Desktop - Natalija Brunovs, photographer/artist

I am thrilled to introduce you to Natalija Brunovs, a photographer, designer and artist who is based in Fremantle, Perth. These days Natalija is a very busy wedding photographer but a few years ago we were workmates at the ABC, only based in different states.

While we've never met, I've always been inspired Natalija's work, whether it's a professional or personal project. This blog post, where she shares four different crafting projects she tackling at home actually inspired this Desktop series. Today, Natalija shares what she's got on this week, what she's dreaming up and how she handles really busy periods.

What's on for you this week?

This week I have a tea ceremony to photograph, a cool wedding with a couple really up for playing (she works at Scitech so we are going to photograph some sciency burning paper - stay tuned!), then I’m doing a little collaboration with a florist to do up some inspiring colour schemes/palettes. 

Besides that I’m also helping out a couple people with some design jobs (a men’s gathering and the Cockburn Community Wildlife Corridor). I’m doing fine art prints on my fancy big printer, designing albums, dreaming up new ‘Choose your own adventure’ photo dates and getting to yoga whenever I can. I think that sort of explains my headspace. It’s a mess of stuff and explains why I’m struggling to fall asleep this week.

It's also peak wedding season - how do you cope during the really busy months?

I’m pretty terrible at coping with peak wedding season, I usually get all excited and do even more - do more blogs, come up with more ideas and start doing unnecessary but FUN projects. I therefore must make time to not think of anything and virtually pretend I have nothing to do. If I forget for a moment then I experience some peace and can wander around Fremantle for a morning blissfully unaware. Luckily I’m kinda forgetful. 

But yes, the to-do list is hectic! I recently learned one technique that's based on some facts my boyfriend told me about multi-tasking not actually being more efficient.  I have little post-it notes and everything that I have to do goes on one and I stick it on the lefthand side of my cupboard. When I sit down for the day, I choose one post-it note at a time to stick into a middle space that I'm ‘doing’. It really helps me to focus on the task and gets me to move it to the right side of the cupboard when it's ‘done'.

You have so many amazing creative ideas and you act on them. Tell me how (please).

I am full of ideas so the ones you see are about five per cent of them. That’s a fairly good ratio, I think. Many ideas seem good in your mind but when you start to make them a reality you can realise how it’s not actually that fun and you don’t really want to travel around Australia in a van for a year to collect pie recipes... (real story). 

The ideas that stick for me are those that are short-term joyful, those that don’t require too much of a stretch outside my comfort zone and just feel fun. Keeping it simple, sweet and playful, and doing it purely for me so the pressure is off! Then once it's done, the next step isn’t so hard and so on, until you're suddenly in a room of people having a great time going, "Woah, I made this happen! So easy!"

Side note - I feel like the Internet has changed my ability to move forward on ideas. I used to feel in my own bubble and more on the frontline of creative blogging in Perth. I had readers, people were inspired and I felt like my heart and soul was nourished and my expression really on a roll! 

Then slowly Facebook emerged and blogs grew and everyone got Instagram and everything that felt me and real and fresh was being duplicated everywhere I looked. It essentially took the wind out of my sails in terms of feeling like my voice was worth hearing - it’s done! I’m done! Nothing new to say here.

And so the blog died off and weddings took over as that fed me in a new way. I suppose it’s just the world that keeps moving and my blog was a really wonderful time in my life and came at a great point in ‘Internet history' and now I just enjoy expressing myself to my friends, family, clients and circle of friends on Facebook that see my little posts.

Can you share something exciting that you have coming up?

The idea I’m exploring at the moment is a family photography business but with a twist. It’s about a family choosing an adventure, like a storybook, and going on that adventure. There will be themes you can choose and lots of props to make the adventure loads of fun and a visual feast. 

For example, one will be an island treasure hunt complete with pirate hats and giant cookies and another a tree climbing, mulberry picking country picnic. I want to do photographs that are really documentary but with play and dress-ups and ultimately creating memories for people that go much deeper than a sit-in-a-group-on-some-stairs kind of family snaps. I have been applying this idea to couples I photograph but I think families can really get silly because... kids.  

Thank you Natalija! If you'd like to visit, Natalija blogs here and is on Facebook and Instagram too. She also runs I Heart Weddings and blogs recent shoots and great wedding advice, like why family photos matter (and how they can be done artfully).

Photos by Natalija Brunovs.