Thank you to all my clients for making this year so great. You all are a truly a pleasure to work for and I look forward to many more projects together.

Also, thank you to all the stylists, models, assistants, art directors, photo editors, art buyers, and marketing directors I’ve worked with this year. The success of all these shoots wouldn’t have been possible without your collaboration.

Finally, a special shout out to Justin Tunis and Daniel Cronin for being two excellent go to assistants. Thank you for your hard work, your professionalism on set, and being easy to travel with. I’ll be calling you soon.

I am beyond excited to share with you the good news about my first major photo contest win. For the 1st Annual PDN’s Objects of Desire photo contest, I won in the Food & Still Life category for this sizzling shot of bacon. The shot, art directed by Michael Novak, was originally taken for Portland Monthly as part of a breakfast feature story.

This was my first major photo contest win and I am really proud to finally make it.

To see my shot online and the other winners, go to www.pdnobjectsofdesire.com/gallery/winners2011/

Trout is a pretty tasty fish, but cooking it right can make it a phenomenal meal. Try out this quick and easy recipe from my buddy Kevin Ward. Serves 2, but you can easily double it for a dinner party.

Ingredients:

2 Whole Trout, cleaned, boned, and butterflied (you can ask your fishmonger to do this)
Fresh Herbs-Parsley, Cilantro, Fennel, Chervil, etc.
1 clove Garlic, thinly sliced
1 Meyer Lemon, thinly sliced
Sea Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Parchment Paper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375º

Season both the flesh and the outer skin with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Stuff the the cavity with the herbs, garlic and lemon slices.

Fold parchment over fish, making overlapping folds along the edges. seal by folding end under. Bake 10-12 minutes. Be careful when cutting open bag as steam will be very hot.

Man, do I love shooting food. I love it almost as much as eating it. And I feel really lucky because there’s no shortage of truly great food in Portland. In fact, the most difficult thing about food here is deciding what to eat. That’s why this story by Allison Jones was so great to photograph. It’s only a small sampling of the food choices here, but these 10 dishes were all so good that I would shoot this story over again in a heartbeat.

The tricky part of this shoot was getting everything to go together in layout. Jason Blackheart’s art direction was key in dealing with the various angles, shapes, and sizes of food. His goal was to keep it simple and about the food. We decided early on that we couldn’t shoot this in studio, but wanted to make it look like it was. It was going to be too challenging to set up a traditional table top setup inside all these restaurants, so Jason’s solution was to go light and shoot everything on white foam core. To keep the lighting consistent, we always shot with natural window light coming always from the right. My processing did the rest and the spread looks fantastic. One of my favorites this year.I also really enjoyed meeting the chefs and restauranteurs who I met during this shoot. Every one of them was incredibly generous with their time and with their food. Thank you to all of them.

Now get outside, grab a Portland Monthly, and use it as your guide to some truly awesome summer food.

PS: Not to pick favorites, but that LGBLT with pickled asparagus by Bingo! Sandwiches was the bomb. Get it only at Portland Farmer’s Market on Saturdays.

Grilled Hanger Steak & Applewood Smoked Shoulder Bacon Sandwich With Frisee & Red Onion Jam
Serves 4. Always seek out the best ingredients possible.

1 lb. Hanger Steak
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 TBSP Minced Herbs-Rosemary, Thyme, Sage
8 oz. Applewood Smoked Shoulder Bacon, Sliced Thin
Frisee, washed and patted dry
Red Onion Jam (see recipe below)
8 Thick slices Rustic Country Bread
Sea Salt
Fresh Crack Black Pepper
Pinch Controne Hot Pepper Flake
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Season Hanger Steak with salt, pepper, chili flake, herbs, and olive oil. Set aside, uncovered 1 hour up to 12 hours.

Heat a grill on high heat. Sear Steak on all sides, achieving a good crust. Cook Steak to Rare/Medium Rare. Remove from grill and let rest at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, brush one side of the sliced bread with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill bread, oil side down until nice and toasty. Remove and let rest grilled side up.

Thinly slice steak, against the grain.

To build sandwich: Spread Red Onion Jam on grilled side of bread. Arrange thin slices of Shoulder Bacon topped with Frisee. Drizzle Frisse with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange Hanger Steak on top and top sandwich with grilled bread. Enjoy with a dark English Style beer like a stout or porter

Red Onion Jam:

2 Red Onions, sliced thin
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 cup Sherry Vinegar
1/2 tsp Yellow Mustard Seed
1/4 tsp Fennel Seed
1/4 cup Honey
Sea Salt
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In a small saucepan, drizzle olive oil. Add Red Onions and cook until well caramelized. Add the remainder of ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and allow to slowly simmer until all liquid has reduced. Will keep for several weeks in the fridge.

“I love how the flavors and textures dance around your mouth in this sandwich. The mouth is delighted with a soft opening followed by a distinct snap of the grilled under-side of the Extra Virgin Olive Oil soaked bread. Act one presents the taste-buds with the sour-ness of Red Onion Jam that is flooded over from the smokey, fattiness of the bacon. The main act truly lies within this juicy Hanger Steak as it is complimented by hints of vegetal bitterness from the frisee. The steaks richness lingers, leaving the desire for another bite.

– Food Styling, Words, & Recipe by Kevin Ward

Another Kevin Ward recipe for a delicious and crisp salad with seasonal ingredients.

