Wednesday, March 30, 2011 2:56:10 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
First of all, let me post a winner for my survey contest. I used Random.org's number generator to come up with a winner and don't have a first name for my winner, but their email address includes the phrase MdniteMustang. So congrats on winning a $200 gift certificate for any of my workshops or products. Thanks so much to everyone who participated! I so appreciated your feedback!
And on another note, I've had some people asking about this soup, so I thought that I would post this recipe.
Hearty Indian Beans and Grain Soup
Alright, this is my all-time favorite, hearty, warm-you-to-your-soul, winter soup. I eat it nearly every day for lunch. It freezes beautifully and has around 100 calories of wholesome, fiber-filled goodness per cup. It’s incredibly satisfying and wonderfully filling. Can you tell I love this recipe?
Let me just say that this is an Indian-based dish, so if you don’t like curry or Indian food, this might not be the soup for you. Also, the dish calls for a hefty 2 tablespoons of garam masala, which is an Indian specialty spice mix. There are many brands of garam masala out there, but each one can taste extremely different. I really prefer the garam masala that McCormick makes (I know, sounds lame). I’ve tried other brands, but there’s just something in the McCormick version that keeps me coming back. For those who live locally, I’ve actually found the McCormick garam masala at some Targets and Fresh Market stores. Don’t substitute anything else. It won’t taste even remotely the same.
Also, this recipe uses a Bob’s Red Mill mixture of beans and grains. It’s fabulously delicious with red beans, several types of lentils, barley and lots of whole grains (like wheat berries and kamut). I actually adapted this recipe from the recipe on the back of the package. You could most certainly do your own mixture of beans and grains, though I love the convenience and tastiness of the Bob’s Red Mill mixture. Also, you could easily make this a vegan dish by omitting the chicken and using vegetable stock instead. The meat is nice but hardly a necessary component of this soup.
- 3 chicken breasts (about 1-1.5 pounds), chopped into bite-size chuncks
- ½ package of Bob’s Red Mill “Whole Grains and Beans Soup Mix “ or 13 oz of the mix.
- 1 large onion, minced
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 T. garam masala (preferably McCormick brand)
- 1 t. curry powder
- 10 c. water + chicken boullion to make 10 cups stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
- ¼ cup sugar or ZSweet powdered in a blender. I prefer to use the ZSweet as it doesn’t add any calories, but sugar is fine too.
- 1 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced into medallions
- 2 c. frozen peas
- 2 lb head of cauliflower, cut into smaller pieces
Place the chicken, bean mixture, onion, garlic, garam masala, curry, water, bay leaves, tomato paste and sugar into a large pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 2 hours or until the larger beans are soft. DO NOT add any salt or boullion to the soup, as this will cause the beans not to soften. Once the beans are softish, add chicken boullion to taste (I like to use an organic, reduced sodium condensed broth base). Then add the carrots and cook for about 5-10 minutes, just until they loose their crunch but still have some bite. Then add the peas and cauliflower. The cauliflower will cook quickly, so it only needs about 3-5 minutes. I like to leave the veggies a little crunchy. This helps them to freeze and reheat better. At this point, you might need to adjust salt and sugar a little if the dish is too sweet or too salty. And voila! Dish and serve!
This soup also freezes beautifully. I put it into 2 cup plastic containers in my freezer. You just microwave to thaw and warm it. It’s a perfectly proportioned, 200-calorie lunch!
Monday, March 21, 2011 11:54:27 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Whew! So we've been hard at work updating the Flourish Emporium Facebook page. It's still a work in progress, but we now have some special goodies and offers for our Facebook fans. So become a fan and see what we have!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/FlourishEmporium
And even better, once you become a fan of our page, you will be able to download a free vintage texture and action set, as well as a free "thank you" card template.
Free Vintage Tint Action
Free Thank You Postcard Template
So what are you waiting for?! Hop on over to our Facebook page, "like" us and claim your freebies! And stay tuned . . . . . we are working on some video tutorials, as well as other goodness!
Monday, March 07, 2011 11:10:14 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Thanks so much to everyone who commented on my last post. I agree that in the end, I'm not sure that the line between drawing/painting and photography is so terrible important. Though it does beg the question: What exactly is photography? And what exactly is altered art? And when does one become the other?
Though I must say, it is incredibly liberating to just storyboard an idea, hunt for elements and then composite it all together to create a completely different image. So here's another project with a step-by-step look at how it was put together. With this image, I was mostly just curious to see if I could pull such a composite off. So I began with these three images:
This image for my background. I loved the clouds and the bird in the background, but I have NO idea what she's doing in this frame. I only kept the shot because I captured the raven in the background, haha.
So I needed a different, more compelling image of my subject. I actually really wish that I had an image of her running toward the camera, as I think that would make more sense, but I didn't have an image like that. So I just used what I had. Lesson here: storyboard your idea first, then shoot images specifically to meet your exact needs. Also, I faced the issue that these two images have significantly different light sources.
