Revelation aka Fast Track Photographer

Ok I have to share this one with you. I picked up this book http://fasttrackphotographer.com/ on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Track-Photographer-Definitive-Photography/dp/0981745504 a couple of weeks ago and can't get enough of it. The author is a world famous wedding photographer Dane Sanders and in this book he shares the amazing and at times difficult journey that he had to go through when he was establishing his brand name. It's hard to describe this book in a few words but consider this: if you're thinking of making a business (of any kind!) this book is a MUST READ. If you're willing and ready to absorb this informaiton and apply it your life you will succeed. This book made me look inside of myself, my soul, my work, my relationships with others when going through such a huge stage in life as creating a business. I love this book and I will recommend it to anyone who's having the same thoughts run through their heads. It's got one more really cool feature: pDNA that helps you realize what your strong and weak points are and how to work with them most effectively. It truly opened my eyes on how I see myself as a person, as a photographer and most importantly - how others see me. I have already started applying some of the principles and looking forward to the amazing results! If you haven't got a copy, they're still avaliable on Amazon.com. :)

Cheers!

Fun in the back alley!

Wow this was something new! I didn't know anything was happening until Tim started calling Alex and I to come and look outside. I'm so glad we did!! This cute little cart (or is it called differently??) was making its way back and forth in our back alley with the cute little boy behind the wheel. How cool was that??:)) I swear I sooo wanted to be in that car!! :))) Anybody drove it?

I am determined...

....to get enough sleep every night from now on. For some of you it may not be of importance because you've been going to bed at normal hours anyways...good for you, that's awesome. Unfortunately I've come to realize that if I want to keep functioning well I simply gotta sleep! Anybody ever had this problem?? I always find something to do after Tim's in bed - whether it's reading, chatting, watching TV or editing photos...all of this is important but I've set the limit - no staying up after 10:30. Hope I can stick to it. :) Wish me luck! And you'll see even more smiles from me...haha..:):)

Tim said a funny thing today...he was taking a bath after his swimming class tonight and suddenly this fly flies right into the bathroom and Tim was so startled! :) I think I haven't seen a fly since fall and we've had a couple of +20C days so they're awakening again...We also just watched The Golden Compass and there were spy flies there so I guess that's why Tim got scared..:) I go: Tim, don't be scared, it's only a fly, see how tiny it is?...And I show him with my hands that he is BIG and the fly is liiiiitle...And Tim goes: When I was little I was a fly??? hehe...:):) My baby....

Nity nite!

Summer's almost here!

Yesterday we had an awesome day, Alex put aside his books for a couple of hours and we went to Prince's Edward Island in the downtown Calgary for a bike ride with Tim...awww fun times!

Tim rocks on monkey bars!
Climbing, climbing, and more climbing.... :) I got a lot to learn from Tim - he moves all the time, never stops, always explores new things and that's what I should be doing, too!
He doesn't really care for the size of the slide either...

Hi there!

Alex thought it was so cool that he could see his reflection in my sunglasses that he had to take a picture of that..haha..:)

Like father like son...

This one is hilarious because Tim was riding his bike with his eyes closed while Alex was running after him (exercise for both hehe)...Reminded me of a Will Farrell movie about that car racer that wanted to trust his instincts...what was his name?? A! Ricky Bobby! :):):) Maybe not the best analogy but you get the point..:) I didn't know Tim was doing it until I looked at the photos at home...He often tries to walk with his eyes closed , too...What can that mean?

My love...

Can't remember if it was a "let-me-tell-you-a-secret" moment or a "let-me-shout-in-your-ear-very-loud moment"...haha..:) we had both...

We saw lot of cute little ducks, too...I'm guessing it's their mating period as we also saw some of the male ducks fighting for a female, very fierce!

What a handsome guy!

Yours truly.:)

Do schools kill creativity???

Hi everyone! I'd like to share something with you. I stumbled across this amazing video on Youtube and found it absolutely amazing! It'll be really interesting for either those families with kids or without.



Sir Ken Robinson is a highly motivational speaker, I love his British humor, too! :) His ideas on creativity in school or rather lack of creativity (modern as well as schools in the past) resonate so much with me. If you think of it what he says is so true...Watch the video and let me know what you think!

[b]ecker in Calgary?? yeah baby!!!

Hi everyone!! There's a great chance of [b]ecker http://www.beckersblog.com/ coming to teach in Calgary if there's enough interest, he requires 25-30 people per day for his workshop. I am trying to figure out how many of you would be able to come?? The fee would be only $250 per person (I'm guessing it's USD). I think it's an awesome way to network and learn from a professional! Let me know what you guys think. Please feel free to forward it to your friends who might be interested! I'll keep you posted on any updates.

