.....lonely savoy

Appetizers for Chef Mario

Some images from a recent session held for Chef Mario.

His theme for an upcoming article was appetizers and entertaining. Mario likes the food to stand on it's own against a neutral background.

I brought home some of the shrimp from this shoot. Simply marvelous!

Dish It Up! Local Chef's throwdown for a good cause

This past Sunday was the second annual Dish It Up event to support WakeMed Foundation and specifically raise funds for a new children's hospital in Wake County.

With over 30 great restaurants participating, I would consider the event a huge success. My family and I had a great time tasting the different creations and admiring the displays.
This wonderful creation is a turkey slider from the Twisted Fork. It melted in your mouth. Their display was particularly eye catching to my 7 year old daughter, Hannah. She had a great time participating in face painting, tatoos and making macaroni necklaces. The event was really well done. The live music was just right. The staff was super and the food was great. A great day for my family.

Brul'eed Fig tart with Creme Anglaise and a white balsamic reduction. Their simple presentation really caught my eye. I love figs and these just screamed out to you with their rich golden color. Kudos to Vin for these. They simply rocked.

Crab Cakes from Margaux's. Need I say more.


Chef Corbett Monica, from Bella Monica, dishing it up!
A tasty event for a good cause. Thanks for reading!

A call for corks

I'm in need of corks.

Lot's of corks.


I have a crazy idea for a photo that uses lot's of corks. If anyone out there has a pile of corks or would be willing to help out, I would gladly appreciate it. I can't possibly drink enough wine to gather the corks I need. Email me at tim@timbroyer.com. I'd exchange a print or two for your efforts.


This is a test photo I'm working on for my portfolio. It's a technique called backfield lighting. I wish I had taken a set-up shot to show. I basically took my large softbox and placed it behind the glass. I attached a long black strip, about 12" wide, in the center of the softbox. This acts as the background of the photo. The strip only covers part of the softbox and the remaining areas light the sides of the glass. I placed a small white card on the top of the softbox to throw just a smidge of light onto the top of the glass. It's a technique I pulled from the ultimate text book on lighting; Light, Science and Magic. A book long ago recommended by the Strobist and well worth the money.

I spilled my wine

Does your website need creative photography? Does your food look flat on the screen?
Does your food smile?

peach outtakes

A peach that I used as a subject while getting my shooting table and lights together for a recent commercial shoot. The client was running a few minutes late and I had some time to work on the lighting. It's important to use test subjects while setting up and not your hero subject. The lighting and set up should be as close as possible when you bring in the hero.

Technical notes: AB800 in huge softbox, hanging from a boom, to camera left. One SB-800 in softlighter umbrella to camera right for a smudge of fill light. I used a D300 with a Nikon 105 VR macro lens and very little processing in Lightroom 2.0. I'll have more from this shoot soon.

Wedding Cake

Pickled Jalapenos

105 VR Macro in natural light.

steak experiment

Teamed up with Chef Michael for a practice run on food photography. He has never been exposed to the level of preperation and detail needed to pull off a food photograph. So this exercise was a way of helping us both break the ice for his food and my photography. A cook book is possibly in the works although the grand scale of Michael's book might be pulled in a bit based on what he saw.


Mise en place. This was not a planned image but I really liked the idea when Michael requested a Mise En Place shot. It's like posting the shots of my lighting set ups.

Tech: One Alien Bee 800 in a large softbox to the rear of the subject. A snooted SB-800 skimmed across the steak to give the highlights. Various white and black cards to fill shadows accordingly.




Sorry for the big copyright notice. I host my blog photos on Flickr. It's a great way for me to have easy hosting, easy access and additional viewership, but it's also the preferred source for stealing images on the internet.

Carolina Barbecue Sandwich

Slow-cooked, chopped pork sandwich with vinegar based cole slaw on it. A true North Carolina classic. Taken as part of a portfolio exercise.

It tasted great!



