Antonina Mamzenko

The colours of spring

Antonina — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:06:15 +0000

The Spring this year is all messed up, and I’m sure glad I didn’t schedule any shoots specifically around daffodils, or pink blossom, or bluebells which all came out in totally wrong times this year. But there is still and amazing display of colour everywhere, and on Monday I headed out to Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park to photograph snippets of it.

And of course, location scouting is even more fun when you have a little helper on hand :)

Have a fab day everyone!

Family portrait photography in Hammersmith

Antonina — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:16:10 +0000

Back in February I photographed this lovely family, shortly after little Justin turned 2. As it is typical of 2 year old boys, all he wanted was to run around, and turn his back to the camera the minute he saw it, but having my own 2 year old I’m used to this and have quite a few tricks up my sleeve (except I do lose patience with my own son much quicker than I do with any other children! lol)

It was a bright and a very cold winter day (so typical of this year) but we had fun running around the park and – after a quick nap for the little one – playing with cars and trains in the warmth of the lovely family home. Here are just a few of my favourites from this session.

An availability update

Antonina — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 21:02:35 +0000

I haven’t blogged for a loooong time; here at the Mamzenko headquarters we’ve all just been through a series of colds, coughs, chest infections and what not, so unfortunately blogging has taken a back seat. I’m hoping now that the Spring is finally showing it’s face, the colds will be gone and I can start blogging regularly again.

For now, just a quick availability update and a little sneak peek… I now have no availability until the end of May, and now booking sessions from June onwards, so if you wanted to book a family photography session this summer, now is the time to do it.

And, because every post is better with a picture, here’s a little sneak peek from a recent newborn session ;)

Mother’s Day

Antonina — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 23:01:08 +0000

Capturing relationships between mothers and their children is my speciality. I have hundreds of photograph on my hard drive of happy families, and mums cuddling their children and mums laughing with their children and mums reading to their children… and I guess I could have made a happy collage of all those photos and wish you all a Happy Mother’s Day and be done with it.

But the truth is that this Mother’s Day I’m feeling sad. I haven’t seen my family in nearly a year, for reasons that are beyond my control. I don’t know when I would be able to see them next, and this uncertainty makes my heart break. It’s one thing consciously planning a trip back home every year, and quite another - yearning to go, and not being able to.

My parents are not getting younger. My grandmother is elderly and frail… she can’t hear very well, so having a meaningful conversation with her, especially on the phone, is very difficult. I wish I could turn back time and talk with her more when she was younger. I wish I had better memories of my time with her (she basically raised me, as both my parents had to work). I wish I had more photos with her and me. I wish I was a better daughter and a better granddaughter than I am. I wish, I wish…

It’s funny how you realise all those things when you become a mother yourself. I remember when Alex was just days old, I was sitting him him on my lap and sobbed uncontrollably, whispering “I don’t want you to grow up, I want to just freeze this moment in time”. Funny how motherhood becomes this crazy state when you either want to turn back time, or freeze it, but you don’t really want it to run it’s natural course.

And it’s in times like these that I regret moving away from home. Yes, the UK has become my new home and I’ve made my little family here, and met some amazing people, realised my dreams and my passions… and I know I would not have been the person that I am had I not made this (crazy) move, but I do wish that I could do all this with my family close. I wish they could watch my son grow, and play with him more than once a year. I wish I could take more photos of them (even though they protest every time, especially my nana, because she “doesn’t look pretty anymore”).

I can’t wait to pack my bags, grab Alex and board a plane and go hug my mum, my dad and my grandma.

And I wish you all a Happy Mother’s Day. Please hug your mothers if they are close.

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge – Framed

Antonina — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:36:27 +0000

I haven’t entered into photography competitions or challenges for a long time, so I thought it was about time I did. So here’s my entry for I Heart Faces’ March Photo Challenge, “Framed”.

Both the parents of this sweet boy and I loved this photo, especially since it wasn’t planned at all. James was hiding in the garden shed, not really wanting to take part in the photoshoot. I encouraged him to play and do what he wanted, and it resulted in this gorgeous image. It is now proudly displayed on the walls in their home – a “hanging” proof that some of the best photos that ever happen are totally unplanned and unstaged, my speciality :) To see the full set of images from this Twickenham family photography session, head here.

For those of you wondering, I Heart Faces is an award winning photography website which regularly hosts photo challenges and posts photography tutorials, and much more. All levels of photographers and moms with cameras are welcome to join the fun – so come join us!

World Book Day, everyday

Antonina — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:40:39 +0000

Thank you Facebook for reminding me it’s World Book Day today (but as with all “world” days, it’s so often country-specific, so if you’re outside of the UK and have no idea what I’m talking about… well, just enjoy the photo and the quote :))

I’m the child of the 80s and I was surrounded by books growing up. And until I learned to read, I would demand being read to. For hours on end. Good thing is my grandparents lived with us, so everyone could take shifts.

But having been read to, and certainly seeing my parents immersed in books had a huge impact on me, and to this day I love reading – whether it’s for pleasure or for education – and I’m trying to instil the same love for books into my son. Even if it means reading the same book for the 20th time before bed. And then dealing with a tantrum of refusing to read some more.

So… Happy World Book Day! No need to dress up, just read – today, tomorrow, and every day for the rest of the year!