens when you buy generic $20 brands. But I'm determined to get shots that will throw you off your chairs so...

I have to call 3 different departments in my college to inform them that I'll be back a week after the classes start. This one's a good one too no?

Mail a check to Alex's daycare.

Narrow a dress. I got it on sale and never bothered to wear it before. Now I just have to do it, because it needs to be presented in Greece. Boy I'm stubborn sometimes.
Fish - I forgot to tell my neighbor that there's a crab too that needs to be hand fed so he'll need to take the fish food and stick his hand in the aquarium every day and make sure that the crab grabs it.... I'm sure he'll be delighted with this news.

I bet there's a least 10 more things to do but my tired mind now refuses to process any more....

....so goodnight and please cross your fingers so we don't forget anything major.

Thanks and see you after the summer!!!! YEY

Getting ready for tomorrow's shoot.

2009-08-06T11:15:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd give my zoom lens a last try and see if I can use it for tomorrow's shoot which I'm very excited about ... but I think it has so stay home. It just won't perform as I'd want it to. LOVE the bokeh but it's just not sharp :( It's not easy to see here but if you pay close attention to his hair is shows.... not to mention the clarity of the eyes when I zoom in. I think I'll start playing mega millions os something..... that could buy me a GOOD lens huh- hahahahahaha :)

First one with a 50mm 1.8.

And another with my 55-200 4-5.6

Trying out newborn poses.

2009-08-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

I always wished I had a dslr camera when Alex was just a baby... I don't have one shot of him which I could hang on my wall. Well, I think he tried to make it up to me :) So here it is.... my first shot of a sleeping baby. LOL

Charleston suburban style.

2009-07-29T19:19:00.000-07:00

All taken on my brothers property :)

Charleston, SC - first time visit to the south :)

2009-07-29T18:49:00.000-07:00

My brother has been living there for 2 years now and this was my first visit. I really didn't know much about Charleston and it was a real surprise to me that it was so amazingly cozy. No tall buildings, a ton of sweet little cafes and galleries. I didn't spend as much time sightseeing as I'd like but it's been a while since I last saw my brother so I wanted to catch up on relations with him too.

We did one trip downtown and then unfortunately we had to cancel out trip to the plantations... the weather got a little stormy on us :( Next time. Also I got to see the beach which was really a great destination. It had that surfing, free vibe to it. Something everybody taking vacation should experience.... shame the sand itself was so dirty and the shore was packed with ugly trash cans.

Photography wise I didn't take a full advantage of my stay but that's fine by me. I ran into new situations where people working on the local market refused to have their pictures taken ( boy was I embarrassed). But I'm happy with the memories I captured over there.

Alex took the whole trip like a champ. He slept, ate and traveled without any trouble. I dare to say that he's a better child when away from home :) Must have taken that after me - not his couch potato father :)(with all my love for him).

Here's a little bit of Charleston from me to you :)

It really is a fun job!!!

2009-07-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

Last one just because I want to remember her like this.... all the faces we captured for portraiture where posed. Those were real :)

Monika - my beautiful niece!

2009-07-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

We had a ton of fun while shooting those. I wish we had more time and that my Alex wasn't "helping us" at the shoot but I think we both did great :)

Long time without a post.....

2009-07-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

Where were we all this time? Well EVERYWHERE to be honest. All of a sudden my stay-at-home-mom life with an easy flow got on a roller coaster and I barely stay home. So I'm a stay at home mom that doesn't stay home :)

I bloom with the weather and now every single day as soon as I finish my morning coffee and Alex stops lingering over his bowl of cereals we get in the car/ on the train and we hit the road. We go to the beach/ to parks/ run crazy around sprinklers/ visit kid's action parks and museums. Sound like a great opportunity for photos huh??? Well - it's NOT. Because with all the stuff that we have to take along like towels, change of clothes snacks etc etc.... and all the cheerios that mingle together will all this stuff while I'm trying to prevent a tantrum camera is the last thing I want to carry with me. Plus if I have it on me then my thoughts are on the photos of ALex - when it's home I'm just enjoying my little monster.

So after this long and thorough explanation of our absence please accept our apology- we're just having fun :)

I have few pics from out trip to the museum of natural history in NYC

Oh yeah... and there's lots of pizza going on lately.

For the very end I'll just tell you that I have 2 very exciting trips ahead of me within next 2 months and there will be lots of photos to look at when I'm back.

Trying to master B&W

2009-06-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

There's just something about a black&white image. I don't know what it is but the power of a good conversion really makes them stand out. Colorful images don't look the same after you've seen a black and white version of it. It's also easier hiding unnecessary messiness in the backgrounds.

