Tamara Tovey Photography

Happy morning!

2012-01-27T06:00:00.001Z

Another busy morning, I was in the kitchen making porridge, trying to get everything ready and make it to preschool on time, when I heard another "Muuuum!". I turned around, ready to say "Almost done!" and saw this:

All I could say was: "Aww, thank you so much". Nice big hug and lots of kisses. She said: "Look, a flower, and I wrote your name as well". Just had to get a couple of shots.

Wishing you all a Happy Morning!

Some Christmas cheer on New Year Eve

2011-12-31T00:05:00.004Z

As I have promised, here are some of my favourite outtakes from my Christmas card shot. I will share my whole process with you, so a little warning, this post has a lot of photos! .

I really wanted to shoot outside, unfortunately it was quite cold so we had to shoot twice, that's why there are two different outfits. Both times were very short, literally 15 minutes each.

Carly, who won the comtetition, sent me this most amazing e-mail packed with ideas and even images to show what she meant. I loved her idea for my girls to hold a blackboard with a chalk writing on it. I have tried practicing and soon realised there is no chance they will hold it together. So I needed two! Well, Lucy being an angel, tried her best to help me, but Klara had other plans. Very cute though J!

Another idea which I was doing at the same time was to try and shoot as they decorate the tree. Since we went there twice, it has became "our big Christmas tree". We had a very small one this year so if certain someone tries to pull a decoration off it, no damage would happen.

And I really wanted to get a shot of both of them walking and holding hands:

I found two quotes about Christmas that I really liked and they helped me to choose the final image. Well, it was a tie between two images:

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other." - Burton Hillis

And here is my chosen "official" image:

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?" - Bob Hope

I'm glad I found time to do it even though December was so busy. I shoot almost every day and A few of those images will definately be framed and we had a great time decorating "our" big Christmas tree.

I hope you all had a nice Christmas and I wish you a great New Year! I am looking forward to it and everything it will bring all of us!

Merry Christmas 2011!!!

2011-12-24T10:08:00.000Z

My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that? - Bob Hope

Merry Christmas, everyone! Have a wonderful time with your families this Christmas and all year around! Thank you all for your support, it means a lot to me.

And a special thank you to all those who sent me Christmas card ideas, especially Carly :) I will be posting lots of my favourite outtakes next week.

A wee bit of heaven...

2011-12-18T01:27:00.001Z

A wee bit of heaven
drifted down from above-
A handful of happiness,
a heart full of love.

The mystery of life,
so sacred and sweet-
The giver of joy
so deep and complete.

Precious and priceless,
so lovable, too-
The world’s sweetest miracle,
baby, is you.
~ Helen Steiner Rice

My favourite part of the session was watching the little tiny 10 days old baby fall asleep in her mum's arms... The way she looked a her - so much trust in her eyes.. Newborn babies are so amazing, so fragile but so strong at the same time. So dependant on their mum and dad, they find comfort in being next to those whose voices they have been listening to for many months..

A little competition - need your help!

2011-11-28T18:50:00.002Z

Well, my dear blog readers, I need your help! So here is our little pre-Christmas competition, and the winner will be able to receive a free photosession with me plus 8x10 print.
For the last 3 years I have ordered my own Christmas cards and it's quite a big deal for me. A tradition I would like to keep up... Usually I have quite a few ideas that I try and then choose the image that "clicks". I love the challenge and it's my big creative project. I love the "outtakes" as well.. Even more, I know everyone who normally gets the card will be very disapponted if they will receive a "normal" card this year.

But here is my problem! My inspiration has gone somewhere! I find it very hard to really get into Christmas mood when it's raining outside and the leaves are still falling... I have even put our fairy lights up already and even watched "It's a worderful life" one or (two) times, but no solid ideas that would even be worth trying.

So I need your help, I need your ideas! Anything... a great quote about Christmas, a good location, links to some outfits, as elaborate or as basic as you want. The only big requirement - both of my girls should be together in it. Inside/outside, doesn't matter. Some kind of a set up where they will be able to just be themselves and I will be able to catch that one moment.

Here are the previous Chrismas cards:

2008

2009

2010

Of course your ideas are welcome whereever you are, but the session should be within 10 miles radius of BS32, Bristol. So, if you are interested, please send me an e-mail to tamara@tphotography.co.uk with "Christmas Card" in the subject!

Can't wait to read your ideas! And please, share this with your family and friends.

One october afternoon!

2011-11-04T01:05:00.000Z

We went for a walk to Ashton court to find some pretty leaves and take photos, of course! But there was hardly any colourful leaves other than green, autumn was a bit late this year. We still had a great time though!

Posing was all his! No direction was given from me at all, but I thought it suited the gorgeous view!

And my favourite with yummy light:

Have a nice Friday!

Autumn availability

2011-10-13T00:05:00.001+01:00

I am the first one to complain about the Christmas reminders in October, but lets admit it, Christmas is just around the corner. And as much as I don't like how Christmas has become all about presents, we all want to make our loved ones happy. Are you struggling with ideas? Same old socks, tie, box of chocolates, perfume, scarves and hats? Well, here is one for you - why not to book a session with me and then order some gorgeous images of your family or your children for you family members? Beautiful framed prints, canvases that grangparents can proudly show off on their walls or some desk frames to take to work, or beautiful coffee table books to keep precious memories that will be cherished in the years to come? What can be more personal?
Autumn with its fantastic colours is the perfect time for it as well. And I have just a few Saturdays left available:
15th of October
5th of November
19th of November
3rd of December (you will need to decide very quickly in order to have everything ready as Christmas gifts if you book this date).
To book or ask any questions either use contact form on my website http://www.tamaratoveyphotography.co.uk/ or write me tamara@tphotography.co.uk
And while we are waiting for the leaves to turn yellow and red, please have a look at my favourite previous years autumn sessions:
Colours
Four now
Warning! Cuteness overload!
2009
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand
Of course, a post is not complete without a photo. No bright colours yet, but it's not a summer anymore either:

The reason I love children!

2011-09-23T21:12:00.001+01:00

Last week has been very busy! Now that Lucy is in preschool most of my days I feel like I'm running back and forth all day long! But I love how in the middle of this my children make me slow down and just enjoy live and laugh. We went to visit Lucy's friend and she wanted to take a magic wand we made. So I remembered we had those tutus I made ages ago but she didn't like wearing them. Of course the little one wanted to copy her big sister and I had a little tutu for her. All I had to do was to grab my camera :)

None of this was planned, totally spontaneous. It was such a miserable grey day and they completely changed the mood of it. For me, and for the strangers we met on our way. Hope this brightens up your day! Have a nice weekend!

Alannah

2011-09-19T22:17:00.002+01:00

I love love love photographing new babies! Very risky though as it's impossible to hold a newborn baby and not get broody. Newborn cuddles are just heavenly. Especially if you can just hand them back to their parents and don't have to suffer all the "joys" of being a new parent.

