Photographing (and eating really good) food...

A recent job had me photographing the entire sushi menu for a Thai restaurant here in southern Maine.

Lucky Me.

;)

Several things I liked about it - the setup was simple, the food itself was very visually pleasing, and I got to sample every single dish we shot.

I used two Nikon SB800's (set to manual with power ranging between 1/16 - 1/64 power) triggered by Pocket Wizards, two softboxes, a GamiLight Square 43 and a Photoflex LiteDome.

Throw in a couple "A" clamps and bounce cards and the setup is complete. (Just in case you are interested you can get the Photoflex LiteDome XS Kit here)

Here are two pictures of the setup.

The first without any text so that it is easier to view:

The second with text identifying all of the components used for the shoot:

The hardest thing about the shoot was determining the most complimentary angle at which to shoot the food, the second was actually fitting into my van when it was all done.

Lastly, if you live in the area (or are traveling to it) the restaurant is Thai Me, great food and even better people.

I would love to see you on May 3rd...

On Thursday May 3rd architectural and corporate portrait photographer Irvin Serrano will be giving a talk/presentation at the next meeting of the Maine Photographers Coalition.

Irvin will be speaking to the group about shooting commercial work from concept to completion.

He will explain how he conceives a shot based on what the client wanted, talk a bit about the setup and post processing needed to achieve the finished product. Irvin will finish up by talking about the things that need to be considered when pricing a commercial job.

The evening will start at 7:30 and be hosted at the studio of Stacey Kane, at 134 Black Point Rd in Scarborough (Maine).

All are welcome and you don't need to be a member of the coalition to attend. It's a great opportunity to make new (photography) friends and "talk shop".

You can get more details, signup for Irvin's talk, along with a presentation by Pinhole Pro by following this link.

I hope to see you there.

Suggestion from a reader...

I am always asking for input, feedback, and suggestions from you, the good folks who make this blog what it is and I recently received an email that I was at first reluctant to consider.

A reader suggested that I be interviewed on the podcast, now my first reaction was "no way". First, I am just not that interesting and second, didn't want to come off as arrogant or full of myself. Because I am neither, really.

But then I thought what the heck, I would throw it out there and let you decide.

So if you think it's something that could prove interesting send me an email with your question (and you can ask more than one).

We'll use your questions as the framework for the interview and you can ask anything you want, really, anything you would like to hear me answer (well, just not that thing from freshman year in collage, but anything else).

;)

And if I get enough questions, I will have someone interview me for the podcast and you all can have a good laugh.

Okay, I am bracing myself, start sending your questions.

One last Wedding Wednesday...

Wedding Wednesday is not leaving forever... just for now.

I want to close it out with some of my personal favorite images, the first one in the list goes back to the very first wedding I ever shot.

And I was going to explain why I selected the images I did but decided against it, to let each image stand on its own (visual) merit.

The two things I will say is the images of the boats is one of my favorites of all time and was shot while photographing a wedding here in Maine, which is why it was included.

The other thing I want to say about shooting a wedding is be prepared, there will be the gentle moments of a drop of water in the middle craziness that will capture your attention, there will be fun of the wedding party acting foolish, there will be the quiet times of just the bride and groom, you will share the special time between two brothers that will never be again, there will be the unexpected laughter, and you never know, one day, while you are driving with the groom to the church you might.... you just might.... see Elvis!