Pure Maple Syrup

Pancakes

When I got the chance to bid on a maple syrup job, I made sure I did everything possible to get it. The job was for a new maple syrup company (Crown Maple) and the opportunity to be around all that sticky-sweet bliss made my enthusiasm level rise. I spent the weekend in NY State to capture the owners, facility, production crew, tree-tappers, grounds and their beautiful cabin. The weekend was fun, educational and a great experience to see how syrup was made.  Above all, the people were such a pleasure to work with. Their hospitality and assistance throughout the weekend made the whole job run like a Swiss watch.  The next shoot was the following Friday in NJ. This is when we saw the recipes come together. Now we’re talking!  On to shooting the food…

I used to think of maple syrup was just for pancakes, waffles and an occasional twist to a recipe, but this was an eye-opener. There were pancakes and some of the usual drool-inducing items, but then they brought out trout, (yes, trout), sticky buns,  breads, pecan squares (these were hedonistic) and the list went on.

Coffee Sweetened With Maple Syrup

The last item was coffee. They sweetened coffee with maple syrup!  I didn’t question the idea, I just listened and put the set together. I can never look at pure maple syrup the same way.  When I mentioned this coffee thing to a friend in Canada, he thought I was nuts for not knowing this.

Kulwant Ji

First, I’ve been involved with Indian culture for many years, partially, because I’m married to a wonderful, Sikh/Punjabi lady. So, I visit the local gurudwaras (Sikh temples) in my area specifically, Bridgewater and Carteret, to shoot portraits of the ragis (musicians) and the giannis (priests). It’s more of a humanitarian service since many have never had their portrait taken. After the portrait sessions, I’ll return after a week or so with the hard copy prints and they’ll send most of them to their families in India. They’ve all got some great character about them that makes for a very dramatic portrait, but I ended up doing something different this time.

Back in early March of this year, I was at the Carteret gurudwara and did a larger-than-normal session with about eight or nine ragi and the gianni.  Kulwant, the man in this portrait, is a type of gianni. He interprets the Guru Granth Sahib (the Sikh holy book) and conveys the wisdom in a way the general public can understand. Kulwant was somewhere else and missed this session yet, when I first met him, he had this beautiful energy and the facial character that I needed to capture before he went back to India (patience, we’re getting to the point). I stopped by unannounced the following week to visit and have some tea with the group and wasn’t  prepared for a shoot.  In other words,I didn’t have my Elinchroms (studio lighting) with me only some Nikon Speedlights, the SU 80 commander and some diffusion and light-weight grip equipment. That’s when I found out that Kulwant Ji was leaving in a few days and this was my only chance to shoot his portrait. No Elinchraoms – a Speedlight – let’s make something of it…

By looking at the setup image below, there wasn’t much to it. It was shot with a single SB 800. But, I needed to diffuse the heck put of it. I hung a beat-up Gary Fong lightsphere on the 800, shot it  through the Lastolite softbox that had a baffle and the outer diffusion material, and finally, through a diffusion disc. It may sound conceited, but there are a few things that I really love about this image. Kulwant is so immersed in his natural character that it just works. He went someplace in his mind and the essence shone through. Then there’s the light that frames his right side. It has that beautiful northern window light effect that ignites his cascading beard and offers an ethereal glow. Five frames and we were done.

Given the choice, I still prefer to use the larger studio lights where I have more control, but in a pinch, one can do some pretty cool things with these little lights – or in this case – light. I’ve done some of the ragi portraits with the Nikon Speedlights and just a single piece of diffusion material on my portrait and beauty website (to see them, please visit www.davidverdini.com and click on the Sardar Ji link). They’re punchy little lights that need a lot of diffusion to create a soft look.

Thanks for your attention. Stay well and I’ll be back soon…

Ragu di Costatine di Maiale

Pork: The Other White Meat. Most of us have heard that expression from the commercial. I’ve slowly weaned myself off of meat for the most part. Starting with pork a few years ago, then beef and now chicken is on its way out. (fish is still on the menu). Tony, from Il Capriccio, made a pork ragu for this issue of Suburban Essex magazine and as always, it’s a pleasure to watch a master chef at his craft. When it comes to taste, you can’t go wrong with tomatoes, garlic, and pork. Ok, pure vegetarians and vegans are probably in complete disagreement and disgust with this, so I’ll address the carnivores in this post.

