We're so sneaky!

So...my gracious in-laws religiously babysit our 2 kids every weekend so we can shoot weddings. They LOVE spending time with their grandkids and we love knowing that they are in good hands. Honestly, we couldn't do it without them. For years we tried coming up with a way to thank them but really, what do you give to people who just buy whatever they want?? MIL has been saying over and over again in passing that she wishes her basement was finished and she wishes the kids had a place to play so their toys didn't kill anyone! (anyone with kids knows how little legos and barbie shoes can really do a number on the safety of a home!! and a number on your feet!!!) So, last week they went on a 10 day vacation and Igor, my sister in law Katy, her boyfriend Mike and myself banded together and poured all of our energy into creating an awesome room. Yes, it was a ToTal surprise and ended with screaming and tears. It was totally TLC material. :) Here's the before and after pics. Thank you so much Marina and Alex for all of your patience and love that you show to our children and us. We couldn't do it without you!

Before

After

The Big Reveal

Yup, I'm alive

It's 1am and I'm beat and covered in paint and dust. Sorry I haven't updated the blog this week. You'll see what I've been up to soon.... Craziness!

Congrats Jen and Sam!!!

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Hot Hot HOT!!!

Man is it HOT out today! Who would have thought? Today we shot a beautiful and super sweet wedding in Portland at Saint Clement's Castle. Jen and Sam were so fun to work with and their families were so awesome! (anyone who puts up with me for 8 hours is alright by me!) Here's one shot just to tease; to be continued this week... ;)

Kristen and Will - Your pics are UP!!

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My mii ball

Sooo.....I got the Wii Fit last night! I've been trying to get it since it came out and every time I go to Toys R Us, they say, "Oh, we just sold out, come back on Sunday". So last night we were at Sam's club getting dog food and I figured I'd ask if maybe they carried them. Well they did! They had 4 in stock AND the best part was that they cost $78 instead of the normal $89. We brought that bad boy home and hooked it up. Then all the excitement when to laughter and a little bit of embarrasment when the wii board weighed us. Suddenly the pretty little mii turned into a ball right before my eyes. It was pretty funny but just shows the importance of staying fit. So, this was day 2 of the wii fit exercise program and I'm proud to say that all of the yoga I've been doing really paid off in the balancing tests. Now I just have to get that mii ball back to a fit mii! :)

Presenting....Our team!

(Left to right top: Sean, Steve. Left to right bottom: Igor, Tommy, Alison, Tina.)

We have SUCH an awesome team! I am so thrilled to have so many fantastic people working with us this year. Each one brings something different to the team and I'm so proud of all of the hard work they did today. Today was day one of the 2008 training schedule. It was intense with 2.5 hours of hard study and discussion and then a 1.5 hour long shoot out. We had so much fun and learned/reviewed some techniques to make great and interesting pictures. Thanks guys for all of your hard work today. You really made it a blast!

Here are a few images from the shoot:

Baby Cole

Awe....what a cutie pie! I had the great Pleasure of photographing Mr. Cole at the tender age of just 11 days old! Oh my gosh, how tiny! I forgot how little they once are. The proud parents, Jillian and Jamison, were so patient with him and just loved the little one to pieces. Here are a few pics from the shoot. Thanks guys for sharing this moment with us!

Kristen and William

Wow, what a wedding! We traveled to NYC this past Saturday to cover the AmaZing wedding of Kristen and Will. They really went all out and are just so in love. She kept saying over and over prior to the ceremony, "I just can't wait to see Will." With a wedding party of 30 people!!!!...this event was action packed and sooo much fun! From the glass elevator that emerged from the center of the dance floor to reveal the new bride and groom to the fireworks set a-glow at their venetian table, this event was truly an event to remember. Thank you guys for sharing such a special day with us!
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Memorial

Today is a special day for many families, especially at this trying time with so many service men and women who have died in our current war or who are over there right now battling in the name of justice. Whether we agree with the current war or not, I think we All agree that we would love to have our loved ones home in safety and with us. Throughout the ages, history has seen war and trial and people have willingly stepped forward to sacrifice their lives for what they believe will benefit the common good of man. Thank you to all who have done just that. Without you, we would not know bravery, selflessness and freedom. We are blessed to live in a nation that has so much wealth, freedom and opportunity.

Memorial day for me is my grandfather's day. In honor of him, we attended our family's home town parade. My grandfather, whom which we called Pere (when we were young we couldn't pronounce Pe'pere which is the french word for grandpa), was in the army during WWII. He lived with my family when I was about 12 years old and my most vivid memory of him was during that time. He would sit at the dinner table every night and talk non-stop about his war stories. That was a time in his life that had a huge impact on him, and understandably so. Following the war, he married my grandmother (Mere, yes we called her that for the same reason!). As the story goes, Mere was engaged at the time and my grandfather who was very much in love with her, told her he loved her and that he wanted her as his bride and then proceeded to take her engagement ring off her finger and throw it out the window. Wow...what a movie like love story! But that really is just how much he loved her until the day he died. She was his everything. He loved fishing, poker with the guys at the bar down the street, boating, bananas, and Oreo cookies. His favorite shows were Wheel of Fortune and watching wrestling on the scrambled up channel because he didn't see why he should be paying for it when he could hear what was going on and he could catch a glimpse every now and again if he watched carefully. He took a nap every day on the couch with the round orange crochet pillow my Mere had made and he loved roast beef sandwiches with mustard. Pere was a simple man, grew up with dirt floors in his home as a child and when he bought his first home (a very small cape in East Hartford), despite the fact that Mere and Pere had 5 kids, they Never moved. His home was his home.

