Hollow

…Is not so very hollow at all.   In fact, quite the contrary.  Stuffed fashionably with rustic trinkets, fresh soap, tasty goodies and cozy low watt light bulbs, Hollow is true to its quainter meaning of the word; A tiny nook tucked underneath a traditional San Francisco apartment on 16th and Irving.  I might have walked right by if not for the wafting sent of Ritual coffee and it’s abnormal cuteness.  As you walk in through the old green door you are greeted by 3 small wooden tables, a friendly smile from behind the espresso machine, warm ambient light and organically crafted walls and low ceiling adorned with variety hanging paraphernalia.  Also true to its name, the Hollow is tiny.  Not too tiny in my opinion, but rather adorably comfortably so… that’s hard to beat!  Yes, Dawn, owner and graphic designer, nailed this idea: Hollow is a cafe dream!  So, if you’re in the area and want an amazing cup of steaming espresso, a pastry or cookie (the Guinness cupcakes caught my gaze), and eye candy galore come and take a peek!  Happy Holidays!

All images shot with natural light and 1 white card camera left. 24-105mm

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Ravishing Radish Catering

Last week  I had the pleasure of working with the amazing Lisbet Mielke, owner of Ravishing Radish Catering and Ravish Restaurant in Seattle.  What a gem of a place indeed!  Nestled at the end of Eastlake Ave, Ravish sits with inviting bright green chairs and a vintage chic decor to match.   They specialize in finding fresh, local ingredients and have a great seasonal menu not to mention wonderfully friendly staff.  Naturally I got excited right away and couldn’t wait to shoot some of their delicious food.

Product photographer Casey Lam agreed to be my amazing assistant for the day and we started bright and early at Ravishes’ catering location which is conveniently one street below the restaurant with Lake Union as their front yard.  If ever you need a beautiful spot to bring lots of people together, this is the place!  After several beautiful dishes including seared halibut with multicolored tomato basil vinaigrette and seckle pear crostinis with thyme and honey, I was drooling all over the set….. Just kidding!   What really happened is Casey, Lisbet, business developer Vickie Peterson  ( both of whom are amazing stylists!) and I  were lost in a creative world of food and photography.

The day continued on after a short lunch break and we moved up to the restaurant location to finish up.  Here, Lisbet whipped up some baked mac and cheese and some beef sliders speckled with fresh carrots and purple cabbage.  They have a full bar so we decided to add a beautiful bright cocktail as well.  Why not?!  That always makes things fun!

So, all in all, a really fantastic day filled with amazing food, really great people and lots of laughs!  Thanks Ravishing Radish for such a great experience!

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Thanks miss Casey for the set shots!

Raspberry Picking at Suyematsu Farms

It’s berry picking season!!!!  Raspberries are one of my favorite berries to pick.  I think it has to do with: A. they are the best berry ever in my opinion =), B. you are enveloped in a canopy of beautiful bushes with every branch loaded full of  bright sweet berries, and C, your back isn’t aching quite as much as from strawberry picking.  Yes, I dare say, Raspberries take the cake.

Each summer my mother and I pick all the berries you can think of,  it’s just one of our things.  We make a day of it, complete with ear blasting music in the car, a picnic lunch, afternoon coffee in a cute cafe we see… whatever fits our fancy.   When it comes time to pick raspberries, we support a beautiful local place called Suyematsu Farm.  Also known as Day Road Farm, this historical farm has been in operation since 1928 and grow mainly pumpkins, raspberries and strawberries.   The people who work here are always kind, happily smiling and have a passion for agriculture.

Between chit chatting, stuffing my face, and photo taking, we managed to fill up two flats heaping full with delicious berries.  An afternoon well spent indeed!

