throughout 2012 – part II

oh boy i actually loved doing this! you know as i mentioned before regarding style, i was going to choose the photos for these posts and then edit them again, but the i thought that the whole idea behind these posts is exactly going back and look at what happened, the changes, the improvements, the learning experiences, and so on. so it’s nice to choose and share these with you. let’s keep going to the second part, shall we?

july

i went to oporto to shoot my third wedding this year and took the chance to spend the whole weekend there. i was in oporto several times during my whole life, but always working, so it was good to have a whole day by myself to wander around and take pictures. i also had a maternity photo session on a beach and it was such a lovely summer morning! other than that i did the usual, wandered in lisbon taking pictures and one afternoon, after work, i poured down a glass of white wine and watched the sunset from my balcony. i miss that view! we also took mr kobe to the beach again and played with him, teasing him to go into the water! i was invited to another press conference by ikea as the new catalogue was coming out soon!

august

i shot my fourth wedding right before going on vacations to the southwest of portugal. it was a great break… a few days just relaxing, camping, taking pictures, eating good food and soaking up the sun! when i returned i went to visit the very first ikea hotel in lisbon, with beds in a typical lisbon park, and people would actually spend the night watching the stars! i also took the rest of the month to build my new brand – hello twiggs. i designed a new website and organized all my services so that people could find me in an easier way and actually understand what i do – photography, web-design and graphic design. and of course, i also redesigned this blog for its current look! i ended up the month with a maternity photo session on the beach of a very pregnant girl! she looked happy and amazing!

september

after receiving quite a positive feedback about my new brand and look, september was quite a month! we found ourselves signing a contract for a new and much bigger place that was just two streets away from our home! i traveled to oporto for another photo session for this brand and i did another maternity session, this time indoors! it was a great experience and the couple beyond amazing! their chemistry is undeniable and they completely show themselves and interact for the camera, all this by actually being themselves. during the month of september there were also a lot of fires around lisbon, due to the heat and really mean and sick people. the skies were often really orange, and though for the worse reasons, sunsets were incredibly beautiful. i was saying goodbye to my living-room and its beautiful light!

october

we moved into our new home and felt really blessed! it was a much bigger place, with two rooms, a full walk-in closet and a backyard! first few weeks were really stressful with mr kobe, because he was getting used to the place, noises and neighbours and because we were on the ground-floor, he barked all the time, whenever someone left or entered the building. i was really tired! nevertheless, i was really booked this month with four photo sessions, and actually just two were published! one was a maternity photo session, two others were a family photo session and the last one was quite different – an interiors photo shoot! i explored more of lisbon, its gardens and secret corners and fell in love with jardim da tapada das necessidades! still debating my style…

november

was quiet regarding photo sessions as i did none, but was full editing the ones i had shot on october, web-design work, etsy orders and preparing for the upcoming wedding season. i took my camera a few times when i walked mr kobe as the light was gorgeous in lisbon! i visited the botanical garden once more and explored more and more photographically! light and shadows have been my favourite topics! mr twiggs and i also celebrated three years together and the whole month seemed like a celebration to the most beautiful fall colours in lisbon! my mother in law cleared her old house, where they lived for almost 40 years, and she passed on to me some things that belonged to mr twiggs grandfather – two old cameras and a video camera.

december

december, my birthday, christmas and new year’s eve arrived so fast! i celebrated my 32nd birthday, we ordered from our favourite italian restaurant and drank delicious white wine! i had two photo sessions this month – one baptism and a maternity shoot in amsterdam! yes, in amsterdam! i traveled there for four days, loved it but missed lisbon colours and weather during winter. little after 3pm would get dark and it felt strange and really hard to work on these conditions, if you are a natural light photographer. i’m still working on both shoots! december is also the month of christmas and time with family, and so we did all these things! we ate good food, i baked cakes, we drank wine and even mr kobe and his “cousin” got a present from santa! and on christmas day i even got to see a beautiful rainbow!

and this was it – 2012! it was a very good year. so many learning experiences, so many joys and also a few days of hard situations to deal with, but as we know those situations, both the happy and hard ones are what makes us grow and feel stronger every new day. it’s just a matter of thinking that every day is a new day. so here’s to 2013! i hope to make it a heel of a ride!