Bits and Pieces :: Seattle Food Photographer in Paris

Time is beginning to fly over here!  After this week, I’m going to be in Berlin for the Christmas holiday, back to Paris for New Years, and then off to Italy, London, and Amsterdam on the 12th, before I head back to the states.

Looking back, it boggles my mind on how much you can fit into nearly 2 months.  This has been such an amazing trip, I can’t believe all that I have done in my time here, and all that I still have planned to do before I leave – I’m truly blessed.

My hard drive is certainly feeling the weight of my adventures, LOTS of images to go through, LOTS of things to share.

I thought I would post a few of those images, giving you a glimpse of what I’ve been up to these past few months.

Bits and pieces of what I’ve seen in Paris:

itty-bitty, round, legumes :: Seattle Food Photographer in Paris

Being in Paris, I feel like I’ve been living deep in the mind of a photographer…everything is new, interesting, or just simply asking to be photographed.  This of course can be experienced anywhere, even Seattle, but sometimes when things are seen on a daily basis as routine, their beauty can sometimes get lost in the shuffle.

Because I have food on the photo-brain, naturally, I find grocery shopping to be a very important task.  Everything is scrutinized, examined, and asked the question “would I want to photograph you?”

p.s. yes, I am that strange girl in the market spending way too long looking at a single piece of fruit from different angles and heights…sorry.

Cut to my Parisian friend, Celine, introducing me to LaFayette Gourmet.  Think, Whole Foods ‘Paris’ – this was my kind of grocery store!  I love being surrounded by beautiful food.

Coincidentally, I was all out of food at home, so I decided I would do a little shopping.  Given the price tags (again, think Whole Foods) I had to make an agreement with myself – whatever I buy I have to make into a photo.

After taking into consideration colors, textures, shapes/lines…and what I actually wanted to eat…I finally had a basket full of mouth-watering things that I couldn’t touch until the sun was shining…oh, the woes of being a natural light photographer.

So, the first food to get the spotlight were these great little vegetables!

Again, this is something I could have easily found at the grocery or market in Seattle…but because I have photography on the brain 10-fold, somehow they finally grabbed my attention.

Afterwards, I cut these puppies up and roasted them with olive oil, chopped garlic, fresh basil leaves, a dash of salt, and some sharp cheese layered on top.  I love cooking veggies until they brown a bit along the edges – so good.  (by that point, I was so hungry…I did not photograph…sorry…next dish)

Angelina :: Seattle Food Photographer in Paris

If you have been to Paris, it is likely you visited/experienced, Angelina.

If you didn’t, well, then you must book a flight back immediately.

Famous for their “De L’Afrique” Chocolat Chaud, they’ve been perfecting this wonderful cup of hot chocolate since 1903 – and boy, do they have it right!

Best.

And I mean, BEST.

…Hot Chocolate you will ever taste. (period)

This is both a blessing to find, and a curse…because now every other hot chocolate I try, tastes like sugar-water.

Another wonderful thing about Angelina – their pastries.

One in particular, that I was required to try: the Mont Blanc.

A meringue base, filled with whipped cream, and covered with chestnut paste.  Very unique, and not as sweet as you might think.

I wouldn’t say it was the ‘perfect’ paring with my chocolat chaud, but it was certainly a treat!

I came home with the worst sugar headache EVER after all of that.

But I went back for more a week later.

Excuse #467… :: Seattle Food Photographer (back in the day)

…why I don’t delete things off my hard drive (hardly ever).

I know, it is something that I need to work on, but I have a really hard time deleting even the most ‘blurry’, ‘blinking’, or ‘hard-to-distinguish-what-it-even-is’ photos…most of the time, they are in fact, just taking up space.  And I even had the grand idea of just going into Lightroom, selecting every image that has never seen a flag, star, or color code in its little existence, and pressing the delete key – and I’m not talking about the “remove from Lightroom” option.

But while I was in search for a particular food image on my hard drive, hoping that maybe just maybe I was crafty enough to include it on my travel drive, I came across an image I had never given a second glance…

(the one on the left)

It was one of the very first images taken during the photo shoot (isn’t that always the way?), so I’m sure I just dismissed it as a test shot.

But seeing it now, it really got me inspired.

So I went through a few more of the images, to see what else I’d been missing.

 

Now, you’re probably wondering – wait, what’s with the ballerina?!…

Yeah, I know – “Stick with food Charity”…this was a shoot I did years ago, back in school, in fact.

Pictured is Trista Kite, a (retired) ballerina – now dance instructor in the Seattle area.

 

Here are a two that made the cut, even during the first round of editing, still favorites of mine.

 

Why I had these images on my travel drive and not the food image I was searching for, I don’t know…just fate, I guess.

Cranberries :: Seattle Food Photographer in Paris (Thanksgiving Special)

Thanksgiving is slowly becoming one of my favorite holidays…next to Christmas and Easter (can’t beat fresh Easter candy!)

