Instagram Moments – March 2012

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away”
Hilary Cooper

Here we go, another installment of what was happening in my Instagram world in the last month. I am getting more and more addicted to the app, and consider it one of the smartest on the market. The secret is the simplicity of it, and the most enormous reach.  But for me the best thing about it is the accessibility of the tool (iPhone magic!) that allows me to capture fleeting moments. I am in love with moments. If you are still not on it, join! And follow, @AnastasiART.

This month I have also ventured into the “photo a day” project, my very first.

Snippets of my life in the last four weeks: rainbows, sunsets, lots of blue cheese and red wine, walks in The Rocks, dew covered grass and spider webs glittering like Swarovski crystals, catch-ups with dear friends in the rain, making new friends, and a Sydney-Adelaide flight.

Life is beautiful.

 

 

 

Just the Two of Us

“Only in the eyes of love you can find infinity”

– Sorin Cerin

 

I was away in sunny Adelaide last weekend to photograph two beautiful people link their hearts forever.  The day was perfect from beginning to end, filled with love. Here is a couple of my favourite moments captured that day.

Port Willunga Wedding, McLaren Vale Wedding, Adelaide Wedding

 

And much more to come. Nicola and Rene, enjoy Maldives!

The Rocks, The Bridge, The Lovely Couple

“As long as there’s the two of us

We’ve got the world and all its charms

And when the world it through with us

We’ve got each other’s arms”

–  The Glory of Love by Billy Hill

Gorgeous light, beautiful people in love and Sydney. What can be more perfect? Introducing one of my most favourite couples, and their engagement shoot that happened in The Rocks. Ah, that sunset….

Excitement Beyond Belief


Ok where to start, where to start, where to start… I feel like a kid on Christmas morning! Reason? Justin and Mary are coming Down Under!

Deep breath. Now from the very beginning.

For a few years now every single weekday morning I start my computer, open the browser, hit Favourites and click  ‘Visit Daily’ folder.

There are a few links to wedding photography blogs in that folder. My every single morning is brighter because of the amazing photographers who share their knowledge, their art, their love for all things photography.  Justin and Mary are one of them.

It is so hard to put in words how thankful I am for all the things I have learned from their blog. About everything – how to love and cherish every single moment of your life, how to take amazing photos, how to go out of your way for your clients, how to be there for your loved ones, how to write, how to live your dreams. Inspiration spills from the screen and hits my heart when I read Mary’s words. Every.Single.Post.

On 4th of December 2011 my alarm went off at 3 am in the morning. I am a no stranger to early starts due to my 6am yoga classes and pre-dawn trips to the beach with my camera and tripod, but 3 am was early even for me! I made myself a giant cup of coffee, turned my two (yes, two, to make sure I have the best connection) laptops on and went to Justin and Mary’s website. For their Live Chat. I would not miss it for the world, the opportunity to learn even more  from one the most generous teams I know.

I took many pages of notes. I drank plenty of coffee. I felt immensely grateful for the mind-blowing technology and possibilities we have these days – the sun is rising, I sit here, in Sydney, at 5am, in my pj’s in my living room and watch and interact with people on the other side of the world and absorb the priceless knowledge they so open-heartedly share with all of us, and it is still yesterday where they are!!!

And then Justin starts talking about their plans for 2012. And then he says the word  ‘Australia’. And then I start jumping around the living room, almost like Celia Foote from “The Help”, spilling coke (in my case – coffee) around the place. Honestly I couldn’t believe it, it was like the moment I realized I could actually go to a concert and watch my favourite rock-star LIVE!!!

Here we are, 13 weeks later, I open the blog and I see – “Announcing… Walk through AUSTRALIA!!”

Why I want to attend? Because I love you guys. Because I am forever grateful for who you are and how you give back. Because I am in awe of your photographic vision. Because I want to dream big (and I do).

I will be at my computer tomorrow morning at 9 am waiting for the registration to open. In the last year I have felt like my dreams were coming true non-stop. I want to thank you, in person, for helping me to get closer to where I want to be.

 

 

The Road Ahead and the Leap Year

“You must listen to the whisper which is heard by you alone”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

So here we are, it is the last day of February, and the promise is kept – here is my self portrait for the last month of summer.  It is a last day of February on a leap year.

The weather this summer was weird. But I didn’t mind. Why? Because I spent A LOT of time in front of my computer during summer months. Since we live in a split-level apartment, and the aircon is only available in the living room downstairs, it can get really (read: unbearably) warm in the office upstairs. The advantage of cool summer is the ability to be upstairs and not suffer from dehydration and total brain-melt, and actually being productive.

I wrote my goals in January. I started making them real in February. I knew what the road ahead was going to be like – tough but rewarding. Exciting. The path to walk, the way to grow. So many exciting things lay ahead. I look forward to them, whatever it takes. Leap year. The keyword is ‘leap’. The only way to go is up, and that is what I tried to capture in this month’s self-portrait.

Ah yes, it was my birthday month too! When else to take stock of your life and things to be grateful for than on you birthday?

February Self Portrait

Wishing every one of you an amazing leap year ahead. We have an extra day this year, imagine how many exciting things you can fit it in extra 24 hours!