2 Watermelon Radishes, sliced paper thin on a mandolin
1 Cara Cara Orange, segmented, juice saved
1 Grapefruit, segmented, juice saved
1 Blood Orange, segmented, juice saved
1 small bulb Fennel, peeled in 2” ribbons
Sunflower sprouts
1 Meyer Lemon, juice
3 TBSP Olive Oil
1 tsp Honey
1 tsp Tahini
Fleur de Sel
Freshly cracked Pepper

In a jar, combine citrus juices, olive oil, honey, tahini, salt, and pepper. Shake vigorously.

Toss citrus segments, fennel, and sunflower sprouts in vinaigrette.

Arrange radishes on plate. Dress radishes with fennel and citrus.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my blog lately and it’s purpose. Is it a window into my career? Is a place for me to talk about the business of photography to help my fellow colleagues? Should I post personal work? Does it have to be just that? Can it be more? Should it be more? How much more?

I’m hesitant to talk about other photographer’s work here. I also don’t want to dilute the blog with ever single thing I stumble across. So, I’ve started a tumblr blog to keep track of things I’ve seen that inspire me and post random stuff that falls outside the focus of this blog.

So, what’s with the recipe for pickled beets? Well, I love food, a lot. I love to eat, cook, and try new things almost as much as I like shooting pictures of food. To make a little photography project of my love for food, I’ve started enlisting the help of chef friends and food stylists to create tasty images with recipes. I’m putting it here in hopes that someday, it might become a cookbook and/or an iPad App.

Let’s start with something simple. This delicious snack was created and styled by Kevin Ward. It doesn’t take much to do yourself and it’s quite tasty if you like the tang of pickling spices and vinegar. Here’s Kevin’s recipe:

Pickled Beets:

2 lb. Beets
3/4c Water
2c Cider Vinegar
1c Sugar
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 tsp Mustard Seed
1tsp Peppercorn
1/2 tsp whole Allspice
1/2 tsp whole Cloves
1 tsp Salt

Place Beets in a saucepan and cover with salted water. Simmer Beets until tender when pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes. Drain and let cool. When beets are cool enough to handle, wearing rubber gloves (unless you like your hands stained beet red for a week) rub the outer skin off the beet. Trim the stems and cut beets into 1 1/2” cubes.

Set aside.

In a non-reactive pot, bring vinegar, water, sugar, and spices to a boil, lower heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Pour hot pickling liquid over beets and allow to pickle for at least 24 hours.
Beets should last about 2 weeks covered in the refrigerator (If you’re like us, they wont last 2 days)

You can also serve with charcuterie like salami, prosciutto, or shoulder bacon (below) for a mouthwatering taste explosion.

It’s that time of year again. Time to refresh the portfolios, website, marketing materials, etc. Keeps it interesting and keeps me busy during this slow time of year. I don’t consider myself to be niche photographer. Rather, I have a style of photography that works well across several genres and I focus on my favorite things: food, architecture, lifestyle, and travel. Each genre compliments one another. Whether it’s the food shot in a restaurant, people acting out life at home, or the hustle and bustle of an airport, everything I photograph relates to how I perceive life and how I capture moments that are real to the viewer. I don’t use a lot of lights. I do use a lot of creativity to make the best of a situation and deliver great photography every single time.

Enough of my blathering on. I’ll let the new portfolios speak for themselves:
Food / Beverage, Home / Interiors, Lifestyle, and Travel.

As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated. Have a great week!

PS: This Hangar Steak sandwich was finely crafted by my good friend and chef / food stylist Kevin Ward. More tasty food shots coming soon with recipes! Get to know him. He’s a great guy!

This is, hands down, my favorite shot I’ve taken this year. Brilliantly art directed by Willamette Week’s Carolyn Richardson, when she pitched the concept to me, I knew it was going to be a good shot. But she really went above and beyond in getting this organized so we could shoot something something truly awesome. I pride myself on being a photographer that works well with others and this collaboration is proof positive.

Shot from the balcony at Clyde Common, the North facing windows brought in beautiful natural light which I kicked back with reflectors at the end of the table for fill. The dark wood floors contrasts so well with the lighter wood table. And the food looks deliciously amazing. The gestures and outfits of the models add elements of style, class, and chic. It feels and look likes what it’s like to be in Portland right now.

Here are some behind the scenes shots shot by my trusty assistant Justin Tunis. Also, there’s a funny animated GIF of the whole shoot the WWEEK crew made.

Funny story about this doughnut: I was on assignment for American Airlines in flight magazine, American Way, and part of the assignment was to shoot Voodoo Doughnuts. I was trying to shoot an interior of the downtown location, but it happened to be during Spring Break. The place was totally mobbed and had to wait in line for 30 minutes just to get inside. If you’ve never been to the downtown Voodoo Doughnuts, it’s about the size of dorm room. Getting a clean, travel-esque, interior photo is nearly impossible when the place is empty. It was just ludicrous to even try with the place packed shoulder to shoulder with high school kids.

I did what I could and then asked for a couple doughnuts to shoot as backup.This shot is the one they picked to run and I’m really happy they did. I mean, look at this thing! This shot makes me want to go to Voodoo Doughnuts every time I look at it.

And yes, I did eat it after I shot it. It was sooooo worth it.

p.s.: Props to PhotoShelter for creating their rad WordPress plugin. So if you like this shot, you can buy a copy of it by clicking on the photo. Word.