holiday cards mini sessions

Neighborhood Mini Sessions! Yes, it's that time of year already - let's start thinking about holidays - time to get your cards ready! The cards are the main purpose of those sessions so you can get them  ready to be sent way before all holiday craziness starts!
Here are the details:
Saturday October 29th every 30 minutes starting at 3:30-6 p.m. (Saturday, Nov 5th rain-check)
Meet me at the playground area at Horgan Ct at your reserved time.
Your session will last 25 min and cost $225 (please add 5% VA tax) - within a week you will get:
- a link to your own online gallery with 10 pictures (or more) accessible for 10 days;

- 11x14 print and a digital file of the same
additional prints available for purchase. Free www.tinyprints.com upload of every picture you ordered print of, with no minimum order required! Upload of any additional, unordered picture $50 each.

If you would be interested in other date, time of day - please let me know -maybe there is more people like you so we could make it happen.
For more information on pricing please e-mail me - malina@malinaphotography.com
Please email me at malina@malinaphotography.com to reserve your spot or if you have any questions.
Hope to see you Saturday!
Malina

here is to the crazy ones

"The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented" Barack Obama
Rest in Peace Steve Jobs. You will be missed.

nothing twice

Nothing can ever happen twice.
In consequence, the sorry fact is
that we arrive here improvised
and leave without the chance to practice. 

Even if there is no one dumber,
if you're the planet's biggest dunce,
you can't repeat the class in summer:
this course is only offered once. 

by Wisława Szymborska 

translated by Stanisław Barańczak and Clare Cavanagh

How I wish for a second chance sometimes, simple do-over, or just for no regrets at NOT doing something. And since it is a photographer's blog I'll start with pictures. Yes there are regrets in this department too - I photographed a family recently, didn't think much when taking pictures of two boys being silly and their grandmother trying not to burst into laughter. It was fun and natural, the moments I strive to catch in my photography. And then while editing I looked at those pictures and my eyes got teary. Not that they were that great, I'm the last one to admit  "greatness" of my own work ( let alone cry over it :)!) and there is always room for improvement, but they were GREAT and a thought struck me, and my heart  started aching... I realized I wanted those pictures to be mine, meaning my family in them, my mom with my kids. I realized I don't have pictures like that...oh how I wish... but there are no do-overs...heartbroken...
Elena - thank you for sharing your beautiful family with me and for ...making me cry :)

rurki z kremem

and a taste well remembered from childhood. And now - it get's a little teary from here - becoming a taste of childhood of my own children *sniffle*.

What are they? Simply, they are little tubes made out of crispy wafers and filled with  rich whipped cream. Yum. And we found the best spot in Warsaw to get them - Kręcimy Lody Bracia Gessler ...And the best man to make them Pan Ryszard - the master maker of rurki z kremem. Thank you for bringing back my sweetest childhood memories and letting my children learn what it was all about :). 

at cooks'

or rather " U kucharzy"- it's a new restaurant in Warsaw, placed in an old hotel (former Hotel Europejski) kitchen - old kitchen floors, tiled walls, sinks serving as vases; furnished with rustic wooden furniture and serving rustic, Polish, home-made, simple and oh so yummy fare - recommend :) You cannot see the food here , or smell it, or taste... but at least you can see it being prepared - amazing experience!

poland - here we come

...and we landed in Warsaw. Of course there were troubles (just little ones) - 2 hour delay already at Dulles Airport, our starting point, so we had to run like crazy to catch our connecting flight to Warsaw. It was tiring but we got there on time and the fun began.. .and the jet lag of course. ;) First impressions -  sunny but not hot (yippee!!) - we were prepared for that but it always surprises us how nice the summer can be in Poland - 75F and sunny, with some beautiful white clouds coming and going - just perfect. And it looks so much nicer when it isn't raining. Tired but happy to have landed ( I'm not too fond of flying) off we went to Old Town. Second first impression - people not so happy :(  - a Polish trait I guess. And it is contagious - so sad :(

 

film, film, film...

the photographic kind. No it is not dead, it just smells funny - I found this one somewhere - lol. But everybody is asking why I want to go back, backwards is not progress. But maybe, just maybe I want to entertain a thought that it is - I learned a lot over the last 10 years of digital photography, I can't deny it, but there is something missing. It's just like reading a book on kindle - it's still the same content, it just feels differently. Maybe it's how my brain was wired for reading when I was little, liking the sound of page turning and having no problem with visually remembering the plot - two thirds of the book, right page, first half bottom left -about that - oh there it was :). I'm pretty sure my kids' brains are wired completely different - and a book, real paper kind, might soon feel like forgotten past to them, and they won't have problems recalling the contents of any book read on an ipad. But to me it just feels right. Same with film  - not that from now on I'll use only that - I want to stay up to date. It just makes you all giddy, no instant gratification of a digital, no rush and no clicking senselessly - film is more expensive - use it wisely :). And after having it developed - no more time spent at the computer editing, I'll have my life back and some photos will get printed - how perfect! So would you say that maybe, and only maybe(?) it is progress after all :)
I recently used my first roll of film, Kodak Ektar 100, after 10 years of digital. It was a little scary (especially that my old film camera doesn't have AF) and a lot refreshing and I was in awe the first moment I picked it from a lab. Not at my skills, oh no - I was just rushing through those 36 frames to get it to the lab and see with my very eyes the capabilities of film. I'm still in awe.
Till next time.
M.

