Michael’s in Santa Monica has been around since I was a kid. I was born in Santa Monica so I have a natural affinity for all things related. Michael’s is walking distance from where I lived in my early years and even closer to what was my grandfather’s store on Wilshire (Mike Caruso’s, a men’s fine apparel store), but I digress… This is about the Cart for a Cause cookbook and one of its contributors.. Michael McCarty. Here he is with a Duck Confit Salad…
I still have a very strong sense memory of the Burrata in a Glass that Chef Rainer Schwarz made when we were shooting at Public for the CFAC Cookbook. It was one of the few dishes we did not get a chance to savor. We were up against the clock that day and had to dash out, but the aroma that wafted up from the plate as I was shooting still makes my mouth water to this day. Now that all of the photography is done for the cookbook, its my goal to revisit all of the restaurants we photographed and sit down and properly experience the fine cuisine that was, oh so briefly, placed in front of our camera!
One of the chefs that has contributed to the Cart for a Cause is Michael DeMaria. He and his company M Catering are based out of Arizona so when Lexus decided to have an event in Tucson and we found out that both Chef Michael and the Cart were going to be there, we packed up and headed east to photograph him for the CFAC Cookbook.
We are thrilled to be included in this year’s Communication Arts Photography Annual. CA has always been a benchmark for the highest quality work going on in the industry and we are truly honored to be included in this collection of such talented creatives!
Thanks to Jim Rosen for the concept, Oliver Martin for set design, Animal Savvy for talent, and Lisa Carney for retouching!
Today is our last day of primary photography for the Cart for a Cause Cookbook. But we still have a bunch of images to share.
This next set is from Nobu. I cannot wait to get back there and sit down with this amazing steak and savor every bite for myself. The couple bites I had when we were done shooting took me to a very happy place, and I want to go back!
Chef Alex Becker was great to work with and the location was ripe with options. It was tough to settle on where we were going to shoot, but we ultimately were really happy with what we got.
For the next stop on the Cart for a Cause Cookbook tour we traveled great distances to the hinterlands of Pasadena (detect the subtle humor mixed with exaggeration?), to The Raymond Restaurant. Out of the entire shoot, this was actually the closest restaurant to us. I’ve dined here before and they do not disappoint! The Raymond was in the midst of adding a beautiful outdoor dinning patio, which I cannot wait to try out with the warm summer evenings upon us! And how appropriate that Chef Tim Guiltinan was preparing a Green Grape and Almond Gazpacho for our shoot! Cool and refreshing, I’ll be trying it again on that patio with a glass of wine, very soon!
As we continue to share the imagery we have shot for the Cart for a Cause Cookbook, our next offering is from Palate in Glendale, California. Another fun shoot! And come to find out that our subject, Chef Octavio Becerra, is married to a classmate of mine from Art Center College of Design! Small World!
Last night I went to dinner with some colleagues and we decided to head over to Elements Kitchen to try something new and different. We shot Chef Onil Chibás about a month ago for the Cart for a Cause Cookbook. He was a PLEASURE to work with! We ordered the Marinated Flank Steak & Kimchi Tacos featured here, and they, along with the rest of the meal, were delicious. Chef Onil really plays with mixing flavors, to great success. We were at the Kitchen location, but they also have the Cafe location which I have eaten at several times before and never been disappointed! Check them out next time you are in Pasadena, especially if you plan on seeing a show at The Pasadena Playhouse as Elements is right there off the Playhouse courtyard.
About a month ago, we were a month into shooting the Cart for a Cause Cookbook. On that day we ventured down to the beach to shoot Chef David Lentz at his new Santa Monica Canyon location of The Hungry Cat. My mouth is still watering from the crab cake that I did not get a chance to sample (we were on the go that day!). The presentation was beautiful and we’re looking forward to heading back there to get the full experience of the new location!
We’re heading out to shoot the Cart for a Cause in action today. Come join us and be in the photos, and while you’re at it, get an amazing lunch at an amazing price for an amazing cause!
Today the Cart will be at California Market Center at 110 East Ninth Street in Downtown Los Angeles from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Hope to see you there!
We’re heading out yet again today to continue with shooting the Cart for a Cause Cookbook. While we are coming up on the end of shooting, we are only about 1/3 of the way through sharing what we have shot.
Here is Susan Feniger of Street restaurant (and Border Grill) and her recipe – Millet Puffs. We can’t wait to start trying all of these recipes. It’s going to be a great collection from a stellar line-up of chefs!
We had a great time shooting Chef Robert Luna downtown at Mas Malo for the Cart for a Cause Cookbook. It was the end of the day and so once we wrapped, we were able to sit down and enjoy one of their signature Spicy Cucumber Margaritas. Should you find yourself at Mas Malo… you MUST try one (or two, …or three…)
We’re still playing “catch-up” with getting images posted from our Cart for a Cause Cookbook project. Here is our take on The Gorbals with Chef Ilan Hall and his now famous Bacon Wrapped Matzo Balls. You might remember Ilan taking first place on Bravo’s “Top Chef“.
