The Birch Grove

I had a wonderful portrait session recently with my good friend Gillian Nichol, and I thought I would share my favorite shot from the session. She needed a new passport photo, and since we were shooting that, she brought along a few outfit changes and we did a whole shoot so she could have new pictures to use for all of her social networking. Gillian turned out to be a natural in front of the camera, instantly understanding why I asked her to move her face and body this way or that to get the best angles. Not that it was hard to get flattering images of Gillian, as she is just naturally beautiful, and her dramatic coloring (that gorgeous red hair!) photographs really well…

Healthy hedonism is the mantra that says it all for Chef Judd Lohof and his restaurant, Cafe Azalea.  I photographed Judd and his fabulous food for this month’s Sophie Magazine feature story, written by Jordan Reed, and here are the results. The first two shots show Lohof’s plating of these gorgeous seared scallops with morels, greens and chive blossoms, looking as though they were growing out of the barley earth. Spring on a plate, just brilliant. Just looking at these shots again is making me hungry!

Anyone who knows me or follows my work is aware of my food fixations. Once upon a time, way back when, I was a food writer and restaurant critic, and I am still a foodie, through and through. Now, food is one of my favorite subject matters for my photography, so I really enjoy featuring chefs and their work in the “Chef’s Choice” columns I do with writer Jordan Reed in Sophie Magazine. It has been a great way for me to dive deeper into the Asheville restaurant/food scene than I can just as a patron. We are so lucky to have such amazing and talented chefs here in this town! The most recent thing out in publication is this feature on Mauricio Villa of Artisan Catering & Deli in Sophie Magazine’s “I Do!” wedding guide…

I’m supposed to be reorganizing my office. Instead, I’m taking some time out (read that as: total avoidance technique!) to bring you another of my flower shots from this spring. This is witch hazel, specifically Blue Mist Witch alder, flowering at the North Carolina Arboretum earlier this month. If you’ve never been to the NC Arboretum, you really should go. Take the time, seriously…

Everything bloomed so early this spring and it has been impossible to keep up with photographing everything at its peak, if at all. Of course, life in general is that way. I’m running as fast as I can, just trying to keep up…

I did manage to capture some redbud, maple seeds and azalea before they were gone – enjoy!

All right, I know this is completely unoriginal, but where did the year go? It seems to me as though 2011 has just started, but now it is the beginning of December and, truth be told, the year is almost over. Actually, because my magazine deadlines fall well in advance of the publishing month, I started working on Christmas themed shoots back in October, like this one featuring Carole Miller and her incredible baked goodies at True Confections, a wonderful bakery and coffee shop here in Asheville. Food photography is brutal, people! Imagine trying to keep your hands off Buche de Noel, pumpkin bread and chocolate meringues long enough to shoot them…

The weather is cooling off after a long, hot summer (hey, wait, where did all that time go?!) and some color is just starting to show in a few of the trees. I do love this time of year – I seem to wake up from that summer stupor and find a new lease on life, sort of the opposite of what Mother Nature is up to right now. Even though fall is my favorite time of year, I’ve been unhappy with my attempts to capture that feeling with my camera so far. I’m determined that this is the year! The results so far…