I love watching parents with their first baby. It's such a special time in their life. I remember how hard it was for me. I was so sleep deprived, exhausted after a very long labour, with uncomfortable and painful stitches, not forgetting to mention the initial agony of breastfeeding! The hardest thing the realisation that now I am responsible for this little fragile baby and I just got myself a new job where I work 24 hours 7 days a week with not much sleep, no lunch breaks, very occasional time off, no holidays and no pay :) And when we were driving home from the hospital, I kept wondering why on earth women put themselves through it again and again and again? I was so overwhealmed and kept thinking why none of my friends with kids told me that it would be so hard?
Of course after a few weeks I started to see why, but those first few weeks are so so hard. So hold on, Alex and Ruth, you will get most of your sleep back and it will get easier :) Thank you for inviting me to photograph your perfect beautiful girl. I hope you will be able to look back on those images and remember this special time in your lives.
Alannah is absolutely gorgeous and you would think she is tiny but you can belive that she was 9lb when her mummy holds her! Here are some of my favourites and really there are a lot more coming in the gallery for you to choose from:

And to keep up with the previous blog post, I am posting one last one with an apple tree in it :)

Birthing shirt

2011-09-07T23:44:00.001+01:00

I'm very much behind on blogging so I will start with the most recent sessions. Last weekend I had a session for Lindsey from the Birthing shirt company . All I can say I wish I have found out about it a year earlier! I won't be showing you my after birth photos that's for sure! I ended up buying a cheap nightie from Primark but it was too short to walk around without anything else, looked ugly and I wish had poppers instead of buttons and more of them for better access for breasteeding. Lindsey has really thought everything out and her attention to every detail is amazing. She is an Architect after all! Very good access for breastfeeding, a lot longer than a regular t-shirt (did I mention I wish I've known about the birthing shirt a year ago?!), lovely soft bamboo fabric. And looks nice!
But I will let you see for yourselves:

And a matching headband:

It was nice to work with Lindsey, to try and get the images she wanted so those who buy it can see what it looks like on a pregnant model. And if you are expecting or know somebody who is, it would make a fantastic gift. And even though it's called a birthing shirt, it can be used during pregnancy and after birth as well so totally worth the investment.

One today!

2011-09-05T23:28:00.000+01:00

Our beautiful little girl has turned one today! It has been the hardest year ever, but we managed to get from here:

to here:

Happy birthday my little one! I love you so much!

Princesses

2011-07-21T01:46:00.001+01:00

I get to talk about princesses every day. That's what having a 3 year old daughter does to you! But I don't complain. Even though she likes to tell me every day that her hair is the same colour as Cinderella's, it's not all that shallow. See, Cinderella makes her bed and also washes floor. Snowhite is so kind that she would never have a problem with sharing toys. And if we want hair as long as Rapunzel, it needs to be brushed every day.
I've wanted to go out and have a session in the woods since my daughter received Snowhite dress for her birthday. I could just see my little princess walking between the trees. So when her friend received her princess dress for her birthday she joined us. That's exactly what I had in mind:

Our little princesses had such a great time and we just couldn't stop saying "Awww" and "How cute"!

Waiting for her prince, such a little actress!

And the running down the stairs, like Cinderella, or course, but no shoes were lost in this photosession!

If you are interested to have a similar dress up session for your little princess, please feel free to drop me a line tamara@tphotography.co.uk

To feel loved

2011-05-19T01:22:00.003+01:00

Every time I take photos I'm trying to not just think of what will my clients think of them now, but what those images will help them to remember in the future. I hope when the babies and children I photograph now grow up and look at those photos, they will feel loved. They will see that ever since they were born they have always been loved and cared for by their parents and siblings. Gorgeous miss M. is definately very lucky.

She has an amazing family to love and care for her.

Beautiful mum, who she loves to cuddle up with:

A caring dad who she has wrapped around her little finger and who is up for anything that would make her smile:

And a very loving and patient big brother who has stolen my heart! Such a handsome and kind young man:

I found a quote that fits this last photo perfectly: "To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there. ~Barbara Bush

I had such a great time with you all! There is a lot more coming in a gallery very soon!

Bluebells!

2011-04-22T00:23:00.002+01:00

Ok, prepare yourself for a very long post! I am always inspired by the nature, the seasons and beautiful things they bring. I then have lots of ideas I want to try, no, I just have to try! It's an urge to go and create something, visions of images I can't get out of my head. So I take my very patient models with me and go.
This time it were the bluebells. I missed all the blossom this year, but the bluebells are so pretty and I couldn't resist. Everything turned out a lot better than I could even plan. And that's the best thing about photographing children. My big little girl was so excited about going to see bluebells and as soon as we got there, she started making a bouquet. I was only happy as I always preffer to photograph children doing something they enjoy and not just to stand in front of the camera with a face smile.

Then, while holding the bouquet, she immediately said: "I'm a bride, me!". "Flowers, white dress, shoes". Didn't expect I would have this conversation at her 3 and a bit.

Then we had to think who would be her groom. Of course we found one among her friends.

You might ask where was the baby girl :) Most of the time in my other arm! But she got to enjoy some bluebells as well.

That's when my big little girl said: "Mama, I'm tired, let's go to the playground". And we did :)

Mini session with a blue eyed baby.

2011-03-25T02:57:00.000Z

Can I make a confession? I love to photograph babies with blue eyes. Both of my girls have lovely brown eyes, but they are so difficult to photograph! So when I get to photograph a baby with blue eyes I find it very easy. Mini session I had with baby R was really a treat for me. It's hard not to notice her very blue eyes.

She also has the longest eyelashes ever:

When we were arranging a session her mum said she really want to have it done before she has teeth. I completely understand the reasoning behind it - they grow up so quickly, teethless smile is one thing you really start missing once they have teeth!

She likes to eat herself, just like a baby her age should do, you can tell she quite enjoys it:

And she is such an angel :)

Bliss

2011-03-16T23:06:00.001Z

English is not my first language, but that's my definition of bliss:

I love them so much and so happy I can wake up to their beautiful smiles every day. There can be so much joy in ordinary days.

Birthday girl

2011-03-07T23:36:00.000Z

I will do everything the wrong way and start catching up with blogging with a CAKE! Yes, I'm very shallow.
I really owe this post to a wonderful Michelle, who made a cake for Lucy's 3rd birthday. I shall not say anything about my last year's failed attempt in making a cake for Lucy's birthday. Let's just say that her last birthday cake had to be bought from a nearest supermarked a few minutes before the start of the party! So this year I thought that everyone should do what they do best and leave a cake baking to someone who does it well.
All my friends commented on how great the cake looked and tasted. I have not met Michelle yet, but when I read her blog I can see how much she puts in every one of her cakes. I can relate to this, because this is the way I feel about photography. It's so much more than just pressing a button. And a lot more work that you see in the finished product. I know it's a lot more for Michelle than just mixing the ingredients. She really is passionate about what she does. Her cakes look absolutely amazing. So if you want a cake with a soul, go to Michelle's blog and order a cake! http://yummymummyscakes.blogspot.com/
The cake really was a big hit.

I loved watching little ones expressions:
Admiration:

The anticipation:

And finally the enjoyment:

Baby toes!

2011-02-04T23:06:00.001Z

My project for 52 portraits (one portrait a week) is not doing that great! I have asked a few of my friends but they weren't up for it, belive it or not! Maybe because a lot of my friends are other mums? I will try asking other people next week again.
Little Klara started rolling last week and also found her feet, so I think she deservers a blog post!

