Archive for June, 2011

Prologue: Breugem Family

June 30th, 2011

  Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do.  ~Jean de la Bruyere
 

 

Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do.  ~Jean de la Bruyere

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Techie Tuesday | Pinterest

June 28th, 2011

My name is Briana, and I am addicted to Pinterest. There. I said it. I admit it. I am hooked. Have you been on Pinterest? If the answer is yes, I’m fairly certain you all just inhaled a squeak and exhaled a sigh. If the answer is no, please jump on the bandwagon! In addition [...]
 

My name is Briana, and I am addicted to Pinterest.

There. I said it. I admit it. I am hooked. Have you been on Pinterest? If the answer is yes, I’m fairly certain you all just inhaled a squeak and exhaled a sigh. If the answer is no, please jump on the bandwagon! In addition to being a virtual playland where you can spend hours looking at & sharing pretty things, it can also be an invaluable business resource! I promise I’ll try to keep my exclamation points to a minimum…(!)

 

Here is a quick peek at a few of my boards. Yes, that sassy thing to the left is me as a kiddo… I kinda wish I could rock that outfit today.

 

 

What started as a place to visit to lift my spirits, window shop, and occasionally drool, has turned into a source of inspiration and organization.Personally, I can keep track of book recommendations, hone my style & shop intentionally rather than impulsively, and created a vast list of DIY projects for my home. Being a big-picture person and a lover of planning, the inevitable “future” boards have popped up as well. I find these boards also give people an opportunity to dream, which we all need time for in our hectic lives. I am all about the inspiration board. Between photography, DIY/design projects, and some freelance event planning, my desk top can grow out of control with folders full of images that move me. If I had a dollar for every time James has wandered by and stared at me with a puzzled look on his face (as I am sitting with a huge stack of clipping & swatches, the focus of Jonathan Papelbon), I could probably buy everything on my style board ;) . Pinterest has released me from the mountains of paper, the loss of gigs of memory, the mess of folders, and provided me with a simple location to keep all of my inspiration in one neat space. A space  that (bonus points) I can access from anywhere.  Talk about a dream come true.

 

It hit me just recently… if one sweet little site keeps me this organized and inspired in my personal life, why on earth would I not use it for business? New boards popped up, new focus found. A few ways to use the boards:

* Visuals to help define your brand

* Inspiration for styled/concept portraits

* Save ideas for ways to connect with clients (paper, gifts, products they may be interested in)

* Research trends in publishing

* “Netmaking” : sharing the work of your peers

*Building community through repinning, comments, etc

*One more outlet to share your world, and either draw or repel people to you. Both are good. :)

 

I would LOVE to connect with you on Pinterest. You can find my profile here, a quick follow and hello and i’ll be thrilled to follow back! Sharing is caring. I can’t wait to stalk view your lovely pins and find the surprising ways that we are kindred spirits.

 

Cheers,

Briana

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Music Monday | Brian Wurzell

June 27th, 2011

Solace   I’ve been itching to post an instrumental piece for a few weeks, but it never seemed to fit the mood around my posting times. It has to feel right.   Thankfully, today is the perfect fit! Tonight, I am excited to join a gaggle of local photographers to experience the PASS Premiere Tour. [...]
 

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I’ve been itching to post an instrumental piece for a few weeks, but it never seemed to fit the mood around my posting times. It has to feel right. :)   Thankfully, today is the perfect fit! Tonight, I am excited to join a gaggle of local photographers to experience the PASS Premiere Tour. I hold to the classic model of “sharing is caring”, so I have a feeling PASS is going to be right up my alley. Mmmhmmmm.  A few hours soaking in the knowledge and passion of people as lovely as David Jay, Zach & Jody Gray,  and Promise Tangeman … there are few ways I would rather spend an evening!