We saw some early drafts of the book design for the Cart for a Cause Cookbook we are doing the photography for, and can’t wait for the release! The design is really spectacular! Open, airy, VERY readable! The design is being done by Ralph Fowler, a really talented designer who is no stranger to putting together a visually stunning cookbook.
One of the first spreads we saw was of Church & State with Chef Jeremy Berlin. His dish is a vegetarian sandwich that is nearly to beautiful to eat… nearly.
We’re out again shooting today for the Cart for a Cause Cookbook. But we have have fallen a couple weeks behind on posting recent shots for the project. So in an effort to catch up…
Here is the images from Lazy Ox Canteen and Chef Josef Centeno along with some deep fried goodness….mmmmmmm.
Continuing with our Cart for a Cause Cookbook project, our next stop was Little Dom’s on Hillhurst in Los Feliz. Here, Chef Brandon Boudet placed a bowl of spaghetti & meatballs in front of me that I could have devoured on the spot, save the fact we needed to photograph it for the book.
At the same time the book itself took a design turn and now we’ll be including images of the restaurant signage as well. While we had to go back to some of our previous stops to do pick-up shots of the signage we had not gotten, it’s going to make for a nice addition to the visual presentation.
As we continue the Cart for a Cause Cookbook we submit for your pleasure Bebe Flynn the founder of Miss Lilly’s Trading Company and her delicious Brownies (oh yeah… we ate a bunch of these!) You can also get her cookies as part of every meal on the Cart for a Cause. Check here for the next location!!!
Two weeks ago we had a short intermission from shooting chefs and food. New York Times Magazine called and asked us to head over to Las Vegas to shoot a feature they call “9 of a Kind”. The article was in this weekends magazine and is also online. The subject of the feature was things that are pawned these days. We spent 2 days at Pioneer Loan, a Pawn Shop in North Las Vegas. The folks there were great! Really accommodating! While we did not see anything over-the-top wacky come through the doors, it was interesting to learn more about the real pawn business. You can see some of the things that came through the door by checking out the New York Times “Slideshow“.
We went out twice this week for the Cart for a Cause Cookbook, a pro-bono project we are working on for the Saint Vincent – Meals on Wheels program. The cookbook which is slated to release late this year, will feature 30-40 top chefs in Los Angeles, sharing one of their popular recipes… one they have served for guests dining at the Cart for a Cause.
On Monday we photographed Jon & Vinny of Animal Restaurant (also of Two Dudes and Son of a Gun fame). We have been lucky enough to have Jon & Vinny cater our shoots on occasion. Needless to say, mealtimes were the highlight of those days!!! These guys rock!
With their (very) relaxed style, Jon & Vinny were fun to shoot and have a great passion for their food. The recipe they’ll be sharing in the cookbook is for their mouth-watering chorizo.
Our final stop last week was Little Next Door. We brunch there whenever possible. Chef Nicolos Peter made an amazing Tzatziki Sauce with fresh greens as his contribution to the Cart For A Cause Cookbook. While this capped out last week, it by no means even came close to a “wrap” on the project. There are still at least six more weeks of photography to get through. We shot two more combos today and we’ll be doing 3 more on Wednesday… so hope you like food and chefs because that’s what we’ll be sharing for a while here! Make sure to check out this week’s cart location! They’ll be serving one of the dishes featured in a previously post…..
Our second stop last week for the Cart for a Cause Cookbook was Asia de Cuba at the Mondrian Hotel with Chef Philip Dubose. Okay… I’m hungry again!
Last week we did three more Restaurant / Chef combos for the “Cart for a Cause Cookbook”. Our first stop was Oliverio at the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills with Chef Mirko Paderno. The hardest part of this project so far is that we are moving at such a quick pace that we don’t have the time to sit down and enjoy the mouth watering treats that show up in front of the lens!
In a post on Monday we shared about a pro bono project we’re working on for St. Vincent Meals on Wheels – Cart for a Cause … The Cookbook.
Here are a couple more images .. these we shot with Chef Mark Gold of EVA fame.
Today was day one on our multi-day pro bono project for Meals on Wheels. The organization prepares and delivers food to homebound seniors, and has recently started “Cart for a Cause“. Sponsored by Lexus, this food truck travels to different locations around Los Angeles each Tuesday and features cuisine prepared by L.A.’s most notable chefs from the areas top restaurants. For $10 diners get a meal, drink, and cookie with all proceeds going to support the program that has fed thousands of seniors for over 30 years.
