The "Holly Day Martini" and a few of her sparkling friends!

In early September, our studio took the call from Wegmans to photograph two drink recipes that were developed to help Menu Magazine readers refresh themselves cheerfully throughout the holiday season!  The images would run in the Menu Magazine Holiday Issue, the article beginning on page 58.  I was to work alongside art director and good friend, Michael Buckley, and was fortunate to have the wonderful Jennifer Morse working with us, too!   Together, we would execute the photography in the Tastings Restaurant dining room and lounge areas.  Bartender Extraordinaire, Janet Rudney, of Tastings Restaurant fame, and currently of Next Door Bar and Grill, had created the yummy recipes and would be making the beautiful drinks for us to photograph on the day of the shoot.  Michael came over to the studio and went over the list of necessary props with Kathy, and things began falling into place.  On the morning of the shoot, Jennifer met me at the studio, we loaded the gear into the truck, and headed out to the Pittsford, NY location.

First off, we decided upon our location for the article’s opening image. The Tastings dining room was chosen in this case for its spacious environment, as well as for the windows and lighting fixtures that would provide some out-of-focus interest in the background.  This shot would feature the “Holly Day Martini,” and sparkling wine.  The martini recipe combines the flavors of fresh strawberries, pomegranate and citrus, with a kicker of vodka (optional) to help boost the holiday cheer level up a notch or two!  We did another shot of the same martini recipe, without the accompaniment of sparkling wine, in the lounge area of the restauant.  This was a much tighter composition, and Michael performed his “votive candle magic” to help bring life to the environment.

Strawberries, pomegranate, and citrus make this martini a festive holiday treat!

My favorite shot of the day, though, is the one we did of the “Cozy Coffee” recipe.  Janet can do some amazing things behind the bar, and this creation of hers had Michael and I anxious to do some sampling!  The coffee smelled so good already, but when Janet topped the mugs off with perfectly roasted mini-marshmallows, the visual appeal of the drinks was increased dramatically!  After a little bit of “marshmallow primping,” and some “foam and bubble artistry,” we had our shots done for the day.  All sampling was done after Five O’clock, in case anyone is wondering!

Cozy Coffee! You simply can't go wrong with marshmallows and vodka!

Camera:  Hasselblad H2 with Leaf Aptus 65S digital back.

Mixed Olives and Parmigiano Reggiano Salami Bites.

One of the rewarding parts of being a professional photographer are the “testing days!” When the schedule allows, John and I will try to expand our horizons a little, and make a plan to try out some new lighting ideas we have, or do some preliminary tests for an upcoming client project. In some cases, it’s a necessary part of our problem solving process. Sometimes, though, it can be just plain fun! Testing gives us a chance to learn new ways of working, explore new photographic styles, and flesh-out concepts we have in our minds.

In this particular case, I was able to take a couple of days to create some new food images! Photographing food is one of my favorite things to do, and I was excited for the opportunity! After a little time spent making sketches, thinking of food types, textures and colors, I headed off to the Pittsford Wegmans with my shopping list. I was planning a hearty steak meal, a chicken soup shot, one with olives, another of grilled beef and vegetable skewers, and a fifth with sockeye salmon. I really enjoy having an excuse to roll the gas grill outside to cook, so I had planned three of the meals with that in mind.

Grilled Sockeye Salmon, Mixed Greens and Roasted Potatoes.

I was in the process of developing a studio flash lighting setup that would mimic natural daylight coming through windows. Now, much of our food photography had accomplished this before, but there were some subtle differences that I was trying to tweak. The primary difference in this setup was that the main light source would originate from the rear of the set rather than from the side. I was also deciding to make the light source more indirect, and to diffuse it differently from our previous working method. In some ways, it’s actually a simpler setup to use, and contains fewer components.

The images here are my favorites from the session.

Camera: Hasselblad H2 and Lead Aptus 65 digital back.

The new Maine Blueberry Pie from Wegmans!

Another segment of the current Menu magazine I had enjoyed photographing for earlier in the year was an article featuring classic pies from the Bakery Department at Wegmans!

New this year to the Wegmans pie line was a gorgeous Maine Blueberry Pie!  This pie, in addition to a traditional, down-home Apple Pie and incredible Triple Berry Pie, offers shoppers an “easy” way to bring hand baked goodness to a family cookout or gathering!

I know that sounds a little like a sales pitch, but the Triple Berry was out of this world!  Loved it!  Now, if I could just get some on the same plate with some good vanilla ice cream!

The Triple Berry Pie was my personal favortie! Super good!

Camera: Hasselblad H2 and Leaf Aptus 65 digital back.

Mixed Berries and Wegmans Premium Vanilla! Classic goodness!

Not long after having photographed the meals for the Summer 2009 Wegmans Menu Magazine, I was assigned to create images for an article featuring ice cream and sorbet pairings! A cold winter day seems an unlikely time to be working with frozen treats, but often times we are photographing for a given project 6 months or even a year prior to the release of the article, advertisement or product.

Joan Keyser, a food stylist with whom we love to work, showed up with an arsenal of ice cream scoops that would make Ben and Jerry envious! I never would have imagined that such a large variety of scoop sizes existed! One of Joan’s specialties, though, is working with real ice cream, and it wasn’t long before she had narrowed down her scoops to find the right sizes to use for what we were doing.

Red Raspberries and Wegmans Green Apple Sorbet. Stunningly refreshing!

My lighting schematic that day was very similar to what I had used in the burger photography shown in the previous post. Bright, energetic, natural looking light that would be cohesive with the existing images, convey the feeling of Summer, and perhaps suggest an outdoor or sunporch type environment.

Wegmans art director, Michael Buckley, had worked with Kathy in targeting a specific look for the props, tabletops, and dishes. Once all these things were laid out in the studio, the decision process began as to which combinations of things would be appropriate for each dessert. Michael then set out to work his magic creating the look of each set.

Once photography was complete at the end of the day, we set out to sample some product! My favorite flavor was the Wegmans Brand Premium, Bordeaux Cherry Chocolate Brownie. You gotta try this stuff! It’s really great! Hurry out and get some while it’s still summertime!

Bordeaux Cherry Chocolate Brownie! Heaven in a pint!

Camera: Hasselblad H2 and Leaf Aptus 65 digital back.

Salsa Burger with Avocado!

I found myself craving a good burger since I hit the floor this morning. I might have to get a fix later on today! It was this craving that brought to mind the images you see here.

On a steamy August day like today, the farthest thing from my mind is cold, blowing snow. It was a snowy day here in Rochester, though, when John and I were both photographing food in the studio for the Summer 2009 issue of Wegmans Menu Magazine. I had shoveled snow all week long, and this day was no exception. Another several inches had fallen overnight, and had to be cleared so we could get in the front door at the studio. We also needed to clear some sidewalk space for our food stylist, Joan Keyser, to work with the gas grill.

Cheddar Burger with Applewood Smoked Bacon! Wow!

Within the walls of the studio at Myers Creative Imaging, we set out to create some beautiful environments in which to place the food. Bright, airy, and “Summery,” were some descriptives we were tossing around that morning during the planning session, and during the week of photography, we created quite a large body of work that would convey these essences and scrumptious flavors of Summer!

Of all the images I worked on, the ones you see here are my absolute favorites! I’m trying, though, not to let my hamburger craving sway my opinion. The Summer issue of Menu is on store shelves now!

Camera: Hasselblad H2 and CF 132 digital back.