As I was photographing Tony in the kitchen during the cooking process, the aroma was wafting my way as a sinister tease. My internal drool mechanism kicked in and I had to leave both for my sanity and to get the lights set for the final image. Fast-forward 18 minutes when the pasta and ragu were ready to be plated is when the fragrance of this creation was paired with the presentation for me to shoot. Adjusting the mirrors and the back light to get the right look for my image, I got my shot before the basil became something that would’ve resembled just another dead leaf. After Tony’s approval, the true test of will power appeared. Tony asked if I wanted to take the food home. My knee-jerk response was: “I appreciate it Tony, but I haven’t had pork in at least three years, so I’ll have to pass”. It all seemed to be in slow-motion from that point on. He offered the plate to me, stretched an ear-to-ear grin like the Cheshire Cat and in his Italian accent spoke the unthinkable: “Here David, just smell it.” One hit of his culinary art and my will power was gone. I was transported to my grandmother’s kitchen! Down the rabbit hole… (It’s amazing the sense of smell’s power and how it works on the memory.) I lost all control and consumed it only a few etiquette levels above a tree-dwelling savage. Alright, I exaggerate, but you get the picture.  I actually tasted my late grandmother’s cooking again after 19 years. I went back in time and reveled in the experience. I’ve got to say that it was worth the slip-up.

As for Tony, he has a section in every issue of Suburban Essex magazine called “Cooking With Tony”, where he shares his own recipes with the how-to’s, some prep images and an image of the completed dish.

Until next time, thanks for reading and stay well…

Ferraro's Cheese Cake

Photographing food over the past several years has given me the opportunity to sample it, consume it with dignity and in some cases, eat the generous offerings as if I was going to the chair.

During a recent shoot, the chef insisted I try his freshly-made cognac-pumpkin cheese cake. Initially, I resisted due to the high fat and caloric content (let’s face it, properly made cheesecake is not on any health food menu). I succumbed to the temptation and entered into a state of sensual bliss. After the chef gave me the slice of taste bud Nirvana, he went to get things prepared for the next part of the shoot.  Anxiously, he returned to get the next item photographed and that’s when I informed him not to disturb me –  I was experiencing a higher plane of existence and I would continue working only when finished. He gave me that proud  I told you so look and left me to my vice.

Ok, this may seem a bit dramatic for a slice of cake, but there are some culinary pleasures that one can relate to and appreciate my indulgent actions. The image posted is not the cake I experienced, but their standard cheese cake made at the restaurant, which has been a popular item on their menu. Regardless of the image or food item, texture, taste and the balance of flavors are so critical in producing a quality piece of culinary art that executive chef, Guiseppe of Ferarro’s, in Westfield, NJ, has succeeded.

Not to mention some of the other items I sampled that day…

Ferraro's Cannelloni

For those who want to know what equipment we used: Nikon D3X, Elinchrom Ranger, beauty dish with a sock, Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 (sunglass picture), Elinchrom strip light, Nikon 28-70 f/2.8 (couch picture).

As with most things, the more you put in, the more you get out. Check out the chapter’s website at www.asmp-nj.org.

Look forward to seeing you there. Stay well…  D

Waiting...

It’s been many, many months (October to be exact) since I’ve posted anything. However, quite a bit has happened and I also have much to share. I’ll be posting some techniques, opinions and experiences from some personal projects and commercial work with hopes of inspiring and encouraging comments relevant to the posts for discussions.

Some may have noticed that I’ve moved my blog from Blogspot to WordPress. It seems to provide a more flexible and robust way of presenting. It’s been suggested to me by many others who are using WordPress, so I’ll try it and see how it works. My intention is to have the first post within one week’s time. Collecting ideas and material. Until the next post, enjoy life.  David