Fail Harder

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Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:32:54 -1000

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Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:31:43 -1000

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Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:30:41 -1000

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Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:29:50 -1000

Selfies make me sad :( Working on a new technique!

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:02:25 -1000

Selfies make me sad :( Working on a new technique!

Another beautiful day, another client opening their doors to the...

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:47:23 -1000

Another beautiful day, another client opening their doors to the public!

Over the past few months we partnered with James Drinkward, a local Portland chef of the former food cart Eat This, and his wife Courtney to take the wheels off of their cart business and turn them towards their very first restaurant, The Huckleberry Pub! Our partnership has been exciting because it has allowed us to get our hands on so much more than the usual project allows for, including food photography.

As the former cohort of another chef and general culinary badass, Peter Foster of Memoirs Hawaii, I learned the perils of food photography… and probably to his frustration as well, the pain in the ass it can be dealing with a chef… when you’re photographing their delicious creations (He’ll hate me for this later).

If you’ve been there, you know what I’m talking about.

It has to be perfectly made to taste – especially when capturing everything in the middle of a tasting – no cheating this one.
It has to look better on camera than it does on the plate – after all this is advertising & branding.
You have to capture the etherial experience through images of meat on a plate – this is of course dumbing the process down, but this, my friends, is the tricky part!

Lighting is key to food photography, naturally white, soft, even light is the best – thank God we live in Portland, Oregon – with a solid directional key. Having a few light-reflectors is ideal, they will allow you to bounce some of that soft glow on to the shadowed side of whatever delicious food concoction is in front of your lens at that particular moment. This process allows you to create dynamic lighting, creating shadow and form and depth, while still keeping the soft edges needed to make the food look delectable.

Next, you want a great lens and camera, something that allows you to have low aperture settings on a slow ISO so that you capture smooth, detailed images. Put this on a great camera – Canon is best for my money – and you can create magic!

From my experience though, the trick is working with great culinary talents because they will make your job much easier, and to this day all of have been just that.

If you are ever in Portland, Oregon, make sure to stop by The Huckleberry Pub (Huckleberrypub.com) on NW 23rd & Kearney, and set aside some time for the tastes of Northwest Soul food & Libations!

“As promised… I just walked into a local pub (PUB 25, Newtown,...

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 09:12:13 -1000

“As promised… I just walked into a local pub (PUB 25, Newtown, CT) and asked to speak with the Owner/Manager. I asked if I could leave a cold one on the bar for Michael all day . I showed him the “Reserved” sign I made and explained I wanted to leave him sufficient funds to buy a random person a Guinness every hour today, and that when the surprised patron asks him “Who is this from?” he should reply: “It’s from LT Michael P. Murphy.” and point to the reserved sign. The Owner/Manager was so in tune with this small gesture, he refused my money, introduced me to two men working in the PUB who just returned home from Afghanistan and Iraq with the ASSURANCE that my request on Michael’s behalf would be honored.”

I had the pleasure of meeting and knowing a few people from this community, and they all deserve more respect than we can ever give.

UNREAL! #HowJeansAreMade ampersandcontent: Every wanted to know...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:11:04 -1000

UNREAL! #HowJeansAreMade

ampersandcontent:

Every wanted to know how jeans are made?! 3x1 is a custom jean maker in SoHo, NY that allows people to experience the whole process. Amazing Video, even better concept!!!

Absolutely correct! startmeup: I’m going to make a bold claim...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:26:50 -1000

Absolutely correct!

startmeup:

I’m going to make a bold claim and say that last night I saw one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen, Pina, which is playing at BAM in 3-D.

As someone who knows very little technically about dance- I have not been able to stop thinking about movement since I left the theater. Each shot of this movie was amazingly well art directed with an incredible use of light, space and color. The tribute performances to Pina, which take place all over the German city of Wuppertal, each feel meticulously contained but yet explode with energy.

More info about the talented late Pina Bausch here.