What do you think???

Raining... raining.... and raining some more.

2009-06-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

Rain brings out creativity. In my case creativity usually transfers into cleaning and re-organizing forgotten corners of my apartment. Add the morning project and I think I came up with few images that represent my little home. Granted it truly NEVER gets cleaned ( by then I mean I usually leave some tasks behind ) but if I don't trip over stuff on the floor I'm happy with the work I did.

I also added a little desk that really made me happy. It's very narrow so it doesn't add to all this mess but it's big enough to fit what I need. My mac and my wacom fit - what else could I ask for??

Hopefully this will let you peek into my little world - it's nothing special but it's all about the details right? One day when I move to my big mansion with dining room and marble kitchen counter I'll think of this place with some sentiment...... ehhhh....... LOL.

Ps. Have you noticed that everything about my apt. is little accept for the BIG mess :)

The morning project.

2009-06-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying that I'm NOT a morning person. Trust me - I'm just not. I have my coffee while ALex watches Tv and for a good hour I'm just not there yet. But there has been a big turnaround lately to how I wake up and what I think about as I open my eyes.

Few friends from 2peas's forum gathered together and started a project where photographers from all over post a picture that lets us peak into their mornings. I'm part of it and so proud of the company I got to be around over there. You should check it out. It's interesting how different mornings can be.

It also brought some sunlight to my house. I don't plan on what kind of a shot I'm going to take. I just let the morning be what it is and try catching that little moment that could show what it really looked like - well the first day I posed my composition, but don't say anything.

This one was a total snapshot.

And a Morning Project link for you!

My new logo.

2009-06-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

How wonderful is it to be around helpful people??? Yes Mel I mean you. Thank you for helping me with this... and here's the result. Isn't this watermark just beautiful?

Portfolio Sessions

2009-06-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

PHOTO SHOOTS

Casting call for groups: babies, toddlers, school age children and expecting families.

*Please note that the newborns' casting for free sessions has been closed. For pricing and packages please contact me.*

I'm offering FREE sessions for groups above mentioned. I will only ask for signing a weaver which allows me to use pictures from the session for my portfolio or for marketing purposes.

You will receive a low resolution CD with 15-30 processed images.

If you'd like printouts you can purchase them for low prices. Prices will be discussed before the session.

Well. What are you waiting for??? Contact me :)

Email Me

* this offer is available only in NYC area

Actions by Jess!!!

2009-06-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

I just bought actions by Jessica - she had a 50% off sale and they're fabulous!! Here's a photo I created using her really simple soft vintage action.

and a link for you: Jess's blog

My son is INCREDIBLE!!!!

2009-06-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

And beautiful... and smart.... and I have mommy goggles on ;) lol

and one more just to prove how awesome he is:

Emma.

2009-05-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

Just Emma. What else can I say?

Dream walking...

2009-05-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

D0 you ever find yourself in a moment where things around you are so beautiful you can't believe it ( and I don't mean a jewelry store :). It was a very sunny perfectly green and crisp day. One of those that happen only in early spring. I knew the second I opened my eyes in the morning, we just had to visit Prospect Park . I've never been there before and Central Park is just so busy and "lunchey" - that's my way of saying there're too many business people in suits wondering there on their lunch breaks. lol

all right - it looks more like shots of Alex than the park but maybe it was one of those moments where I just couldn't look at anything else other than my son in those gorgeous surroundings :)

What to do on rainy days??

2009-05-06T03:54:00.001-07:00

Think about all those sunny ones and hold on to that :) hahahahahaha

After 6 days of constant rain in NY all I can say is that I can't take it anymore! These few pictures where taken not so long ago and even though they're technically imperfect ( not to say crappy) they definitely do it for me... they make me smile.

Another advantage of rain is lots of editing and learning in photoshop, lots of coffee/ tea and cookies ;)

How do you like my new frame???

You can shoot ANYWHERE!!!!

2009-05-03T11:16:00.001-07:00

Even at Ikea - which actually is a great location. They're restaurant has great lightning!!!!

... I'm not kidding....

You might even get priceless shots :) hahahahahahahaha

What would a morning be without a coffee...

2009-05-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

I made a GREAT deal recently. I bought an espresso/coffee machine worth $150 for $39!!! And all would be good had it worked??? Thankfully 2 hours of Dh's time and it came out a little tube came off. .. phew.... it was a final sale so exchange wasn't even an option.

