• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Vikalinka logo

WHOLESOME RECIPES YOU CAN TRUST

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Starter
    • Bread
    • Side dishes
    • Asian recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Drinks
    • Videos
  • Breakfast
    • Eggs
    • Pancakes, Muffins and More
    • Grains
    • Hot breakfast
  • Lunch
    • Salad
    • Soup
    • Sandwiches and more
  • Dinner
    • Chicken
      • Chicken breasts
      • Chicken thighs and drumsticks
      • Whole chicken
    • Beef
    • Pasta
    • Casseroles
    • Slow Cooker and Instant Pot
    • Pork
    • Fish and Seafood
    • Quick and Easy
    • Stew
  • Dessert
    • Cake
    • Pies
    • Cookies
    • Pastry
  • Collections
    • Asian Recipe Collection
    • Russian Recipe Collection
    • Italian Recipe Collection
    • Christmas Recipe Collection
    • Thanksgiving Recipe Collection
    • Easter Recipe Collection
  • About
    • Travel
    • Privacy policy
    • Contact Me
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Dessert
  • Collections
  • Videos
  • Travel
  • About
Γ—

Home Β» Personal

August 8, 2014

Behind the Scenes with Vikalinka

Published August 8, 2014 | Julia Frey (Vikalinka)

Behind the scenes with VikalinkaBehind the scenes with Vikalinka

After a year and a half of blogging some of you have got to know me pretty well or so I thought.  Then my friend Noemi came over and said, “You need to show your readers who you are! People would love to see the person behind the camera.” Hmm, when I gave that idea a bit of consideration I realised I was very reluctant to do so. Why? Not sure, perhaps I’ve grown accustomed to that Vikalinka persona and to reveal the real me was not so easy.

Behind the scenes with Vikalinka

Then Noemi, who happens to be an incredibly talented photographer, came up with this brilliant idea-to do a shoot of a shoot- follow me as I set up for an ordinary food post and document it all. I couldn’t say no to that!! To put it plainly, she made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. 🙂 No guns were involved though.

Behind the scenes with VikalinkaBehind the scenes with VikalinkaBehind the scenes with Vikalinka

So here it goes, my name is Julia…not Vikalinka… I never hid that fact but, since so many of my readers call me Vikalinka or Vika, I thought it’s worth mentioning. When I am not cooking or styling food for my blog, I spend time with my best friend, who makes me laugh every day and happens to be my husband, and our 2 kids. Huge part of my time is also given to my work, which I happen to like! I am a teacher by day. So despite what it looks like on my blog, you and I have  A LOT in common. I do make fancy cakes, occasionally but most of the time I cook quick and healthy dinners for my family because my life is happening at an INSANE pace and I am constantly trying to catch up! Between being a mom, a wife, a teacher and a blogger not a lot of time is left for me. Wait, that’s not true…all of those things are pieces of ME. I absolutely love living my life the way it turned out.

Behind the scenes with VikalinkaBehind the scenes with VikalinkaBehind the scenes with VikalinkaBehind the scenes with Vikalinka

I am asked often about my exotic location, i.e. England. This brings a smile to my face partially because after living in a place for a while it loses its first charm and magic but mostly because my “exotic” location looks far less thrilling in reality. My English garden where I often shoot is the size of a postage stamp. I often have no room to back up when I take my photos so I learned to fold my body into incredible shapes in order to avoid bumping into furniture or other miscellaneous objects such as that shed in my garden.

Behind the scenes with Vikalinka

Truth is the reality of my life is much more prosaic than the imaginary world of Vikalinka but there is also another reality, the one I choose to see daily. That reality is an incredible beauty that surrounds us in ANY location; the beauty of God’s creation expressed in a newly baked loaf of bread, freshly churned farmhouse butter  and the aroma of aged cheese or perhaps a large cluster of juicy grapes. I am surrounded by that beauty every day.

I guess revealing the real me wasn’t so hard after all. I hope you can tell me a little bit about yourself in your comments. There not too many things I enjoy more than hearing from my readers. Thank you for stopping by and continue reading my blog.  Also, a HUGE thank you to my friend Noemi for taking these dreamy photos and making me look like a domestic goddess!

Have a blessed weekend!

