Saturday, August 27, 2011

so much to share, so little time

Remember how I promised to get back to my "photo of the day" as soon as I returned from Italy?

Yeah.

Sorry about that.

In my defense, it has been a non-stop whirlwind of work since Joe and I returned. I have been teaching workshops, finishing the shooting for a cookbook about Pike Place Market, shooting the photos for a gluten-free holiday baking book, (more on that later), shooting portraits, and falling more and more behind on my post-production work.
During the month of September, I will be shooting the photos for an Indian online cookbook, shooting more portraits, going on a little vacation to the California wine country with my sweet husband, teaching a workshop, and shooting food photos for 2 new clients.

It's a little crazy around here.

I am not complaining, though. I LOVE my work.

Since I have been neglecting the blog for a little while, I have a bunch of things I am overdue to share. And, since I don't love the writing part of blogs, I am going to keep the words fairly short and sweet and get to the photos.

So...as I have mentioned, Joe and I were in Italy way back in July.
After shooting the wedding, we spent time in the mountains above Assisi at the greatest agriturismo in the whole wide world. I highly recommend it. After that, we spent time in Bologna, Florence and Rome-- all of which were amazing.
During our time in the Emilia Romagna area, however, we hired a private guide to take us on a food tour, where we visited 3 production houses and learned how parmigiano-reggiano, traditional balsamic vinegar of modena, and lambrusco wine are made. It was an incredible experience, and our guide, Gabriele, was great.

Parmigiano-Reggiano factory
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Lambrusco winery (note the AMAZING view from this place. It's an agriturismo, as well as a winery, so you can stay here!)
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They fed us a delicious lunch, complete with 2 types of Lambrusco! Yippee!
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The home where the Acetaia di Giorgio balsamic vinegar is made. It is insanely delicious, by the way.
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As I mentioned above, I came back to a lot of work, some of which involved shooting a gluten-free holiday baking book.

This was an amazing experience, from start to finish. The cookbook is being published by Chronicle and is due out in Fall of 2012. I had the opportunity to work with 2 incredible women-- Jeanne Sauvage, the author, and Helene Dujardin, the talented woman I hired to style the food on the shoot.

Jeanne is the most fantastic gluten free baker I know. Her breads and sweets are delicious and you would never know they are gluten free.
And Helene is the author of one of my favorite food blogs, a pastry chef who does a lot of gluten free baking herself, and an insanely talented photographer and stylist.
The three of us laughed, chatted, collaborated, shared ideas, and kept one another upbeat every step of the way.

I could not have asked for a better experience.

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Lastly, I have added a new class to the mix!

It was so much fun to team up with Becky Selengut for the Good Fish class, we have decided to do a cooking/shooting/styling class together. This class is perfect for someone who has already taken the Natural Light Food Photography workshop with me or who already has a good understanding of their camera, basic exposure and composition. Becky and I will talk about food and prop styling and students will have ample time to practice their photography and styling skills. For dates and more information, go to my website and click on the "workshops" tab, (you'll need to scroll down to see all the classes.)

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10 comments:

Unknown said...

How wonderful! All of it. From the Italian foodie trip to peeks into the week of food prep and photography for the gluten-free cookbook. What an incredible world to work in. I just love seeing how all of these jobs happen. Thank you!

Broderick @ Savory Exposure said...

Beautiful post, Italy is high on my list of places to visit and I love the idea of hiring a guide & doing a food&wine tour. Love the photos of the woman holding the balsamic and of course the one with my friend Helene!

Chezbonnefemme said...

I love Lambrusco—that is, the not-overly-sweet kind you drink in Italy. It's so refreshing with food, none too alcoholic, and festive (with its light bubbles), to boot.

So, do you know of any great Lambrusco you can get in the U.S.? That is, not in the style of Riunite, but in the style that Emilia-Romagnains drink every day?

Helena said...

How beautiful Clare. I love your photos from the Parmigiano Reggianno factory especially.

Clare said...

Chezbonnefemme,

I love Lambrusco, too! The wine
featured in this post is available for purchase in the states:

http://www.coolvines.com/wines/654235134514/Opera-02-Lambrusco-Amabile-2009

Jann said...

What a great experience for you~great shots, too!

Helene said...

I just can't believe a week ago we were thick in the middle of that shoot. Time flies. I am happy to be home and on to other adventures but I'll never forget how incredible this week was. Your ethics and hospitality are home to me. Thank you for bringing me on this project!

Joan Leonard said...

Clare, your gorgeous photos wonderfully tell the story of your adventures. Fascinating to see the cheese, wine and vinegar processes, and the creation of the photography for a cookbook. What an exciting world you live in.

Valery Rizzo said...

clare, I would love to take a class with you if you ever come to New York;) hint hint

Valery Rizzo said...

Love the photos in Italy, your lighting is amazing!