Shooting Food – Waste Not Want Not

I love working with food. It’s delectable, delicious and very challenging. Although the home economy trend is towards more natural, there is a fine line between natural and looking a mess I’ve found.

During my assisting years, I worked with some great food photographers: all exceedingly talented. One had his own photo-library shooting dishes to order for clients when stock was a relatively fresh thing. His studio was tucked away behind some shops in a rather well to do part of London. You’d never know it was there. He was the first person I knew to have a bespoke mobile cookery island that could be pushed around to the set he was working on. From there, he regularly whizzed up dishes llike soufflés and crepes which were absolutely fresh as they hit the table.

I also recall working with another on some advertising shoots for a well known cured meat company. In those days we did all kinds of things to manipulate the look of the meat. His dog, a friendly and energetic Boxer called Hogan, used to drag me to Keishi Colour with boxes of 5×4 for processing. Naturally there was a lot of waste doing food shoots. One time, I was so brassic that I took home boxes of cakes from a freelance job. Well , they were destined for the bin anyway. I particularly had a penchant for the Lemon Drizzle fingers. Waste not want not! I can honestly say that after a week of them, I never wanted to see another in my life again….the strong stench of sugar made me gag. (I lived near Portobello then.)

Watching home economist Mary select hero cakes and fill in any air holes with crumbs using a fine scalpel was fascinating. Now it’s all about cloning in Photoshop!

One time, I took home a Lobster Thermidore from a Fortnum’s Christmas shoot: a rich source of protein for any impoverished assistant and return for the long hours we spent creating something which looked amazing. Nowadays food has to be as natural as possible. In photo sessions, vegetables are almost always raw or barely cooked to retain their colour. In the UK our love for Oriental style dishes flash cooked in a wok or steamed has influenced the way we see food in terms of nutritional value and how it fits in with our busy, hectic lives.

There is a growing raw vegan movement and the food is surprisingly filling and tasty, sourced locally where possible. With the opening of restaurant chains like Wagamama and Yo Sushi, offering instantly fresh and nourishing meals among informal surroundings, the British palate is changing.

Growing your own is extremely popular too, especially for cash-strapped families. The age of frugality is here and is being championed by Premier model Mak Gilchrist whose local bus stop allotment programme in Brixton featured recently in the papers. (One of my earliest childhood friends, she’s always been a bit “right on” introducing me to Spirulina shakes and sprouting beans in the 90’s.) I’ve tried sprouting but mine just end up hairy!

This week, I took advantage of the harvest in my garden and completed two food tests using Passion Fruit from the front of the house for a dessert and veg grown in my little 8×4 plot to make a courgette linguine dish. Courgette sliced up with a julienne peeler is a great low carb substitute for pasta but it collapsed rapidly once it was dressed with lemon and olive oil.

Lately I’ve developed an irrational craving for young Nasturtium leaves and add them to salads whenever I can. I planted a few this Spring and they’ve gone bonkers, creeping across and up walls, invading. So why not eat them? The flowers are yummy. If you’ve not tried them, they’re peppery like cress, but do check for Black Fly because they love them too. Chuck them in a bowl with Virgin Olive Oil, sea salt, black pepper and fresh lemon juice for a zesty, healthy meal.

Walton Open Gardens – A Great Way to Spend a Sunday

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Yesterday the 19th was the thrid time a select bunch of keen Walton gardeners opened their doors to the public.   At £4 a pop, over 300 tickets were sold with the proceeds going to fund the up-keep of open spaces in Walton. Judy McRae, the organiser, exhibited her own cosy city garden which was a fine example of how much you can cram into a small space. (It was my favourite, although we had to queue as it could really only reasonably cater for 10 at any one time.)  Funnily enough, since we moved here 18 months ago, I had always admired her front garden in the Spring and marvelled at the blues on the way down to the Anglers pub.

I started at the old Mount Felix Stables near the junction with the A244 and met a charming Spanish gentleman who was checking tickets as people entered.  Impressed immediately by the planting in this garden, there were several ‘rooms’ created on different levels, featuring lovely mature trees, surrounding the main lawn. What I especially liked about this was the mix of vegetable beds with the more traditional bedding plants and shrubs. Rows of lettuces planted in triangular beds between paving slabs added to the perspective, drawing the eye to features. There was a lovely huge barrel overflowing with tomato plants and nearby Papaver Patty’s Plum bobbed gracefully against the silhouette of a local tower block in the distance.

Next, I moved on to Rivermount, along with another couple. Although it feels as though  we’ve had lots  of rain lately, the soil seemed very dry even so. This was a broad garden over looking the Thames with a stepped lawn and flower beds on both sides. Yellows and acid greens dominated this one. There were lots of visitors arriving now.