happy hour

two happy photographers, one helpful employment lady, more crowd, lost raffle ticket (sorry Rashmi - I wasn't lying - I have good memory for numbers :(), found raffle ticket, too late, too funny, just a happy hour at Jaleo for Community Lodgings volunteer appreciation event.
"Community Lodgings’ mission is to lift families from homelessness and instability to independence and self-sufficiency." - and what a great mission it is.
It was my great pleasure and privilege  to photograph wonderful families that I wouldn't have the opportunity to meet if it weren't for Jim Dempsey of Community Lodgings and Rashmi of Rashmi Pappu Photography's invitation to volunteer.  Thanks to both, and to the families who were posing for portraits to be cherished for ever.

ten years later

with a kid, and still fitting in her wedding dress- a round of applause, please!!! - let me introduce the glowing bride on her 10th anniversary. She didn't have her bridal portraits taken on her rainy wedding day so she decided to be  a trouper, and conquered the mud of Lake Cook, or rather Bog Cook :), in her wellies quite bravely. Thank you A.!! And here is a reveal of what three crazy photographers and one lady in her wedding dress were up to on that perfectly lit evening. Some of my favorites:

Thank you Rashmi for the invite. It was muddy, and a bit smelly, but FUN!

mother's day again

so some musings are due. It's May 26 and that means it's "Dzień Matki" or Mother's Day in Poland, my home country. It brings back a lot of memories from my childhood and a lot of reflections, again:).
I miss my mom - she died of Alzheimer's 3 years ago at the age of 63. Too soon...I only have some pictures of her from my childhood - she always shooed my father with his camera away. But how I wish I had more. Especially of us together. Hugging, kissing, walking, skating, hanging out in our pajamas the whole day - just together.... I cannot bring back time so now it's time to think of my own kids, and it's even more challenging since I'm the house photographer. I want them to have fond memories of our time together and photos will refresh their memory every so often. I feel like I'm running out of time though - they are growing so fast, not so snugly and cuddly any more, so it's a little testing to show the love when there is so many other emotions mixed in. But those are good, too. I wish I had an unposed picture to illustrate but I don't - I'll be better this year, I promise:) But here I am with my lovely not so little ones.

And here is my call to all the moms out there! Don't wait till you lose weight, be well rested, have a good-hair-day etc. - have a picture taken - of YOU! alone or with kids! Your parents are going to love it and your kids will cherish it for ever. The picture of  the most beautiful mom in the world - you!

And you can win a free session to do just that!

 Please go to http://www.facebook.com/malinaphotography and "like" my page and then send me an e-mail to malina@malinaphotography.com saying why you would like to win this "mom session" ( just for you or you and your babies) - less than 500 words please;). 3 contenders will be chosen by June 15th and than we will do a fb voting part. Have fun! Can't wait to read your stories! Malina

wonderful years

I was working on a personal project recently. My father's birthday was coming.70th. I had ideas and projects piling up for years (yes, you read it right - years!!) and I finally found motivation to tackle one of them.
My dad was our family photographer and he was following us with his camera a lot. And you know what it means - lots of photos,  actually slides, taken on different occasions like vacations, holidays and walks in a park. How priceless is it to have at least some memories preserved like that? I had all the slides scanned for several years already, but never found time to go about fixing them - yes, a lot of time had passed since they were new :) but finally I couldn't find any more excuses - after some work on some of them, lots on others and none on the rest I sent them to print. I was in awe when I saw them on paper- beautiful, just beautiful and so , so moving…after shedding a couple of tears and promising myself that soon I'll print them all for my own use I put them in a box and sent them to my dad. Happy Birthday!

More pictures/scans coming soon!

birthdays

and birthday parties - a lot of preparations and a bit of fun ;). I cannot believe it's been 12 years already. What now? Middle school, choices, decisions, independence *sniffle*... growing up...it's happening too fast... I'm not ready!!
Happy Birthday żabko!(transl: froggie :)) - hope you still need me from time to time...

cream puffs plus girl talk

equals perfectly spent Friday afternoon! Thank you Ms. Connie! Here is the recipe for you. They are so easy to make and oh-so-yummy!

Puffs:
1 cup of flour
1 cup of water ( I use a tiny bit less)
100 g of butter (a little less than one stick for those metric-system-impaired)
4 eggs
a pinch of salt

Filling:
heavy whipping cream
sugar to taste

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 390 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or butter it and rinse with water (my method).

