big changes 'round these parts

Let me cut to the chase:

My long-held dream of making my business bi-coastal is becoming a reality! Early this Fall, we will be relocating to Southern Vermont. These past several months have been occupied by readying our house to sell, packing our stuff, making countless trips to Goodwill, renting storage units, arranging movers and setting up meetings in the Northeast. To say it's been a whirlwind is an enormous understatement.

I am happy to say that I will be keeping my studio in Seattle and flying back regularly to work on projects and teach workshops. I have great clients in Seattle and look forward to keeping those relationships healthy, as well as building new connections. As a Seattle native, my ties here are strong and I intend to keep it that way.
I am also incredibly excited to build my business in the Northeast, and to FINALLY be able to offer workshops there! Look out, New England, I am coming for YOU!

I will talk more about this in the coming months-- how and why we made this decision, plans for the future, changes in my business-- but, for now, I just wanted to announce the news. I am so looking forward to the adventure ahead.

the 2016 farm to table workshop...in leavenworth!

I've said it before and I'll say it again-- this is, hands down, my favorite workshop to teach. It combines some of my favorite things; telling a story though photographs, good food and great people.

I'm thrilled to annouce that we're changing things up a bit this year, and taking the workshop to Leavenworth, Washington! Students will stay at the amazing Sleeping Lady Resort where, in their off time, they will be free to take advantage of the Sleeping Lady's day spa, dry sauna, fitness room or spend some time outside, renting a bike or strolling through the resort's organic gardens. The group will enjoy all their breakfasts and dinners at the Sleeping Lady's award-winning Kingfisher Restaurant and Wine Bar.

The workshop begins on Thursday, September 15th in the late afternoon. We will spend a little time getting to know one another, and then will have our first lecture/pdf, covering how to tell a story through images, (which we will be doing the next day!) Afterwards, there will be some time to get settled in our rooms and then dinner. PLEASE NOTE THAT ROOMS ARE SHARED.

On Friday, we will visit and document Oh Yeah Farms, a sustainable, organic vegetable and grain farm. We will also visit and photograph a second farm, (still TBD.) Much the day will be spent taking photos, but there will also be free time before we meet again for dinner.

Saturday will be all about food photography! Students will see how the food they documented on the farm the day before gets used in a restaurant setting. I am so happy to be collaborating with Colin Patterson from the former Sutra restaurant in Seattle at his new restaurant in Leavenworth, Mana. Students will practice their food photography on location at Mana, as well as documenting Colin in the kitchen. Afterwards, we will enjoy a delicious lunch together.

Saturday afternoon will be spent working independently on post production, before we gather again for a group critique and dinner.

The workshop ends on Sunday morning at 10am.

To register: go HERE

2015 farm to table recap

This past fall, I held my very favorite class for the fifth year running-- the 3 day farm to table workshop. In past years, this workshop has taken place on Whidbey Island, a place very near and dear to my heart. In 2015, however, we mixed things up and visited 2 farms in the Snoqualmie Valley: Jubilee Biodynamic Farm and Redfeather Farm. It was a treat to see both these farms in action.

Thank you, Wendy and Janya for hosting us!

JUBILEE FARM:



REDFEATHER FARM:

2015 farm to table workshop!!

Since I have posted about this beloved workshop several times now, you already know that it holds a special place in my heart.

Well, this year, we are doing things a bit differently.

In past years, this multiple-day workshop has involved all the students staying in one house together. Honestly, that's always been one of my favorite aspects of the experience, because it really ends up feeling more like a retreat than just a workshop. However, it's also a very expensive workshop to teach, which makes it cost-prohibitive for a lot of people who would like to attend. And, while I will definitely go that route again in the future, I've been doing a lot of thinking about this lately and thought I'd revise the plan for this year.

So, here are the details:

When: September 17, 2015- September 20, 2015

What: This is a workshop for people who are passionate about food, photography and documenting where your food comes from. Over the course of 3+ days, students will visit and photography Jubilee Biodynamic Farm, Red Feather Farm and one of Seattle's awesome farmers markets. They will also learn natural light food photography and styling, play with Clare's huge prop collection and take a whole lot of photographs.

Proposed Schedule: 

Thursday, 9/17- Meet and greet at Clare's studio in Seattle, overview of workshop and discussion

Friday, 9/18- Students will meet at Clare's studio and travel together to Jubilee Farm and Red Feather Farm in the beautiful Snoqualmie Valley. Transportation provided.

Saturday, 9/19- Workshop instruction covering natural light food photography and styling at Clare's studio. Lunch provided.

Sunday, 9/20- Farmers market visit*, and then downloading of images at Clare's studio, followed by group critique and closing reception.

(*farmers market visit may happen Saturday instead.)

Cost: $1050
This includes all workshop instruction, meet and greet reception on Thursday evening, snacks and beverages throughout weekend transportation to farms on Friday, lunch on Saturday and Sunday and wine and nibbles during final critique on Sunday evening.

Students must bring a DSLR and a laptop or tablet.

To register: Go HERE

workshop recap: farm to table 2014

I am embarrassingly late writing this recap. I blame the baby. He is a thief of time and sleep. At least the cuteness saves him.

The 2014 farm to table workshop was held in early October on Whidbey Island. As with past workshops, I totally scored with my students. They were truly awesome! It was such a fun, easy-going group.

This year, students visited and photographed one of my favorite Whidbey farms, Willowood Farm, and we added a new farm to the workshop: the gorgeous Glendale Shepherd. You can see some Willowood photos below. Unfortunately, I was unable to shoot Glendale Shepherd on this particular trip, but you can check out the photos from my previous visit. It's truly one of the most spectacular pieces of property I have ever seen.

 

The entire group (13 students plus me, my brother who cooked for everyone and my husband and mother who took care of our baby) stayed at the lovely Quintessa.

I have had the pleasure of staying at The Quintessa twice before-- once to celebrate my ten-year wedding anniversary, and once earlier this year. Both times were SO MUCH FUN. The property is beautiful, the house has 9 (NINE!) bedrooms plus a guesthouse, and the owners, Tessa and Carrie, are truly two of the kindest people you could ever hope to meet. It's a perfect spot to rent for large family gatherings, workshops or small events. It's also located on the southern part of the island, which is my favorite area-- near Langley, great beaches and the ferry dock.

My students did an amazing job with both the farm documentary and the food photography. It's always inspiring to see the creativity that emerges over the few days together. Each person's perspective is so unique!

This is truly my favorite workshop to teach. Stay tuned for info about the next one in 2015!