Photos all taken using natural light and one big white piece of foam core camera right.  Lens-100mm Macro, ISO 125, F 1.2

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We’re not the only ones who enjoy a sweet treat…

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Perfect Endings Cupcakes

Here’s another project from Port Townsend.  I had the great pleasure of working with owner LaTrecia of Perfect Endings Cupcakes for a day while I was in this lovely part of the North West.  She makes the most wonderfully beautiful and tasty cupcakes! Her shop is located right on the main street of PT in an old brick building.  The enticing eats and pastel colors of her shop through the windows will certainly catch your eye and pull you in to try a sweet treat.  I had to try four; carrot cake, raspberry chocolate, classic vanilla, and lemon =)   All AMAZING!  If you are ever in the area, be sure to check out this gem of a place.

These were all shot with natural light and one white card camera left.  Lens: 24-105mm & 100mm Macro

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Taste of Summer : Cherries!

Well, I don’t know if even remember how to use WordPress.  A ton has happened in the last month mainly in the way of finishing school and graduating.  Hooowweee, that takes a lotta time!  I finished school, website is up and running, my portfolio book is printed, business cards arrived, promo cards are ready for the mail and I can’t stop eating cherries.  YES!  If there is one thing to binge on after school gets out, I think cherries are an excellent choice indeed.  Perhaps I am trying to make the sun stick around and get that summery happy feeling in my belly…cause, so far,  this Seattle summer of wonders SUCKS.  Weather wise.

Cherries are one of my favorite things to eat. Oh me oh my they are addicting.  I can never decide if I like rainer or bing cherries better, which is why I usually buy a bag of both and proceed to alternate bing, rainer, bing, rainer and so on.  Today a bag of rainer cherries was like a million dollars so bing it was.

Not only are cherries heavenly to taste but they are so amazingly pretty!   Photo-shoot time!  I used my 580 XII on camera speedlight and bounced off of a white reflector for a little fill light camera left and natural light camera right.  I am hand holding a small mirror to reflect light into the bowl of cherries to give them a little extra somthin somthin.  I have the camera set on a 2 second timer so as to not create blur when I push the shutter.  Settings:

Photo 1 :ISO 125, F4, 24 mm, 1/25 sec

Photo 2:ISO 125, F4, 70 mm, 1/15 sec

Photo 3: ISO 125, F4, 100 mm, 1/13 sec

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Simple and Healthy Fried Eggplant

The eggplant is such an interesting vegetable and one of my favorite looking (giant purple raindrop with hair).    Whether eaten as a snack, or as the main attraction in a hearty meal, eggplant is something I enjoy frequently.

A great and really simple way I like to prepare it is fried or grilled with just a dash of salt/pepper and a good lug of extra virgin olive oil.   Sometimes things are just best plain and simple!  I eat this as a snack or as a side dish with dinner or lunch.

Get a couple good sized eggplants as they shrink when cooked and slice them into 1/2 centimeter thick round slices.  If you want the eggplant to have a denser consistency, rub coarse salt on the slices and let them sit in a colander for about 40 minutes to an hour.  This draws the water out so you won’t end up with soggy eggplant.  I have done it both ways and like both; it doesn’t get gross soggy if you fry on a med high heat and crisp the edges.  Just personal preference I guess.    Then salt and pepper to your liking, drizzle with some nice flavorful olive oil, or butter if you prefer, and you’re ready to go.  Heat up your skillet or throw some coals on the barby, and cook each side until golden brown.   To take this a step further, you can dip the slices in an egg batter and then rub them with bread crumbs.  Eat up!

More Eggplant ideas:

-eggplant lasagne

-stuffed, baked eggplant with meat, veggies and spices (kinda like stuffed peppers)

-grilled eggplant panini

-eggplant parmesan

-roasted eggplant soup

Images shot with natural light.  4 black cards; 3 camera left to bring in shadow, 1 camera right to block light.  3 white cards; 1 directly camera right, 1 camera back right, 1 camera back left.  24-105mm lens at 100mm. iso 125

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When Life Gives You Lemons…

Sorry for the long stretch dear readers.  Every year our photo program goes away to beautiful Port Townsend for the second years to finish their portfolios and for the 1st year to assist them.  This year it was my turn to finish up my portfolio which was intimidating but I had a great time and shot some fun images to boot!

