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Category Archives: Photography

Tilth Restaurant – Dining out in Seattle

18 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by in Dinner, Photography, Restaurant Review, Seattle

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If you are lucky enough to live or visit Seattle, I strongly recommend you make reservations at Tilth Restaurant (organic New American cuisine).  This is more than just dinner.  Think of it as a culinary experience.  If you can, go in the summer and sit outside, basking in the late evening summer sunshine.  And start your experience with a glass of rose.

There were three of us for dinner (Hi Melissa and Jessica!).  All three adventurous, “good eaters.”  We chose to forego the tasting menu (two+ versions offered by the restaurant) and ordered a la carte, to share.

 

While waiting for the first course to arrive, we sipped the wine, chatted, and enjoyed the amuse bouche.  Then, we buttered slices of bread with homemade butter.  A pretty terrific start to our meal.

Time to eat!  First to arrive: House made Ricotta Gnudi with lardon, fava beans and pequin chili. To follow: Carnaroli risotto with carrot, white truffle and Parmesan.

For the main protein, we shared sous vide Wild Loki Sockeye salmon served on a bed of white corn puree with roasted tomatoes and basil pesto.

Three Mini Duck Burgers with House Made Fingerling Potato Chips, House Made Ketchup and Hot Mustard were up next.

For our last course, we selected Skagit River Ranch Wagyu Short Rib with Corn Cake, Kolhrabi and Lardon.  Our server brought out a complimentary side of Cheddar Spaetzle with Bechamel, Parsley and Mustard Seeds (our server must have loved us as much as we loved her – thank you!)

Dessert came in later, thus the unfortunate photography.  Or perhaps you could explain it by the wine consumption during dinner.  Either way, the desserts were the sweet ending to this incredible adventure, enjoyed to the last lick.  Pictured: Cherry Frozen Yogurt with Graham Cracker, Compressed Cherry and Cacao Nib; Theo Chocolate Ganache Cake with Chocolate Cookie, Cocoa Cream and Sea Salt.

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Food Photo Styling Secrets ~ Water

10 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in Photography

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Food Photo Styling Secret – just add water.  Keeping a little spray bottle filled with water in your tool kit can greatly improve the look of your photos.  Look at the berries below.  Without water they looked dull.
Lightly sprayed with water, the berries get an extra dimension and can reflect extra light.

Here, the berries in the back were sprayed with water, and the ones in the front were not.  What do you think?

You can pick up a small spray water bottle at a $0.99 store.  If you get an extra one, you can use it for oil to add shine to your food.

What is your food photo styling secret?

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Food Photo Styling Workshop – Make Your Food Look as Good as it Tastes, or Better

28 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by in Photography, Seattle

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Months ago, I was lucky to attend a photo styling workshop with the fabulous, talented, and funny Clare Barboza and Becky Selengut.  I offered my skills as a dishwasher (aka kitchen manager) and in turn was graciously offered a space in the workshop.  I definitely got the better end of the bargain!

I have to admit, I was the only one among the students with the point-and-shoot camera, and might have experienced a bit of camera envy and camera inadequacy.  But I carried through and had a fantastic time.

Here are my favorite and, in my opinion, most successful photos from the shoot.

Thanks ladies!

Lesson: use texture and color.  Sprinkle powdered sugar right at the last moment.  Think of what mood you are trying to set.  In this photo, I went for earthy, natural colors to go along with the cinnamon sticks and sage leaves used as both a garnish and a component in Becky’s butternut squash and apple beignets.

The difficulty with this photo was the food itself.  As delicious as it was, it clearly isn’t the prettiest plate of food we have seen.  The challenge was to allow the food to speak for itself.  How would you photograph rice and dahl?  I chose to go with vibrant colors underneath the plate.  Also, I wanted to showcase the condiments on a side, adding extra color to the composition.

Here’s one more shot.  You can see the additional texture of the wood underneath the condiment plate.  I also garnished the main dish with a dollop of yogurt, hoping to break up the brown colors in the rice and dahl.

The last exercise during the workshop was salad.  We were challenged to plate the salad “outside of the plate” so to speak.  I was immediately drawn to this particular white plate.  I fanned the figs, halved in the center, trying to focus on them as the main ingredient.  On either side of the figs, I arranged toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped and a chunk of blue cheese, sitting in the pool of balsamic.

I am excited to take the lessons I have learned during the workshop and apply them in my future photography projects.  Who knows, perhaps one day, I will too be one of those people with a big camera and multiple lenses!

For now, I continue my search for the next best napkin, surface area, and other fun accessories.

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