A collaboration of great talents

The other night, I had the pleasure of shooting one of Kim Rickett's fabulous "Cooks and Books" events at Spring Hill in my neighborhood of West Seattle.

The guest chef was David Chang, of Momofuku Restaurant in New York. His new cookbook was recently published and features gorgeous photography and recipes for Chang's famous food.

The evening was a smashing success; the food was beautifully prepared, the crowd was lively, and restaurant owner, Mark Fuller, and the Spring Hill staff were AWESOME. Speaking of Spring Hill, the place is fantastic. If you haven't eaten there, then I highly suggest you go. The food is sensational, the service is excellent, and the staff is unbelievably accommodating to people with food allergies, which really sets them apart from most places in the city.

I didn't stay through the entire meal, so I only have a few food photos, but I heard nothing but rave reviews about every course. 

Enjoy!

I have an etsy shop! (And carpal tunnel syndrome)

I have a lot of topics to cover. And, unfortunately, I am not going to be able to do that in this post.

I am dealing with a horrible case of carpal tunnel syndrome on my right hand, so typing is really difficult. When I feel better, I promise to come back and write about some of the fun jobs I have had lately, as well as the tremendous success of Joe's and my  art "Salon", which was held at the end of October. It was awesome, and I am psyched to announce that it will be an annual event from now on. Since I can't elaborate more right now, I recommend you hop on over to this post and read Jenifer's words about her experience at our event. Her blog post was one of the highlights of the weekend.

Because of the event, I was inspired to finally, (FINALLY) create an etsy shop where people can buy prints of my work any ol' time. I have intentionally priced the work affordably, so that it's accessible to more people.

I invite you check it out by clicking HERE.

The holidays are almost upon us, after all, so maybe you'll find some gift ideas! :)

Busy busy busy...

I swear I try to blog regularly, but sometimes life just gets too busy.

A big part of the craziness lately is due to this little lady right here:

This is Nina.

Joe and I met her when we were "glamping" at Alexandria Nicole vineyards over in Patterson, WA. We saw her, were completely smitten, and adopted here then and there. Nina has moved from the gorgeous vineyards of Eastern Washington to our house in West Seattle. She spends her time tormenting our 2 cats and being cute, snuggly, opinionated, strong-willed, and sweet.

We love her.

Since I do a lot of my work from home, I now have a constant companion at my computer.

Another big part of my busy schedule is work-related.

This week, I am in a marathon shooting session for the NW Essentials Cookbook.

I have hired my dear friend, Jeff, to do all the cooking for the photography.

Jeff is an awesome chef, who has been cooking professionally for 13 years. He has also been one of my closest friends for over a decade. Working with him on this project has been a dream.

Shooting a cookbook is a TON of work, but it is so much more fun and exciting when collaborating with someone who you know well and respect.

Photography is really only a part of making food look good-- the preparation and styling is the other part of the equation. I like to style my own shots, but I am not a chef by any stretch of the imagination. Jeff's expertise has made my job so much easier. In fact, I have not needed to doctor any of the images to make them look more appetizing, which says a lot.

Also, for those wondering, the images are all of REAL food....no glue, no spray paint, none of those tricks you often hear about for food photography are being used here. At the end of the shoot, we end up eating the food. (And, let me just say, Greg Atkinson's food is delicious!!)

So, anyway, here are some pics of what we have been up to.

Bon Apetit!!

art, food, and friends

I want to tell you about a fun little thing happening next month.

My very dear friends, Anthony and Jeff, have offered their home for a party and art showing, featuring the work of Joe and myself.

This means that for the evenings of October 23rd and 24th, my photographs and a selection of Joe's paintings and prints will be hanging in our friends' charming West Seattle house, where people can view them while they sip a glass of wine and nosh on an appetizer or two.

There will be framed and unframed work for sale, in a whole range of prices, so it's a perfect time to think about holiday gifts. I will be displaying some of my B&W work, (a sampling is shown below), as well as some of my food photography. So, there will be a variety of styles.

Plus, a portion of the proceeds will be going to charity, (more on that in a future post.)

Since our friends don't have a huge house and we want to make sure that there are no major crazies in attendance, I need to know who you are if you would like to attend. At the minimum, we need to have exchanged some emails but, ideally, we've met in person. Or, we have mutual friends and you are attending with them. That works, too.

If you would like to be added to the invite list, I'd love to hear from you! Drop me an email and we'll go from there.

More for my client...

new client, new intern

I am happy to announce that I have my very first intern! Lorna Yee, food writer, blogger, and co-author of The Newlywed Kitchen: Delicious Meals for Couples Cooking Together, due to come out next spring, is hanging out with me during some shoots and learning more about food photography.

Today was my first day with Lorna and, I have to admit, I was pretty nervous. Thoughts like, "What the hell can I possibly teach her?" and "I am going to sound like a bumbling idiot trying to explain my process" and, my favorite, " She's gonna realize I have no idea what I am doing half the time and then the world will know I am a complete and utter fraud" kept running through my mind. 

Good times.

But the day was super smooth and, actually, a lot of fun. Lorna is great and, honestly, I could not ask for a better intern.

I spent the day shooting ingredients for my new client, Flaming Pear Catering, (website coming soon.)

The owner, Aileen, wanted the photos to feel rustic and fresh, and I had such a blast trying to create that mood.

Below is what I have so far. 

What do you think?

Anna

Jane, a super talented massage therapist and doula, recently contacted me about photographing her daughter, Anna. 

I have done more portraits than I can count but, really, only a few of them have been teenagers.

And, yet, I totally dig working with that age group. Years ago, I taught photography to middle school and high school kids, and I LOVED it.

It was awesome working with Anna. She's a sweetie with a great sense of style and an awareness of herself that's beyond her years.

Anna, I hope you like your sneak peek. You were the BEST model!