Good evening!
I thought it would be fun to show you a behind the scenes look at my preparations for Challenge #10 of Project Food Blog.
Sometimes it is fun to see what craziness is ensuing behind the posts. It isn’t always glamorous behind the scenes!
My kitchen wept.
I sustained my energy levels on chocolate chip cookies, Green Monsters, protein bowls, and French Press.
Quotes centered me when I felt frazzled…
Santa watched over me in the kitchen…
Let’s just say that this year I am getting coal in my stocking.
I didn’t leave the kitchen for over 9 hours on the last baking day. There was not a second to spare.
I ate many meals standing up at the kitchen counter.
and by meals, I mean whatever scraps were around that were quick!
The night before the challenge #10 photoshoot, I planned the Holiday ‘set’…
One of my goals for my last post in Project Food Blog was to try some new things with photography and really push myself out of my comfort zone.
In the morning (aka: good lighting) I began.
I printed off my photo and put it on the window beside me for inspiration of how I wanted the photos to look.
When I was having a difficult time getting the photos to look a certain way, I looked at the picture to guide me.
It didn’t really help, but I pretended it did!
After a couple hours of some crazy shooting, I had some decent shots to work with. I had to keep rushing the bars back into the freezer so they didn’t get all soft and melted for the pictures. It was a lot of running back and forth, back and forth. I must have ran 2 miles in my kitchen that morning.
I concluded it was worth skipping a couple workouts for!
I have so much respect for food stylists because it is not easy work. Food doesn’t stay fresh for long (in my case, it melted) so I had to be quick.
For example, I had this candycane sitting in my Peppermint Nog for so long, the candycane dissolved and fell onto the white tablecloth leaving a big red stain.
It was actually really funny (despite the mess).
I grabbed a handful of candycanes, bulbs, ribbon, and a tree ornament and put it in the background for the props.
I used square mirrors (from our wedding) to give a beautiful reflection.
I especially loved this one with the Peppermint Nog (it is just 1 glass, reflected 3 times, using three mirrors)
One of the props I made was this small red dish filled with marshmallows. In the background it looks like snow and fit in well with the holiday theme!
This photo below was made using wrapping paper reflected onto the mirror that the bars rested on.
Very fun, but a bit dizzying so it did not make the final cut for my last post.
My favourite bar to photograph was the Mint Chip Nanaimo Bar shown below. The green really pops and the crushed candycane is gorgeous in a photo.
I had the most difficult time with the pom-almond bar, so I sprinkled some icing sugar on top and that helped with how it looked in the photo.
I also liked how the three flavours looked all stacked up.
By the end of it all, I was ready to collapse.
The kitchen table looked like a bomb went off…
Note:
- The Nutcracker was too creepy to use in the background of the photo (hehe)
- I had to Windex the mirrors a million times from smudges and crumbs
- Wine was opened when I hit publish on my post at 4:30pm on Sunday
- I jammed to music from Eric’s laptop to keep my energy up
- I am a bit crazy
When my post was uploaded, I enjoyed wine. Eric enjoyed beer. I went to bed early and then stared at the ceiling until 3am that night.
Good times.
When it was all said and done, the ‘set’ looked like a depressed reception hall the morning after a wedding…
I had that strange ‘it is all over’ feeling like I feel after Christmas Day is over.
Only chocolate and candycane stains, crumbs, ribbon, confetti, and a few sad looking decorations were left.
The table partied hard and it looked a bit hung over the next day…
Here is another behind the scenes shot taken from my challenge #4 shenanigans:
Clearly, I did not make as much of a mess back in challenge #4!
Ok, maybe I did…
And for fun, a photo timeline of the seasonal changes during the contest…
Challenge #1…
Challenge #2…
Challenge #4…
Challenge #5…
Challenge #6…
Challenge #7…(bye bye leaves!)
Challenge #8…(another big change)
Challenge #9…(ahh!)
And finally this is what it looked like for Challenge #10…! It has been a long journey.
It was a crazy few months, but I truly had a blast along the way and I hope to keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone and using new skills in new ways. If there is anything this contest has shown me it is that this is truly what makes me happy. Sometimes it takes a few wrong turns to figure it out, so never lose hope if you are currently struggling with a career choice. If you keep following your passions, they will never lead you astray!
I spent 7 years in university pursuing something that ultimately did not make me happy (research) and I had to figure it out the hard way. That is a tough pill to swallow, but sometimes we just don’t know until we experience it first hand. For the longest time I had so much guilt about not enjoying what I was doing, but what I realized is that life is too short to beat myself up. We all make decisions that might not work out for us.
No one has all the answers and sometimes we have to admit to ourselves that something isn’t right for us so we can create a new path and start a new journey!