Through my blog stalking “research”, I discovered that Promise Tangeman was married to Brian Wurzell, a talented musician and worship director. Talk about a creative dynamic duo!  This instrumental is from his Grace Ocean album, which is completely fitting… if I close my eyes and listen to this song, I find a similar peace that I would experience laying on the beach at night in Orange County.  I encourage you to take a few moments out of your busy day to close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and find some solace in the music… wherever that leads you.

 

Cheers, Briana

 

 

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Faux Ox | Boston portrait photographer

June 23rd, 2011

As is apparent by my Music Monday posts, music is a HUGE part of my life and my inspiration. I was flattered when Ben from Faux Ox connected with me to discuss promotional images for the band. We chose to split our time between the Usen Castle at Brandeis University, and a favorite hiking location [...]
 

As is apparent by my Music Monday posts, music is a HUGE part of my life and my inspiration. I was flattered when Ben from Faux Ox connected with me to discuss promotional images for the band. We chose to split our time between the Usen Castle at Brandeis University, and a favorite hiking location in Prospect Hill Park. I had a delightful time both chatting with and observing the band together. Ben, Anthony, and Jagdeep are anything but cookie cutter. It is refreshing to watch a small group of people so different in style and personality who have bonded over a love of music. My time with them made me nostalgic for my years in Orange County where I practically lived at places like Chain Reaction and  The Glass House.  Fellas, thank you so much for sharing this time with me. I look forward to enjoying one of your shows soon!

 

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Music Monday | The Head and the Heart

June 20th, 2011

Down In The Valley   Being introduced to a new band is one of those simple joys in life that I appreciate the most. I was only just exposed to this album about a week or so ago, so I do not have a in depth review of/connection to the music, other than I really [...]
 

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Being introduced to a new band is one of those simple joys in life that I appreciate the most. I was only just exposed to this album about a week or so ago, so I do not have a in depth review of/connection to the music, other than I really like it! Some days, that’s all you need. :)

If you like what you hear and find yourself wishing for more, The Head and the Heart were just featured on Daytrotter. I highly recommend bookmarking the site if you are looking for ways to get a constant music fix!

 

Cheers, Briana

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Kate & Allison pt. 1 | Carefree AZ Children’s Photographer

June 16th, 2011

For those of you who have followed me for some time, I have often alluded to time spent with two rather adorable children. To answer a question many frequently ask: these two girls are not “mine”… but they are my little gooses, and I love them oh so much. Meet Kate & Allie: When I [...]
 

For those of you who have followed me for some time, I have often alluded to time spent with two rather adorable children. To answer a question many frequently ask: these two girls are not “mine”… but they are my little gooses, and I love them oh so much.

Meet Kate & Allie:

When I moved to Boston nearly 2 years ago, I made the decision to pull back in my business for a short time, refocusing my goals and passion for the art, and only taking on jobs for friends and family.  Pondering how to pay the bills during this sabbatical time, and having a strong background with children, I opted to take a nanny position. I’ll never forget arriving for my interview, the door creaking open, and these 2 precious faces poking around the door frame. Backgrounds, experience, & philosophies were covered by the parents later, but for these girls, as they opened the door wider, there was only one important question to ask: Do you want to play with me?

And really… who could say no to those cheeks?

While our adventures year round are well documented, the family also hires me once a year to take portraits.  This year, our portrait time was split into 2 sessions. I was lucky enough to be able to travel to Carefree, AZ with this lovely family and spend a weekend with them at The Boulders Resort. The girls happily took a few moments from their busy poolside schedule to frolic and giggle for the camera!

Allison  informed me that these looks  should be called “happy goose” and “sassy pants”.  I can’t argue that.  ;)

I chose to end our session simply letting them do what they do best: enjoy each other

 

Look for more of these cute faces in the coming weeks, as I share our 2nd session from good ol’ Beantown. My work with these goobers will be significantly shorter starting this fall, but I’m happy to confirm that even as my business continues to grow again, I’ll still have consistent time to spend with Kate & Allison. I hope to be photographing them for many years to come. They may not be mine, but they have a huge piece of my heart!

