Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Figs Still Life

More Fig experimentation. As I was researching figs I found some interesting facts. The fruit of the fig is actually an intersting structure. Each fig is anctualy the result of a whole group of flowers (a botanical structure called an inflorescence). The fig inflorescence is a bit strange in the fact that all of the flowers point inward and you never see the flowers on the outside. This particular structure is called a syconium. Nature is very strange, interesting and beautiful!

Monday, March 19, 2012
Santa Ynez Grapes on the Vine

Grapes in the Santa Ynez valley. Ok it feels like summer, Spring is just starting, so here is a picture from last Fall. Just because I really like it and I realized I never published it. This is in a nice little vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley.There was a space through the vines that I was able to frame the beautiful valley in the background. The red flowers in the lower right are roses that are planted at the ends of the rows of grapes.

Monday, December 5, 2011
Amaryllis Christmas Flower

Blooming amaryllis flower. This is the biggest Amaryllis I have ever seen. The bulb is amazing, and as the first bud started to work it's way out I could see there were going to be quite a few blossoms. I loved the curves of the blossoms as they opened, and my timing was perfect. A few minutes after this shot was taken the inflorescence was completely open and the five buds were all pointing in different directions.

Friday, September 18, 2009
Santa Ynez Valley Grapes

I've been working on trying to get an image that captures the feel of the Santa Ynez Valley. Of course, vineyards are a big part of that area of California these days. Especially after a rather popular movie about the area a few years ago. But wine is not the only thing they are known for. This weekend Solvang is having their Danish Days festival. If you've never eaten an Aebleskiver that alone could be worth the trip. Of course, I prefer just making my own and avoiding the crowds. Then again, maybe I'll brave the sand castle festival in Santa Barbara this weekend. Could be a busy weekend!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Peppers and Garlic

Time for a little more food photography! Yet another of those self promotion projects that always gets bumpped by other things.

Monday, November 26, 2007
Low Aperture Poppy

I've always liked playing with low aperture shots. I like the way the stem of this poppy goes out of focus fast. For comparison, the apple from Thanksgiving was about as tight (high) aperture as this lens gets. Which kept the nice texture of the skin in focus over the whole surface.

Friday, November 23, 2007
Backlit Grape Leaf

One nice thing about living in Southern California is the fact that you can take pictures like this even this time of year. On the other hand, we were walking The Hound yesterday when we passed a tree with beautiful fall colored leaves. Makes me think about taking a trip somewhere to see some real fall colors!

Thursday, November 22, 2007
Baby Granny Smith Apple

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope you enjoyed lots of good food and friends today!

Unfortunately I did not get to take any photos of the great feast, but this was one of the "aromatics" (to quote my favorite tv chef) that contributed to the meal.

I did get a little adventurous today and decided to throw away those silly little plastic bags we usually use for the turkey. I can now tell you that brining your turkey the night before is the way to go. Much more moist and tasty that way. This is the basic recipe I used. But since I had not thought about it before hand I improvised on some missing ingredients. (Also, onions are bad for The Hound, and almost everything we make is hound-safe. Not that she is spoiled or anything. :-D )

Sunday, September 16, 2007
Fresh from the Garden

This was taken a couple hours before yesterday's photo of the day. This was the scene in the middle of the table that inspired the three hour photo shoot.

The cool purple garlic bulb is from a recent trip to Gilroy for their Garlic Festival, but most of the others are fresh from the garden.

Saturday, September 15, 2007
Habanero Reflection

I noticed this pepper as I was sitting at the dining room table this morning with my wife and bird. (His cage is in the corner of the dining room. He likes to be right in the middle of the action.)

We have a huge pile of peppers and tomatoes on the table from our plants in the back yard. My wife has been pointing out the cool ones to me for a couple of weeks, and I finally couldn't wait any longer it was time for a photo shoot!

About three hours later this was one of my favorite shots. But I can't take all the credit, I have a great Art Director & food stylist! The cool black tray was my wife's idea.

Monday, April 3, 2006
Yellow Bells

I love Gelson's! Their produce looks like a farmer's market. They even stack everything with the stems pointing in the same direction. Particularly nice since we went there to find subjects for some still life food photography.