As I was taking those photos, the big sister was running around Klara singing - she too wanted to have her photo taken. I, or course, was very happy to do it:

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Activities for toddlers to do in Bristol: At Bristol

2011-01-31T09:08:00.000Z

One of the things I want to start doing on my blog is sharing ideas on fun days out with your toddlers. We have a very busy schedule as I am a crazy mum who is obsessed with quality time for my kids but we are missing playgrounds and the outside time because it's either raining or cold. So a couple of weeks ago we went to a toddler takeover At Bristol. It's been only half a year since I got my full driving licence so it took a lot of determination to actually brave out a trip to the city centre. I was holding on to my steering weel very tightly! You have no idea how proud I was that we made it on one piece! It was so worth it though. We had so much fun, that the kids didn't want to leave. I mean it was quite empty when we were leaving!
It really helped that they have big glass wall, so there was plenty of natural light. Even though it was raining!

I was very surprised to see that one of Lucy's favourite things to do was to built and launch little rockets! She kept coming back to them and so did her little friend.

Another favourite place was dinosaur pit where they could uncover "bones" if they wanted to. However, they mostly chose to use it as they would use sand.

And upstairs - having a lot of fun with Animate It, though I think we as parents enjoyed it even more!

Should I mention my special skill - shooting with a baby in a sling? Errm shooting with a camera that is, or course! My lovely friend held her for a bit when we were wanting the girls play - I suddenly realise how big she has grown already.

And then it was time to go home, to drive home I mean! We really enjoyed it and will come back again for the next toddler takeover, you can check the dates on At Bristol website.

52 weeks

2011-01-27T23:21:00.000Z

I'm starting a new personal project, where I will share 1 photo a week, a lot of photographers like to do 365 days projects, but I know that wouldn't last for longer than 2 weeks for me. I will be sharing those photos with you, and here is the first one, actually it's 4/52. It will actually be more like a portrait a week project, and it will be different people, not just my kids. I need a challenge and my kids are easy, I mean, she let me pose her and every time we come home she stand in the doorways and tells me to take a photo of her. Unbelievable!

My favourite things!

2011-01-21T00:15:00.003Z

I am always looking out for some great products to help you with ideas to display images of your family. I found an amazing framing company and was trying to order a lot of frame samples the other day. Even though I sat down having a full intention to order a good range of different frames, I ended up ordering just two! It's not because other frames were not nice though. Mostly because I loved one of them so much that I just wanted to use it for all my favourite images. You know how some people can listen to the same song 20 times in a row? Well, I am that kind of person... But I resisted the temptation and decided to order more samples later.
Anyways, back to my current favourite. My favourite image in my favourite frame! When I received it, I fell in love with it even more! Have a look:

Distressed white. So in love with it. Makes me happy every time I see it. I realise though that other people might like different frames. There will be a lot more samples, I will be sharing them with you as they arrive.

The best age to photograph your baby.

2011-01-14T01:38:00.002Z

I’m often asked what is the best age to photograph a baby. It’s a very good question. Now that I have 2 children and experience in child photography the answer is very obvious to me, but I realize that it’s not that obvious for others.

It's a little bit like baby clothes sizes. Newborn, 0-3, 6-9, 9-12, 12-18, 18-24 and then sizes become 2, 3,4, 5, 6, etc. Notice how often you have to buy new sizes for your baby in his or her first year? It's because during the first year they grow very fast, they double and sometimes tripple their birthweight and then they slow down. Because as parents we see them every day, we don't notice how they change. Lucy is turning 3 next month and I wouldn't even remember her being a baby if it wasn't for the photographs. I don’t notice how fast my kids change because I see them every day. Funny enough, though, I notice how fast my baby grows because her clothes get too small and I need to to to the next size.

There are a few big milestones in the first year to be aware of when you are planning your sessions (Please remember all babies are different and unique, so they will develop differently, but most seem to fit in):

Newborn: sleepy shots to show off littleness, softness and newness of your baby. Excess skin, swollen face, perfect little fingers with the tiniest fingernails - love newborn babies so much! I would recommend to have a newborn session at around 5-14 days after birth. The session takes a long time – 3-4 hours to accommodate baby’s needs like feeding and changing nappies and make sure the baby is asleep. That stage of your baby’s life will definitely feel like a blur to you – with the lack of sleep and the rollercoaster of emotions of having your first baby or an addition to your family.
Here is a photo of my Klara at 14 days:

After about 2-3 weeks the baby sleeps less and less, wakes up easily and doesn’t want to miss a thing. So I would suggest to wait until 3-4 months – your baby smiles and maybe laughs now, is interacting with you and others, has a lot of funny expressions. Can also hold her or his head up during “tummy time”- which might seem like a small thing but it’s a big variation from just laying on their back all the time. Should I also mention the lovely baby chub they have? And those toothless smiles that you start to miss and appreciate only after they are not so toothless anymore?

Here is my Klara at 4 months:

6-7 months – such a lovely age! Your baby can most likely sit up – a big difference! And probably doesn’t crawl yet and can’t run away from me, yet! Your baby smiles, laughs, interacts even more and gives all sorts of expressions.
Baby M at 6 months:

9 months – is crawling and will give me a run for my money. Might be able to stand if hold on to something. Plus all of the 6-7 months part. And a lot more personality coming through. Oh, and looks very different, again.

Around 12 months – your baby is doing amazing things – trying to walk and stand up anaided or already walks. This is a big milestone not just for the baby but for the whole family and a big reason to celebrate! They are a lot of fun, show their personality very well. Also, once they can walk, it’s very easy to photograph them outside. Although nothing stops you from having a baby on a blanket or being held before it can walk.

Here is baby M again, at 1 year:

I hope you found this useful and will make another post about 1-2-3 years very soon!

Don't forget to "like" my facebook page to be the first one to know about my new blog posts and news: http://www.facebook.com/TamaraToveyPhotography

Happy New Year and sharing our Christmas morning!

2010-12-31T01:56:00.005Z

This Christmas was very special for us for many reasons. First of all, it's the first one for us as a family of four! But also, because it was the first Christmas we felt that Lucy really understands quite a lot now. I was enjoying seeing Christmas through her eyes. I want to share some of our Christmas morning with you.
We started off opening gifts for Klara because we knew she would soon need a nap:

She loved it!

Lucy's turn:

She is obviously happy with her gift, so happy she wanted to get into it straight away. She loves Gap pijamas:

Another hit was Toy Story 3 DVD from Klara, Lucy is a big fan of Toy Story so she was over the moon!

She wanted to watch parts of it after she unwrapped it:

Thanking Klara for her gift:

Love this photograph!

I hope you had a fantastic time with your families on Christmas!

2011 starts tomorrow and I wish you to have a great year! I don't know what it will bring, but I'm looking forward to it, it'a new beginning, chance for us all to look at the last year and to see what we can do better and set new goals. I know it will be magical!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T00:05:00.000Z

"So, are you ready for Christmas?"- a question I've been asked a lot over the last few weeks, as I'm sure you were as well. I think I'm less ready than a month ago, but it's fast approaching! Christmas trees are decorated, houses have great light displays, ginger biscuits made a numerous amount of times, cards are sent and gifts are wrapped and waiting to be opened... I hope you enjoy nice time with your families and spoil your kids :)
Merry Christmas, have a good one!
Tamara x

My new website!