Venturing along Manor Road to Berkeley Gardens, I came across two side by side, both beautiful. The first was full of foliage texture,  shrubs and a magnificent mature Magnolia, the second opened with a regal Clematis which looked like a variety called “The President.” I only know that because I’ve put one in myself this year from Wilko’s and it isn’t out yet.  A bubbling pond provided a place of relaxation to take in the fabulous planting. This garden featured some lovely whooshing grasses which provided good contrast.

Judy McRae’s very popular small city garden was so busy I asked if I could return to concentrate on it when there were less people around. I especially loved the architectural Aliums. Around the corner, I then visited Noe’s garden. Every Thai person I have ever met is an exceptionally tidy gardener, disciplined and attentive. The raised beds featured climbing courgettes, squash and beans in flower. A delicate white clematis clung to the corner of a blue garden house and was protected by a large stone Buddha. Here I met a very charming Dutchman and his partner from Addlestone and after a time I explained my photographic interest in gardens. He invited me to see his place in August when he suggested there would be a second burst of colour. He also sang the praises of Shere Open Gardens near Guildford, this year open to the public on Sunday 26th June from 2-6pm.

Last but not least, I ambled along the tow path to the most Easterly garden, another riverside view. The lovely Jill explained her battle with plants and the wind. I recalled a visit to the Chesil Art Galleries in Chiswell with my bee-keeper mate Chris Slade. Unfortunately the owner and resident artist Margaret Somerville has now moved to Dorchester, but her garden was full of plants that loved arid and windy conditions. It was featured in many gardening mags. I’ve followed up with an email to Jill and hopefully she’ll find some inspiration the next time she’s down that way.

Walton Open Gardens

Shere Open Gardens

The NGS Yellow Book

Chiswell Walled Garden

Chris Slade’s Bee Blog

Face It …….. Isn’t There More To A Portrait Than “Just A Simple P.R. Shot?”

Today, when I was out shopping, I did something I rarely do…. pick up an in-house magazine . Why? Because those sultry eyes of Colin Firth’s worked their magic on me.  I wondered just how many visitors to the bank had done the very same thing. There’s something about those eyes that linger, that draw you in…..

Jessica St. Clair of Green Families UK.

The portrait glowers back at me. I ask myself, what’s in a portrait? Recently, I’ve been doing quite a few for local business people. I’m really enjoying the experience because I don’t normally get a chance to look into what’s between the ears.  Under normal conditions, it’s always a rush. I follow a traditional approach on a shoot; make my subject comfortable, try to allocate some extra time to the session to warm the subject up, show them some attention, try to get to know them, shoot lots. Invariably the shots at the end are always better than the first.

Of course, the worse thing you can do on a portrait shoot is to be in a hurry, it’s not conducive to good results. It’s important to romance the sitter somehow so there is a connection. There’s no way you can really know them in half an hour, but you can get a whiff of what they’re about. Equally, if they’ve got other stuff on their mind it’s no good. They have to want to be there not bullied because they think they ought.

What is it about that Colin Firth portrait that is so engaging? This portrait isn’t just about an actor, a man. It’s about a BRAND. One glance and he’s instantly recognisable. He’s enigmatic, bearing almost the same qualities as the Mona Lisa.  (In fact he’s almost in exactly the same position.) With one look, you are reminded of almost every film he’s been in. Can he really just turn on that sultry look on demand or does he just have a natural propensity to do it? I wonder…did the snapper do something to bait his reaction?

So when a customer comes to me and says: “ I just want some nice shots for P.R.” what does that really mean? Just? Infuriatingly glib, I’d say…

The power of the portrait knows no bounds. Get the image wrong and you can damage your brand, get it right and well, maybe people might comment on what a good likeness it is of you and it might just stick in their minds.

It’s a strange thing, what the digital age has done to the creative process. Because results are almost instant, there is the perception that there is no value or skill involved at all, that almost anyone can do it. Not true. When a professional person actually produces the goods, the reaction is well, almost one of surprise…how weird.

It’s only human nature: experiencing a failure  is the only way we can recognise a success, but who honestly has the time or budget to shop around and experience this for ourselves? That’s why people increasingly go for personal recommendation over traditional advertising. That’s why this year, I’m not going to spend dosh on paid ads at all, I’m going to concentrate on my on-line efforts and networking. Face to Face is best.

What you want, what you really, really want, is some essence of that person communicated to you through the image. It’s no accident that taking a photo is called a ‘capture”.  And it’s no accident that the software I choose to process my Raw files is called “Capture One”. Because that’s exactly what I’m doing.