I also needed an element of drama. So I also used this old photolithograph from about 1900 to fill in the more romantic details.
So now for the fun! I began by cloning my subject out of the first image and then merged the three images together using layer masks to carefully mesh them together. It's rough, but the idea is there:
Then I started by seriously desatting the image. I needed to see the colors and contours as they would be in the final image. This also helped erase the slight color differences between the elements.
This next step was the most difficult. I used multiple layers to darken my subject and my background, adding contrast to the clouds and castle. I also had to change the direction of the light on my subject, which involved adding highlights and such to make it look like the light was coming from in front of her.
From there, I added a few more birds from other images in this shoot and created a hazy moon peeking out from the clouds to provide a clearer sense of a light source.
The last step was to add some color toning and a texture to the image.
It's definitely a process, but again so fun to just see what you can create from your own imagination and not have to rely on actually going to a location that looks like this, waiting for the perfect conditions and then taking the shot. Not that I wouldn't be up for visiting some castles, haha!
Thursday, March 03, 2011 10:16:10 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Alright. So this is a question that has plagued me for several years. Photography and digital art have essentially merged into one. The line between what is "real" (i.e. photographed in the physical world) and what is "artificial" (i.e. drawn or otherwise created on a computer) has become utterly blurred. The vast majority of award winning competition prints are usually a mish-mash of digitally-composited elements some of which are taken from photographs and others that are drawn/created in a variety of computer programs. In the end, you have something that is unarguably a beautiful work of art. But is it really photography? Or is it more altered art or altered photography?
I've struggled with this question, wondering where to take my work. Obviously, some aspects of photography remain firmly grounded in the "real" like photojournalistic images at a wedding, etc. And anyone who has taken one of my workshops or chatted with me knows that I'm a firm believer in getting the image right in-camera. It's the only way to actually make a real living out of photography. You can take 2 minutes to fix a problem with a photo (like stray hairs or bad light or poor posing) or spend an hour in Photoshop fixing the mistake. Obviously, the less time you spend, the more money you make overall. So there is a strong pull for me to do as much as possible in-camera as I shoot.
But who doesn't love a little bit of drama and art unfettered by the reigns of reality? And I have to admit, it's wonderful to be freed from the whims of nature and physics when wanting to realize an artistic vision for a composition.
So here's an example. I took this image with a definite idea in my head of what I wanted the final image to look like. But time and the physical world weren't cooperating with me on this day. I had all of 3 minutes to take this shot. Not enough time to set up a light. And it was the middle of the day, so no directional light to work with. But I had an idea and still took the shot anyway, knowing that the "art" would have to happen in Photoshop.
So here is the original RAW SOOC image. It's not the best image. I went for a middle exposure with the shot, leaving the child a little dark but also leaving a little detail in the window. I knew that this exposure would leave me detail in my highlights but also give me enough detail in my shadows too to create a better balance of exposure in Photoshop.
So step one in Photoshop was to bring up the exposure of the child in RAW and fix the obvious problems of cropping and perspective. Obviously, this step completely blew out the window detail, but I knew that I would bring that back in the next step.
So the next step was to leave the exposure on the essentially child the same, but bring down everything else. I brought in a dark exposure of the window and masked it into the shot and added multiple layers to darken the image.
The next step was to reduce the color in the image, creating a vintage look:
The next step was to create a definite source of directional light in the image. So I created light rays in Photoshop. This took several layers and some fancy blending to create the correct spread and sense of light.
I then added a texture for added warmth and depth.
The final step was to add a curved vignette to the edges and a vintage photo border:
Obviously, the final image is drawn from the original photograph, but it has artificial elements that were wholly created in PS. This image could have been taken to look like this SOOC (more or less), but it would have required a lighting crew and several hours to set up. And in the end, this was probably faster to do in PS, haha.
Of course, this is a mild example of digital image manipulation. But the question still remains for me . . . . at what point does something cease to be a photograph and become something else entirely? And is it a line that should concern me in the first place?
Tuesday, March 01, 2011 11:41:38 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Well, I know it's a little early for spring cleaning, but even though there's still two feet of snow outside, I have spring fever. So I decided to do a little spring cleaning today . . . you know, getting caught up on all the little things that I never get around to doing.
So for starters, I updated some website images like my blog header above and my wedding website. Sooooo needed to be done.
Then I went to work on our workshops in Houston, TX in a couple weeks, packing and prepping stuff. 'Cause hey! It is warm and spring-ish in Houston, right? We've had some last minute shifting, so we do still have a few slots in the workshops still. So email if you're interested in a last-minute workshop enrollment special. And I've also realized that I have a little time for a family or senior session while I'm down there. So if you would be interested in a session, also email!
