A Distillery with a storied Past
It is safe to say whiskey runs in the Call family blood. The Calls can trace their distillery lineage back to 1866 with Reverend Daniel Call. The Lutheran minister, who also served as the teacher of the most recognized name in whiskey, Jack Daniels, perfected the distilled beverage until the temperance movement compelled him to leave the whiskey business. However, his descendants did not forgo selling spirits, taking the helm to craft legal moonshine in North Carolina.
From their whiskey bottle design to the preservation of Willie Clay Call's infamous bootlegging vehicles, the Distillery, now operated by a seventh-generation distiller, Brian Call, honors its legacy in many ways. As the photographer, I wanted to capture such a rich family history. Therefore, I embraced the nostalgia for this photoshoot, juxtaposing the brand's past with the present. I chose to photograph the "Reverend" whiskey, the original sour-mash whiskey -- a family recipe as classic as Clay's blue 1961 Chrysler New Yorker -- with the infamous moonshine hauling vehicles in the periphery. These pictures celebrate the timelessness of the Call legacy, honoring its origins while connecting the company to its present.
This shoot reminded me of how much I like photographing drinks. Stay tuned for a new beverage edit coming soon...
Holiday Entertaining for THE FRESH MARKET
We all know the adage about too many cooks, no such thing on a production.
At the end of summer, I worked with the Fresh Market to create their Holiday Entertaining Guide. From bountiful breakfasts to dazzling desserts, we developed a holiday story of gastronomic delights. This shoot required pulling out all the stops. Working with the Fresh Market's design team, I assembled a crew including a food stylist, prop stylist, their respective assistants, photo assistant, set builders…all of which put many cooks in the proverbial kitchen.
Working with a large team requires encouraging each person's expertise to shine while not losing sight of mine — and the client's — final vision. I enjoyed pulling it all together: crafting the team of experts, shooting in my Greensboro studio, and bringing alive the creative vision of The Fresh Market.
I relish working on shoots, big and small, but I most love giving form to my client's vision.
Art Director: Maribelle Romero
Food Stylist: Dawn Longobardo, Chriscilla Browning
Prop Stylist: Lani Roberts Paul
Set Build: Bennett Copeland
Thankful for Creative Freedom
Thanksgiving is when we in the United States celebrate with decadent feasts and express all we are thankful for. In the spirit of this holiday, I want to acknowledge how thankful I am for the opportunity to photograph for dynamic brands and individuals. One project comes to mind when thinking about the joy of creative freedom.
Earlier this year, Shafna Shamsuddin, the owner of Elaka Treats, a small ice-cream manufacturing business, approached me to take photographs that encapsulated her brand. Elaka Treats deliberately blends Shafna's past and present, pairing cardamom-infused Indian and Arabic flavors from her heritage with locally sourced North Carolina ingredients.
It was a treat to work with Shafna as she let me take complete creative control of the project. My goal was to create three images highlighting the unique ingredients that make the artisanal ice cream exceptional. I developed the concept, and from styling to lighting and retouching, I crafted images that showcase the unique flavors of the ice cream. For combinations such as Inji-Puli Sweet Potato, I pulled in the raw ingredients: sweet potato, ginger, and of course, cardamon and juxtaposed them against the finished confection. These images call attention to ingredients represented in the flavor profile.
As we consider what we are thankful for, my mind can't help but go back to this project. Having total control of the vision from beginning to end was profoundly gratifying. This project allowed me to indulge in creativity, and I am delighted with the final images. These are not just beautiful photos; they represent the labor of love that these handcrafted ingredients construct. As a food photographer, it is always satisfying to help instantly communicate a brand's uniqueness with intentional imagery, and I am thankful for such opportunities.
Inji-Puli Sweet Potato: sweet potato, cardamom, garam masala, ginger, tamarind, jaggery, red pearl onion, red chili powder, turmeric, brown sugar
Rose - Rose petals, cardamom, almonds
Plantain - plantain, cardamom, coconut sugar, copra, cashew nuts
A New Emphasis
The uneasy quiet of the last two years was speckled with moments of contemplation and the opportunity to reassess, renew and create. Out of this quiet came a few projects that have delightfully altered my approach and amplified the creative satisfaction I get from my work. I’m excited to share this work from my web galleries and over the next few months, to dive into the details of these projects here on the blog.
