Posted in Personal, Uncategorized, Weddings on February 13, 2013 | 9 Comments »
My boyfriends brother got married in December to Natalie and I took a few snaps at the kitchen tea…
A lovely day filled with ladies, cake, punch and cupcakes…. can you say yum?
Have a lovely day everyone!
Comments are welcome :-)
Love Tae
xoxo
Posted in Personal, Uncategorized, tagged creativity, Durban Based Photographer, happy colours, inspiration, inspirational photography, nature, new business ventures on August 31, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Good Friday everyone!
So I’ve been thinking lately about all the things I’ve done and all the things I’m still dying to do and I realised how much of my time is taken up by thinking of weird and wonderful things.
I am one of those people who needs to sleep with a note pad next to the bed (now progressed to my cellphone) to be on standby for the 3am thought bubble that lingers around until I am in a deep sleep and then pounces on me like cat does to a flying ant. It’s impulsive and quite annoying actually… it forces you to jump up, grab something to write with and jot down the idea, sometimes in brief, sometimes in great detail…. more often than not when there is lots of detail I cant read half of it anyway as my handwriting at 3am is not pretty by anyones standards.
You then feel ridiculously relieved… almost as relieved as you’d feel making it to the loo after holding a full bladder for a 3hour road trip and managing to not wet your broeks.
And then you fall asleep… as if nothing happened.
Now this wouldn’t ordinarily be a problem if I got the required amount of sleep in every night, you know, like a normal person who lives by the minimum 8hour rule… No-no, I get to bed at approx 1am on average if i’m lucky and so I get about 6hours sleep… sometimes 4hours if I’m editing.
These thought bubbles seem to becoming far more frequent and I cant help it. But I must admit… its what keeps me going. I’ve ended up doing all sorts of things from making nifty little doorstops, cushions, origami birds and making cute craft kits, painting all my furniture random happy colours, designing personalised gift tags, eco-pots for plants made from fabric, re-arranging the entire house until it “feels” right, brewing up delicious recipes to test on friends and family, beading jewelry, making key rings, painting on canvas, brainstorming new business ventures for friends and contacting them with my ideas first thing when I wake up…. these are just a few to mention or else you’ll be reading this post until monday morning.
For some this can be quite exhausting and it can be at times but its the price one pays for being a creative.
Now don’t get me wrong, creativity also needs to be fueled with just the right amount of caffeine and inspiration from other people around you. It doesn’t just happen. It’s a strict discipline that you need to nurture, develop, mold, channel positively and translate appropriately. It can just as easily become extremely destructive if not managed and especially if you are not aware of what you are doing at all times.
I find it’s helpful to set these ideas in motion, get it out of your system. and then they don’t have time to grow into the kind of beasts that consume you. Being consumed by something can be both a good and a bad thing but it’s hard to decipher between what is positively affecting you and what is wasting your time when your head is so far in it that you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.
So today I’d like you to take a moment to think about all the creative things you’ve wanted to do, refine your idea into something simple and effective and actually get going with it. It’s liberating and opens up your mind to new things. Sort of like having a mental spring cleaning if you will. The longer you harbour old thoughts and ideas, the less capable you become of doing new things, experiencing something fresh, exciting and eye-opening.
You have to give your mind soul food to feed off and it will prosper!
On that note, Spring is around the corner and I woke at some silly hour this morning and thought of nature, greenery and flowers… so here’s some of the pics I took in the garden this morning… enjoy!
Have a lovely weekend everyone,
xoxo
Posted in Family, Maternity, Newborn, Uncategorized, tagged creative platform, motherhood, signs of nervousness on August 13, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
(image found on Pinterest)
I have so many moms speaking to me before a shoot with such fear and anxiety that their baby wont deliver on the day of the shoot, that the baby will be grumpy and tired throughout the shoot.
Well I like to say to them that they have nothing to worry about. Every mommy thinks their baby or family was the worst on the day and this is more often than not, completely incorrect. A professional photographer should understand the hiccups and delays involved with working with families and children. Babies are so unpredictable and this is not the babies’, moms or photographers fault but purely the nature of the game. Most babies that are absolute angels and sleep through the night and have regular feeds will end up being niggly on the day that you need them to “behave”…. any mother will be able to testify to this.
A professional photographer should:
Here’s a few things that most babies and families do on photo shoots to make you feel more normal on your next photo shoot…
{babies} Cry…. alot…
{babies} Make at least one poo in their nappy while they are being positioned/posed…
{babies} Wee on the photographers blankets and props when you take their nappy off…
{babies} Refuse to sleep for the entire 2hour shoot…
{babies} Have scratches on their face from their little nails the morning they wake up for the shoot…
{babies} Flop out of position just before the photographer is ready to take the photo…
{babies} Burp up milk all over the photographer when he/she is being moved or lifted into a new pose…
{families} Argue about one persons outfit not matching everyone else’s or about someone not smiling properly…
{families} Have at least one person who doesn’t want to do the shoot or go along with the ideas given to them…
{families} Often one of the girls will wake up feeling very self conscious about a pimple that came out of nowhere on the day…
{families} One family member will steal the show and want to do a re-take from many different angles until they are happy with how they look…
{families} There’s almost always someone who messes/spills something on their clothes half way through the shoot…
{families} A mom will have to moan at her sons a few times “to behave” … “sit still”… “smile nicely”… “stop chewing your sisters arm” … “just one more picture and you can watch BenTen”
A professional photographer should be prepared for these situations… One thing to remember is that families are just families… everyone has the same sort of troubles and no family is without its hiccups. A professional photographer should see it this way and not be judgmental, no matter what the situation is. I don’t even notice half of these things anymore as it seems so natural to me after working with so many families.