Lighting info? One SB-800 to camera left in a 36" soft umbrella set at 1/8 power. White foamcore board to sandwich right for fill. Another SB-800 to camera right and lighting the back wall. It was set to 1/64 power. All fired via pocket wizards on a D300/105 VR macro with tripod.

Salt and the peppers...

I'm currently reading a great book on food styling.
Food Styling for Photographers: A Guide to Creating Your Own Appetizing Art (Paperback)
by Linda Bellingham & Jean Ann Bybee

Based on what I've read so far (and that's not much) I can give it two thumbs up. I'll give a thorough review when I finish. I tend to savour my (good) photography books and eat them one piece at a time. This helps me digest the information.

I'm also stoked to about the Strobist DVD set that was announced today. I was able to secure one copy of the 8 DVD instructional set and look forward to it very much. I've learned a ton from the Strobist and highly reccomend him for your daily blog read.

a Memorial flatbread

A few outtakes from yesterday.

Another fine shoot with the creative team at Bella Monica Flatbread Co. for their packaging needs. Corbett Monica was there to offer precise input and our food stylist, Billy Raney was on hand to sculpt, process and dress the flatbreads. It was quite the production.


Here is a shot of the set up.

Billy doing his magic.
This job is really fun and coming together nicely with a great creative team. The two business owners, photographer, food stylist, art director and an assortment of other characters are all working towards a common goal. Good stuff.

Bella Monica Flat Bread Co. garnish shoot

A peak at a commercial shoot I did this past Friday with Trevor from Bella Monica Flatbread Co..

We had a small set-up consisting of a shooting table and three lights. Nikon D300 with either a 105 VR Macro or my favorite 50 1.4 prime lens. We rolled through the shot list in 4 hours and had a groove going until we met Mr. Mozzarella. For reasons I have yet to figure out, I just can't get the mozzarella to photograph nice.



We came away with some killer photos that not only will work for their packaging needs but we might just print up a few real big!

Deviled eggs....

Chef Mario challenged his crew to a last minute exercise in creativity and flavor. They prepared a deviled egg for taste and presentation. I stopped by to photograph the winner and socialize a bit. I was flattered to be the celebrity judge. The competition was real close with many flavorful recipes but cool hand Luke made the most eggscitement to score the victory. His eggs had a sweet taste at first and a bit of heat towards the end. I loved it.


Luke's winning deviled egg.


A portrait of the winning chef.


Chef Mario's creation. I love the visual properties of this egg. Simple and effective. A fun time photographing this crew!

Published in Cary Living & Midtown magazines.

I had several photos published in Cary Living and Midtown magazine as part of Chef Mario's monthly article. They were from a salad shoot we did last March. I was pleased with the results then and even more pleased to see them published. I'll be doing more work for Chef Mario's monthly article in the near future so keep an eye out for them!

A big thank you to Darcy at Chef Mario's for the opportunity. It always taste better when someone else cooks and the photos always look better when your food smiles.

Spinach & Tomato

Fun shoot with Trevor yesterday for his business, Bella Monica Flat Bread Co.

A couple pieces (or pizzas) that I've been working on lately.

Garlic, Mushrooms and herb concept photos for Trevor

These are concept photos for some packaging work. Specifically, they are for Trevor. Just a quick set up to capture the colors and look we previously discussed.

Carrot-Pineapple Muffin

A couple takes from my ongoing local project with a bakery in Apex.

Stick a fork in it, it's done.


And boy did it taste yummy. The cream cheese frosting... forget about it.

The images were taken with a combination of window light and two strobes. The window was camera left and rear. I supplemented the window with an additional strobe/soft umbrella. The other strobe was behind the camera to the left and bouncing off the white ceiling to bring the exposure up. Match all that lighting up to a 105 VR macro lens and cook it up in Adobe Lightroom.

BTW, Adobe just launched public beta test of Adobe Lightroom 2.0. I have it installed and played with it. I'm very excited! The masking feature will put it over the top. The best review I've read so far is here.

