Nancy Ori's Travels to Italy

Nancy Ori is starting on a journey to create a cookbook on regional Italian food.

I have been teaching photography in a remote region in the hills of Italy and have been to the same town three times now with my students with a fourth trip planned for October. I have gotten to know everyone who lives there practically....about 200 in the hilltop town. Three chefs have shared their recipes with me and I have photographed the region quite a bit. I want to do the cookbook as a sample of my work, a learning experience to photograph food, and as a gift to the many people who have been involved to produce my workshops. They will all be featured in the book. I will very likely not make any money on it but will have a great experience putting it together. The three chefs have cooked for my students each time so they will get a copy to remember my trips. The B&B where we stay will be happy to get a copy since they will also be featured along with their chef. It is kind of a community project.


The town is called Casperia and is located in Lazio about an hour south of the Tuscan border.
During the workshop we had a chef at the B&B who prepared all the breakfasts and two amazing dinners for us. We took cooking lessons from her and learned how to make Stringozzi, a local pasta that is all one long piece of dough. That was probably the most interesting thing we saw and how they roll it out.


I would say that the Stringozzi is something that has been handed down through the generations of the ladies who were demonstrating the pasta making. 


The third chef was the featured person at La Tacita, an exclusive resort restaurant in the countryside of Casperia. He is a two star Michilin chef which over there is quite something. There are only 37 of them in all of Italy.

You Tube Links:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Raa2vizSVM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDDr3wou5Fk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhYxVOzs0HM

Have a Great Holiday!

Get outside and BBQ! :)

I'll be inside editing photos....

Geoff Binns-Calvey - YOUR special effects guy!

www.manbehindthecurtain.net  Special effects

www.geoffbinnscalvey.com  Sculpture

 

 

Where did you start your special effects endeavors?

 

   I started back in Cleveland, when I was a 24 year old carpenter- I saw an old high school friend, who was now a photographer, looking harried, pushing a cart through a lumberyard. I asked what he was making.

  "A set," he said. "Hey, do you want to build it for me?"

  I said, "Love to, but I have no idea what that involves."

 "Two windows in an eight foot wall. And it only needs to stand up for six hours."

  "I can do that," I said. And not long after, I was his studio manager, rigger, and effects guy.

 
What was your first rigged contraption?

 

  When I was six or seven,  using bits of wire, springs, and scraps from the garage, I made all the doors on my father's old work car pop open when he opened the driver's door. The trunk as well!

Do you work more with photographers or in video? 

 

  I started out with photographers, then got into TV commercials. But now I'm getting more work with still photographers again. The money's the same, and the pace is a little less frantic, so I enjoy it. And I've got a lot of the more complex equipment and tools from video shoots, which I can bring to still shoots.

  For your over sized props like OfficeMax, what were they made of?

 

      The Office Max props were a combination of MDF (medium density fiberboard), urethane foam, Bondo, fiberglass, and metal. The giant sheet of paper was just a piece of .016" polystyrene plastic. The giant Dorito was upholstery foam, a two part pourable soft urethane foam, and pigments. Oh, and bits of cut out tissue paper, for the "spice flakes".

What’s your favorite rig you have made?

 

   Hmm... recently, I rigged up a laser guided high powered baseball cannon. I went down to Cincinnati, and spent the day shooting 120 mph baseballs into pinatas full of guacamole and nacho cheese dip, for a Pepto Bismol commercial. They just blew apart. That was a pretty great day! (Video here- save time, and skip to the 1:00 mark) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLK0TVd64lQ

What’s your favorite prop you have made?

 

    A recent favorite was a giant piggy bank, mounted on a mechanical bull rig. That was a couple of weeks of carving, sanding, and painting with my good friend Martha Schrik. The spot, and the pig, came out great!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7vdaGG7jCA

   

   What do people come to you most often for?

 

     I've been getting a lot of beverage work, recently- bottle dressing, ice, frost, and pours. And I do a lot of grill and flame shots, although it's not the majority of my work. I've got a whole range of equipment for that, with a "cracker fogger" to make room temperature steam or smoke, a set of very nice acrylic "hot coals", and a great, controllable flame rig for grills. And I sometimes make custom grills to match the layout, welding up the grill rods on site, and cutting up the backyard grills as needed to get lights underneath.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THtD2gvNC9g&feature=player_embedded

 

Your work is so specific, does your work come word of mouth or do you market yourself to potential clients?

 

   Mostly word of mouth. A lot of recommendations come from the food stylists. When they see a layout with flames, steam, smoke, pours, splashes, or anything tricky, they'll often say to the photographer, "You know who'd make this all go smoother? Geoff." I owe the stylists big time!

 

Did sculptures come before or after your special effects work? 

 

   About the same time, starting years ago. I was fascinated with prosthetic makeup effects, and got into life cast sculpture that way. Although I don't do that sort of f/x makeup work- it's very skilled and specialized- I use a lot of the same sculpting materials and methods in prop making and rigging.
 

 

What’s your favorite medium you’ve worked in sculpting?

 

  I've been doing some vacuum formed pieces over life casts, that are really interesting. You can get the feeling of draped wet silk, with the color and texture of corroded copper.