So here's to grandfather's day and to the life my grandfather lived. Here's to the lives your grandparent's, parent's, siblings, aunt's, uncles, and children live(d). Here's to you and here's to me and here's to all who have demonstrated the same sacrificing spirit for the benefit and peace of mankind. God Bless you and thank you.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF!

This is Such a gorgeous weekend! I spent the day spreading grass seed over my current moss lawn in hopes of growing some actual grass that my sweetheart Igor can lovingly mow. :) The season just brings out so many options for fun, adventure and exploration. We are blessed to live in a wooded area and we see so much wild life. We have a red tailed hawk family that lives in our yard, tons of frogs (26 to be as exact as possible), deer, AND our favorite; the hummingbird. I was buying some flowers in the garden dept of Wal-Mart when I spotted a mini hummingbird feeder for like $1 and some 'nectar' for about $2 so I grabbed it hoping for the best. I put the feeder up in a little tree and voila! Hummingbirds galore!

Today we also had the pleasure of spending some adventurous time with our kids. My aunt and uncle generously purchased a rocket for my son Zackery. Igor and Zack spent some time, during the rainy weather, building and assembling it and were waiting for a perfect day to launch it. Well, today was that day! The four of us (Igor, Zack, Ella and myself) all piled in the car. Zack with his rocket, Igor with the amo, Ella with her 1/4 of an orange and I with my camera. We headed to a local field. The boys set up while Ella and I played in the grass anxiously awaiting the show. "5, 4 ,3 2, 1 Blast off", yelled Zack and Igor and I snapped away. So much fun!

Gilead Hill la la la...

This year, my town of Hebron is celebrating it's 300th Anniversary. In honor of this, my son Zackery's school put on a performance. They sang songs, we watched a slideshow featuring people of honor such as firefighters, police and military personnel, we heard a story teller who was complete in 1800's attire, and we even got to experience a Hebron-resident musician singing a song he wrote about what makes Hebron such a great place to live. It was fun!

You can see in this picture just how much Zack LOVES singing! hahaha

Elizabeth and Michael

What a beautiful day! Despite weather reports of rain, Elizabeth and Michael ended up with an amazing day for engagement photos. What a sweet couple too! Their engagement shoot took place at Elizabeth Park in Hartford, CT and we got to see everything. The bridge, the ducks and even a whole new family of baby ducks that were still all fuzzy yellow. What a fun day!

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Steph and Tim

What a CUTE couple! Stephanie and Tim were so much fun to work with, and did I mention they are so terribly cute together?! From chasing pigeons to riding the carousel, this shoot (captured in Bushnell Park, Hartford, CT) was packed with fun and adventure. Stephanie with her bright yellow dress brought a ray of sunshine to what was actually a very cloudy and gray day. They started out shy (as we All do in front of the camera) and then just had fun and that is when all of the magic happened. www.tinaparsadanov.com

2008 Engagement Shoot Schedule

A reminder to all of my couples, spring engagement shoots are this weekend! Woohoo! We realize that it can be tricky to get together for engagement shoots during the week with everyone's work schedules. It is also tricky for me to find weekends free due to my opposite work schedule! I have set aside a weekend during each season dedicated to just engagement sessions. Of course you can still schedule a session separately with me, but these are guaranteed times that I will be available and really cool places that I felt showcased the season nicely. Here is the schedule for the year:

Spring Sessions: May 17-18 10am-12pm and 4pm-7pm at Bushnell Park and Elizabeth Park in Hartford, CT. Tulips are in bloom and the carousel is running!

Summer Sessions: June 29th All day at Elizabeth Park in Hartford, CT. The roses should be in full bloom.

Fall Sessions: October 11-12 from 10am-5pm at Wickham Park in Manchester, CT. Beautiful spot for folliage and skyline view of Hartford. Sun sets at 5:18pm.

Winter Sessions: December 12, 13, 14 from 3:30pm-5:30pm at Constitution Plaza in Hartford, CT. Amazing white lights and holiday feel.

I'm looking forward to working with everyone and having some fantastic times and fantastic photos! www.tinaparsadanov.com

Catch-up time...

Hi everyone! Thank you for checking in with the blog to see what's new. I've been busy shooting some adorable little bundles during this spring season.

A past wedding couple of ours had twins (God bless them!) and came in for some baby pics. The two babies (Max and Sam) interact so well together especially given their age of 6 months! Everyone left in one piece and no one's eye had been poked out or anything! I was impressed! Much credit to the parents...Dad is a stay-at-home Dad and Mom is in the work field every day. They make a beautiful family.

We also had the pleasure of photographing little Sabrina and her parents recently. What a cutie pie!!! And sooo sweet. She had so much energy and curiosity, it was so fun! Of course Mom and Dad thought it would be smooth sailing, she might just sit on their lap and we'd click away...perfect senario, right? That's where reality kicks in and the best advice I can give any parent during a portrait shoot is "go with the flow!" Natural pictures are the very best pictures. They did such a great job and are such a sweet family.

Thank you guys for sharing these precious moments with us!

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2007 Couples Highlights

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