I drink coffee A LOT! And having a cappuccino or frappe as an option just makes my day :)

New shooting location.

2009-04-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

I went to the botanical garden today and I swear that every single dslr owner was there. There were people with Canons, Nikons, Sonys, Pentaxes ... there were people with tripods and gigantic bags filled with stuff and teenagers with heavy cameras hanging on their chests.... there were lenses so long and heavy I felt tired just by looking at them.... there were people in vest and hats ( apparently you have to have these to be a professional photographer) and ladies sporting in their flippers like me :)

One way or other it was so busy there was a lineup of people trying to get a shot of tulips and lots and LOTS of over the shoulder picks at others' equipment.I felt very intimidated and basically I just flashed my camera really quick out of my bag few times as my toddler ran for those beautiful flowers and the of course I had to pretend like I was upset that he's running into "no no" areas in the park. I just wish he was dressed better - oh well - at least I know I'll go back as soon as the weekend ends and all those camera holders will go to work/ school and I'll get some SERIOUS pictures :)

That's Alex where he's not supposed to be. Bad shirt and crappy composition but that's the best I got.

One day I'll live in a place where I'll be taking beautiful photographs while taking a walk and I'll be able to think before I choose my settings ... not where I fight the crowd just to get 5 inches of space and shoot shoot shoot asap.

Springing Spring.

2009-04-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

First signs are showing up everywhere!!! HURRAYYY!!!

Now we'll have some fun :)

Quick vacation in Florida.

2009-04-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

After many complications and everything going against the odds we managed to take a short vacation. By we I mean me & Alex, Ewelina & Nathan... guys stayed home and got their xbox's steaming hot and fridges filled with beers. We visited another friend of ours and her 2 year old daughter who also had their man away - CAN YOU SAY PARTY??? :) As soon as we got there we broke out few bottles of wine while kids were napping. All 3!!!! were taking their naps within 15 min of each other. Don't ask me how we did it - good karma finally came around and let few tired mommas have some fun.

It was absolutely fabulous! Weather could have been a little better but at least I took some nice pictures during those overcast days. As an immigrant living in NYC ( can't call myself a New Yorker yet - they have a special system of titling down here based on god knows what) I can tell you that we are so bitter and stressed and frustrated down here in this supposal center of the earth "The New York City" that we forget about simple pleasures of life like taking a ride on a bike along the beach, or watching a sunset after a hard day at work or just saying "hi" to a total stranger passing by. Oh I remember all those politenesses from Hawaii and how nice it was to have people asking about my well being all day long - and it didn't matter if they cared or not. In NY if somebody asks you how you are you:

1. hold on to your purse.

2. speed up to walk away as fast as possible.

3. get ready to tell this solicitor off.

4. reach out for pepper spray.

And don't get me wrong, I know that a vacation spot always seems like a better place to live in than home but I still believe that this little bit of sanity left in my NY mind ( or an immigrant's living in NYC mind for proper labeling) I can recognize a vibe of living and a pace of everyday being in 2 different places. Ok now I'm rambling.

Back to having fun and sun and water and all the indulgences that people on vacation deserve:

This is where we stayed, almost at the beach :)

In case we got lost :)

This is random house that I liked for some strange reason - nothing special huh??? I liked it so I snapped a pic of it.

Alex had the hardest time adjusting to this new environment. I was positive that I'd show him water and sand and then chase him for hours to take him home.... well this born New Yorker ( from a father and mother on immigration - hahaha this is becoming funny) had the hardest time understanding what's up with this cold water, funky feeling under his feet sand and a wind blowing in his hair. Re refused to take his shoes off for 2 days.

Ewlelina's pic - my pp.

But as soon as the shoes went off they were back in the suit case. I LOVE baby feet.

Nathan was his guide in this world of unknown and he did a GREAT job.

btw Nathan stayed in water 90% of our time in Florida. Needless to say he came back home sick.

Emilka was such a lady with guys. She wanted to pose for the camera and smiled and giggled while boys where throwing rocks across the beach.

... and a little more of common pleasures from our vacation...

I'll finish with portraits of kids:

Her face expresses how happy she was about this fly sitting on her hair :)

Members of the squad - Nathan.

2009-03-28T20:41:00.001-07:00

Nathan is almost 2.5 years old and he's the most photogenic kiddo I've ever seen in my life. He's a wonderful model but moves with a speed of light. I'm his god mother so I pride myself on him. He's very VERY tall and wears size 4T. He also gets mistaken a lot for a girl because people take his golden curls for granted :) lol

He's also Alex's best friend and a guide to the new world. Love him for that!

