Thursday, October 15, 2009

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!!

































16 comments:

Divina Pe said...

So adorable and your photos always brings a smile to my face.

wasabi prime said...

Beautiful! And the little fuzzy one... so adorable. Pets really do make the world go 'round.

Jenn HK said...

I will be buying that cookbook! ;) Beautiful pictures! And I can see why Nina stole your hearts.

Say, the picture with the pears... a) compliments to the person who peeled them, and b) where did you get the bowl and plate that is holding them?

-Jen Halverson Kuehn

Megan Lee said...

Gorgeous food and photography! I'm putting together a little cookbook right now and this is very inspiring :)

Tea said...

Puppy love! I can't wait to meet her.

Natalie said...

Nina is just adorable :) ..and the images for the cookbook are wonderful ..

Glad I've found your blog.

Clare said...

Jen, the bowl and plate in that photo are from antique stores. They are the BEST places for props, (aka:dishes.)

Anonymous said...

Am contemplating a move to Seattle and apply as a job to be your assistant.

I want to take the puppy for a walk and then come back and eat some of the food.

I absolutely love those photos!

Mel (UK)

Pam Odom said...

I love her, she couldn't be cuter.

kamran siddiqi said...

Gorgeous photography as usual! By the way, has anyone told you that your husband (?) looks like Tiger Woods? Well, he does...

Nurit "1 family. friendly. food." said...

That is THE cutest dog I've ever seen.
Gorgeous food too, but Nina is waaaaay too gorgeous.

Sharlane said...

Clare! I don't know what I am more shocked about: the puppy or how much I am stunned every time I see your gorgeous images! Seriously, you'd think I'd log on to your blog, and ho hum, gorgeous shots again...no surprise. But, dang it!!! You get me every time!!!

Laurel Geisbush said...

nice to meet Nina! she's beautiful. Drake, Griffin & Jackson hope to have a playdate with her soon.

Sean Wheatley said...

What a cute dog! Maybe we can set up a play date with Dolce!

Girish said...

Brilliant photographs that. The food looks delicious and am sure it did taste better.

Fan of your photography. Really. Been visiting your page / blog / photographs since 2-3 weeks and really your photographs are inspiring. I wish I was in US so I could attend your workshop. I am in India and recently foraying into the world of food photography. I have been taking pictures for my wives blog but after I did purchase my dslr I have been very serious about it.

Thanks for the entire posts on the blog, truly helpful and inspiring.

Can you share whether they were taking in all natural light or have you use any strobes for them.

Clare said...

Hi Girish,

I just responded to you on the Spare Room blog, as well.

I use natural light almost all of the time. The only time I use strobes or artificial light is when there is no natural light-- like during evening shoots.

Thanks for visiting! :)
Clare