Working on new projects...

 

Hi my dear friends. It has been a while since I wrote here as I have been very busy working non stop with a couple of exciting new projects, but I shall let you know about them soon...watch this space :-)

Have a good week!

Welcome to le Petite Studio!

Hi! It has been a long time I know, but life is so busy right now that five minutes sometimes is difficult to find!
I have been working on countless projects that I don't know where to start so I'll tell you in little sections throughout the next few days so not to be an information overload in one post!
I'll start by telling you that I have been setting up a new studio which is fabulous and feel very lucky to be able to detach myself from working in the house and work full on, the problem now is to be able to know when to stop working!

 As I have mentioned before, I have re branded as my work has evolved with time and now I'm  doing what I really enjoy - lifestyle &am; studio portraits and food photography ( Price list can be seen here)
Also I have been signed up by an international food image company, which I'm very excited to be working with ! As I'll produce food images, now and again I'll do a recipe story around it here on the Blog and If I get to find time, I'll also work on some personal social documentary projects that I have in mind.

New Props and Backdrops..

New week, new projects and  new collections of images for the upcoming image licensing purchasing seasons. Today it has been a day of creating props and backdrops, is gonna be a busy week producing food photography and images for wall decor/greeting cards !!

Recipe for Le Weekend -Asparagus, Courgette and Feta Cheese Salad

Hi all, I hope you are all enjoying your summer wherever you are. Germany and Austria where lovely and we had a fabulous time exploring the mountains and lake areas, I shall post some photos as soon as I have time to edit the images. Back home now and it has been a super busy time with so much going on and preparing the new photo studio for its new opening in September!!
In the meantime I thought I'd share with you this delicious summer salad recipe for all of you out there looking for something this weekend, it is very quick and easy.

Preheat oven 180 C/ 160 C fan / Gas 4

Serves 2

Ingredients

100 g  feta cheese
3-4  tbsp olive oil
250 g vine cherry Tomatoes
2 courgettes
300 g asparagus spears ( hard woody ends cut off)
Handful roasted pine nuts
Handful of oreagano
Handful  of fresh basil
I lemon, juice and zest

1.  Place cheese on a square of foil and sprinkle oregano. Drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon of the oil then top with another square of foil and seal he edges. Bake on the tray, with the tomatoes, for 8-10 mins in the oven.

2. In the meantime slice the courgettes at an angle then mix it with a drizzle of olive oil. Cook in batches in a griddle pan until the vegetables are slightly charred.

3. For the dressing whisk together the remaining oil and lemon juice, season to taste.

4. To serve, arrange the cooked tomatoes, asparagus and courgette on a serving dish, sprinkle the Greek feta cheese followed by the lemon zest, pine nuts and basil leaves.

Enjoy ! :-)

* Other alternatives or can be added red grilled pepper or aubergine/ eggplant.

New Photo Studio Coming Soon..

Hi all! Finally I have found five minutes to post a  photo of my new studio. This image shows the initial stages and although I'm still working on the last touches, I thought I'd give you an idea of what is like...I am super excited and will post the final images when I'm done in a few weeks!
Meantime we are of to Germany tomorrow to visit Bavaria, friends and family, have a good week everyone X0XO

Have a lovely weelend,

Sharing with you another image from my series of 'summetime moments' collection of portriats that I took last week...
I wish you all have a lovely and relaxing weekend, I know I'll be getting into my new book by Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch.- Lets hope Ben and Jenny's baby arrives to the world too!

Are you on Instagram?

Well I've finally joined Instagram and yes I am getting addicted to it as with all new things that this social media world has to offer! Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram...So much so keep up with, but it is all about with keeping up with this great and fascinating world we have out there to discover and keep in touch with other like minded others :-) Come and say hi...http://instagram.com/rossananovella

Summertime special moments...

Well today luckily was lovely afternoon to take some shots of my gorgeous friend Jenny for my new venture of portrait photography, which has always been my secret passion, watch this space!

Summertime...

This afternoon  with this amazing weather we are having here in the UK, I had a moment of inspiration for a series of portrait images depicting summer time moments...
I have asked my good friend Jenny to pose for me tomorrow in this pool, so let's see what I come up with! - Bearing in mind Jenny is pregnant with a baby due in two days time!! So let's hope there is not an early arrival :-)

Pinterest- Stop by and say hi!

