Sara

We're back!

2008-05-15T21:40:44Z

we're back!
We didn't get to see half the places or half the people we wanted to see on our honeymoon (USA is bigger than it looks on a map).
Still, it's been the best trip ever.

Photos will come, but i'll have to catch up with 3 weeks of work. That's what you get when you are self-employed.

In the meantime, enjoy a litle slideshow with photos taken by our guest with the photoboot we set up at the wedding.
It was fun. To whoever was there: thankyou for making it perfect.
To those who weren't: A-HA!

Photobooth Galore from bruko on Vimeo.

I now declare you to be husband and wife

2008-04-20T14:13:20Z

from last night at the wedding reception, where we set up a photoboot. we have more than 600 selfportraits taken by our guests, some are amazingly funny.
we'll upload photos when we come back
I'm so happy. Life starts now.

Only, in 3 hours time we need to pack our stuff and leave.
I'll see you in the US (bruce, I did receive your e-mail, we'll be planning during the flight. That's how behind schedule we are)

Guess who's getting married today?

2008-04-19T06:50:17Z

by the end of this day I'll be made an honest woman
screw the rain, I'm happy.

Little things that kill

2008-04-08T16:21:58Z

...then you receive a parcel.
Inside the parcel there are several letters, a necklace made of gummy bears, chocolate coins, a book with answers to all questions that matter written by the Pope itself (ahahah you two are mental), drawings, rose petals, postcards, and so much more. Enough to make you laugh, cry and think those people are complete nutters..

Rosanna, Antonio, Graziano, Lucia, Leo, Pulce, Polly, Silvie, Daria, Vero, Mirko, Pacina, Valentina, Tommaso, Beh, Daniel, Giuliana, Barbara, Topisiffimo, Crudelya, Margot, Luna, Michele, Miic, Nicola (and pulcino), Alessio, Entropyst, Angie: you cannot understand how much this made me happy.
THANKYOU.

tee from zara kids (it's supposed to be a 8-10 years old girls size), necklace accordingly

chiara & andrea

2008-04-06T22:40:16Z

andrea is coming in 6 weeks and chiara is becoming bigger and bigger every day.
So while in ferrara we took advantage of a lazy night and took pictures (the set was super ghetto and the only light is coming from 2 bedside lamps I'm holding with one hand while using my camera with the other hand)

quick update

2008-04-02T06:36:03Z

prints have been sent to mr. Printer for him to print them.
In half an hour I'm leaving for a 3 days long road trip with my pregnant best friend to celebrate our last trip together before I'm married and she's a mum.
I'll pick her up with George Clooney and we'll be ready for 36 hours of madness and fun.
Is it really 23 years since we met? Are we sure we are not 16 years old any more? we'll find out in the next few days, I guess, when she'll stop to pee every five meters and I'll complain about being tired every 3.
Ah, the joys of the old age.

See you when I'm back, I guess

The backdrops guy was doing good

2008-03-24T22:41:50Z

saturday night in Milan, the sky was on fire. it's just a snapshot aken with my G9 from the running car, but you get the idea.
it has been a good easter, but I really don't know if I can eat any more chocolate. For real.
my wedding dress is nearly finished and it's gorgeous, the wedding rings are done and they feel weird, as I never wear gold. Everything is starting to feel real.

Since I've been away a couple of days and I've received quite a few e-mails about this, the print sale has been postponed a little.
I will send the files to mrPrinter on friday, which means you have a few more day.

Remeber that you need to send your paypal payment by friday in order to have your print, otherwise... too bad.

in a super rush

2008-03-19T22:40:56Z

I disappeared from the face of the planet for a couple of days and I apologize: I will answer mails tomorrow night when I go back home. miic, curson, most of all: I got you mails and I do apologize for not answering right away, I'll do that tomorrow.

BTW, yes, the plant WAS oleander and therefore poisonous, but I didn't eat it, and I'm fine.

BTW2: a month from now I'll be made an honest woman.

waiting for spring to come

2008-03-17T21:54:26Z

WEDDING PRINT SALE!

2008-03-10T16:33:32Z

Wedding approaches. Invitations (shown above) have been sent, dress is almost ready, wedding rings are almost ready. Bride and groom are working too much to even think about being ready or not.
To raise some extra money for our honeymoon in the States, I've decided to do the third print sale! yay!
Final date to place orders: march, 23rd

Rates are the old ones:  
10x15 cm 8 euros 
19x25 cm 18 euros 
20x30 cm 24 euros
  handling and shipping via Posta raccomandata (registered mail) are not included. Add 5 euros for Italy and 6 for everywhere else.  

payment via paypal (info @ saralando.com), vaglia postale or exchange in dark alleys. 

You can pick your favourite picture among those I posted.
Check my flickr stream for an easier way to browse through them.
  Make sure you write down your shipping address correctly and tell me which photos you'd like to have.
I'll write you back if there are problems with the photo you chose (e.g. if it is a cropping of a larger photo and would look like crap printed or if it's a photograph of someone other than myself and I don't have the permission to sell his/her picture)

  Inquires about pictures, pricing for different formats or anything else can be sent to info @ saralando.com

------------------------------------------------------

FAQS (copied and pasted from the previous sale)
1. Can I only pick the photos that are on the flickr stream?
nope. those in my journal and those in my site are good as well.
Just ask. Older photos might be a little bit of a risk, because of the lower quality, but we can work something out.
The only restriction is that if you want a portrait of someone that's not myself or alessandro, I'll have to check with that person first.

