Won Ton or Ran Goon?

(photographer's note: when it comes to shooting on location with multiple types of light sources -- ambient, speedlight x2 and tungsten head - the biggest challenge is achieving white balance. I think I did okay for the "testing". Fortunately I'll have an 18% gray card at my disposal during the shoot)

I will confess, I am embarrassingly inept when it comes to any knowledge of Asian food. I have a thing about rice which has plagued me since childhood. To spare the sordid details to all three of my readers, let’s just suffice it to say I’m probably the only person known to mankind that has suffered from a rice induced trauma and related PTSD. I’m always frustrated by it and wish I could get past it but I can’t, and so I’ve never really eaten rice. Because of this, I don’t get out to many Asian food restaurants. I have tried a few things (noodles are my friends) and while I’ve always loved what I’ve tried, I’ve been quite limited.

I found an advertisement online for a restaurant looking for a food photographer. I had no problem tossing aside my Williams & Sonoma cookbook (that I have years to master) in exchange for going and having take-out with my camera!

I had the time of my life last night, being able to engage in my ultimate fantasy of sharing my food with my camera equipment (including flashes, studio lighting; the whole setup) while enjoying all of the freedom one could possibly have within a dining establishment.

Last night was all about test shooting and getting a handle on the odds and ends that will be needed once the real shoots start happening. All of the props, styling and glamour that will go into this food are currently being gathered and I can’t wait to begin.

I'll keep posting as the project progresses; I look for this to take at least two weeks (but maybe more) as we'll be doing every single item on the menu, along with individual ingredients for advertising and marketing touches here and there. Wish me the best of luck on my journey!

Spring Rolls

(photographer's note: the challenge wasn't so much lighting this time, but styling and props, which amazingly, we do have. Except for that $60 square plate at Williams Sonoma that I wouldn't mind owning.)

There's nothing like enjoying a plate of spring rolls in the dead of winter. This particular appetizer (once again, takeout) is probably as relevent to Asia as Taco Bell tacos are to Mexico. However, relevence is rarely heeded in this household because if it tastes good enough, we'll just pretend.

Truthfully, this plate was part of dinner a few weeks ago. What we actually had for dinner last night were pinto beans with a hambone which, I'm sorry to say, doesn't photograph well, although it was truly very tasty. I know my photographic limits and this was much prettier.

Official State Cookie

(photographer's note: 2 Canon 580 EX II speedlights did the trick for these treats. One was bounced off a 14 ft ceiling at +2 power, the other was bounced off a card and the wall behind the cookies. A little bit of "cross processing" in Photoshop finished up the final photo...)

The official state coookie of New Mexico is the biscochito. We tried our hand at making a few dozen of these sweet little anise and cinnamon spiked treats to give as gifts to our family and friends (read that as, my partner did the rolling, kneading, cutting and baking, I sampled the brandy and got in the way).

These cookies are popular during holidays, weddings, parties and are commonly devoured with a side of milk.

Little did I know that New Mexico was the first state to have an "official state cookie". Undoubtedly, this is yet another reason New Mexico is known as the "Land of Enchantment".

No worries though, these cookies don't have the same storied past as the posole from yesterday.

Enchantment in a Bowl - The Other White Meat

(photographer’s note: It was really difficult to capture this dish without making it look like a congealed bowl of crap. The secret is in the lighting. Or... perhaps... the sauce...)

I love New Mexico for a number of reasons. The dish above is one of those reasons. When it comes to local food, posole or “pozole” definitely tops my list of favorites. This is a traditional Native American/Mexican dish and can be found in any number of New Mexican style restaurants or someone's grandma's kitchen. Posole is a spicy, meaty combination that can clear your sinuses, intestional tract and anything else that may be stopped up and is a favorite during the winter months.

This was take-out, not homemade. One of these days I’ll snag a recipe and give it a try. Maybe…

Interesting side note from Wikipedia: According to research by the National Institute of Anthropology and History and UNAM, during special rituals and occasions in the distant past, the meat used to cook the pozole was human. After prisoners were killed by tearing their hearts out in a ritual sacrifice, the rest of the body was chopped and cooked with corn; the meal was shared among the whole community as an act of religious communion. After the conquest, when cannibalism was banned, pork became the staple meat, as it "tasted very similar", according to a Spanish priest.

(you know, I do love Wikipedia. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried...)

Ain't no thang but a chicken wing

(photographer's note: 2 300ws studio heads w/ shoot-thru umbrellas, a large kitchen window, white board for reflection were the only items required to pull this off...)

As I start (yet another freaking blog), I just want to make a few comments.

1.) I don't like to cook. Sometimes I blame the altitude (just about 6,000ft above sea level - and it really does take about 20 minutes for water to boil....), sometimes I blame picky customers (kids), and sometimes I just admit the truth which is that I'm lazy when it comes to food. The preparation, the cleaning, the measuring... ick. It's just not my thing.

2.) I am not very good at cooking. #1 is probably the biggest contributing factor to my lack of skill, but there are other things such as the altitude (did I mention how high up we are?), lack of proper cooking equipment (guessing that the microwave doesn't count), lack of time and yes folks back to #1, lack of motivation. Until recently.

My lust for food photography probably started at a wedding I was shooting, and grew exponentially from there. I don't know why or how but I do know that I fell in love. Hard. I've been setting up studio lighting in my kitchen (much to the dismay of my family) and shooting everything and anything that could possibly be consumed as much as I can (just short of driving my family insane).

Now I'm faced with a conundrum. Unless I find a chef or restaurateur who wants to cook specifically for my photography (doubt it...), I'm going to have to either train my 12 year old to cook (talk about the blind leading the blind), or learn how to do it myself.

So I've reached an agreement with my family.

No studio lights during dinner...
AND
No "wasting" food (that means, no shoe polish, glue or glycerin to pretty up food for the photos)...