Then I decided to tackle the out-of-control clutter on my desk and realized that I have a large stack of Christmas cards left over from the holidays. It's a long story why, but I ended up with leftover cards. So if you would like a holiday card special from me, I'd be happy to send you one. Please just email me your address to nichole [at] nicholeV.com and I'll drop one snail mail to you! Here's a little preview of the front . . .
Whew! That's all . . . . now if someone could just motivate me to potty train my two-year-old . . . .
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 3:22:41 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Alright! Let's face it . . . you're busy, I'm busy. Let me cut to the chase. I would LOVE some feedback on what products you would be interested in seeing from Flourish Emporium and/or my {life as art} workshops within the next 6 months. I want to use my time developing products that others will find useful.
So, I've created a little survey. It's short, sweet and should take less than a minute to complete. As a thank you for taking the survey, everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a drawing for a $200 gift certificate good toward any of my products. So you could use it to buy $200 worth of goodies from Flourish, or you could put it toward your favorite {life as art} workshop. There are so many possibilities!
Take the survey here!
This survey and contest will run until February 26th.
Also, don't forget to get your free Valentine's template set (hey, there's always next year, right?) and save 20% off any Flourish purchase. You can see the details here.
Thanks so much!
Monday, February 07, 2011 11:57:18 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Well, it's been insanely cold outside the last little while, so we thought we'd heat things up a little with some great deals and new stuff at Flourish Emporium and the {life as art} Workshops.
For starters, we have begun to make other Flourish products compatible with Adobe Photoshop Elements. Elements can be somewhat difficult when it comes to installing and using actions, but we've managed to take the headache out of the process. Our new Elements installer will install Flourish Elements actions for you, allowing you to just open Photoshop Elements and start using your actions. We have always had PSE versions of the Essential Color Pop and Essential BW sets, but we are happy to announce an Elements version of the Ethereal Actions and Textures set. We anticipate rolling out Elements versions of the Chic Vintage and Antique Vintage sets in the upcoming months. We are also working on a Textures and Tints action set for Photoshop that will include some slick new texture features, like a texture picker box so you don't have to go hunting through harddrives to find the perfect texture. So stay tuned for more goodness!
And to spread a little love, let's do a pre-Valentine's day sale at Flourish Emporium. Enter this coupon code at checkout to receive an additional 20% off your total purchase:
Valentines2011
And best of all, for a limited time, we are offering a free set of Valentines templates with any Flourish purchase. You can see the set here. Just add it to your cart along with other purchases before you checkout. This set is fantastic as it includes regular 5x7 templates, but also some rep card templates for Miller's Lab. I love rep cards for Valentines Day. The beauty of Millers rep cards is that the front of every card can be different. So you could print 25 or 50 cards and each one can have a different photo. I use rep cards to create custom Valentine cards for my children and clients to give to friends and put my logo on the back as an added little bit of advertisement. Don't forget to add this free set to your cart when you checkout!
Some of the templates:
As an extra bonus, spend more than $100 at Flourish Emporium and
receive a $25 gift certificate. Just checkout with at least $100 in
products in your cart and write "Gift Certificate Please" in the notes
box at checkout. We will send you a $25 gift certificate to put toward
your next Flourish purchase.
Also, we are starting up our 2011
workshop season and had our first lighting workshop of 2011 last
weekend. The workshop was fantastic and just makes me even more excited
for the rest of our 2011 workshops. If you've been waiting to enroll in a
workshop or to purchase a workshop in a box, now is your chance. Here's
a coupon code that will give you $50 off your purchase at http://workshops.nicholeV.com:
BoxFeb2011
Note that all coupon codes will expire on Friday, Feb 18th.
Also,
if you own a {life as art} Workshop in a Box and would like to attend
an in-person workshop, please contact us. We have decided to apply the
majority of your Workshop in a Box purchase toward your in-person
enrollment. So please email us and we can give you all the details!
Monday, January 31, 2011 11:54:02 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Well, as many of you know, I was lucky enough to attend Imaging USA 2 weeks ago. It was fabulous to see so many old friends and stroll through the tradeshow and look at what vendors have to offer this year. Not to mention escaping the bitter cold and leaving the kiddos in Utah for a fun weekend away in San Antonio with my husband, haha.
It was also a huge honor to be a part of PPA's first Grand Imaging awards. Usually with PPA's international print competition, the best any one print can do is to be accepted into their Loan Collection for the year. But for 2011, they decided to start doing Grand Imaging Awards, where they will honor the top 10 prints in a category (the categories being Wedding, Portrait, Editorial, Digital Imaging, etc.). I was thrilled when one of my wedding prints made it into PPA's 2011 Loan Collection. But I was even more astonished when I received a call about a month ago and was informed that my print would be honored as one of the top 10 Wedding images for 2011. Definitely did my happy dance!
