surfaces

Any food photographer knows that the search for interesting surfaces is an ongoing quest. I scour thrift stores, antique shops, salvage yards, and etsy constantly. However, some of my favorite surfaces have been found on the beach or in someone's heap of recycling. You just never know when you are going to come across the perfect piece of chippy painted wood or scratched up metal.

I came across this amazing place online called SurfaceArchive, which rents out all types of surfaces to photographers. Brilliant!! And yet they are located in New York. :(
Unfortunately, we don't have anywhere like that in Seattle, but it gave me an idea. My friend, Nik, is an incredible artist and metal sculptor and is constantly creating interesting textures in his own work. I reached out to him and asked if he could create some custom surfaces for me-- some in plaster, some with weathered wood, and some with various types of metal.

Nik recently came by the studio to drop off the first ones he'd made-- his "test" bunch, as he called them. I am SO thrilled-- the plaster samples he made are beautiful!! He took 3 light-weight panels and created different surfaces on each side, so they are all double-sided. You can see the results below.
Most of these are combinations of plaster, concrete and dye.

I can't wait to see what he does for me next!