Here he is!!!

Squirrels and stuff...

2009-03-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

Squirrels were never of my interest. I didn't plan on making friends with them and seriously name me one person in Brooklyn, NY that has any concerns in regards to these species.I would have never expected that I'll be sitting by the window staring outside for more than it's reasonable taking the fact that I live with a little brat living his toddlerhood. Ever since I got my new camera I came to realize that the tree I have right outside my window has a life of it's own... so I sit there and stare like an old lady without a life ;) I learned that squirrels prefer pecans to walnuts ( or maybe the ones that visit me smelled my weakness through the glass and started requesting more luxurious meals - must have learned from my son btw). I discovered that once fed for few days they shamelessly scratch on windows at 6 am and that they're so beautiful it's unreal.

Meet the Squirrels - or My Squirrels - shameless generation of pecan eating city punks :)

Urban baby.

2009-03-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

It's kind of upsetting but where we live we have to fight for every little bit of nature. If we want a little bit of green grass, some water and mosquitos bugging us at night we have to get into our car and drive... the further we go the grass gets greener ;)

I love staying in touch with nature and I try spending as much time away from the city as I can. Unfortunately sometimes I just can get away so here's a couple pictures of how we look for nature in the city.

No nature here. Playgrounds are all rubber and concrete - security reasons. And those trees in the back can't count. Unless we get desperate :)

We're getting closer over here - but if you look closely you can still spot a bus in the back.

WE FOUND IT!!! We still have to drive but the smile on kids faces makes it all worth it.

I promise we'll connect with nature even more as soon as warm temperatures settle in.

Coney Island.

2009-03-07T12:43:00.000-08:00

This was a gorgeous morning. Just few days after a snow storm I could leave all our jackets home and forget about scarves and hats. Woooohoooo!!! Temperature went above 60s and it was just cute and cuddly. I took Ewelina ( specialist in snow shoveling ) and our kids and we headed for Coney Island to get some fresh air .... and a beer :P (yes it was before noon but we just got so happy and we couldn't think of one reason not to have one!)

Kids got overwhelmed with all this space available to them and after moths spent home staring with their little eyes on the tv they just couldn't decide which way to go first. It was too good to be true.

Ewelina took this one.

Hopefully nice weather will stay for good and soon we'll be looking for blooming trees and flowers. I'm so ready for that!

Digging up spring...

2009-03-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

Few days ago we had a snow storm in NYC... it happened on the day that I decided to put Alex's snow boots away ( oh irony!). Out of options my best friend decided to do something useful and she shoveled the snow. It was really cold and I'm still impressed by her heroic act :)

There was A LOT of snow. Schools got closed, people got late to work and even my blue little friend looked a little cranky.

Dysfunctional family.

2009-03-05T11:29:00.000-08:00

We're not really dysfunctional hehe... but it can get really hectic some days.

We live in a small apartment in Brooklyn in a neighborhood close to another neighborhood which sounds better than the one we're living in - so let's just say we're in Bayridge :)

This is my husband Vasili and our 15 months old son Alexander

Alex really keeps me busy... he can be an angel one day and then monster out on me the next one - sounds like he took after me no??? :) He's a little punk, that's what he is!

My current ( stress, underline, bold on current) passion is photography and photoshop. I hope I can get good at it and it won't go to waste like all my time and $$$ spent on jewelry making last time I found my destiny. After Alex showed up ( actually it was a little more complicated than just showing up - but that's another story ) I put my tools away and they're waiting for a better day - or ebay :) So I'll stick to photography for now. I'm a beginner in every inch. I got my Nikon D60 3 months ago and its friendship to me will take you on a little adventure and maybe make you a friend of mine as well!

The beginning of the road...

2009-03-05T11:09:00.000-08:00

Why did I call it a bucket?? Because I have no clue where will this blog take me... I don't plan on anything and won't put any tags on it. I'll just update it following my open mind and hopefully it will find a character itself... or end up a big pile of crap :)

Unorganized, unpredictable, unstable and absolutely lost - how is that for a good beginning?? What do I like?? Every day something else. What do I do?? One day a whole lot of stuff and next day absolutely nothing. I'm very reliable on the weather so don't even bother checking on a cold, smudgy day. If I happen to post on one of these days you might just end up seriously depressed yourself... but spring is approaching so let's stay positive huh???

I actually happen to like beginnings very much so this is exciting for me. Whatever this will turn out to be I promise to keep it colorful, light and funny, just so we can gather enough good vibes to go about our days happy.