Over the years it has become a holiday where adventure, experimentation, and tradition comes together into one very large, over zealous meal.  My family doesn’t serve your average green bean casserole, stove top stuffing, or cranberry jelly out of a can…we make chipotle apple soup, oyster stuffing, grapefruit-mint vinaigrette on a spinach salad…sometimes we’ll even have themes, like last year we had a plethora of apples and mint in the garden, so we created a menu to compliment those flavors (ie, chipotle apple soup and grapefruit-mint vinaigrette).

One recipe that I found last year that I absolutely fell in love with was a Cranberry, Sour Cherry, and Grapefruit chutney from MarthaStewart.com.

I’ve never been a fan of cranberry sauce (too much sugar maybe?) – but make a chutney with cranberries and citrus, and I will swoon for days…or in this case, years.  Make that citrus, grapefruit, and I’ll be your friend for life.  J’aime le pamplemousse!

Being in Paris this year, I didn’t need to make much, in fact, I didn’t have to make anything.  But I couldn’t ignore the Thanksgiving buzz in the air, and I had to have this cranberry chutney, turkey or no turkey.

 

 

There is something about cranberries that makes me feel very ‘girly’ – they glitter like little jewels – makes my heart flutter!

And it’s so satisfying to stir them in a warming pot – that hallow sound that they make when they clink together, it’s like mixing a bowl full of gum balls.

 

Now, I’m not sure if cranberries are a common thing to find in Paris, my guess is that they are not.  It was something that I pondered while I was putting my grocery list together, and thought it best to google before I left and became frustrated when I couldn’t find the main ingredient in my one simple craving.  And in my search, I found this store, Thanksgiving.  Well that’s fitting…

It’s an English grocery store, that carries all of those undeniable cravings from back home that you just can’t find in your everyday French market.  Cream cheese, Kraft Mac and Cheese, Black beans, Tortillas, Chipotle/Jalapeno, American Oreos, Popcorn, and yes, Cranberries (whole, canned, or jellied).

Homesick no more…for just 3,50 euro, you too can feel the comforting pleasure of Kraft powered cheese…or a bowl of black beans.  An absurd price to pay in the states, but in France, priceless.

 

Back to the cranberry goodness…

 

 

You can’t beat fresh, whole, cranberries.

Patrick Roger Chocolate :: Seattle Food Photographer in Paris

Not to toot my own horn, but I am in lust with this photo right now…I’d say it makes me want to eat those chocolates right off the page, but I already have…

in the order of which they appear (l-r): dark chocolate/espresso, dark chocolate/basil-lemon, dark chocolate/saffron-almond, dark chocolate, dark chocolate/chestnut.

Montmartre (part deux) :: Seattle Food Photographer in Paris

So, I am very behind on my blogging timeline here.

Because this next string of images is from almost two weeks ago – at the Butte Montmartre.

Montmartre, itself, is a great neighborhood that I recommend you visit if you are ever in Paris – full of old world charm, small shops, and classic cafe’s (aside from the Starbucks of course).  There’s the Red Light district (Moulin Rouge, Le Chat Noir…), the fabric district (I wish I knew how to sew, I would be in heaven), and even the cafe featured in “Amelie” (just looking on IMDB, I guess that is the neighborhood the whole story was based…like I said, great neighborhood).

So the “Butte Montmartre” is kind of the icing on the cake.

Montmartre is north, and is the highest point in Paris (to find out ‘how high’ and all the other technical details, go here).  So when you reach the top, or the “butte”, you can see all of Paris.  Kind of like the Eiffel Tower, except free.

At the top, there is the Basilica Sacre Coeur, a Roman-Catholic church.

and then on down there are a multiple number of stairs to lead your way towards the city…

The most famous being a staircase called, The stairs of Rue Foyatier.

I did not climb these stairs, there have been enough stairs for me to climb since I’ve been here, and I’ve already lost a good pant size as it is…but it looks like a good trek – yes, a good trek indeed.  In fact, if you are unwilling to take the stairs they do have a solution – a gondola-like ride right next to these famous steps (I did not photograph that wonderful eye-sore).

Breakfast :: Seattle Food Photographer in Paris

A sampling of some of my Parisian breakfasts:

I went to Moulin de la Vierge, where I’ve been told is the best place to try this dessert, Mille-Feuille (“a thousand sheets”).  Almost too sweet for my taste, but delightful none the less.

This plum tart, is made with a ’special’ Parisian dough.  I could have eaten the whole pie.  A mixture of sweet, tart, and savory.

The classic croissant, buttery, flaky goodness – paired with yummy, thick chocolat chaud.

teehee, and yes, it’s true…I did in fact eat this chocolate/chestnut cake for breakfast as well (note the candied chestnut on top)…perfect for anytime of the day I would say!…you only live once.

Found at La Petite Rose.