Behind the scenes with Vikalinka

Behind the scenes with Vikalinka

Behind the scenes of Vikalinka

 

 

More Personal

  • Naturally Coloured Easter Eggs
  • GDPR privacy policy
    Privacy policy update
  • Got Fibre? Arla Fibre Can Help!
    Got Fibre? Arla Fibre Can Help!
  • Saint Petersburg, Russia
    What to See in Saint Petersburg

About Julia Frey (Vikalinka)

Julia Frey is a London based recipe developer and photographer. Julia founded Vikalinka in 2012 with the main mission to provide her readers with delicious and accessible everyday recipes, which could be enjoyed by everyone.
read more..

Related Posts

  • Naturally Coloured Easter Eggs

  • GDPR privacy policy

    Privacy policy update

  • Got Fibre? Arla Fibre Can Help!

    Got Fibre? Arla Fibre Can Help!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Aimee @ Simple Bites says

    at

    Lovely behind the scenes! I’m a big fan…and also very familiar with body contortion in order to get the right camera angle. πŸ˜‰

    Reply
    • vikalinka says

      at

      Thank you so much, Aimee! I think body contortion skills develop as a by-product of blogging. πŸ˜‰

      Reply
  2. Karina says

    at

    I would love to have ANY garden, even a postage stamp sized one. My parents have a pretty big one (not as big as the ones shown on BBC programmes, but still) and I try to visit them and spend as much time as possible among the roses or in the cottage garden. The fact that your small space seems big and lavish in the pictures is in my opinion one of the biggest compliments for a gardener and photographer.

    Reply
    • vikalinka says

      at

      Thank you, Karina. I truly appreciate my tiny garden. We lived in a flat for two years right after we moved to London so I do know how precious a bit of outdoor space is, especially for kids! Thank you for stopping by! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  3. kate says

    at

    I’ve really come to enjoy your blog and photos so much since discovering it a few months back. The idea of a shoot of your shoot is something that more bloggers should do, to take the dreamy fiction out of their posts. Blogs have a tendency to make us think that the bloggers life is exactly how it’s shown in the photos and having written a food blog for eight years, one of my goals in it was to show everyone that it was NOT that way, but surprisingly, no one wants reality. They all want the gorgeous, dreamy life. Seeing the reality makes someone so much more true, like we can grasp them in a big embrace, so thank you, for being real, and for sharing your tiny postage stamp with us.

    Reply
    • vikalinka says

      at

      Thank you so much, Kate! Your comment truly made my day and reminded me once again why I blog! I blog to share what I know and that is food. I wanted to share that cooking could be a fun, creative outlet and it could be done without breaking the bank! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  4. Laura (Tutti Dolci) says

    at

    I love this post, so glad you shared a bit of who you are with us :). Your postage stamp garden looks so charming!

    Reply
    • vikalinka says

      at

      Thank you, Laura. πŸ™‚

      Reply
  5. Katya @ Little Broken says

    at

    Great post Julia! Forgive me, I have called you Vika in the past πŸ™‚ Awesome pics!

    Reply
    • vikalinka says

      at

      LOL no problem, Katya, not offended at all. Vika is my mom’s and my daughter’s name. πŸ™‚

      Reply
  6. Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says

    at

    Such a lovely post and beautiful photos! Love the picnic and learning more about you, too πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • vikalinka says

      at

      Thank you, Jennifer!

      Reply
  7. Magda says

    at

    Beautiful photos. And don’t be shy, everybody wants to know who you are πŸ™‚
    Every location can be exotic and even small garden can look gorgeous. I wish we had a garden even tiny, although having a balcony is almost as good.
    Have a great weekend.

    Reply
    • vikalinka says

      at

      Oh trust me, Magda, since moving to London and I don’t take my tiny garden for granted! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  8. Tony Hedrick says

    at

    Where would you be without Noemi? She has really passed on and developed your gift. You are a “Shooter.”

    Reply
    • vikalinka says

      at

      She sure did. πŸ™‚

      Reply
  9. Noemi says

    at

    Someone as beautiful as you, inside and out, needs to be shared with the world. I’m just SOOO thankful I can call you my friend. I love your tender heart…and the way you always make me feel at home when I’m around you or just reading your blog!

    Reply
    • vikalinka says

      at

      Thank you! These photos were such an incredible and generous gift. I will always treasure them!! I can’t wait for the next time we are together. πŸ™‚

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Footer

As Featured On…

as featured on

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

Copyright Β© 2023 Vikalinka