UPDATE: POSSIBLE TIME - FALL, DAYS - TUESDAY AND IF THERE'S ENOUGH INTEREST - WEDNESDAY AS WELL!

Please let me know what your thoughts are about it and thanks a bunch!! :)))

UPDATE: ok so far we have about 14-15 people who would like to attend - that's fantastic!!! Keep it coming!!

What the Duck - point and shoot

And it all starts so good...haha! :):):) Luv the Duck!

I`m feeling so much better today, we even went to visit our good friends Andrey and Sveta whom we haven`t seen forever. Another wonderful couple came with their baby and we had so much fun making `manty` (it`s sort of like ravioli only BIGGER and YUMMIER) , Sveta made her own sauce for them (yogurt, mayo, garlic and herbs) and oh my god it was delicious!!! oh! They were so good that even when i got full I couldn`t stop eating them...:) And before we had tea we went for a walk in the beautiful Silver Springs walkway and enjoyed the most gorgeous sunset. It was....spectacular! Ahhh...what a great Friday!

The day before Friday.

So I spent most of the day in bed yesterday - I failed fighting the bug and woke up with huge headache and a sore throat...yikes. It's the first time I've been sick in months and I forgot how nasty it is. I felt good only when I was horizontal, as soon as I got up I got sick...I'm better today, thank goodness! yay! I went to work, still walked a bit like a zombie there but managed to contribute something still..:) Tim and I went to the swimming pool for his practice, I'm telling ya nothing heals you better that watching your kid have fun..:):)

I remembered how a couple of days ago I was reading Tim a bedtime story about letters and alphabet (Alex and I find it awesome that he's so fascinated with the idea of going to school!) and at the end I asked Tim: "So what's your favourite letter?" And he goes: "B", I wondered why and he says after a pause: "Because!"...:))) haha...so I ask him what his favourite letter is again and this time he says "U", I go "Why?" :) And Tim says....ok are you ready for this???...he says:

"Because YOU love me!"...awww!!! my baby...

I'm excited about the long weekend coming up and hopefully seeing some of our friends...that's what the weekends should be for, right? :)

Secret location photo shoot- more photos.

If you haven't checked out the sneak peak it's here: http://lanagurevichphotography.blogspot.com/2009/03/secret-location-shoot.html

I'm so glad I have time right now to go over hundreds of photos of my co-worker Elaine who has been one of the best models for me! You rock, E! It's hard to believe that the images below are all of the same girl. If you have any questions on post processing, etc please feel free to ask. I'm no expert by any means but i'll try and find the answer for ya! You're more than welcome to leave comments as well.:):) Well enough of yadda-yadda-yadda, on to the photos!

Day 3

It's been 3 days now that Tim's sick, the fever won't go down and keeps at 38.2 - 38.3C inspite of Tylenol. He seems to be ok though, playing as he usually does and wants his friends to come over for a visit.:) He's a bit overexcited though with his cheeks red and just can't seem to find a spot to sit for even a minute. "Mommy I'm fine, let's phone Dilan and Dallas and we can play!"...:) D&D are his new friends he met on Wednesday, they are my friend's sons. I feel like I'm getting some sort of bug, too, my temperature is at 36.9 - 37.2C and I feel like c**% honestly (pardon my language). Alex had to go to school today so Tim and I are just vegging at home. Several days ago Alex brought me flowers and to my surprise they're still as beautiful and fresh as they were on the day he gave them to me.:) awww!
These photos were taken with Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS that I borrowed for my last week's first boudoir session, so I was testing it and practicing. Did very little post processing on these. Loved this lens!

What the Duck

Oh my goodness I had to post this for you guys!! If you haven't checked the What The Duck.net drop everything and go to this website http://www.whattheduck.net/ - I betcha you'll get a positive charge for the day! I'll be posting these more often now 'cause I need positive energy..:) Do you know any other funny websites?? Let me know!

My boy or the power of a kiss....

My little guy is feeling under the weather today...Last night he got home with a fever that wouldn't go away. He seems to be fine until you touch his forehead - it's burning, last time I measured his temperature it was 38.3C - yikes. For those of you who read my blog and have kids you know what it's like when your baby is sick - with all your heart you wish for a quick recovery...Tim was crying yesterday because I wouldn't take him to the swimming class (he was at 38.9C at that time) and says to me "Mommy, kiss me so I get better" So I did and then he says "See, I'm ok now, we can go swimming" with his cheeks red and eyes watery...I wish we could fix everything with a kiss, that would be so cool! Just like Tim's dayhome provider Jan said to me one day "You know that MOM is backwards WOW". So true!

More smiles....

Here's some more photos from the family I blogged about in my last post. Was it ever hard to select just a few to post here...:) Again thanks sooo much you guys!