 

Cheers, Briana

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Music Monday | Cary Brothers

June 16th, 2011

If You Were Here   I woke up this morning with an ache in my ear & dark clouds in the sky. I’m spending the day with little Allie (whom you will get a glimpse of later this week), and we have found the best way to spend a gloomy summer morning together: making monkey [...]
 

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I woke up this morning with an ache in my ear & dark clouds in the sky. I’m spending the day with little Allie (whom you will get a glimpse of later this week), and we have found the best way to spend a gloomy summer morning together: making monkey puppets, and watching Glee Encore. This lil girly loves a good cover song as much as I do, even if she only recognizes the radio hits. :)

This Thompson twins cover is waaaay before her time (shoot, it’s barely in my time), but it’s definitely a winner. I love the emotion Cary Brothers brings to this classic melody.

Cheers, Briana

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Artistic Longings

June 16th, 2011

  “Ask yourself about the source in your artistic longings. Why is it so necessary that you want to do your thing? How strong is it? Would you do it if it were forbidden? Illegal, punishable? Every work of art has its necessity, find out your very own. Ask yourself if you would do it, [...]
 

 

“Ask yourself about the source in your artistic longings. Why is it so necessary that you want to do your thing? How strong is it? Would you do it if it were forbidden? Illegal, punishable? Every work of art has its necessity, find out your very own. Ask yourself if you would do it, if nobody would ever see it, if you would never be re-compensated for it, if nobody ever wanted it. If you come to a clear [yes], in spite of it, then go ahead and don’t doubt it anymore.”

-Ernst Haas, photographer 1921-1986

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Techie Tuesday | CardStar

June 9th, 2011

I will admit it, I have a love/hate relationship with technology. When used wisely, we can stay organized, connect with friends & loved ones, stay on top of current events, and keep life running smoothly. When used poorly, our lives can become fragmented, and we end up spending more time slingshotting birds than interacting with [...]
 

I will admit it, I have a love/hate relationship with technology. When used wisely, we can stay organized, connect with friends & loved ones, stay on top of current events, and keep life running smoothly. When used poorly, our lives can become fragmented, and we end up spending more time slingshotting birds than interacting with out world. My goal for Techie Tuesday is to take the knowledge I gain as an avid internet/planning/research junkie, and share with my community the best ways I have found to harness it. These posts may not come weekly, but they’ll definitely pop up when I discover something that is worth passing around!

Knowing my weakness for distraction, my iPhone apps are limited to helpful tools (maps, yelp, news, Shazam, etc), business usage (fb, twitter, gmail) and the only selective fun I allow are photo (instagram, camera+) , WordsWithFriends, and Sudoku.  I’m always on the lookout for an app that will make life simpler, and running mad from those which will drain my battery and my time. Today, I found a new app that will fit within the former: CardStar!

I am a discount fanatic and the stack of loyalty/membership cards in my wallet is becoming obscene. I sometimes like to pretend the wallet bulge is just a wad of Benjamins, but let’s face it, I don’t roll like that. CardStar, thank you for both slimming my wallet and curbing my delusions of grandeur. ;)

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Music Monday | Kate Earl

June 9th, 2011

Only In Dreams   I am addicted to Pandora. Through one little website I am able to experience an endless mixed tape experience, discover new artists, and enjoy a broader range of music without draining my bank account. What’s not to love? Kate Earl is one of those artists that I have grown to love [...]
 

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I am addicted to Pandora. Through one little website I am able to experience an endless mixed tape experience, discover new artists, and enjoy a broader range of music without draining my bank account. What’s not to love?

Kate Earl is one of those artists that I have grown to love through Pandora. I owned her first album and gave it sporadic attention. However, her station is a perfect blend of female singer-songwriters, mellow enough for work, melodic enough to keep me charmed. Plus, this specific song has the benefit of making me feel like I’m in a movie. That’s right, I often imagine my life with a soundtrack. Crazy enough, the right song at just the right moment adds a world of pleasure to my day. You really should try it sometime. :)

Cheers, Briana

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