The beauty of life is not in being perfect or never failing, but in learning from our decisions and following our hearts. If you are doing this, you are moving forward.
Keep on truckin’ on.
‘Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.’~Ralph Waldo Emerson
What a cool post! I REALLY hope you win on Friday! You deserve this!!!! Good luck!
Angela!
What a beautiful post! I LOVED what you did and want to eat all of it hehe. I especially LOVE the bottle of wine by the end. I’m so proud of your perserverance. Congratulations on your hard work and a job well done! It’s so creative and inspiring!
Angela, this post, especially the ending of it, is amazing. So amazing. I spent a similar amount of time pursuing geology research, but it never made me happy. Unfortunately, I probably will not get y asters, but it honestly is not worth it for my to put in the effort, time, and stress to finish up.
In January, I am starting culinary school. I am moving up to Colorado and starting “from scratch”. I am finally following a huge huge dream of mine, and am so terrified and excited at the same time!
wow im so proud of you for taking a leap! I’m sure you will do just amazing and never look back
Ange, you are so amazing. It’s incredible to see what goes on behind the scenes in your posts! I always knew you worked hard, but this is just above and beyond. I’m in awe! Thank you for being such a delightful, inspirational person :)
I had no idea all the work that went in to this. Wow!
So it’s the storm before the calm then…? ;)
Great pics and you definitely deserve to win – so much effort, energy and passion! Go ft it girl. I’ll be supporting you :)
Wow, I continue to be amazed by all that you do! I’ve seen behind-the-scenes photos and video of the toothpicks, glue, and all the other crazy non-food stuff they usually use to make foods look so mouthwateringly delicious.
I’m even more impressed with this!
haha glue and toothpicks? Crazy stuff
You are so amazing, I LOVE the work in progress shots!! and I love the quote in the beginning! I voted for you and I hope you win!! I’ve been following you on and off since the beginning of your blod and since I’ve started my own I’ve been reading everyday! I made your red pepper boats and I loved them, as well as my fiance who didn’t think that he would when I first told him about them! Good Luck tomorrow, I know you got this !!!
You have done such an amazing job throughout the whole process!!! I have voted for you every time. You truly deserve to win it all!!!!! I love the picture from challenge five of you running in the leaves. So cute and fun!
Amazing, amazing, AMAZING post, and your progress was awesome to watch.
Ange, this is such an awesome post. You allow us to see how much pain and hard work you put in to create a single blog post. Truly appreciate that. Also, you’re such inspirational and motivator for me. Can’t thank you enough. All the way from Singapore.
Hi Angela,
I have been following your blog for a while but never commented before. You truly are an inspiration. I am a 38 year old Bosnian girl living in Switzerland, and I am still trying to figure out what I want in life. I have also been struggling with binge eating and I truly want to start living a healthy life. I started so many times, but whenever faced with stress I give up. Reading your posts gives me encouragement. Good luck tomorrow. I voted for you, of course.
ANgela, you have the best food photography out there! Congrats on the foodbuzz contest. All of your entries have been amazing. I can’t even imagine how much time you spent on all of this.
that is pretty intense! i wouldn’t have gotten very far with the whole contest because i don’t have the time or energy for it. of course, i applaud the energy and devotion of those who have advanced so far! :) you’re doing great. best of luck.
This is not your first post that’s left me teary-eyed…in a good, hopeful, positive way :)
Angela, this is my first comment, but I’m a long-time reader. As someone struggling through the final stages of a PhD, and the early stages of veganism, now seemed the right time to tell you what a huge support this blog has been for me. I too am coming to terms with the fact that I have spent 10 years pursuing a research career that I don’t want, and it’s hard. But your positivity and enthusiasm pulls me up short when I start feeling sorry for myself. And your recipes mean I always have good food to turn to, even as a very young vegan ;) I joined foodbuzz so that I could vote for you in the final stages, and I hope you bring this home. But even if you don’t, making the final 3 is freaking awesome! Congrats :-)
Thank you Alison!
I loved the behind the scenes peek. Frankly, it demonstrates to me to NOT got involved with things like this! I’m a regular ole blogger, not a super photographer or food stylist and I don’t think I have the time to commit to such an undertaking. Your post really demonstrates why you deserve to be a finalist. You make amazing recipes, you have an eye to showcase the recipes and you have the creativity to tell a tale through food and photos. Good luck tomorrow!
Wow, you are a genius. I loved seeing the behind the scenes. You make it look so effortless in your posts but it is nice to see all the work that goes in. Congratulations again, I really enjoyed reading your contest posts. You are very talented!
Amazing post Angela!! As usual, your photos are absolutely stunning! Love, love, love the props and Christmas set. :)
The pictures are so beautiful. I did vote for you. Hope you win the challenge!