2010-12-03T00:07:00.000Z

My website really needed to be updated for a long time. I have been working on it for a while now, and it's finally ready and live! Please visit http://www.tamaratoveyphotography.co.uk/
And I have also created a Facebook business page, if you want to join and receive updates about contests, new blog posts and other fun things, please join it using a box on the top right or just search for Tamara Tovey Photography on Facebook.
And because I don't want to make a post without a photo, here is a recent one of baby Klara:

Value of photography...

2010-11-26T23:12:00.001Z

I was working on my website tonight and found this in one of my galleries:
A year ago:

This year:

Isn't it amazing how much this family has changed just within a space of one year? Especially the little girl? You can see a blog post from a year ago here: http://tamaratoveyphotography.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-do-you-hold-moonbeam-in-your-hand.html I was once again reminded why do I love my job so much that I stay up almost every night to do it.... Photography is such an amazing thing - in a few years this little girl will grow up and the parent will find a great joy in looking at the photos and seeing their kids so small. I love love love looking at the photographs of my oldest daughter when she was a baby and she is not even 3 yet. So I can only image how I will feel about those photographs when she turns say 18!

Four now!

2010-11-18T23:34:00.003Z

I had my first session since I had Klara, so I guess that's my maternity leave oficially over. I absolutely love to work with families I met before, especially with this beautiful family since we are in the same boat with them -there are four family members in their family now and our kids have similar age gap between them. And especially because of all the love I feel in this family when I was capturing those images for them. I hope I managed to show it in the photographs I took.

The big sister - even more gorgeous than a year ago and with even more curls!

New addition - a handsome little guy:

Colours

2010-10-17T23:04:00.002+01:00

One great thing about being a photographer is that I don't have to stop shooting only because I'm on a maternity leave. I have been taking a lot of photographs of my kids, and will sort them all out eventually. I thought I would share a couple of my very recent favourites.
Love this time of year! We had our semi-annual famiy walk in Westonbirt Arboretum and it was fantastic. I smile every time I look at these photos:

More of Klara

2010-10-07T22:20:00.000+01:00

I can't believe she is 1 month now! It has been crazy busy and not much sleep but it's so nice to have a little baby at home again!
Thank you all for the e-mails and phone calls! I had lot of requests for sessions recently, but I'm not back to work yet. They grow up too fast and I'm enjoying every minute with my girls as much as I can.
And here are some more photographs of what fills my life at the moment:

Autumn baby

2010-09-24T17:30:00.003+01:00

Klara was meant to come at the end of summer but she took her time and decided to become an autumn baby. Autumn matches the colour of her hair so well anyways!
2 weeks old here

Our Klara...

2010-09-18T23:05:00.004+01:00

So... It's a girl, Klara :)
She arrived almost 2 weeks ago and we love her so much. I have been so busy trying to keep both of my girls happy. I don't know when I will be able to go through the photos I have taken as I can't stay up late editing because I never know how much sleep I will have at night! A lot of people have asked me to post some photos of her, so I will post a couple. She is so beautiful, just like her big sister!
Love the colour of her hair but it might change....Lucy was born with dark hair and now she is blond, so who knows!

More to come... sometimes!

Feeling happy on a rainy day!

2010-08-21T00:06:00.007+01:00

It's been a while since I have blogged again! So many things to do before we meet our new baby. Only week left now so I thought I should make an effort and post something now.

One of the things that brings me a lot of joy is buying things for my daughter. I probaby should be totally ashamed of it, but I do try to buy organic and fairtrade when we can afford it and it's extreemely hard for me to find things I like, so we end up not buying much anyways. Especially since we had to start getting her approval first :)

It's been raining a lot recently and a couple of days ago we went out and bought her her very first wellies, a rain jacket and an umbrella. She was so happy and carried her umbrella and showed "babybirds" and bees on it to everyone. Can't wait to introduce her to the joys of puddle jumping!

Summer at it's best

2010-07-29T23:03:00.004+01:00

It's been 3 weeks since I've had this session now! And only now I have time to share a few images from it. It was an extreemely hot day, we are talking +30 in London. Actually I had 2 sessions that day, I thought I was going to melt!
I love my return clients not only because if they return it means I must be doing something right, but also because we get to know each other so well, that our sessions become very relaxed and I manage to capture some very precious moments. Moments when you can feel the love between family members when you look at the photograph. If I were to choose just one photograph from this session it would be this one. It's exactly what I try to capture in every session that I have.
LOVE:

FUN:

JOY:

And more fun:

34 weeks...

2010-07-22T21:51:00.001+01:00

I've been so busy recently with no time to blog! Going to bed after 1 am for the last couple of weeks have not been easy. When I'm done with everything I have a couple of amazing sessions to share. But for now... 34 weeks pregnant me. (Can't you tell I just "love" to be on the other side of camera! :))

Engagement photos

2010-07-14T17:31:00.005+01:00

Yet again I have neglected my blog! I've had a busy month, trying to organise everything, still working on my new website, had a few sessions I either couldn't share, or could share but had to wait for a bit.. Like the photos I'm sharing below.
This was one of the sessions where we made sure the wedding invitations were ready and sent out before I post the photos on my blog, just in case.

Sharing a little bit of summer with you!

2010-06-08T22:22:00.006+01:00

Things to do

2010-06-05T22:30:00.002+01:00

I've been thinking of writing this kind of post for a while now and finally decided to actually do it. It always sounds wrong when I say that I stay at home with my daughter, because we go to a lot of places every day. Every day we have a class or a group we go to apart from the other things we do. It took me a while to find the best ones for us so I thought I would share some of them for other parents in Bradley Stoke.

1) Bouncing babies group - was the first baby group we went to. It's specifically for the babies under 1 year. It's in the Jubilee centre on Tuesdays from 1pm to 3pm and is ran by Cheryl, who does fantastic rhyme time. I loved that it was for 2 hours because I could never make it anywhere on time but it didn't matter because even if I was half an hour (or more!) late, I would still have plenty of time and wouldn't miss the rhyme time which was normally at the end. We started going there when my daughter was around 4 months old and I know it really helped to develop her social skills. She also got familiar with all the nursery rhymes and really enjoyes them. As for me - I still meet with lots of mums from that group, I met some friends there. It took me a while to find a group as good as Bouncing babies when Lucy turned one. So I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a group to go with their baby.

2) Another great find was a gymnastic class called Gymtastics. We used to go to another gymnastic class and decided to have a look what Gymtastic is like since they were offering a free trial session. There was no question about joining the class as we both loved it. It's run by two lovely ladies - Sherri and Vick who are great with the kids. Every week has a new theme, so it's always something different and fun. The class is in Esporta and you can see the information about their schedule on their website http://www.gymtastic.co.uk

3) Our favourite toddler group is a "Stay and play" group in Sure Start Centre on Little Stoke Lane. They run on Wednesday 1.15-3.15pm, Thursday morning and Friday 1.15-3.15pm. They offer a great variery of activities including messy play, painting, playdough, have healthy fruit and vegetables snack time, time in the garden and it all finishes off with the rhyme time. Apart from the activities there are a lot of toys as well to suit all ages. I was very happy to find this toddler group because it has everything and more.