So anyway, here is the print, which most of you are already familiar with:
And here I am on stage at Imaging with the other top 10 finishers and the presidents of PPA. Image is courtesy of Chris Hanoch.
I'm always a little star-struck in these situations and just can't believe that my prints can compete at this level. So thank you everyone who cheered for me! I so appreciate your support and encouragement!
Thursday, January 20, 2011 12:13:34 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Whew! It's been a crazy week attending Imaging USA and catching up on everything. But I'm back in front of my computer and ready to roll out some great new things for 2011.
But first, I wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to email or message me about my weight loss over the last 6 months or so. It's been a long journey, but I really feel that I have the photography community to thank for it all. In particular, those who have attended my workshops over the last 2 years. Let me explain.
I've always known that the vast majority of people who are in the late 30's and are physically fit and a healthy weight work very hard to maintain their bodies. Very few people can be 37 years old, eat whatever they want, never exercise and still be a normal weight (though I know a few who are . . . . you know who you are . . . . yes, I'm staring at you . . . . ). The rest have to work hard at it. Over the last 2 years, I've had some wonderful conversations with workshop attendees about photography, but also about life and balancing parenting and work and health and everything else. So last summer, I just decided that if all these amazing people could balance kids, family, a photography business and STILL have time to look fabulous, I could do it too! So thank you for all your incredible examples and being so inspiring for me to just get with it and pull myself together!
Also, I've had a lot of emails from people asking about what snacks I eat when dieting. As I've mentioned before, I basically eat every 2 hours all day long. I never eat too much, but I'm also never hungry. I'm the kind of person that can't feel like I'm "depriving" myself when trying to diet. So if I feel hungry or like I never get to eat yummy foods, I just won't stick with a diet. So here are a list of snacks that I love that are between 70-150 calories each.
My personal fav is Mango Lhassi. I make homemade probiotic yogurt out of super low-cal, organic local skim milk (it ends up being around 85 calories per cup) and then blend 1/2 cup of my plain yogurt with 4 oz. of ripe mango, 1/2 cup ice and a little water and ZSweet. Add a dollop of fat-free RediWhip and you have 2 cups of heaven with less than 125 calories.
I also love to make a Cranberry-Strawberry Smoothie too. Blend 1 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup cranberries and 1/2 cup yogurt with 1/2 cup ice, a little water and ZSweet to taste. Again, it's around 125 calories (depending on the yogurt you use).
For something starchy, you can't beat a 100 calorie bag of popcorn. But I also love multi-grain, whole wheat bread. Sunflower Market makes a deliciously hearty bread that only has 50 calories per slice. I toast it and instead of butter on it, I smear a wedge of Laughing Cow Light French Onion cheese (or Light Garlic and Herb from Sonoma Jack). Only 135 hearty calories and so yum!
For a sweet treat, you can't beat protein bars. I love Atkins Chocolate Oatmeal Fiber Bars. They taste like oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough and have fiber and protein and only 130 calories per bar. I also love Atkins Caramel Nut Chew bars. They taste like a Snickers and again, have protein, fiber and only 130 calories. South Beach also makes some good protein bars . . . . Basically, I just went to the store, bought one of every type of protein bar under 200 calories and made a list of my favorites, haha.
I also always have a large supply of fruit and veggies on hand. So a snack can also be an apple, a pear, an orange or a grapefruit (again, sweetened with ZSweet). I also have some 130 calorie bags of pistachios and other nuts. They also make for a quick, easy snack. Crunchies are also delicious to snack on. To be honest, I find myself scheduling my snacks everyday, because they're all so yummy, I can't wait to eat one, haha.
Thanks again for all your kind words and support!
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Nichole Van has repeatedly been labeled as a hot, new, up and coming photographer. As a Utah wedding photographer and a Utah
portrait photographer, she specializes in turning everyday life into art. Nichole loves expressing the unique beauty of
every client, creating artistic images that make people gasp when they see them.
As an international award-winning photographer, Nichole won the prestigious International 8x10 Portrait of the Year from
Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) for 2007. Consequently, her international award winning photography
was featured in Rangefinder Magazine in June 2008. She has also taken First, Second and Third place honors from WPPI in other
international competitions for her child and family photography. Additionally, Nichole has received numerous Accolades of
Excellence and currently holds an Accolade of Photographic Mastery from WPPI.
In addition to her love for photography, Nichole loves teaching and enjoyed being English faculty at Brigham Young University
for nearly 10 years. As the best of both worlds, teaching photography to others is her passion. Nichole currently offers
international photography workshops focusing on helping others enhance creativity and artistry in their photos. Combining her
excellence in teaching with her photographic knowledge, Nichole’s Life as Art Workshops are quickly revamping industry standards
for photographic workshops.
Nichole lives in southern Utah County with her husband and three children. You can see her work at www.nicholeV.com.