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Monthly Archives: March 2010
What inspires you?
I am so excited to share this sneak peek…
Earlier this week I met with writer and author, Carolyn Vines, who’s well on the way to finishing her first book, a memoir entitled ‘black and (A)broad: doing it in Holland‘ and I couldn’t be more excited for her as she nears the finish line.
Carolyn not only asked me to take her PR portraits but three days before her portrait session she asked for portraits that “scream ‘inspiration’”. Now, that really made me think long and hard at how I was to achieve this seemingly momentous task. I always aim to capture the personality of my subjects in their portraits, but a portrait that immediately makes the viewer feel inspired is so much more than that, at least I felt it was. I was ready for the challenge and all of those three days my brain was buzzing with ideas! I’ll have more of those kind of challenges please! ;-)
Carolyn, you really are SO beautiful. I loved having you in front of my camera! :-)
A quick change of outfit to finish off the session…
Carolyn, thank you for a wonderful portrait session. I really enjoyed our time together and can’t wait to see your book in print. Wishing you all the best as you near the finishing post!
Are you feeling inspired? Are you curious to learn more about Carolyn and her book? Visit her award winning blog at www.blackandabroad.com
Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek…
Till next time!
Winner of the WBII Social Innovation Award 2010
Wow, first of all I would just like to say a huge THANK YOU! :-)
I have been a member of the Women’s Business Initiative International (WBII) since I first started my business, back in March 2008 (Yes, Tigs Creations turns 2 later this month!!) Each year they host an Annual Dinner on International Women’s Day, March 8.
This year’s event was held at the Bel Air Hotel in The Hague, with women and men of diverse nationalities and professional sectors all celebrating ‘Women and Opportunity’. It was an inspiring evening with a captivating keynote speech by H.E. Mrs Mary Whelan, Ambassador of Ireland to the Netherlands.
Three entrepreneurial awards were also presented on the night, one for Ambition, one for Social Innovation, and one for Networker of the Year…
When the winner of the Social Innovation Award 2010 was revealed, my jaw hit the floor! I watched the big screens with everyone else for the name, and then I read mine: Natalie Carstens, Tigs Creations Photography. What?! Really?! I was so shocked I was shaking.
I’m so proud to receive this award, which was largely due to the work I do for the Littlest Heroes Project, Helping Hearts for Haiti and zoocrew.eu
I am passionate about giving back and making a difference, let me tell you a little about these three projects…
I could not hold back the tears the first time I visited this website. The stories and the images of these brave children tugged at my heart strings and I knew instantly I wanted to be a part of this very special project. The Littlest Heroes Project provides our littlest heroes (children who suffer from any type of serious illness or life altering disability) and their family with a complimentary photo session and selection of photos. This is an extra special gift for these families that are dealing with hectic schedules as their child battles disease and sickness.
After the devastating earthquake hit Haiti, I teamed up with another photographer and we wasted no time in joining the Helping Hearts initiative. Blog readers were invited to make a donation to the Dutch National Giro 555 in order to be entered into a raffle to win a romantic portrait session. We have a winner, so look out for the session sneak peek appearing on my blog in April! ;-)
zoocrew.eu – help us save our wildlife
I think everyone that knows me, knows I love wildlife. Who doesn’t know my favourite animal is the tiger? Come on, hands up! ;-) Together with my husband, Heiko, who is also passionate about wildlife, we launched a new website for wildlife conservation in January 2008: www.zoocrew.eu
Our aim is to raise awareness for wildlife conservation by promoting the conservation projects and breeding programmes that are supported by various zoos. We regularly update the site with zoo news and conservation updates, and frequently feature different conservation organisations ‘In the Spotlight‘.
As well as having our own personal wildlife adoptions, we’re encouraging others to adopt as well. This is a great way to give back and support these organisations. One of our recent adoptions is Maalim, a black rhino, born prematurely and abandoned by his mother he was rescued by DSWT. We loved his ‘Maalim and the Mattress‘ update :-)
We also make regular donations to Painted Dog Conservation.
Thank you WBII, and Congratulations to Arjanneke and Tina!
Many thanks to Suzy Ogé and Lisa Rouissi at the WBII for hosting a fabulous event on Monday. Thank you SO much for the award. Congratulations also to Arjanneke Teeuw, founder of Healthy People, who won the Ambition Award. (Thank you for sharing your story, and yum – your chilled juice is delicious, I’m adding it to my Albert Heijn shopping list!) And last but not least, congratulations to Tina Evans, Managing Director of Blue Lynx Group who won the Networker of the Year Award.
For highlights of the event (and photos) go visit the ‘International Women’s Day Dinner 2010 Highlights‘ article over on the WBII website.