 

Photo credits:

  Giant Dorito, Ink/Paper/Scissors; Geoff Binns-Calvey

  Foam Pizza Painting, Pig and Martha; Amy Binns-Calvey

  Standing by Giant Pig; Martha Schrik

  Welding the Grill; Justin Paris

Art Director's Club: A New Direction

Felicia's Blog Awards: Not to be confused with Saveur Magazine

Saveur Magazine can’t have all the fun reviewing blogs. So out of their 16 categories I chose my own favorite categories.

Below you will see my winners. These were chosen based on content, style, and appeal to audiences.

Let me know what you think!

Here’s the link to Saveur Magazine’s original posting:
http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/2012-Best-Food-Blog-Awards-The-Winners

It’s fun to review each year. (I’ll be on that list soon)

Cooking Blog
http://alainasullivan.blogspot.com/

Baking and Desserts Blog
http://chasingdelicious.com/

Group Blog
http://www.punkdomestics.com/

Best Recipe Sweet or Savory
http://www.foodinjars.com/2011/12/quince-slices-in-a-spiced-chai-syrup/

Best Food Photography Blog
http://pratos-e-travessas.blogspot.com/

Best Single Food Photo Blog
http://whatkatieate.blogspot.com/2011/10/back-to-regular-swing-of-things.html

Best Single Food Video Blog
http://vimeo.com/28647609

Best Restaurant/ Dining Coverage
http://www.kevineats.com/

Best Celebrity Food Blog
http://www.anthonybourdain.net/

Katrina Tekavec: Food Stylist

http://www.ktfoodstylist.com/index.html

1. Were your original intentions to become a photographer? Was it a food photographer?

I was a photographer for a few years while also assisting a food stylist friend.   Not food, I was a music and fashion photographer.  I started doing prop styling and food styling became a natural progression.  When I started getting more styling work than shooting work, I simply followed the path that seemed more inviting (and lucrative). 

2. Is cooking something your family did or you just fell into cooking and styling food on your own?

My parents weren't terribly interested in food for the sake of food, it was always more about putting edible nourishment on the table and reconnecting at the end of the day.  I wasn't raised in an adventurous home with regard to food.  I forged my own way with food and became a self-taught pastry chef along the way, and I have done that professionally as well. I would say that styling drove my interest in food, and photography is what started it all.  My photographic sensibilities have been invaluable to me as a stylist and also as I'm moving into art direction.  

3. In your bio you explain how you almost double as a art director and a stylists. Do you think that makes you more valuable and gives you more opportunities to be hired for shoots? 

I think that it makes me more valuable on the set because I can take the reigns.  Often I am not even working with an art director, there is a client (or marketing director) and a photographer and together we figure it out.  I have a few new clients that want me to handle the project from conception through execution, including the art direction and the styling and I'm happy to oblige.  Ultimately I would prefer to art direct and hire other stylists.    

4. Is a lot of your work now through word of mouth or do you do a lot of marketing?

My website and word of mouth are the only way clients find me, I haven't ever spent much time in marketing or cold calling.  Referrals are especially nice because I know I've done a good job if someone is passing along my name. 

5. Where do you get your inspirations for styling shoots?

I find inspiration everywhere, even though that sounds like a cheap answer.  I have always liked Donna Hay's style, it is effortless and generally employs the use of a limited palette which is something that I've always done, from the beginning of my career, whenever possible. However I also really like some drama and more intricate lighting, if it's done well.  The open, natural, flat lighting for food photography is nearing its expiration date in my opinion.  It will always have its place but I hope the trend moves toward more variety of styles.  As I move more into art direction I will seek out photographers who's work isn't only about that Real Simple aesthetic.  I also see a lot of really bad, under-styled food photography out there, it makes me cringe.  Rachel Ray's magazine is the number one example, food photography should not look like a guy with a camera stumbled upon someone's kitchen at dinner time.  In my opinion we exist to elevate the whole idea of food and dining and entertaining, we should create aspirational images.  I don't want to see baked-on crud and un-ironed linens.    

6. Is the majority of your work for magazines or more commercial?

I don't do any magazine work.  I do a fair amount of cookbook work, but the bulk of my work consists of packaging and advertising, some video, some film.

7. Do you still teach food styling classes? Do you have prospective food stylists contact you for help?

I no longer teach, but I do hear from people who want to get into the business regularly.  I help out with advice if I have the time, if they aren't reaching out to me during my crazy-busy periods.  If I'm too in the weeds I refer them to another stylist.   

8. Where do you primarily work?

There is no real predictability, sometimes I'm busier in Philadelphia, sometimes New Jersey, it depends on who's got more marketing money to spend :-) 

9. Your recent work shows a variety of cupcakes. Which was your favorite to make?

I liked the Rum & Coke cupcakes because it is a meringue icing which is always a lot of fun to play with.  On that shoot I worked with a graphic designer who was very hands-off with the food and allowed me almost total creative freedom.  That's an ideal situation.

Slim Kicker!

There's this new app I was approached by (Christine Chu) called SlimKicker that's usable on your Iphone.

It's nice because the user interface is easy to follow and is broken down well. The challenges section is the most interesting because you push your will power. I'm always about working hard and not letting myself down so this was a personal favorite. Also if you succeed you can earn points!

This is also nice because even though this is your personal app analyzing what you eat your still working with others. There are groups and forums where you can talk with other people about their progress or general health questions.

Other than working together this app is great because it's like a game. Making working out enjoyable really changes your attitude for it :)


Check it out, they are online

http://slimkicker.com/