2. What if the picture I want is not a 2:3 ratio?
you'll have to decide if you want it to be cropped to fit the frame or if you'd prefere to have it printed smaller inside the format.
e.g.:

3. Is the print going to be signed/numbered?
The print is going to be signed but not numbered. If you want me to write something more than my signature, just ask.

4. How do I tell you which one I want?
writing down the url is the fastest and most simple way for me to trace it.

5. How do I pay you via paypal?
you need to register and then login and then select "send payment": you only need to enter info @ saralando.com as the e-mail and the amount of money.
It's quite easy, actually.

6. On which paper are the pictures going to printed on?
Fujicolor Crystal Archive Pro Type PIII. Matte (I don't like the glossy finish and all the fingerprints it leads to)

7. will you take orders after March 23rd
Not unless the next sale.

For those who asked, we didn't set a traditional wedding list: the only thing we need is three weeks of fun in the states with a cowboy hat and our cameras.
If you want to make a donation and offer us coffee, doughnuts or a night in a dodgy motel, feel free not to buy a print and just donate something via paypal to info @ saralando.com

Life in colors

2008-03-07T17:12:05Z

an old image (this was taken in november) I colorized for a little tutorial I finished long ago but only had time to upload today.
Chiara was already a couple of months pregnant here, I cannot believe she already looks like she's swallowed a huge watermelon!
she's going to deliver when I come back from my honeymoon (hoping little Andrea isn't in a rush. he'd better wait for auntie Sara to be born...).
I should post more shots from her "Chiarendar", we did as a present for her hubby.

About the honeymoon... it seems so close yet so far away! I've been working 10-18 hours 7 days a week for the last 2 months, with only a couple of rest days. I've never needed to take a break this much.
3 weeks! Seems like heaven...

And stay tuned! There's probably going to be a print sale, so that we can raise a little extra money for the trip and to cover wedding expenses.

Goodbye for a while

2008-02-11T17:41:49Z

George Clooney (aka my car) got out of the rehab and is now home with me. Yay.
And before I disappear into crunch mode again, I leave you with a couple of shots of Barbara from an impromptu shooting we had this week

Bruko in wonderland

2008-02-03T23:01:12Z

I was sent to Rome to take some pictures for a gig and I finally got to meet transilvano and lunadelight.
We ended up taking pictures at her parent's house, which is the most amazing place in the world (or something really really cose to that) for a photographer.

I am some happy girl and I don't really care about the fact that I'll be working like a dog for the whole night (and for the rest of the week), nor that the front window of my car needs to be replaced (fuck flying stones in the highway).
Plus, I learnt how to make guacamole.

(this is bound to happen when someone tells me "you can do whatever you want)

The amazing adventure of Mickey Louse

2008-01-29T16:31:35Z

I found those 2 masks at the grocery store, for a grand total of 3 euros.
They were so fugly I HAD to have them.
Can you imagine actually wearing them to dress up as mickey mouse? And getting near kids? They're really, really, really scary.
Really.

the background is some cheapass fabric I bought on sale at IKEA that was waiting for something like the Mickey masks to be used.

(a bigger version of this one can be found here).

As usual, thanks to the boyfriend for being such an adorable idiot.

Honeymoon planning

2008-01-28T14:11:11Z

As the wedding approaches, we are starting to plan our honeymoon, which is going to be the funniest part, for sure.
We'll be leaving the 21st of april, land in san Francisco, spend 2 days there, visit the gazillion interesting places around California (and possibly meet with Jon and Phil), head to Vegas (OF COURSE), stroll around the US, offer David a beer wherever he is (hopefully in the US), chase Ido, my roomie from RISD which I miss like hell, have a stop in Ohio to finally give a huge hug to gooroo, visit Washington DC (where the main attraction is sure azcra and photo_obscura ), go back to Providence 6 years later (and say hello to Eva, the amazing woman without whom I would have never gone to RISD) and after 3 weeks of driving around and taking pictures, we'll be in New York, ready to rob B&H and the Nintendo Store and go back home.

For those that have been asking: we are not going to have a wedding list, since we own everything we need (and duty would cost me too much if I did a wedding list at B&H, like I wanted to).
We are going to open a sorta wedding list at the travel agency taking care of our honeymoon and set a paypal account for the same purpose: depending on how much we raise our trip will be more or less ghetto, but as long as we have plane tickets, a car and some food we should be ok.

Any tips about car rental in the US? Is it ok to drive with an italian license or should we have some more documents? I've heard that in the US you can turn right even if the traffic light is red, if the way is clear. Is it true in every state? Is there some other rule I should know before I spend my honeymoon in some state jail?
Silly question: in the car you rent, is there usually a cd player that can read mp3s or should I specifically ask for that? because we are planning the soundtrack for the coast-to-coast and it would suck big time to find out that we cannot listen to that.

