Edible Magazine Fall 2010
50 Years Together!
The Dials celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in August, and called me to help mark the occasion. We went down to the North Valley and spent a little time together. Great couple and great session. A reminder to me of how lucky I am to do this for a living.
Back at Waves
Wrapping up the marketing shoots for Chris. This was a very fun shoot. Both ladies are customers of Chris', not models -- but you'd never know it. This has been a great project and I can't wait to see how it turns out online. Thanks to Julianna Silva for setting it up! I was able to use my lighting setup in new ways, and to practice working with living people a little more. I love food photography, but sometimes it gets lonely.
Flying Star story for Edible Santa Fe
I'm working on a story profiling the Flying Star and their food buying practices for a great local food magazine called Edible Santa Fe. It's my first non-academic writing in almost 10 years, and it's been a a bit slow so far, but I'm pretty happy with what's developing. The chef is Michael Geise, owners are Jean and Mark Bernstein. I don't know the bakery girl's name. Dishes: the famous Southwest Benny, made with locally-grown turkey sausage, organic eggs and english muffins made from scratch; the 100% New Mexico-raised premium angus burger. Also pictured is the Buddha Bowl with American Humane® Certified chicken. These photos were taken at the commissary and the Paseo del Norte location. View full gallery here.
Back at Waves Salon
This assignment has been great fun for me. I've been forced to think more about lighting than I usually do, incorporating three Nikon speedlights (SB800, SB600 and SB28) off camera. I'm using the SB28 for hair at 85mm, clamping it to the rafters with a Manfrotto Justin Clamp. The SB800 is the main light and is used through a PLM. The SB600 is shot through a small white umbrella. These are some of the many photos I took, and include Chris the stylist and Andre the model.
P'tit Louis Bistro
My old friend Steve Paternoster called me yesterday with great news: one of the restaurants he had an interest in, P'tit Louis Bistro, was being featured in an upcoming issue of Sunset Magazine. He wanted to get some photos to them by later today, so I went down right away and met with Christophe and John, the owners and operators. Two great guys, and very nice looking food. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Sunset will use them (and not forget a credit). The dish is Moules Roquefort, and the gentleman is the founder, Christophe. Check out the rest of the gallery here: P'tit Gallery.
Cochiti Feast Day
My son has a school buddy from Cochiti Pueblo (mom's side). We were invited up for the annual Feast Day, and it was an amazing experience. I'll never forget the look on my boys faces when they saw their friend getting ready to dance. It was interesting to attend as the dad of a buddy rather than the son of an anthropologist, as I did in my younger days. No cameras up there, except at the house.
Associated Press and Waves Salon
It was about 11am and I was at La Havana Restaurant on Menaul getting ready to photograph their food for the Weekly Alibi. I felt my phone buzzing, and since my wife was out of town I took a look. It was AP, calling me for the first time in over a year. There was a workplace shooting, and they needed photos right then. It was awkward, but I told the fine folks at the restaurant that I'd have to come back. Oh, and I was scheduled to shoot photos at Waves Salon at 1pm. I went up to a half mile from the scene of the shooting APD had set a wide perimiter with reports of a possible second shooter coming in. I got the shots I could and raced home to caption the photos and upload to AP. FTP didn't work -- feeling like crying as I was later and later for my Waves shoot. Lucky for me, the models there were patient and everything basically worked out. By far the most frenetic day of photography to date for me. And it was my little boy's 7th birthday. Famous people in the AP pics include Mayor Barry, Police Chief Shultz and David Letterman -- or maybe that's Stuart Dyson.
Targeting a niche
Anyone who knows my work most likely thinks of me as a food photographer. i started a food magazine in 1996 and started taking photos for it because i couldn't afford to pay a photographer, an ironic twist of the knife every time a potential client passes on me because of their budget. photographing food has become a neurosis for me in some ways, and comes with the anxiety and fleeting satisfaction that you'd expect. Now i have a system, which revolves around stitching, natural light and reflectors more than anything else. i love using artificial light, and am doing everything i can to learn more about it through the myriad free resources out there -- but i only use strobes with food when i have to. so, these are shots from last week for Nob Hill Bar and Grill (top two sets) and Casa Vieja in the Corrales (bottom).
Ralph Bunch Charter School
I was commissioned to photograph the staff and student life at this very interesting charter school near the Albuquerque airport. The assignment saw me try some new gear, like my Phototek LM which I was basically happy with. Despite the somewhat austere environment, the school was full of life and the teachers seemed committed to their students in a way I haven't seen at other schools I've photographed.
Father's Day
Father's Day seems as good a time as any for me to start a blog. i hope this spot will become a way for me to share the victories and defeats of an aspiring photographer. one thing I know now, after my first year of full-time pursuit of a career in photography is that, like most things worth doing, it is not easy. we'll see how well I keep up with it. Julie made a delicious dinner for us, and the boys were as good as they could get themselves to be for the day. not perfect, but no blood.