I love photographing babies/children/families… I really do… And I strive to make every family feel at home during their photo shoot.
Your photographer should make your photoshoot as fun as possible and not sweat the small stuff. A blanket can easily be cleaned, a baby can easily be rocked to sleep, and a little tension can quickly be diffused with a joke or a funny face… All these experiences give your family character and it translates very well on camera… your photographer should make it work, no matter what.
So don’t fear in advance about your baby/family performing on the day of a shoot…
Posted in Tasty Tuesdays, Uncategorized on June 26, 2012 | 1 Comment »
I love making all sorts of homemade iced teas and fresh flavoured waters… I found this one on the net and am soooooo excited to try it out in December when I go visit my folks up in Richards Bay… (they always get massive watermelons and leave them floating in the pool until we slice them up and munch away on the patio having pip-shooting competitions— just a cool childhood memory I thought I’d share)
(photograph used from google – photographer was not mentioned)
A perfectly refreshing drink with watermelon, citrus, and the optional shot of vodka or tequila.
Makes: 12 servings
Adapted from The Pastry Queen
Estimated time to make : 20 minutes
Please Enjoy!
xoxo
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged best qualities, blogging, technology on June 21, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Makes you think hey?
Not everything comes to us straight away… but with practice comes improvement…. the reason I don’t use the word “perfection” is because artists never really find perfection in their own work and are forever seeking fault…. its just one of those things. Not one “our” best qualities but it keeps us busy! haha
Over and out
xox
Posted in Uncategorized, Wordless Wednesdays, tagged balloon, caterpillar, d photography, tae on June 20, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Posted in Personal, Uncategorized, tagged back of my mind, coffee shop, foodies, travel on June 18, 2012 | 3 Comments »
So I’ve finally admitted…. I’m addicted to blogging! I have decided to blog some each day of the week…. well, monday to friday at least…. and here’s what you can expect each day from me:
SATURDAYS and SUNDAYS are “me” days ;-) two days a week that I wont be sharing with my bloggers… but will be back again every monday ! So there is a reason to check in at least once a week… Looking forward to sharing with you all very very very soon!
Have a super duper day!
xxx
Posted in Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized, tagged luanda angola, motivational effect, politics, quotes, travel, vacation on June 14, 2012 | 4 Comments »
I came across this post by Iaan van Niekerk and it really struct a cord with me…
This is what he writes:
Sitting in a fancy hotel in Luanda, Angola. Catching up on work and emails. Surrounded by millions of people who are somewhere on the scale between extremely wealthy and upsettingly poor. And just about none of them have any idea who i am, what i do, or why it matters even the slightest bit.
This does not lead to a downward-spiral of negative thoughts and insignificance. Not today. I am instead overwhelmed by the idea that we so easily allow the people we know, in our circles (the internet or ‘real life’) to become the WHOLE WORLD. How a single person can have an opinion that could determine the direction of a new idea. How one negative or positive comment on your blog can motivate or discourage you from doing what you love. How a “like” or a “RT” can make your day or cause you to doubt the reason for doing things.
This is a joke. Our minds play a mean trick on us by convincing us that the verbal opinion of a very few are representing the entire world.
If you know why you are doing what you do, very few things will be able to influencewhat you do. Being amidst this crowd of unknown people in a foreign country without any opinion or approval or negativity surrounding my life and business has a strange motivational effect that i find hard to explain. The world is bigger than my mind. I want to be a part of it.
This post has been significantly influence by an amazing book that i think you should read – Start with Why by Simon Sinek(ref link)
Photo – Christine Meintjes
xxx
Posted in Family, Maternity, Newborn, Uncategorized, tagged baby photography, baby posing, Durban Newborn photography, home, relationships on June 13, 2012 | 11 Comments »
Baby Sivana Leah Stout was born on the 22 May 2012 and is the first child and daughter of Jess and Jason Stout… She is just too gorgeous and I got such pretty little moments of her! But boy-o-boy did she make me work for it! Shame, this little pumpkin and her mommy weren’t well on the day, and it was one of the more difficult shoots I’ve done but we all made the best of it and I got the most amazing images from it!
To my dear friend Jess and Jason, I hope Sivana brings you a lifetime of love, laughs and “nachas” :) Love to the 3 of you !!
Posted in Fashion/Modeling Portfolios, Portraits, Uncategorized, tagged beauty, character portraits, durban based, fashion, inspirational photography, sunny south africa on April 11, 2012 | 4 Comments »
