Antlers
Woodland Tea
Tea in the Woods
This is an image for my very first promo book; I’m hoping to send it out by the end of January. Eighteen images, all of them food and product shots with an Oregonian—you might even say Cascadian—twist.
Behind the Scenes: Woodland Tea
It was quite the scene in the studio, hauling buckets of redwood duff from the backyard through the house. Of course it was raining, so the redwood branches were appropriately wet. Met a couple of hitchhiking bugs, too—I hope they appreciated their new warm shelter.
Three Times Tea
Afternoon Tea
Tea by the Window
Tea and Lemon
The Power of Focus
in Photography
Spicy Coppa on Butcher Paper — “normal” shot at f/11, with a Nikon 105mm macro lens
I've been focus-stacking recently and really enjoying the resulting clarity. Over and above providing more visual detail, focus-stacked photographs have a completely different emotional tone than photographs in which the background is allowed to go soft.
This difference really jumped out at me in this recent shot of slices of spicy coppa (thank you, Marché Provisions) on butcher paper.
I don't dislike the out-of-focus background--not at all. It just feels like it was shot in a whole different world. A photo that goes soft feels a little sentimental, maybe, while the focus-stacked imaged is arguably more dramatic.
Spicy Coppa on Butcher Paper - the final focus-stacked image, 22 separate photographs
Big Chocolate
Chunks of Callebaut milk chocolate block
White chocolate with chocolate fork
Three chocolates: White, Milk, and Dark
Contemporary Vanitas, with Eggshells
in Photography, Fine Art
Eggshells on White with Orange Leaf (Vanitas)
Egg Cup with Leaves (Vanitas)
Eggshells on Black with Anemones (Vanitas)
One Whiskey, Four Ways
Tincup Whiskey photographed on brass background
Tincup Whiskey photographed on copper sheet
Tincup whiskey bottle photographed on old sheet metal
Tincup whiskey bottle photographed on black background
Bottle Shots, Traditional and Otherwise
To my surprise, I enjoy shooting wine bottles in a traditional style--butter-smooth lighting, no hot spots, a nice glass next to the bottle that's got just-enough-but-not-too-much wine in it :D .
But I also enjoyed cutting loose a bit and shooting (slightly) unconventionally, trying to capture the spirit of the label.
I shot these for Tonette Marler, my longtime friend who's a wine consultant. She knows all about what wines go with what foods (including chocolate!), and is especially knowledgeable on the subject of organic and healthy wines--it's her niche. What a good friend to have, eh?
The above shot of the Che Fico (pronounced “Kay Fee-Koh) is my favorite, and Tonette’s as well. I’m looking forward to opening this bottle tonight.
Hot pink bow on a zebra! What else is there to say?
Not so easy to be true to the spirit of the label when the winery takes its name from the vintner's stoic, no-nonsense great grandma. It took me a while to come up with a humble but righteous country feel for this Middle Jane Pinot Noir.
A collection of traditional wine ad shots with that silky-smooth lighting. Well, except for the Vinas Olvidadas on the upper left, which could be classed as an editorial shot--the on-location set, the multiple reflections in the glass.
Creature of Habit
Photographers return again and again to places that inspire them: Yosemite, the Chicago waterfront, Mount Fuji.
My Mount Fuji for about a year was this square cinderblock building squatting in a cracked and swollen, nearly-undriveable asphalt lot, just a couple blocks away from my house.
I shot the building while it was between tenants, and during that time it grew that patina of abandonment—weeds and graffiti, a cracked window or two.
After a few visits, the building began to take on a mystical aspect. I imagined I could sense the ghosts of previous occupants, and in its silent emptiness the building seemed to me to be sleeping. Maybe dreaming, even.
I was unimpressed the first time I noticed it. I even took this picture as a joke, smirking at the “BEAUTY SALON & SPA” stenciled on the side.
Now it houses a dog rescue non-profit, a worthy cause. Instead of graffiti, the windows sport paintings of happy cartoon doggies. Maybe I’ll go in there and ask if I can take portraits of the dogs.
Words About Pictures
My mentor and photography coach extraordinaire Don Giannatti has given his new students the assignment of writing a vision statement for their work.
I'm not in that group--I'm an old student--but I'm playing along anyway.
It's hard. I get trapped between poetic words and their literal meanings.
For example, I started off writing something about distilling a strong liquor of emotions out of an image, a scene, a set, a view. But then I looked up the actual definition of distilling, and it turned out to mean vaporizing and separating.
Not what I had in mind.
I really mean something more like reducing a sauce: If you cook, you know that simmering intensifies and concentrates the flavors of a liquid.
I love that. But saying I'm trying to reduce images to emotions just doesn't have the right poetic ring to it.
Now that I've been working with perfume, I think I might find a good analogy there. A strong image is very much like a well-constructed fragrance: The notes of a perfume elicit memories, desires, and feelings, all by relying on associations and sensual responses--a kind of instinctual code, more powerful than language, even.
The Light, the Light
I swear, the light is as intoxicating as liquor, especially when it's carrying that melancholy fall color. There's an industrious young man raking a mountain of maple leaves--already!--from our front lawn, and the scrape of the rake says summer is gone.