There are a few more places that we love going to, I will save them for some other time because it's becoming a very long post!
I hope all of you are enjoying the heat, I've heard the next week is full of rain so we are trying to make the most of the hot days.

I have also edited the post about availability because I had a few sessions booked since I wrote it.

Availability...

2010-05-26T23:36:00.003+01:00

Edited ont the 5th of June to add - the only Saturday available for having a sesssion out of Bristol before I'm due is the 24th of July. Thank you to all of you who have contacted me! I have a few evenings left for the sessions in Bristol, so please contact me if you are interested in having one.

I had a look at my calendar and realised, I don't actually have that many Saturdays available till our second baby is born! So I thought I would post them here. That's all I have left - 12th of June, 10th and 24th of July. Then I have a wedding to shoot in the middle of August and I'm due at the end of August! I will still be able to shoot in the evenings of the week days in Bristol and the best light happens to be after 6-7 pm, so contact me if you are interested in a session.

My new website is now under constraction, I'm so excited to have everything new and shiny!

We were really enjoying the heat recently. It's raining again today but I'm hoping the summer will be nice!

Spring!

2010-05-07T23:02:00.001+01:00

I have disappeared for a while again. I was trying to finish off all the editing from the latest sessions, and working on updating the website. Hopefully it will all be ready by the end of May!
As soon as it got warm, I hardly parted with my camera and as a result I have mountains of photos to go through. Plus we had our semi annual outing to the Westonbirt Arboretum which didn't help! It's this major even that I look forward to every autumn and spring and take a lot of photos. I always look around and note what trees are blossoming and which ones are about to blossom. I managed to go through some of the shots and wanted to share them with you!
I will start with the one that was harder one to get (although to be honest, my two year old is not the most cooperative model in the world, that's for sure, so all of the shots were hard to get!). But a family self portrait with a camera of a tripod and a timer - that's a challenge!

I have to explain the next two shots... Lucy decided she only wanted to sit in the pram or lay on the grass on her blanket so my fantastic husband came up with this game - they were looking for bunnies and Lucy was collecting little things like flowers and pine cones in her basket to feed the bunny. She is calling the bunny:

The red shoes.

2010-04-21T00:43:00.004+01:00

So here comes the promised blog post about shoes :) We had an hour before the session last Saturday to buy Lucy new shoes, so we went to a shoe shop and tried to choose some shoes for Lucy. I mean Alex and I. We found some nice and practical shoes that we likes, the sales assistant kept going back anf forth bringing new shoes, kept putting them on Lucy. Lucy kept letting her do it and them would take them off and hold on to her old pair saying "Lucy", meaning, "Thanks, but no, thanks, I have shoes already". The only problem being that they were becoming too small and she needed the next size. We would have gotten the exact same shoes for her just to keep her happy, but the shop didn't have them in stock. We didn't want to buy her shoes she wouldn't want to wear. And most of the time she is such an angel (as much as a 2 year old can be one :)) that if she puts up a fuss we try to listen. So, Alex held her up so she can see all the shoes they have and told her: "Pick any shoes you want and we will buy them for you". And she picked these:

The significance of what had happened is that it was the first time when she chose shoes herself. And frankly, we were not ready to have it at 2 years and 2 months. So it starts a new era for us.
It's not something that we would have chosen, but at least they are not pink :) So, the shoes are red, extremely shiny, and have cats on the soles:

And no doubt you will see them a lot on this blog, becase really, they are not just some brown shoes you can ignore :)
And of course the proud owner of the shiny shoes:

A little preview

2010-04-18T00:56:00.004+01:00

I had a great day today - had a session with a very nice family and had fantastic time playing with my own family after it!
If you are up for a challenge - go and try to photograph a one year old :) They already walk so they can run away from you and too young to bribe :) But they are so much fun. The only way to work with them is to play with them their games. Little guy from today's session greeted me with a biggest smile, showing off all 4 of his teeth. He introduced a couple of games and gave me 2 seconds to get every shot I was trying to get. Very generous of him! :) Seriously, I just love my job. Kids bring so much joy, you can't watch them without a smile on your face.
Here is a little sneak peak :)

There is plenty more to come when the gallery is ready!

And the next post should be up pretty soon and it will be about ... shoes!!!

Spring?

2010-04-15T22:09:00.001+01:00

There has been some crazy weather changes lately! I was happy to have a few very warm days and believe me we have spent as much time outside as possible. I have shot lots and not sure when I will have enough time to process it all! Not it's cold again..
Just a couple of shots with lovely daffodils...

The wedding!

2010-04-01T00:24:00.018+01:00

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I photographed a wedding in the middle of March. It was great to be with my friends on their big day. I'm so happy for them! They looked fantastic, the wedding was amazing and now they have their life together ahead of them.
So now that the newlyweds are back, I'm posting a few of my favourites. I have lots and I will try my best not post all of them!

Contact...

2010-03-30T00:00:00.001+01:00

It was brought to my attention that the "contact me" page is not working on my website! It should be fixed very soon. Please feel free to contact me directly on my e-mail address - tamara@tphotography.co.uk as well.
And, because I can't make a post without a photo - here is one of my little assistant!

18 weeks...

2010-03-27T21:21:00.001Z

Ok, I was ready to let the world know, but didn't have a good enough photo to do it. Today we made time for it and my husband took it for me. So here is comes - my 18 weeks bump and I.

That's the reason I hardly posted any blog entries, and didn't shoot that many sessions. We are really happy to have another baby soon, but the last two and a half months for not much fun for neither of us. Those who suffer from a morning sickness (that lasts all day!) would know why. The only thing I had energy for was to survive a day with my very active toddler till my husband it home from work. But I think it's now over and I already took advantage of being back to normal again and shot my friends' wedding in St Petersburg and had a session with an adorable 1 year old within the last 2 weeks.
I'm very excited about the spring and will fully believe it's here when all the trees and flowers start blossoming! Can't wait to see all those colours. And to take all the photos!
I will be here much more often now, especially with the wedding photos when my friends come back from their honeymoon.

Happy first day of spring!

2010-03-02T00:19:00.009Z

It really does feel like spring! Warm and sunny, I just hope it will stay that way. And can't wait till everything starts blossoming! Can't wait to take all the photos!
I do have to catch up on February! It was a busy month - my and Lucy's birthdays, plus we attended a lot of her friend's birthday parties too. I have to say I enjoy going to all those parties - to see my and my freind's toddlers running around so happy is very rewarding.I will share some of the photos from Lucy's party and some other from February. I can't believe she is 2 now....

Gorgeous mum-to-be

2010-02-13T23:14:00.009Z

I had a session with absolutely beautiful mum-to-be almost a month ago. I rarely have a maternity session so it was very nice to meet with this fantastic couple who were up for anything. It was a great time to get creative and A. has definately made my job so easy! I will stop writing and and post some photos, so you can see what I mean!

I'm still here!

2010-01-21T21:52:00.002Z

I didn't mean to disappear for such a long time, but there has been a few things going on in my life to keep me busy... It's too late to post any Christmas snapshots but I do have some snow photos to share with you! I thought I would never say this but I am so happy it's gone!
I am working on a little project and so will only be able to book sessions after the end of February, but feel free to contact me now to book in advance! I will still try to post here regularly.