This year the organization is creating a cookbook with recipes of the food created and served by L.A.’s “top chefs” on the Cart for a Cause food truck. So we climbed on board and offered our services to help the project. Over the next month or two we’ll be photographing the participating chefs as well as their featured recipe for the final cookbook.
Today we were at EVA with Chef Mark Gold and Nic’s with Chef Larry Nicola.
Look out for the cookbook later this year, or for the cart .. every Tuesday (location and chef information updated on their website).
Last month we were asked to do a series of photographs for Runner’s World Magazine. It was for a feature article on the obsession of earning a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon. I have to be honest… I am not a runner… but working on this feature was a lot of fun anyway. The only running I did was in and out of traffic to get a shot (that ultimately was not used – isn’t that how it always goes?) And strangely enough not a single shot we did was of anyone running! The creatives at RW pitched five or six concepts and let me run with them (pun… intended). They settled on four and are published in the current issue (May 2011). The article can be found online however only one of the images appears in the online version (the same one that leads the article in printed form). To see the others in all their glory, you’ll need to get the May 2011 printed issue… or you can also see them in our “Clients” section of the web site by hovering over “Runner’s World“.
Tattoo by: Jason Schroder www.incognitotattoo.com
Retouching by: Lisa Carney (as always)
We are always fine tuning and adding content to the website to make it more user-friendly, and informative. A recent feature addition is the ability to roll over names on our client list and see work that we have done for them! It’s almost like an alternate portfolio. We LOVE doing all kinds of projects! Diversity and variety always make for a good time. And while our online portfolio is rather specific in its content, the “Clients” area shows a wider breadth and depth of our work. While we won’t say we do “everything”… with the range of projects we are asked to produce, we will say if feels like we can do just about anything! Check out the new and improved “Clients” section on the website & send us your feedback, questions… or projects!
Our website is ever-changing! Recently we added a new section devoted entirely to dogs. In February we informally announced this with our bimonthly ePromo. If you would like to be added to our ePromo mailing list, click here. If you are a lover of dogs, or just want to see our new section, you can hop over to our website (www.hursey.com) and click on “Portfolio” and then click on “Dogs” … or… click here!
Check out the imagery we did appearing in this weekend’s New York Times Magazine. The Article is on David Murdock (millionaire / Dole Foods) and his very specific daily diet. We went to his estate and worked with his personal chef to highlight what David eats in a normal day. To showcase the meals we shot on clean white surfaces and plates.
Thanks as always to Lisa Carney for working her retouching magic!
This week we found out that I had been selected as one of 110 international finalists in the 2010 Hasselblad Masters Competition. Hasselblad is quite possibly the finest camera manufacturer there is. The name is synonymous with quality and craftsmanship. (Can you tell I love my Hasselblads?)
The competition calls for entries from photographers worldwide. There are 11 categories and 10 finalists are named in each category. We entered in the “General” category, because you know I love to shoot everything! Obviously (or maybe not) the imagery must be shot with a Hasselblad, but then again, what else would we shoot with, right?
With over 2500 applicants, this is REALLY an honor for me and I am thrilled to be included with the extremely talented collection of photographers that are assembled in the galleries of this competition.
I encourage you to check out all of the work and VOTE! Yes the public gets a say in the matter! Visit the site at: http://www.hasselblad.com/masters/masters-finalists.aspx and check out all of the amazing imagery and vote for your favorites! If mine is one of them.. Thanks!
Now go vote!…GO!
I have mentioned iFolios in previous posts but realize I have not really explained what iFolios is…So here we go…
Back in October of 2010 we migrated our blog from b2evolution to WordPress. I have to say I have been very pleased we made the move. I mention this because iFolios works on the WordPress platform.
iFolios is a WordPress template (or theme) that was built specifically for photographers (although I have referred non-photographer sites to it and it works just as well). It is a clean simple and large navigation and presentation of a website for handheld devices such as the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and Android.
Think of it as a mobile version of your website. It automatically detects if someone goes to your website on a mobile device and automatically redirects them to this “mobile version” of your site. This enables those with flash sites to have a visible version on a mobile device that does not support flash.
Our site is actually a traditional HTML site which we prefer for many reasons, but iFolios gives us a cleaner presentation for smaller screens.
You have probably seen our regular site, hursey.com, which was really built for viewing on a larger screen. It just is not optimized for smaller ones. You can see our iFolios / mobile version here.
They both have nearly identical content, it is just presented in a different format such that those on smaller devices will get a better user experience and to put it plainly .. larger images.
iFolios offers this template in three formats..
All three (in my opinion) are priced very affordably and worth every penny.
Should you choose to do it yourself, the included step-by-step instructions are flawless… how many times have you ever been able to say that?!
So yes, I am a big fan of iFolios, and not just because I am featured on their home page.. They really make a good product and price it right! If you are looking for a great mobile solution for your website, check ‘em out!