The images above are from a series titled Decadence, a collaboration with food stylist Dawn Longobardo.
Dedicated to the holiday celebrations forfeited to the pandemic, Decadence rekindles festivity through indulgent spreads. From Thanksgiving to the Fourth of July, Decadence revels in the ostentatious. Inspired by Art Deco ornamentation, this series highlights how food remains an essential component of American holiday rituals. As many emerge from the pandemic seeking normalcy, Decadence turns the ordinary on its head, inspiring celebratory feasts to come.
As we all move past Covid, I am excited to see what new projects arrive at my door and I am looking forward to the creative collaboration that they bring.
A cookbook that tosses the rulebook
A friend had this idea to put together easy to make recipes for the home cook during this quarantine. How else to occupy oneself during this time, he thought? Cooking and…? Well board games! And I agreed! The two have come to be the mainstay of this quarantine.
I have been experimenting for a while creating abstract images out of various food powders and ingredients and it was time to progress from concept to a commercial application. After discussions with the team, we came up with the idea of illustrating various board games using food ingredients.
Like all projects, taking something from concept to reality is a process riddled with doubt, dead ends, obstacles, and problems to solve. And during COVID, the challenges increase: from conceptualizing the shots, shooting solo without a crew or stylist, to getting it all done in a short time frame. But, there is a sense of wonder when you work on something not fully knowing if the idea will play out visually. These images afforded me that experience. This cookbook does not feature any renditions of the recipes. Instead, it asks the home chef to envision the final outcome and take a stab at it—much like my process of creating these images.
While I do think we can do more with less, a surplus of one ingredient was crucial to the making of these images—creative freedom. Freedom to let the idea run its course no matter how winding the path, and dictate the outcome of these images. It’s like driving without a map or cooking without a rulebook.
Here’s how we did it. How would you play?
Cover
Red Chili Powder | Cardamom | Cinnamon
Foreword
Cayenne Pepper
Starters, small plates and snacks
Mancala - Chaat Masala | Aloo bonda | Kari Leaves
Mint Chutney | Tamarind Date Chutney
Tea
Dips, Chutneys and Salads
Carroms | Nigella seeds | red chilli powder | Indian white pumpkin | red onion | cucumber | beets
Guacamole | Sun Dried tomato Hummus | Ajvar
Papaya | Dragonfruit | Guava | Grapefruit | Kiwi | Pear | Lemon | Lime | Apple | Orange | Plum
Large plates, Curries and Stir-fries
Ludo- Fennel | Turmeric | Coriander | Red Chili
Gochujang Paste | Thai Red Curry Paste | Tom Yum Soup Paste | Green Curry Paste | Yellow Curry Paste | Ahi Amarillo
Turmeric
Breakfast and breads
Dartboard- Naan | Brioche | Banana bread | Paratha | Cocoa Powder | Egg
Nut Butters- Peanut | Almond | Sunflower | Cashew
Hemp | Flax | Sesame | Chia
Apéritif & Desserts
Chinese Checkers - Cham Cham | Brown sugar
Honey
Chocolate
Recent work for Ethnosh
Born in Venezuela, Dal Maso’s love for pasta comes from memories of his Italian grand parents cooking and from watching his father make pasta at his Italian restaurant. Dal Maso now lives in Greensboro NC and his artisan pasta can be found at local farmers markets, grocery stores and on the menu at White and Wood.
A Look at Pizza Farms for AAA Living
To celebrate October as National Pizza Month, I wanted to share this shoot I did with AAA Living all about pizza farms. Never heard of a pizza farm? Me either!
It’s pizza night on a farm. Two things I love very much. AAA has a list of these farms where travelers can drive in, throw a blanket down, pour their favorite bevs, and enjoy a night of idyllic farm life, complete with pizza made from fresh ingredients (I’m thinking cheeses here).
For this shoot, Tracy James along with Chris Ferguson at Pace Communications sent me a brief for two shots featuring two pizzas in each image representing pizza farms in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
In my studio in Greensboro, I enlisted the help of food stylist extraordinaire Alex Blake to create a farm-like picnic-y feel. Props were sourced from the collection at the studio. Once we fulfilled the brief, we shot an additional image just for fun.