A proof that spring will come! :)

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T20:12:00.001Z

I hope you all are enjoying 2010 so far!
Just thought I would let you know that we are moving tomorrow. So if I don't reply your e-mails straight away, that's why. We are still staying in Bristol.

Happy New Year again!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T14:40:00.003Z

As much as I love my job, I was really enjoying having a little break once I was done with all the editing, ordering, packaging and sending! I hope you are enjoying this time of year as well!
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

And just some Christmassy shots for you :)

Winter wonderland!

2009-12-08T23:52:00.005Z

It's been a while since I posted any personal photos. I'm just so busy: sessions, editing, ordering, sending everything off - so much to do! I find myself rarely going to bed before 2 am these days... But it's getting better, just a few more orders left to sort out!
I thought I would post some Christmassy photos from our visit to a German Market and also some of my failed Christmas card attempts!
I hope you are enjoying this season and find time to stop and contemplate!

And I LOVE these shots even though they didn't make it into the Christmas card this year :) She loves copying expressions. The only way to keep her still for a second for to ask her to copy my expressions. She had her own interpretation of them :)

How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

2009-11-22T00:11:00.009Z

Every time I photograph a toddler, lyrics from the Sound of Music song "Maria" just pop into my head :)
The little cutie from today's session is almost the same age as my daughter so I was all ready for the challenge. She lived up to my expectations but was ever so nice to find a few seconds in her busy schedule and looked at the camera a few times :) I LOVE this age group - they already have such a strong personality in this age. I definately had fun (and a good work out too!)
So, here is a little preview:

If looks could kill! I promise, I did not even think of taking the rocks :)

I hope you enjoyed your little sneak peek and there is a lot more to come!

Another London preview

2009-11-11T23:04:00.003Z

A little preview for A :)
This image is one of my favourites from the day, although somehow it has a "Paris" feel to me... Even though it's London:

And I know you were looking forward to this one :) I have a few more waiting for you to see!

Enjoy your preview and many more soon!

Autumn in London

2009-11-08T01:17:00.006Z

It's still nice and colourful in London! I had 3 session in London today, with 3 cute 6 months old babies! Here is a little preview for one of the families:

This little girst is so quick! There was only a second between her sitting down and having a leaf in her mouth :)

And the rest will be in a gallery in a couple of weeks!

Warning! Cuteness overload!

2009-11-02T23:42:00.007Z

Ok, you have been warned!
I LOVE meeting the babiees I already photographed because it it always amazing to see how they change and grow! I had a session with this little cutie when she was just 1 month old and now she is nearly a year! She has grown into a beautiful, smily, happy baby. And she was such a great model - apparently she loves to be photographed. Made my job easy!
1 month old:

Now:

Enjoy your little preview and plenty more in your gallery in a few days!

Have you ever...

2009-10-30T13:54:00.005Z

.... made somebody's day just by being you?
Ok, I have a lot more sessions I can share, but honestly I just have no time... But I have to share this one session. I really enjoy what I do, otherwise I wouldn't stay up late at night editing and improving my skills. One of the reasons I enjoy this job so much is because I get to meet some amazing people I would never have met otherwise. I'm sharing just a little part of this session, there also were the grandparents and the sister's family. I felt extreemely welcomed by everyone and amazed how friendly and nice all of them - to me and to each other. It was a priveledge to capture a part of a day in their lives and the strong bonds that tie them all together. I felt very uplifted and with the desire to become better. So, thank you!

Little guy was not impressed :)

Autumn Special Deal!

2009-10-16T00:59:00.006+01:00

I am totally loving all the colours!!! And made an effort to photograph my own daughter... It's just so beautiful outside at the moment!

To celebrate the colourful weather I'm offering 50% off the session fee and 1 free 5x7 print for any session that is booked and takes place by the end of November. I have just a couple dates available, so if you want to take advantage of the offer, contact me soon. You can either use my contact section on my website http://www.tphotography.co.uk/ or write me an e-mail to tamara@tphotography.co.uk
I will post something exciting in a couple of weeks, so come back soon.

Here are some photos... Can't wait to take more!

More backlog from August!

2009-09-24T21:48:00.004+01:00

Ok, here is another session which was a part of mini sessions I've done in the beginning of August. Really enjoyed working with that family. Plus the little girl was so nice to me and didn't crawl away from me too fast! Not to mention the gorgeous blue eyes. Here you go:

Summer is over...

2009-09-22T23:59:00.008+01:00

I think we can say the summer is over, it's the middle of September and I see more and more fallen leaves every day.. I hope all of you had a nice summer! I had a great summer, full of events, travelling, seeing old and new friends and lots of work! I have to admit, I'm glad to slow down a bit and do some personal projects... Like my daughter's First Year book! She has been 1 for 7 months and I haven't even started on the book. And it's just one of the projects I have lined up - my website has been neglected for a long time now, I need to order some more samples, the list is endless!

And I do love autumn though, love the fallen and colourful leaves, can't wait to see more of those! But is this post I wanted to share some of my favourites from this summer that I haven't had a chance to share with you yet!

June in St Petersburg

June in Bradley Stoke

August, in Porthcawl, Wales

Bristol Balloon Festival, next to Clifton Bridge

August, Three Brooks Nature reserve

Setpember, Clifton Downs

Birthday fun!

2009-09-05T01:13:00.003+01:00

This post is very much overdue! This summer has been so busy for me - lots of work and lots of travelling! I can't complain though, it's all good, just not much time for anything.

This birthday was a bit different from how I normally do them. I took some photos while everyone was just having a good time and then I took every family one by one into the gorgeous garden that was there and had a very little family shot. That was interesting seeing lots of time is normally needed with 1 year olds but it worked out quite well. I really enjoy seeing all the different personalities, it's just amazing how all the babies are so different and it was fun to see so many of them in 1 day. But here are some images, enjoy!

Special thanks to those parents who allowed me to use the photos on my blog!

Little ballet dancer!

2009-08-26T00:01:00.005+01:00

In the beginning of August I had a wonder ful session with a very cute 1 year old. I already had a session with her at 6 months and it was so nice to see her again. She changed a lot and now even more beautiful! It was fun, but a lot harder than 6 months ago, little cutie was everywhere! Here are some images from the session:

Behind every photographer....

2009-08-21T21:01:00.007+01:00

is a very patient and supportive family!!!! I just never get a break with photography, camera goes with me on holidays too! But I honestly can't stop myself from taking photos. There are so many things I want to try... And I'm so greatful that my husband really supports me with everything I do and helps me a lot. And I mean a lot. We just had out 3rd wedding anniversary this week and I wanted to share some photos of my amazing family with you.

We went to play in a new playground in Bradley Stoke, Lucy loved all the little rocks.

This is a familiar sight to everyone who lives in our area. Little pond with ducks and swans in Three Brooks nature reserve:

And there is a little hill right next to it. I just love the place!

This was between my mini sessions in Holland Park. We always try to be together and if I have a session away, we go together and they do something fun while I shoot. And then we drive home together.

Just love them!

I've been very busy this last months, but I will be back with lots with some photos from the sessions I had, so watch out for them!

Mini sessions in a park!