This morning at a cafeteria I was introduced by my lovely friends to theirs only to be recognised  by being on Pinterest and my ' Pinterest board !!! - I am quite addicted to it, so yes I do have quite a few mood boards- But I have never had that before and it only shows what a crazy world of social media we live in!  ;-)

If you haven't come across Pinterest yet, I recommend it for those in search of inspiration of anything that interests you; from recipes, home decor, travel, art etc...stop by and say hi and I might recognize you sometime in the future somewhere in our little world...

Book Recommendation!

For those that are creative and  are struggling get your creations out there to be discovered this little book, a New York Times bestseller, Show Your Work, is a gem and I totally recommend it.

I have just finished it and I now my way of thinking has changed thanks to Austin Kleon. I am always struggling to talk about my work and achievements but this book makes a lot of sense and now my head is bursting with tons of ideas!

If you are a writer, artist, photographer, designer this book is for you- also it has been translated in many languages. I'm now going to order his other book! 

The Morning After...

Months go pass and I realize I haven't been here for sometime! Life has been so busy with so many new projects that I'll leave it for a few days to let you know what has been going on...
Meanwhile here in England last night we had a pre-soccer world cup dinner in the garden, and although my team is Argentina last night I had to show my loyalty to Matt and friends...shame there was no win:-(

First signs of spring!

After months of rain it was so wonderful to finally have some days of sun this week!

Today in particular was such  a lovely sunny day here in UK that a walk by the woods beckoned ! I took my camera to see if I could spot any signs of spring and I was pleasantly surprised to see lovely colors coming through of the many buds everywhere...

       

Spicy Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup

I mentioned a couple of days ago I'm in the middle of a rebranding process towards lifestyle photo stories. Today I start with a new weekly recipe for the weekend, I hope you like it...

Have you ever had one of days when you don't have many ingredients in the kitchen cupboard and try and come up with an inventive recipe? It happens to me often, sometimes it is not successful and other times is a pleasant surprise!  Today I had one of those days. I had one butternut squash one sweet potato,  one red chili and a carton of coconut cream I thought to give it a try combining all these ingredients for a winter hearty soup which it turned out to be a delicious combo, so here I'm sharing my recipe with you-I hope you like it.

Recipe :

Serves 3 to 4 people

Duration 30-40 mins

 2 tbs olive oil

 1 large onion

 2 garlic cloves, minced

 1 small red chili

 1/2 tsp salt

 1/2 tsp pepper

 400 g butternut squash, diced

 400 g sweet potato, diced

 900 ml vegetable Stock

 3 tbs coconut cream

1. In a large pan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onion, chili and garlic with a pinch of salt and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft and translucent but make sure they do not go brown.

2. Add the diced sweet potato and butternut squash and cook for about 5 minutes before adding the vegetable stock. Cover the pan and cook for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. 

3. Season with salt and pepper to personal taste and add the coconut cream.

4. Puree the soup in a blender and can also leave it a little bit chunky.

5. Garnish with a dollop of coconut cream and herbs or your choice such as coriander.

New Year a New Chapter!

New website home page

Well they do say there is nothing like a new year to close chapters and bring in new ones! Well so far this applies to me as this year there are going to be so many changes with work and life that I don't know where to start ( hence my silence here and with many of you- you know who you are )

With my work I'm slowly rebranding and going towards the direction my heart has always taken me, which has been to take photographs of what life surrounds me with; be it friends and family, home cooked food, still life to travel. I have many projects I would like to document for future books or exhibitions, but this will be a long process in the making - nevertheless my images will still be available as prints and wall decor to private customers and licensing companies

At present I'm working towards opening for business with outdoor lifestyle portraits and studio for those that wish to, this coming summer. I'm also in the process of expanding my studio so I'll keep you updated with this news too!

In the meantime you will gradually see some changes through my blog with weekly vegetarian and vegan recipes and updates on my new projects ** note -Blog name has also changed from beechgrovestudio to rossananovellajournals.blogspot.com**

As this is not enough, Matt and I (as many of you know) have been in a very long process for adoption and hopefully I shall have some exciting news to share with you all very soon!

New Inspiring Prints

New Fine Art Prints

These new prints have been an instant hit in my shop with constant orders very day, which has been lovely to have a great response! You can see them in my shop  here -Not on the High Street 

 8 x10" £14 with free postage to UK orders.

Happy New Year! 20% Off on Full Prices

 Dear friends, I hope you all have a magical 2014 year ahead! 

As a thank you for your support and encouragement throughout the year I'm offering a 20% discount on my two shops plus free postage to all UK orders.

For the special offers visit my 'Not on the High Street' shop here or Etsy shop here ( please use the discount code HAPPY2014 on your checkout)

Have a lovely week :-)