In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and sift the flour directly into the pan. Stir the mixture into a paste with a wooden spoon. Return the pan to a medium heat. Stir the mixture until it pulls away from the sides of the pan and is slightly shiny, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the paste to a medium bowl, and beat with a wooden spoon until slightly cooled, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each one thoroughly before adding the next. Before adding the last egg, beat it in a small bowl. Adding it by tablespoons to the mixture, just until the batter is smooth and tight. If the batter starts to get loose, do not add all of the last egg.
Using a large spoon  form the dough into the mounds on prepared baking sheet. You can use a pastry bag to do it to - I prefer a rustic, spoon method - less to clean :).
Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes until golden brown and the puffs are light, airy, and crisp. It may take a little longer (up to 40 min) depending on the size of your spoon :D and thickness of the dough. Cool on a rack.
In the meantime beat the whipping cream on high with your mixer. When almost done add a little bit of sugar ( I add about a teaspoon per pint of cream). Ready.
Cut the puffs and fill with cream. Sprinkle with a little bit of powdered sugar and voilà!

I make about 25 puffs from this recipe and they disappear the same day!

Enjoy!

breakfast in bed and mother's day reflections

10:56 a.m.... knock knock...room service - isn't that the sweetest thing?… the breakfast was yummy, and Marysia said she hadn't had hers yet (at 11a.m.!!) because she'd been making mine all morning...awwww….how lovely - maybe even sweeter than her mango-strawberry-watermelon salad- yum.

  I don't celebrate mother's day usually - just awkward to celebrate your own holiday. Usually I spend my day in my garden, contemplating herbal aromas and beautiful flowers yet to be planted, cook something simple or go out to early dinner. But this year is different, it really feels like I deserve a day off - after 2 weekends of sleepless, kid's-stomach-ache-filled, nights, I find myself succumb to a not-a-kind-of mom-I-strive-to-be - a sensation I'm not too proud of :(. So I let myself reflect a little on my "behavior", and other stuff, too, and it feels like mother's day is a perfect opportunity to do just that.

  But for those of you who want this blog post to be about my "new years resolutions on how to be a better mom/person" - you don't have to read any further since my musings are mostly photographic in nature this year. I spent a lot of time recently on a personal project, photographic one, too ( stay tuned - soon will write about that one) and was lucky enough to have found several pictures of my mom, some of them with little me!! Such a rush of memories and feelings and…… regret of having only a handful…There is no redo on all those years that we are not in the pictures with the rest of our family…unfortunately.  I know those endless excuses of bad-hair-days, sleepless nights, pounds to shed etc. before we even let ourselves in front of a camera but I also know this - it all doesn't matter because for our kids we are still the most beautiful moms, make-up or no. I know because my mom, on those several rediscovered pictures, is just that - the most beautiful mom in the world. I 'm so happy to have those memories preserved. I miss you, Mom…

And I have some ideas how to turn us - invisible moms - into award nominated best or best supporting ones at least. I'll keep you posted. Malina

my Mom and I, Baltic Sea circa '77
photo by my father

up close and ...

I usually don't share too much personal work, or life here on my blog. This year I decided to change it and start showing you more of what I really love or …hate. Yes, those small little pesky things that gnaw at you and cause that itch to write about them on your blog. But let's start with nice.
It's easy to take pictures and I can take a nice portrait of anyone at any time. It's very much different with your loved ones, especially the kids. Yes you have access to them at almost all times and they should be comfortable in front of a lens by now (well after over 10 years of being followed by an odd person with a camera in hand)- sounds easy but is it? Well, the first problem encountered is making them sit for you - how do I ask/bribe/threaten them to comply? Once they actually sit, or stand or lie down for me to take the picture how do I make them stay for longer than 3 seconds without falling into a weird, silly, ugly face mode? Once that is solved how do I capture true them?
An honest, sincere, real portrait - that's what I'm striving for and I still hope it's doable. I'm still trying to get that natural genuine expression, that unposed posed portrait that when you look at it you feel like you have an immediate connection with that person, that vulnerable state in between poses… still trying and won't stop till I get it right. Not easy but nobody said it would be…And to illustrate - lucky to capture this genuine serene joy.

spring is in the air?

...really? I can't believe how long this winter seems to be. Looks like another wintry season is upon us despite already wilting daffodils in our garden, and cherry blossoms, although not yet fully relished, already saying good bye. Well, even our four legged fur-ball refuses to enjoy such a spring, still hibernating at my feet - oh, how warm that feels!!  So I just have one request to whomever it may concern, and whoever is responsible for this mess - Spring, please come asap!! 

love, love, love...

love, love, love,
love, love, love,
love is all you need...
...and maybe a   Valentine's Day Giveaway   - a free one hour session* for you and your loved ones and a CD of 15 high resolution fully edited images. And there maybe more than one winner, too. ;)
How to enter?
Please like my  facebook page here and leave a comment below saying why you would like to win. It's that easy.
The winner will be announced on Wednesday, February 15th.
Now go spread the love and leave some trace here… ask your friends to do the same..and the friends of your friends...:)
And what would be a photographer's blog post without a picture?
Well, here goes: this time "real" pictures - i.e. painted by my daughter 6 years ago, in kindergarten - real gems that I just found in my computer (while looking for something entirely different :))

* session to take place by the end of may 2011

yellow

when I started this journey with Marta Locklear I never thought I would last till now. And here I am, still inspired by colors and textures around. Here is my take on yellow with any texture I want:

feeling blue

blue and nubby:)- love, love , love blue!