2009-08-04T20:55:00.011+01:00

Last saturday I had 4 mini sessions a one full session, while I was shooting I was fine. But as soon as it all fnished, I realised how tired I was! It's always interesting for me to meet so many new people and their babies, it's fascinating how different and unique they are. Here is a sneak peek I promised I would post for one of the mums so her friends and family can see the photos. Baby M was just like a doll and very calm and easy to work with!

More to come in your online gallery!

Good byes...

2009-07-29T23:48:00.010+01:00

A family that I got to know quite well since I moved to Bristol is moving to USA... Children wanted to spend some time with Lucy before they leave so we came over tonight for more goodbyes.. It's all very sad, really.. I stayed at their house for a couple of weeks when I first came to Bristol around 4 years ago, their daughter was a flower girl at our wedding and she loves spending time with Lucy, feeding her yogurts and raisins and playing with her. Their dad has been a bishop at the church we go to for almost 3 years (he has full time job, at our church we don't have paid clergy) and not to mention they know my husband since he was very young. They will be missed very much by many people and I hope they have an easy journey to the States. As easy as it can get with 4 kids. And leaving your country permanently...

Lucy decided that she doesn't need to nap every day and to change her sleep time to 9 or 1o pm at night and to still wake up at 7 or 8 am. !!! It means less time for me to edit, cook and tidy up. And as all those things need to be done it means less sleep for me too. Feels like I'm constantly trying to catch up with things and there is no end to it! I will be back with lots of photos soon, there is a lot of things going on but I'm still in process. Hopefully I will be able to share some shots from a 1st year birthday party I shot a couple of weeks ago. And from my friends leaving party last Saturday. Most of all, please pray for no rain for me for this Saturday! I have a lot scheduled for it, most of it outside and so far forecast says "light rain"! A few hours ago it said "heavy rain", so there is a little hope!

And to put a smile on your face and to help to forget the rain, here is a couple of photos of an adorable little boy from a birthday party from the end of May. Because of all the holidays I didn't have time to share:

For Cinnamon!

2009-07-17T19:58:00.009+01:00

It was raining yesterday, but thankfully it didn't stop our newborn session from happening, thanks to big glass doors!
Here is a little sneak peak of a little cutie pie! Baby C., she is just 9 days old now and is absolutely perfect. She was very nice to me and even gave me a smile. I just love photographing newborns even though it takes a lot of time. Every newborn is a little miracle and there is something so pure about them. And they don't stay that way long so it's a great priveledge to be able to capture them in this special time of their lives.

Just love this one - the hand wasn't planned in the photos, but it shows just how small she is :) I do have one without the hand as well, just in case :)

I'm back! Again...

2009-07-14T20:47:00.020+01:00

I neglected the blog again but I do have an excuse - we were away for a week, yes, again... Here is the story...

My mum and my brother were planning on visiting us for 3 weeks, we were hoping they would come over on the 1st of July. We planned what we would show them and Alex even had a week off so we can take them to Cornwall to have a nice week at the seaside. It would have been the first time for my mum to finally see Lucy in person (yeah, Lucy is 17 months now).

And then they were refused a visa to come to UK... We found out on the 30st of June. So I spent a couple of days trying to find information how they can appeal. They don't speak English, so I had to have a look at the refusal letter to understand why and how they can appeal. They decided not to appeal because by the time decision might be changed their holiday will be over.

Anyways, remembering that my mum still hasn't met Lucy, I thought that maybe we should all go to a country where none of us needs a visa. There are a few, we decided on Tunisia. But the hardest part was finding a hotel that they can book from Russia and we can book from here. Well, there wasn't one. So we booked hotels not far from each other. I was completely exhausted trying to organize everything and Lucy was wanting my full attention back. Oh and to just make it all more exciting, it was the week Lucy had chicken pox I mentioned in my last post, so she was bored out of her mind already and here I was constantly on a phone trying to organize things.

We booked our holiday on Friday and flew out early Sunday morning. I had 1 hour sleep, because I had to finish all the orders before I disapper for a week again. My mum and my brother arrived on Tuesday. It turned out the hotels were still far enough so we had to take a taxi every single time. Also, both of our hotels were "all inclusive", so they didn't let anyone in and we were meeting somewhere else apart from one time they came to us by beach. So it was not convenient to say the least...

We did have a great time though. It was hot all the time, even at night. We spent most of the time in the swimming pool and on the beach, but did go to see a few things as well. It's a beautiful country, absolutely stunning architecture - lots of archways, mosaics and colours. But I have to admit I did once more realise how much I love British countryside as we were driving back home from the Bristol airport.

One thing I absolutely hated is because you are a "rich tourist" everyone is trying to rip you off! And it's not just in the markets where they literally try to put scarves and things on you. Or when they try to take trolley with suitcases off you. Funny how taxi to our hotel always cost 3-4 dinars less for my mum and brother than it was for us to theirs.
So that's how we ended up in Tunisia instead of Cornwall.. And here are some holiday snapshots:
(You can view BIGGER, just click on them)

Lucy is reading a newspaper, it's French, by the way :)

Enjoying being a center of attention!

My sunshine on a cloudy day

2009-07-05T01:37:00.003+01:00

Originally uploaded by (: Tamara :)

What do you do the first day when you find out that you baby has chichen pox? I don't know what normal people do, but as a photographer and a MWAC (mum with a camera for those who don't know what MWAC is :)) I put a nice dress on her and we went to a park area with long grass and no other kids she can give it to. I just wanted to photograph her in case I will do be able to do it for a while if she is not well and has a lot of spots. We were lucky - it was just before a thunderstorm so we had nice dark clouds and everything looked magical.
The chicken pos was very very mild for Lucy, I even started to doubt if that was it. The most annoying thing was having to stay away from other people. Lucy is a very people person so she was very bored at home with me this week. It was a very hard week, but not because of Lucy's chicken pox.....

For Erjena!

2009-06-28T22:03:00.027+01:00

Finally I managed to put a little preview together for Erjena and Dima! I'm totally stormed out under all the shots I've taken. I said I would post 10, but ended up with more! Hard to choose...

For those of you who don't know what Russian weddings are like - the big difference is that groom actually goes to pick up the bride and they walk down the "aisle" in registry office together. It was a very nice wedding and we all had a fantastic time at the party after the ceremony.
Well, I hope you are as happy with the photos as I am :)

Excuse me....

2009-06-25T14:50:00.004+01:00

I think this is my new favourite photo of Lucy(if you click on it you can view BIGGER and see her beautiful eyes!)... Surely you missed seeing her face here :) I only took it yesterday when I was giving a little photography workshop about composition to a few of my friends who want to improve their photography skills. Composition is very important and if you use a few simple rules, it can really help to make your shots better. Even if you don't have DSLR.
One of the things we discussed is that when shooting kids (with a camera, of course :)) it's important to either be on their level or shot directly from the top. Same can be used for flowers of other objects that are smaller than you.

Rain!

2009-06-24T00:55:00.009+01:00

Although St Petersburg is an incredibly beautiful city, we didn't go there for sightseeing. I haven't seen my friends for 3 years and with my friends getting married it was the right time to go. When Alex came over to St Petersburg twice I made sure I took him pretty much to every museum, palace and park so he didn't miss out. But when out friends kindly offered to take us with them to a place neither I, nor Alex have been before, we were very excited to go. The town is called Kronshtadt, which is on an island http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%82&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=uk&ei=7HJBSoKxFs_A-Qanzr2-CA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1! I was all excited to take some shots of this place but as soon as we arrived there it started raining! We still went to have a look at some military ships and submarins on the pier, but rain was getting worse.

