U-pick: Fresh food photography

I found the coolest nursery. Called the Sleepy Hollow nursery, between Wenatchee and Cashmere, WA, and they have amazingly beautiful plants, yes, but the entire grounds are set up with bright, colorful adirondack chairs, little tables, potting sheds, etc. It looks so peaceful I can't wait to go back and sit, and enjoy, the space. Today's visit was for a different purpose however. They have rows and rows of blueberry bushes and you can pick your own for $3/pint. Dusky, sweet blues, warm from the sun, bursting with flavor. The proprietors even said the way to know if you're in a good spot is to pop one in your mouth. Well, okay, if you insist. Suffice it to say, I found myself in the right spot many, many times. What a treat to find so close to home. I'm sure I'll go back once more while the berries are in season and am sure it will become a new summer tradition.

Food photography

Food photography is a whole different thing in the photographic world. There are even food stylists, whose job is to make the food look delicious. The funny thing is, often the food is inedible after being made so perfect looking. Elmer's glue used as milk for cereal, strawberries painted with nail polish, things sprayed with water just before the shot. I don't get into it that far, but I always enjoy snapping a photo of a meal that has some feeling for me. At our house, I make pancakes almost every Sunday and it's become a family tradition. And I can never make plain old pancakes. I have to add something, usually fruit or nuts, to fancy them up. This weekend I added fresh raspberries and a sprinkle of sugar on the wet side. When I flipped them, the sugar kind of camelized on the grill, which was my intent, but I will say it made the grill a bit sticky. Then, when some concoction I've put together actually works (this isn't as often as I'd hope as I'm not the best cook), I'll put off eating it long enough to try and get a good photo. Part of the appeal is the food looks good, yes, but there is always some emotional connection. My Sunday morning pancakes. Burgers grilled at my inlaws on warm summer evenings. Love the food/family connection.

A few pointers on food photography:

1) Turn off your flash. Natural light is the most appealing and helps your food look the right color. Try placing your dish near a window so the light hitting the food is soft and diffused. Harsh sunlight is not a camera's friend. Open shade is good too.

2) Pay attention to the background. Shoot so you can't see the dirty dishes in the background.

3) If you have a macro mode on your point and shoot camera, use it. It creates a shallow depth of field that lends great atmosphere to your photo -- and throws the background out of focus, keeping the food as the main subject.

4) Shoot from low down. Everyone looks down on their plate, so shooting level with your food can give it a unique look.

Senior portrait time in Wenatchee

And really everywhere else, I imagine. Kids being kids, they don't realize that it is much easier to fit something in when you have lots of options for doing so. Waiting until school starts and finding out the senior photo deadline is only a few weeks away is enough to add stress to what should be the best year ever. Take a bit of time out of your summer and help capture the real you without the stress.

We had to cancel a family vacation planned for early August so I have 2 more weeks that opened up in my schedule. Contact me to schedule your session, or even change yours, if that's more convenient.

I [heart] faces: Wenatchee sports in action

 This week's contest at I [heart] faces is "Sports in action." Thought it was the perfect opportunity to enter one of my favorite shots. My daughter always talked about her friend, Matt, "an amazing soccer player with GREAT hair!" We spent a warm, weekend afternoon shooting one of his games and got some great action shots. Yup, he's great at soccer, playing for one of our elite teams, and such a nice kid! Last time I saw him his hair was all gone and he said he would never let it get that long again, so I guess these will be the last photos of that big bouncy hair in action.

Rural America: Travel photography

Back from a little road trip through eastern Washington, Montana and down into central Idaho. We make the drive often, to visit my parents, and I always look forward to the trip as much as the destination. Such a beautiful drive. Well, from here to Spokane, not as much, unless you hit it at the right time. The rolling fields of the Palouse are still pretty amazing in the golden light of dusk, but other than that, it's a whole lot of sameness for several hours. Once you leave Spokane though, and head torwards Couer d'Alene, Idaho, it's beautiful. We always stop somewhere in Montana for the night. We could go all in one day but it's a long haul with kids. Love those small town Montana truck-stop areas with nothing more than a hotel, a big giftshop full of everything huckleberry and a gas station. And seriously, Montana skies are amazing. I have never seen a boring sky in that state. On this trip we even had a front row seat to a thunder storm. My tripod was in the car and it wasn't a good idea to go out and get it so I hand-held my camera, braced against the window, used a long shutter speed and managed to capture a lightning strike that happened to catch the hill on fire across the street from us. Luckily the clouds let loose their rain right after and put it out a while later. A few pics from the drive below.