Jewels

This is the new webzine called Ellegram by writer/stylista Deb Hornblow… formerly of the Hartford Courant….I’m happy to report that I’ll be shooting the food feature including the delicious baked pasta below…

here is Deb’s preview

You Are Invited …

To explore the premiere issue of Ellegram, Connecticut’s new, free biweekly webzine.

In this issue:
Food: Baked pastas
Fashion: Spring trends
Home & Garden: Colorful accents to banish winter blahs
Arts: CARC’s annual Oscar Party; “Motherhood Out Loud” at Hartford Stage; Almodovar at Cinestudio

I shot a variety of scenarios outside the home of subject Carolyn Klemm last year…starting with her grand Georgian Colonial in the background and on the slate steps. In the end I liked this simple portrait in front of the Birch trees the best.. and CT Magazine art director Joan Barrow agreed with me… and ran it full frame which I love.

Prosciutto wrapped scallops

These “small plates” were shot for Seasons magazine a few months back with writer/stylista Deb Hornblow… we worked together styling the food and props… dolloping cream, frying up sage leaves and eating it all when we were done… Later this week Deb is launching an exciting online venture which I’ll post about and link to on Friday… I’ll be working with her on one part… here’s a little hint…

empanadas

chicken sate with peanut sauce

Baba Ganoush

Butternut Squash Soup with fried sage leaves

Crab Cakes

One of the perks of shooting restaurants is tasting lots of different types of food and working with chefs who are as passionate about their food as I am about photographing it. Here is a spread I shot for the January 2010 issue of Connecticut Magazine featuring Ibiza Tapas beautiful Spanish food in Hamden and Ferme in Avon that has a seasonal Farm to Table menu…

I’m not a fan of ceiling lights as my 1950′s ranch house kitchen had… what came with the house was a monstrosity of wrought iron and orange glass shade hanging at forehead height in the middle of the room…I switched it out for a temporary light that I used for a couple of years but wanted to make my eat in kitchen cozier. I started my search for something clean and simple… I loved the look of this chandelier/shade from Restoration Hardware, but at $445 it was out of my “single Mom on a budget” range…here is my homemade version…

I made it from a shade on sale at Pottery Barn that I paid about $15 for, some fabric cord and a ceiling plate from a lighting store and some wiring help from a friend..

be sure and use a globe bulb that gives off a soft light

On a dimmer it makes my little dining corner much more elegant than before..

This very simple classic lamp was bought as an inexpensive temporary bedside reading light. I had been looking for something prettier and couldn’t find anything I liked in my budget when it dawned on me that I could just paint the one I had…two, actually. I found a pale blue paint at my local Benjamin Moore store and went to work ..first spray painting with metal primer and then brushing on two coats of the paint. I liked the texture of the paint but wasn’t completely happy with the color..it was a little too baby blue, where I wanted more of a smoky pale blue. I took the paint can back to the store and they worked with me adding small amounts of red to get just the right shade.. I repainted and here is the final result…

Now to liven up the shade… stay tuned…

Shoveling is imminent for most of the Northeast today….my usually busy street is quiet…the phone hasn’t rung, no work emails… a good day to be cozy inside with a fire, a cup of tea and a stack of magazines..

These latte bowls hold just the right amount of my favorite winter squash soup–curried butternut or a serving of blackberry ice cream. Found them on sale at Anthropologie (6 for $18 including shipping). I love how the receipt is folded into the little cloth bag… And the bowls came covered in fanciful tissue paper as if they were a gift… even though I paid for them. Now I just need to replace my old chipped plates and other dishes that Brian took with him to college… If you have any affordable suggestions, please post…

I was at a party the other night and the subject of New Haven pizza came up… here in CT it’s legendary…I had to pipe in about a shoot I did for Yankee Magazine last year on just that…Pepe’s vs Sally’s… here are a few shots from the shoot… I hired a photographer friend who LOVES pizza as my assistant that day and off we went to New Haven. We shot at Pepe’s first, that’s their tomato pie above…a perfect thin, crispy crust, melt in your mouth good… and also shot their famous white clam pie along with atmosphere shots and the making of the pizza…

and after shooting and eating pizza it was on to Sally’s for more… the veggie pizza had super thin slices of zucchini, tomato and sweet onion and was unbelievably good…