So we got back into car and drove around the island for a bit, there was a fantastic cathedral, very beautiful and very big for this small island (Morskoy Sobor). Anyways, we thought, forget the rain, we can go and have a look inside. Well, it was closed....

So we just stood in it's porch for a bit and I took some shots, the light was just beautiful! I like shooting when it's raining, just don't get a chance to do it very often.

for Gisele

2009-06-22T13:45:00.008+01:00

I'm slowly making my way through all the images that need to be edited... I would really help if I stopped shooting but I just can't! Now I have a lot of lot of new ones from the weekend...
These are still from before the holiday, Annie is just 12 days here:

I'm back!

2009-06-17T14:37:00.006+01:00

I have neglected the blog once again! Not because I have nothing to share, but because I'm insanely busy! I had a 1st year birthday party at the end of May and was busy editing it as I wanted to have it all done before we go on our holiday to St.Petersburg, Russia. It was great to see all my friends again. We went to our friend's wedding which I photographed even though it was my holiday :) Lucy was as good as gold, all my friends are in love with her and miss her more than they miss me (or so they say!). I will definately share some shots I took, although I didn't take my camera out every day. I kind of overcompensated it on the last day and took too many!

Here is some shots of my friends, I will share more as I edit them. A lot of editing that it!

There is a garden in every childhood,

2009-05-28T23:18:00.009+01:00

an enchanted placewhere colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morningmore fragrant than ever again.- Elizabeth Lawrence

Well, this is not our garden, this images were taken in Westonbirt arboretum. But we seem to go there at least twice a year as it's such an amazing place. I am sure we will continue this tradition and Lucy will remember it. Or at least she will have thousands of photos to remind her of it :).

All of these were taken in April and I wanted to do something special with them, was just waiting for some inspiration. And a couple of days ago I was inspired by another photographer's work and everything came into place. I hope you like them as well:

5 days old!

2009-05-26T21:56:00.015+01:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything! Have a lot of catching up to do! Will start with a little gorgeous girl I had a priveledge to photograph a few days ago. She is only 5 days old here, very little and beautiful! The best time to photograph newborns is before they are 2 weeks, so that was the best time!

A few of my favourites:

Knights, queens and princesses :)

2009-04-26T02:10:00.014+01:00

Here is a preview for the session I had a week ago with a family with 2 kids which doesn't happen very often for me! We went to a park local to them, the place was beautiful, the weather was nice, the sun was bright (a little too bright!).

M. was a knight that day which fitted perfectly with the family session. He gave roles to everyone, luckily for me I was told I was a queen, so I had to remind him a few times that a knight should follow the directions of his queen. That's when he would go to fight dragons when we were doing all famiily shots. Meet the knight:

Baby A. had his first expecience of crawling on a grass - he was very FAST! You can tell he enjoyed every second of it!

I hope you enjoy the preview and the rest of the photos when you receive your link for the slideshow next week!

And the last one for tonight!

Teens!

2009-04-21T18:30:00.001+01:00

I had this session with some youth over a month ago and just never shared anything from it! It'a always strange not to shoot babies after doing it all the time. I kept wanting to shake my keys to attract attention instead of just asking to look at me, wanted to say peek-a-boo and other silly things I'm used to do shooting babies! So much easier with the people who can follow directions (that's after they relax in front of the big scary camera :))

Here is one of the girls from the session - the most amazing eyes and hair colour!!!

I will try my best to post some more later this week!

Tamara x

Craving for colour!

2009-04-05T01:54:00.000+01:00

I have lots of other things to do, among which is to get some sleep, but just wanted to share some colour with yoou! We have been so blessed with warm weather recently, had a very interesting walk yesterday Lucy's little friend and her mum :)

Well, I'm off to bed and I hope you are having a fantastic weekend!

They were holding a straw together, how cute!

baby H preview :)

2009-03-31T23:09:00.000+01:00

I was hoping to post here at least once a week but have been so busy... so many things to do!!! Trying to finish editing a couple of sessions and also sending orders to the lab, behind with a couple of posts on the blog and my website desparately needs to be improved. But, photography is only my part time job, my full time job is my daughter and my salary consists of hugs and very occasional kisses from her :)

But here is a couple of shots from photoshoot I had just over a week ago with baby H. He is 4 weeks old now and changed his sleeping habits just 3 days before the photoshoot. He was still nice to me and I have more than 2 favourites from the session and it's still a work in progress! Love photographing newborns even though it's very challenging! I love the first image - I always try to use what my clients have at home for the session and this couch and bookshelves looked great!

I will try to be back soon, have some images to share from another session!

Canvas sample

2009-03-17T23:50:00.000Z

Well, I desperately needed a canvas sample. Of course it had to be one with our daughter so we can "store" it on our wall. It's 23x34", but I took this photo just so you can see how big and amazing is it :)

Baby M

2009-03-16T12:51:00.000Z

Another baby from the photoshoot I had in London. Again, I was soooo lucky! Cute litlle girl with big blue eyes, wasn't running away from me, was smiling as soon as her mum would sing "If you happy and you know it" and would even not mind headbands :) What more could I ask for!

Some of my favourites:

There is a family photo like this one with everyone looking at me, but personally I love this one because of the interaction between the baby and her parents. A little warning - it all started with nose and mouth for my daughter as well but now she prefers to pull my eyelashed or to point at my eyes :)

Just have to share this one - such a happy little girl!

Just one more :) Again, just HAVE to share this one. Such a beautiful family:

Spring day

2009-03-07T23:32:00.000Z

We went for a walk to Three Brooks Nature reserve to feed the ducks today. We had lots of fun and I wanted to share some fun shots with you! Can't wait for the proper spring to come and to do sessions with blossoming trees! Love outdoor session because no backdrops can really compete with the nature. Plus it's more fun :)

Gotta love bright blue benches:

Alex agreed to pose for me for once :)

More!

2009-03-03T10:59:00.000Z

Here is another one!

Baby D - full of smiles, easy going and very noisy :) Love how babies talk! And every baby photographer dream - a baby that can sit up but is not crawling yet :) Some of my favourites:
(those cute "paws" :))

First preview

2009-03-02T16:17:00.001Z

Yeah, it's been over a week now... With all the editing, my birthday last week and with Lucy keeping me more busy than ever I can hardly find time for anything else!

There is some sneak peeks from the session in London - beautiful and very very very active baby S :) She managed to learn how to climb up things during the photoshoot and now applies this new skill at home. A lot :) And all in 6,5 months!

Might be some more coming up very soon for another mum :)

The first post!

2009-02-22T20:32:00.001Z

How exciting :)

Yesterday I had a very busy day in London - I had many sessions with a lot of cute babies! Still recovering from it - my leg muscles hurt a lot from all the running around and squating and sitting and laying on a floor while shooting. It was fun! And I have many hours of post processing ahead of me now... The studio was absolutely fantastic and I couldn't miss the chance to take a couple of photos of my own daughter just before we left.

There was lots of space to crawl and to walk around while making important phonecalls ... LOL :)

I have lots more to share but I'm soooo tired! Will come back tomorrow!