Essence of Wine: Tobacco

Tobacco is the newest post on Vinography.com authored by Alder Yarrow.  I loved shooting the tobacco leaves.  The aroma brought back many memories of the high school smoker and conjured up images of old tobacco barns in the midwest.  A ritual, a flavor, a memory.

Essence of Wine: Honey (an on-going project for wine blog Vinography.com)

Wine blogger Alder Yarrow has a way with words which is why so many people follow his blog.  It is also why Art Director/Stylist Sara Slavin and I decided to collaborate with him on this fantastic project. Here is his introduction to the project found on his blog www.Vinography.com :

Introducing The Essence of Wine

Many facets of wine contribute to its allure and mystery. But foremost among wine's most magical qualities must be the remarkable landscape of flavor and aroma to be found in the glass.

That mere grape juice, given time and the workings of the microscopic kingdom, can yield flavors beyond description has doubtless played a central role in making wine mankind's most historically sacred fluid, beyond our own lifeblood.

With eyes closed, a glass of wine can transport us not only to climes far removed, but also through time. These journeys are provoked by flavor. Our deep sense memories are drawn from their hiding places, and we find ourselves tasting things that a simple liquid ought not to be able to evoke with such unnerving power.

The flavors of wine are magical and beautiful, and worth celebrating, almost as much as they are worth drinking.

It is my pleasure to introduce a new series of weekly content on Vinography called The Essence of Wine.

This writing and photography project has been years in the making. Or more correctly, I have fantasized about it for several years, and only recently encountered the collaborators that I felt could truly help me bring it to life:

Photographer Leigh Beisch: Capturing the soul of food is more difficult than you would think. Food photography these days is glaringly unoriginal and boring for the most part -- often as hopelessly derivative as it is clinically sterile.

Photographer Leigh Beisch's images of food possess a rare beauty, poetry, and warmth that capture the energy and allure of great food.

"Pour" and "Ritual": Two New Videos Up on My Website

Video has been an exciting medium for me to move into. It brings me back to my studies of film and "4D Design" classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. Taking an image and applying the dimensions of time and sound. I have always tried to tell some sort of story in my still imagery, but in video it takes on a new dimension. Very exciting!

I also enjoyed the teamwork that goes into making a video. Each person of a well picked team has something valuable to contribute.

So take a peek- CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW VIDEOS

Here is a little description of them:

Ritual is a coffee story.  It is a very short video about the textures, sounds and experience that we have all fallen in love with when brewing a delicious cup of coffee. I can almost smell it!

Pour is a story about a glass of wine being enjoyed by it's owner as she prepares for a dinner party. We "discovered" some interesting visuals while doing this video and decided to use them in the final edit. We wanted to tell a slightly different story about enjoying wine, thus it is enjoyed while preparing for a party not just at a party. We hoped for a sense of quiet moment of enjoyment in anticipation of the event. Relaxing and yet fun. We chose music that could guide the pace of the edits- so the edits could kind of dance along or flow to it rather than just applying sound over an image. We wanted to do a drip at the end to have finality but also show the color and character of the wine.

Both wine and coffee were commanding subjects to work with. The kinds of passions they evoke, the complexities and histories they each hold. We could do a hundred of "stories" about them!

Hope you enjoy our drink "stories"

Found Folios Winter Feature

Found Folios featured two of my images in their post titled "Winter" . Click here to see my work, along with some other great photographers and their definition of what winter means.

Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe

Here's a little sampling of a delicious recipe from  "The New Thanksgiving Table" by Diane Morgan, a cookbook I shot the photographs for. Enjoy this recipe on Thursday!


Spatchcocked Turkey Roasted with Lemon, Sage, and Garlic

Ingridients:

6 cloves garlic
zest of 1 lemon, removed in 1/2 inch wide strips
10 large sage leaves, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, plus more for seasoning
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more for seasoning
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into chunks
One 10 to 14 pound fresh or thawed frozen turkey, removed from fridge 1 hr before roasting
Giblet gravy for a spatchcocked turkey (included in book)


Position a rack on the second lowest level in the oven and preheat to 350˚ F. Have ready a roasting pan large enough to accommodate the turkey when laid flat after spatchcocking (butterflying).

In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the garlic, lemon zest, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper. Process until finely minced. Add the butter and process until well combined.

Place the turkey, still in its original wrappings, in a clean sink. Carefully slit open the plastic wrapper and remove the turkey. Remove the neck and bag of giblets from both the main cavity and the neck cavity of the bird.  Store them in a covered container in the refrigerator for making the gravy. Remove the plastic or metal clip holding the legs together. Pull and discard any fat pockets from the neck and main cavities of the bird. Trim off the tail, if desired, and store along with the neck and giblets for stock. Rinse the turkey and pat dry thoroughly.

To butterfly the turkey, place it, breast down, on a cutting board. Using poultry shears or a chef's knife, cut through the turkey from one end to the other on each side of the backbone to remove it. Cut the backbone in half and refrigerate it for making stock for gravy. Turn the turkey breast side up, pull the body open and use the heel of your hand to press down firmly, cracking the rib bones so the turkey lies flat. This takes a little pressure and strength; you might need to make a partial cut through the breastbone to get the turkey to lie flat.

Using your fingers, and being careful not to tear the skin, loosen the skin from teh breast of the turkey to create a pocket. Smear the lemon-herb butter all over the breast meat under the skin with your fingers, pushing some butter over the thigh and leg meat. Rub the skin of the turkey all over with any remaining flavored butter and season on all sides with salt and pepper. Transfer to the roasting pan, laying the turkey out flat, skin side up. Roast for about 1 1/2 hours, depending on the size of the bird, until an instant-read thermometer registers 160° to 165° F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh. Make the giblet gravy while the turkey is roasting.

Transfer the turkey to a carving board and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Let rest for 20 minutes before carving, to allow the juices to redistribute. (the internal temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees while the turkey rests.) Finish making the gravy while the turkey is resting.

Strain the juices and browned bits from the roasting pan through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large glass measuring cup. Set aside and allow the fat to rise to the top. Spoon off the fat. The pan juices can be added to the gravy.

Carve the turkey and accompany with gravy.

My photograph "Green Tomatoes" will be included in upcoming APA Something Personal Exhibit in San Francisco

Le Petit Journal by Le Petit Graphiste.: On my radar: Leigh Beisch blog (with updated folio!)

Cool- a mention on a rockin blog site- love it!

Le Petit Journal by Le Petit Graphiste.: On my radar: Leigh Beisch blog (with updated folio!)