East versus West

I was in Greensboro yesterday doing some work. If I'm having lunch, I always try to sample the local flavor versus corporate chain restaurants. I enjoy the people watching, the different menus and quite frankly, the prices are usually lower.

Pork barbecue is a quintessential part of the fabric in North Carolina. It's right up there with tobacco and basketball. My friends and I enjoy sampling the local 'cue selection whenever we travel the state. I picked up the love of good 'cue from Bill Camp at Triangle Design Kitchens. The man can smell barbecue from across town even when the wind isn't blowing. He routinely fields calls from us as to which restaurant we should try when in far off little towns.

This particular 'cue is Stamey's in Greensboro and is of the Western style. It's red vinegar based slaw is a giveaway. They have two restaurants. The other being in Lexington (the capitol of western style 'cue). I've had the pleasure of dining there as well. I love the old style warmth you feel when you walk in the door. The service was super fast (at both places) and the 'cue was a 7 out of 10. The hush puppies? The best I've ever had. I like them thin and crispy and not fat and doughy.

...back to your regularly scheduled blogging.

Salads for Chef Mario

Chef Mario does a monthly column in a local magazine highlighting his unique culinary creations and nutrition. The team at Chef Mario create some extraordinary meals (I'm no stranger to his stuff, believe me). With Chef Darcy assisting, I shot five salads for them with a combination of natural and strobe lighting. We were going for a close up look with not a lot of styling and propping.


A mix of natural light and strobe on this last shot. My natural light was fading so I brought a strobe/soft umbrella outside and basically helped the sun out a bit. Also a couple reflectors on this. This was the hardest shot of the series.


Look for Chef Mario's column in an upcoming issue of an (undisclosed magazine) later next month. Once it's published I will post up the magazine shots. These are proof shots with little processing or cleaning up. It was great working with Chef Darcy and the staff at Mario's. We were in and out in under two hours. I even got to bring a couple salads home!

Olive oil and flat bread

Day 52
Sarah helped me out on some food photography for a potential client. It's part of a mock up that I want to present to a client. They approached me earlier in the week, but I have not heard back from them. So I went and bought their product to try it out. Very yummy!

49 beets... 50 location scouting

Day 50 found me hitting the roads for two location scouting trips. While waiting for one appointment, I stopped in for some liquid stamina and worked in Adobe Lightroom. I had my holga with me in the hopes I might spot something worthy of a Holga shot but it was not to be. However, the scouting was a success and I hope to produce a really cool portrait of a gentleman and his custom Harley-Davidson for a company called Atlantic Prosthetics and Orthopedics. He has a custom prosthetic and still rides his motorcycle. I'm hoping for some dynamic lighting and location for this shot.

Day 49 POD
Continuing some work for my stock portfolio. I love beets in the juicer. That reminds me, I need to do a juicer photo!

Filet Mignon with Blue Cheese crumbles

Tim Marotta is a great chef. I would put his grilling up against anyone I know. I had the privilege of photographing one of his specialties, Filet Mignon with blue cheese crumbles served with a lettuce wedge salad. I would really like to see Tim put together a cook book. Tim cooked the entire meal and helped style the table too. Thanks Tim.



I made a proof gallery that can be viewed here that illustrates some of the different angles and set ups.

Link to Flickr with notes on how this shot was made.

Pine cone was my stand in.

Day 31 of POD.

Cupcakes

Day 15

I shot this for my food portfolio and I rather like how it came out. Simple, clean and yummy. I wish I could take credit for creating this butter cream jewel but I cannot. I purchased it from the Cupcake Factory in Raleigh. I would link to their website but I can't seem to find one. They should give me a shout as I can probably help them on that too. It made for a great dessert for the family and I.

Pomegranate series

Day 4
Day 4 is a sister shot to the day 2 shot. It was a little challenging trying to duplicate the same lighting this time around.



A pomegranate series I put together for my portfolio. I'm going to send it to my stock archive too.


Set up shot. A light 'wall' made out of six sheets of paper and two strobes on low power.

