Thursday, February 19, 2015

This week's food shot: Mamnoon Restaurant

Last Sunday I finally made it to Mamnoon, a new beautiful restaurant on Capitol Hill that serves up modern Middle Eastern cuisine. We lucked out on happy hour and sat outside in the sun. The No 1. sxse cocktail was right up my alley with bourbon, coffee liqueur and cardamon bitters, a cocktail version of turkish coffee. And during happy hour it comes with your choice of a sweet or savory snack plate. We sampled both, the sweet having three beautiful little bites with amazing flavors like pistachio, date, apricot, almond and something floral I couldn't my finger on and the savory was beautifully plated with pickled vegetables, spicy, herbed roasted nuts and a tiny pita filled with thick yogurt and cucumber that reminded me of a better take on an English tea sandwich. We decided to also try the Shamndar bi tahini which is grated beets, yogurt, garlic and tahini. The color was incredible and the taste was refreshing and creamy. I can't wait to go back for dinner.







Tuesday, February 17, 2015

New Portrait of the Beautiful Claire

Last week my friend Claire helped me out with a personal project. More on the project later, but it involved hauling a bed down to Hiawatha Studio and Claire getting cozy. It was great to be a studio that had everything I needed -even a fog machine! We were shooting away and then while in between shots, trying to figure out what was next, I looked down and saw this. Claire hugging herself, looking stunning and real. I just love the mask-free honest feeling it gives me. Not to mention how beautiful she is. 


If anyone's looking for a great rental studio that's big, bright and convenient, check out Hiawatha Studio and be sure to tell them I sent ya!




Tuesday, February 10, 2015

This Week's Food Shot

This week I wanted to shoot a plated dish using contrasty lighting and props to create a very rich image. Jean-Pierre Chery created and styled this delicious dish of herbed pork ribs with red chard and rustic mashed potatoes. I love the specular highlights on the meat and the bright rich colors.