And so, on this beautiful sunny day I bring you lemon tarts!  I bought these at a cozy bakery/restaurant called Sweet Laurette’s which sits atop a hill by the sea in a quaint old building with lots of character. (sorry! no photos, next time!)   Their food and pastries are very delicious with strong, unique flavors and a beautiful presentation.  I was quite happy when I walked in and saw lemon tarts sitting in the pastry case as they are one of my favorite desserts, or snacks…   They proved to be not only photogenic, but all kinds of tasty amazing!!

I experimented with using the 85mm 1.2 lens this week just to switch it up from the 45 tilt shift and the 100mm L IS.   Oh my word, I am all about it!   This lens is one of my new favorites because it gives tack sharp results on whatever one is focusing on.  It also has a excellent weight to it, meaning it’s a hot beast with a dainty, crisp look.  These photos are both shot with natural light and two white cards both on camera left.  Settings are 85mm at f/1.2,  1/500, ISO 125.  If you have a rental place close by,  I recommend trying this one out!

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Happy Easter!

May you all have a Happy Easter!

I saw this flower and thought it was perfect for today.  No tips with this post,  just happy thoughts.

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Dirt, Seeds and Sunshine

Oh my word, what a beautiful day!!  A perfect day to do some gardening if I don’t say so myself.  I love having a vegetable garden because of how rewarding it is to eat fresh, organic fruits and veggies from your back yard!  Ideally, you should start planting seeds and starts when all danger of frost is past and the soil has begun to warm.  Oopsies!  I’m a little behind…  Sometimes life just gets ahead of you a bit!  It should be alright, something will produce some tasty eats!

Today I planted rainbow nasturtiums, purple top turnips and tricolor carrots from seeds.  The last time I planted carrots, it was a disaster!  They had long green, fluffy tops but when pulled from the ground they were teeny tiny: how vexing but worth a laugh!  hhhmmmph.  With this said, if you do not plant them in little containers, make sure to thin the little plants if they are too close together, otherwise they will not grow properly (which is what I didn’t do).  Hopefully this time around it will go a little better.  I suggest getting some little planter containers that are biodegradable and planting in these if you are planting from seed.  This way the plants have a better chance of surviving from all the little bugs that may want a snack.  You can then place the containers right into the soil a few weeks after the plants emerge.   I planted 2 seeds in each section 1/4 inch deep in some nice potting soil and then gave them a wee drink.  They should begin to sprout in 5 to 10 days.  A spoon is great for putting soil into the small planters if you don’t want to use your hands.  It is so exciting when their little green heads start to peak out of the soil.  I have the planters sitting on a ledge where they can soak in lots of sunshine.  In a few weeks I will “plant” the containers in the soil of my vegetable patch and watch them grow with excitement and anticipation of the tasty snack and meals to come!

A little tip:  If you plant nasturtiums, marigolds and calendulas amongst your veggies, they will attract the good bugs that will eat the bad bugs who love your veggies!  A natural slug and aphid bait!

All images were shot with natural light and 2 white cards placed camera right and left for a bit of enhanced fill light.  Shot at F.4 for a shallow depth of field ( seeds, and packets).  Shot at F.11 for a wide depth of focus (above shots).  24-105mm lens.

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What’s Your Fancy: PORT

Happy Friday!

It has been a productive, long week and I am so happy to have a couple of days to recuperate.   A pastime that I enjoy is sipping on a glass of port with friends, or while meandering about the house in the evening.  It has quite a sweet pallet, if you enjoy that sort of flavor, and definitely is something to sip on slowly and responsibly.  I find Dow’s to have a nice well rounded flavor with a good depth to it and an affordable price tag.   Most port wines come in quite large bottles, and has the potential to go bad before one can finish its contents, no worries, port is great for cooking!  You can pour a bit in the frying pan when sauteing onions to get a caramel-y flavor or into a marinara sauce for added depth and intensity of flavors.  It’s wonderful to use as a reduction atop steak and other red meats, or perhaps to give subtle sweetness to a dark chocolate cake.  Yes please!

I used natural light and manipulated it with 3 cards.  2 White: one right in front of the camera and the other camera left.   1 Black card camera right to give depth and shadow.  Shot at F4.

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