nicholeV photography [the blog]

Tara Whitney Came to Visit . . . . .

Well, I had the wonderful chance to meet and shoot with Tara Whitney this past weekend. Can't even express how much fun it all was. Anyone who has met Tara has to agree that she is just a truly wonderful person. And if you aren't familiar with her work, check her out:

Tara's Website

And be sure to check out her blog too! A few picts:

Tara


Tara Shooting

Tara Shooting (center) and Jefra with her "contraption" (left) taking a photo of her DD. And the other charming ladies are Kelly and Margie, who were kind enough to be models!

It was just a wonderful evening! So nice to get together with other photogs for a little shop talk!

A little session up the canyon . . . .

Well, I decided it was time to take a few picts of my poor neglected kiddos. Just don't seem to have the time or energy to take photos of them . . . . which is just terribly sad and ironic, all the way around.

Anyway, so went up the canyon and managed to get a few images. Though, man, sure made me realize how limited I am nowadays! I couldn't get low enough for most shots and overall just struggled to get the images that I wanted . . . . ah well . . . . that will all fix itself soon enough.

So here are a few images:

Thanks again to all of you who take the time to stop by here! I so appreciate it!

New Textures, Brushes and Borders!!

Well, just in time for rebate checks and NSD (National Scrapbooking Day), I'm launching 4 new products today!

• Fine Art Venetian Textures
• Grunge Brushes
• Art Nouveau Brushes
• Memoria Borders

I'm really excited about these products. I've been using them on my own stuff for quite some time and have really been loving them, especially the grunge brushes. And those of you who have purchased from me previously and/or opted in to my newsletter, check your email for more info and a coupon code!

Here's a few teaser images:

Memoria Border

Memoria Border with Venetian Texture Background

Grunge Brush Examples

 

Art Nouveau Brush Examples

Check out my Flourish website for more info and examples.

Good Things . . . .

Well, I've decided to start posting a few good things into my blog. Just things that I love and I want to share with others.

First thing to share is this wonderful Streetcat book by my good friend Heleen (toddlertoes) from Flickr. She is an amazingly talented photographer and she just finished this adorable book. I ordered my copy today and can't wait to get it.

Link to Streetcat Book

Some of you may already be familiar with her series of photos documenting her daughter's friendship with a little streetcat. The photos are just absolutely amazing and she's spent months converting them into a this lovely little book. So check it out!

My second share is my family's recipe for Fresh Strawberry Pie. Let me preface this by saying that I am an avid chef. I LOVE to cook. Cooking competes with photography for my favorite passionate interest in life. So I've decided to start sharing some of my favorite recipes that I've developed (or just inherited) over the years.

My mother has made this pie every spring that I can remember. The recipe is insanely simple and easy. But oddly enough, I've never seen it in any cookbook and even a quick search on google didn't turn it up. So if this is just a common sense recipe that everyone uses, I apologize, but if you've never made this pie, you are missing out big time!! So here it is for those of you who may have never had or made this type of fresh strawberry pie. 'Tis the season for strawberries and there's no better way to use them!

Fresh Strawberry Pie

1 9" graham cracker crust (homemade or store-bought, doesn't matter)
2 lbs. fresh strawberries (must be fresh, frozen won't work)
1 package Junket Strawberry Danish Dessert (you can find it with the jello in most supermarkets)
Whipped cream for topping

Begin by preparing the Danish Dessert according to the instructions on the box. You want to use the Pie Glaze instructions (so add 1 3/4 c. water. It's important to get the right amount of water.) Wash, hull and slice strawberries. Add the strawberries to the cooked Danish Dessert (it's ok if the Danish Dessert is still warm) and then mound the glazed berries into the graham cracker crust. Chill for about 3 hours before serving so the glaze can set. Serve with lots of whipped cream.

And that's it! Seriously easy dessert and incredibly tasty too! About my favorite thing to eat on a warm spring/summer day!

More Good News . . . .

Well, I got quite a shock in the mail today. Some of you may remember this photo from last fall. I had entered it into Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) 8x10 Art Print Competition. You submit the prints under a category (like "Wedding Couple" or "Children") and this portrait took first place in the "Children" category in October. I was thrilled and honored to be recognized among the thousands of entrants into this prestigious print competition.

Well, I received a large plaque from WPPI today and to my absolute stunned surprise, this same photo won another award. From all the winners throughout the year, WPPI selects 4 Grand Award winners as International Prints of the Year. And my print WON!! WoooHooo!!

Yes, they did spell my name wrong and apparently announced the award at the WPPI Convention Awards Ceremony (which I of course missed, sigh), but I'm still so happy to be so honored! (And c'mon, no one EVER spells my name right. Even I've been known to spell it wrong!)

Anyway, just had to share my good news!

Other than that, I'm hanging in there with my pregnancy. The baby is doing well and I'm just trying to stay somewhat mobile, though it's getting harder and harder to do. I'm just working on new projects for Flourish (think more brushes, another fine art texture set and some borders) and spending far too much time in front of the television . . . sigh!

Thanks again to all you wonderful people to visit my blog! I so appreciate it!

Doing my happy dance . . . . .

Well, I found out the results of WPPI's (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) second half 8x10 international competition and I couldn't be happier with the results. Been doing my happy dance for a couple days now! It's a seriously competitive contest with some of the best talent around the world submitting photos . . . . and I'm soooo honored that some of my photos were singled out! Like I said, been smiling all week about it and couldn't resist sharing my excitement!

So here's how it all broke down:

This photo took First Place in the Children's category

And this photo took Second Place in the Individuals category:

And these photos all received Accolades of Excellence!

Life is busy . . . . so how's about a little freebie?!

Well, I've been a slacker! Just too much going on. Tons of sessions and so much to do! I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about!

Oh and I'm so happy to announce that I will soon be releasing RAW presets for CS2, CS3 and Adobe Lightroom. I've been working on them for months and using them for my wedding editing. So love them. They're really simplifying my life! I'll have to come back to post some before and after examples.

In the meantime, here's a little freebie. It's a small WB action that will help remove a reddish/orange cast from a photo.

Free WB Action

Just a little thank you to all who take the time to stop in here!

Welcome

Well, my first blog post  . . . . it's really about time!

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to stop by. This will be my place to post images from sessions and discuss what's going on with my actions and such.

I also have some exciting things planned for this blog, namely some contests and a few freebies, so check back. Can't wait to see you here!