 

Luckily I have to walk up a million flights of stairs to go to bed at night…

Festival International de la Photographie Culinaire :: Seattle Food Photographer in Paris

One of the things that brought me to Paris (finally!), was an opportunity given to me by the first annual Festival International de la Photographie Culinaire. They asked me to be one of their participating photographers for the event, and I just couldn’t say “non”.
The event started on November 6th and will be running through November 15th.
Here’s an excerpt of some of the details about the juried portion of the event (just because I can barely keep it all straight):

“The inauguration of the exhibition will take place on Thursday the 5th in Bercy Village, and the Awards ‘ Ceremony the following Thursday (12th of November) in the Mobalpa Mansion (the trophies ‘Les Lentilles d’Or’ made by Raynaud will be attributed for the 3 Awards: Public Prize, Culinary Heritage Prize, and the Festival Grand Prize)

The jury of the Festival Grand Prize, chaired by Edouard Cointreau, will count the following personnalities : John Stewart, Bruce J. Seidel, Amy Koblenzer from Gourmet Magazine, etc.

The jury for the Culinary Heritage Prize will be chaired by the senator Catherine Dumas (who is the president of the Club ‘La table Française’), and will be composed by 10 members of the French Parliament acting in the Food Industry and Gastronomy.”

What made me most excited, and then most sad a day later – Amy Koblenzer’s presence from Gourmet Magazine…The day after I got this listing of jurors, Gourmet announced it was closing. It was indeed a sad day.

So far I’ve only been to the Bercy Village location. It’s this cute little outdoor ‘mall’ sort of area with row upon row of restaurants (and at the end of the row there appears to be a movie theatre). The images were outside in these public corridors – for all eyes to see – 37 photographers in total, we each had one image at this location, all sized at 120×80cm. (at the second location, Mobalpa, we have two other images, a bit smaller).

I’m the fish tail…aka “Rainbow Trout” (thanks Springfield)

As you can see, I took some ’snapshots’ of the event – nothing fancy.

On the walls they have these large posters with all of the photographers names listed on them (as the public has the chance to vote as well) – it was kind of neat to see my name in large print like that

At the opening, they served us champagne, whiskey, freshly shucked oysters (quite literally there were two 18yr old boys breaking a sweat trying to shuck as fast as they could!), some fresh bread and yummy cheese spread, and a table full of Laduree macarons and Belgium chocolates.

…and my sad attempt at taking a photo of me with my photo (how adorable…)

Ah yes!  And the program – my favorite part!

When you are just too lazy to walk around to see what everyone has done (or can’t speak a lick of French to start-up a conversation), they made a very nice program with all of the photographers inside.  A little blurb about who they are, what they have done (in both French and English), and the three images that they have submitted for the show.

This last set of images is not mine, but a photographer from France whose work caught my eye.  I absolutely loved his large print!  Beautiful work, and very evident that he still uses a 4×5 (I’m slightly jealous).

There may be more on this topic coming up, as the award ceremony is this Thursday.  So don’t be surprised if you find me posting more images from the other location here in a few days.

I’m truly honored to be in this show full of so many talented photographers from all around the world.  It’s so lovely.

When a dream comes true… :: Seattle Food Photographer in Paris

One of the phrases that I heard a lot from my friends and family before I left for Paris was, “wow! I can’t believe you are FINALLY doing this! For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve talked about going!”

This is a true statement.

I was the teenage girl with Eiffel Towers EVERYWHERE in my room, when I went to college – it only got worse, and even now I have at least one room in my house (usually the kitchen – oddly enough) devoted to Parisian photos and the Eiffel Tower.  I don’t know what it is about that structure, but it just speaks to me.  I love it.

So, having surrounded myself with images, lamps, ornaments, bottles, and key chains of the Tour Eiffel for well over a decade, I was very excited to see it in person – face to face.  I’ve always joked that I would give it a big hug once I saw it.  (…I didn’t…or rather, I couldn’t.)

I decided Monday was the day, to finally meet it in person.  It was an odd phenomenon, coming to terms with making this dream of mine a reality.  I’d finally get to meet this structure that has been in my life longer than most of my friends…that’s a lot of pressure.

When I was describing my day to a friend back home, I used an analogy that seemed quite fitting for when I finally saw it in front of me:  “We’ve all had those jobs, retail-customer service type jobs, where you see loads of people all day long, and you have to put on this sort of ’show’ – and then one day, unexpectedly, one of your good friends walks in – and for a split second you don’t even recognize them, your brain has to reprocess itself so that your eyes understand that who you are seeing is someone familiar.  Well…that is pretty much what happened…”

I was walking by a construction site of all things, and I knew I as close, but I was heading in the wrong direction.  I turned towards the construction site to try to get my bearings, and I see the top of the tower…I thought it was what they were building.  And then it just hit me – that’s it!

…this was a HUGE goal of mine, to see the Eiffel Tower, and to be in Paris.  And I did it – with help from the most amazing friends and family a girl could ever ask for, I made it here.  Before Monday, the Eiffel Tower was a symbol of my dreams and aspirations – now, it is a symbol of my accomplishments.  It’s an amazing feeling.

Hopefully a more food related post next time guys, thanks for humoring me with all of my ‘touristy’ stuff.