Oh: motels. Something we should know about sleeping accomodations before we leave? We don't want to book hotels (except for Frisco and NY) and sleep wherever we feel like it along the way, but if you have suggestions they're always very welcome.

Love, in a box

2008-01-21T22:04:23Z

Of all the reason why I love him, the fact that he rushes into my studio to squeeze in a silly 10 minutes shooting with me is one of the main

Lizard

2007-12-28T23:46:59Z

I have friends who mail me tiny dead animals, which is the coolest thing ever, to me (Thankyou, Andrea)
this ubertiny lizard arrived in a match box and is so delicate and beautiful... I used a toy lens to photograph it (loreo lubot) , as my macro lens wasn't strong enough.
It's really a pain in the ass to focus or even to understand what's going on while holding the lizard by the tail, but it's fun and I really like the outcome.

brainfarts

2007-12-23T20:04:27Z

no photoshop involved, this time: just playing with lights, snoots and fishing rods.
I had this sorta wire mesh in the studio and I just HAD to snap a couple of pictures before giving it back...

It's Christmas Quiz time!

2007-12-18T11:43:29Z

Edit: I gave you 48 hours, you guessed them all in an afternoon.
Damn, too many clever people reading this journal, I'd better start thinking about what I write...

those of you who guessed: sent me a valid shipping address at bruko @ mooserental.com or via lj message

Just like last year, it's time for the Christmas Quiz!
Here are 4 paintings: you guess the author and title of one of them, you win one 20x30 cm print and the right to brag about being an art geek.
Of course the prize goes to the first person who guess (for each painting).
You have 48 hours to win the prizes, but I won't give you the solution until next week, so you can keep on guessing after the deadline is passed.

Have fun!

you're so fine and you're mine

2007-12-17T18:56:56Z

I don't mind shameless spam nor Madonna quotes when they're done to promote the work of the best man on the planet.
check this out

Family isn't always a matter of blood

2007-12-13T12:54:17Z

From 6 to 18 I've probably spent more time in Chiara's house than in mine.
Almost every afternoon I'd hang out at her place and quite often I'd stay for dinner.
Her mum has always been the opposite of mine and I feel like I've been growing up with two mums. While I learnt from mine to be strong and stubborn, to work hard, to be independent, I had Valeria to show me how to be soft and share my emotions.
While my family has always been something between the flying circus and a freak show, Chiara's family was the perfect example of what you'd find looking for "family" in the dictionary.
There was sisterhood, there, while at home I'd spend most of the time finding new ways of fighting my brother.

Since I owe a lot to chiara's parents (the apartment we're staying in right now is Chiara's aunt's, for example), and since she wouldn't let me buy stuff for her because "we're young and we need to keep the money", she agreed on having her picture taken with Chiara and Anna (the uber-beautiful sister).

So a couple of days ago they stormed in my studio during a short lunch break just to snap some shots in a super-hurry and before I knew what was happening we were done.
No hair and makeup, no complicated setup.

I love how beautiful they all are, in different ways.
Anna's always been the rebel. she's the youngest one and she'll probably take over the world.
Valeria is just sweetness and beauty condensed in one woman, Chiara is glowing (and her belly is starting to show!)

Murder, she wrote

2007-12-05T11:22:36Z

What I like most about my job is how it gives me the possibility to meet amazing people and work with them.
I met Paola Rondini because she needed some pictures. She just wrote her first book, Miniature (dark circles due to reading all night), and her publisher needed some shots.
All I knew about her was that she sure can write. Her writing is cynical, absorbing, sharp... I didn't know what to expect from her as a person.
Plus, a few hours prior to the shooting, I had found winnie dead and I really wasn't at my best.

I was taken by surprise when I met her kindness and found out how easy it was to work with her. We're both shy in our own way, but it took me very little time to feel completely at ease.
So, this is my first "real" shooting in my new studio

Burying people for headshots is the new black. I asked her to send me a passage of her book that was important to her, I wanted to have her floating in her own words...

^ this is probably my favourite picture of the bunch.

venus in eco furs

2007-12-05T01:32:32Z

I was asked to take part to a little photo project and since I like sleep deprivation; I liked the idea and the person who asked is a sweetheart, I had to do it.
I'm not completely happy with the result (the last picture is obviously missing a feather and it's a bit cliche) but since I was working in crunch mode, i guess that'll have to do.

the idea behind this was to make 4 self portraits representing the different season of a woman's life: spring/childhood, summer/fertility, fall/sexuality, winter/sterility.
This friday, in Milan there will be some sort of event and my pictures will be there, among many others.
If someone ends up going, let me know how they were printed. Since there's a pole dancer, I think someone may actually end up going.
invitation here

hohoho!

2007-12-03T16:56:08Z

working on christmas card

uvaspina @ 2007-11-29T23:32:00

2007-11-29T22:29:23Z

The words i should speak of you are big and sharpened. At least, I figured so since they're stuck in my throat and hurt.
Did I love you enough? Where you happy? Was it painful?
All I want right now is to curl up and sleep this sadness away.
Life will go on, tomorrow.
Tonight I'm postponed.