POD 2008 - Day 2 Pomegranate

Getting back to some more food photography with this one. I plan on opening it up for some juicy photos. I like the contrast of red on yellow and the centering of the fruit. It won't win any awards but I picture it in more of a series than stand alone.

tilted wine and chocolate peanut butter balls

Some recent shots I've been doing to boost my food portfolio. I really like the tilted wine glass. Anyone care to guess how it was done?

The holidays are a great time for food photography. A family friend has made a tradition out of chocolate peanunt butter balls. She happens to be staying at our house this year and that afforded me the chance to photograph them. They taste super!
The chocolate balls were shot with my D300/105 VR macro combo and one softbox to camera right. The surface is good old wrapping paper.

floating nut

Show us your Nuts!
This is my entry into the December photography contest on Jugalbandi. I've never entered before but I really like the site and it's loaded with information. Their theme this month is Nuts! If you've followed this blog, you know I like some nuts.

I took the photo with a Nikon D300 and my favorite lens, the 105 VR macro. I used two strobes fired via pocket wizards. I taped five pieces of paper to make a light tent around the nuts and fired away.



Let the judging begin!

Pecan crusted pork loin

Roasted Southern Pecan-Crusted Pork Loin
Bourbon Scented Peach Demi-Glace

Sweet Potato Hash w/Applewood Bacon, Scallions & Jalapenos

Collard Green-Goat Cheese Tartlet topped with Carmelized Vidalias

Chef Billy Raney came over Sunday and created this wonderful plate. It's a portfolio building session for both of us. We spent about 2.5 hours working on the set up and different table top looks. It was our first project together and I think it came out pretty darn good. It tasted great too.

Does whine make you tilted?

It's actually black cherry jello. I'm dissapointed with the specular highlights. It's really a challenge to light something reflective yet not get reflections. I tried using my biggest diffuser yet it still didn't work. I've got a long ways to go.

Food theme

Can you figure out the theme I'm going for here?



NaCl

Pumpkin Spice Roll

Pumpkin Spice Roll from the Savory Bakery & Pastry in Apex, NC. It tastes as good as it looks.

I used my 105 VR Macro for these shots with one softbox to camera left, feathered off a bit. I also had a white reflector on the right side. Lastly, there was a small strobe lighting the background to help wash it out. Mix in the lights with a tad overexposure and this is what I have. Raw files were processed in Adobe Lightroom.

Grounds for stock

I had a set up ready for a local chef with our plan to knock out one recipe they had but it fell through. Not wanting to waste the set up and the time I shot some coffee grounds for practice and submission to stock. These were shot with my new 105 VR macro lens wich is turning into quite the gem.

Studio Shitake!

Konnichiwa! I took my little mushroom friends into the mini studio yesterday for some stock submissions.


Where am I selling stock photos you ask? I'm proud to affiliate Tim Broyer Photography with Photoshelter. I've signed on with them for my online archiving and sales needs as well as their recently launched stock photography service called Photoshelter Collection. This is a company I have been studying for about a year now. I really think they have the right direction and corporate leadership to steer stock photography towards a lucrative position. Their archiving solution is superb too and I plan on archiving my best photographs on their servers located on both coasts of the US. Time and sales volume will be the final test, so check back with me in a year.

Photoshelter
Photoshelter Collection

Shrimp Boil!

Fun shoot last night. A classic shrimp boil and man did it taste good.


Commercial shoot for a project with a chef.
Mulitple lights and reflectors. Pocket Wizards used to trigger.

Shrimp, red potatos and corn all cooked in the same pot with some Old Bay seasoning. This particular shoot had a great finish!

Set up shot here
www.flickr.com/photos/timbroyer/1385754657/

Photoshelter
Today also marks my entrance into Photoshelter, an online photo stock site that also offers online storage. I look forward to posting some of my best work on this site and marketing it towards commercial and editorial applications. It's a 70/30 split and I consider it a good deal with all the marketing and pricing tools available while working with them.

Blue Martini