This week I had the privilege of photographing Chef Craig Richards of St. Cecilia in his beautiful home kitchen. The two dishes photographed here are St. Cecilia Kitchen Artichoke Ravioli and Cacio e Pepe, using the same base recipe for the pasta dough. Check out the full AJC cover story and recipes here.
Cover Story
Doughnut Smackdown
Cover stories for Creative Loafing are some of my all time favorites to photograph. This shoot couldn't be described as anything but fun- sampling, judging, and photographing some of the best sweets in Atlanta! The winner ended up being the Sunflower from Sarah Donut, a specialty doughnut that has sugar and cinnamon folded into the dough, and of course is shaped like a sunflower. The panel of judges included Adjoa Danso, Stephanie Dazey, Brad Kaplan, and Jennifer Zyman. Check out the story here to see some of the other doughnut contestants, behind the scenes notes, and more!
Storico Fresco- Nero Pasta
This cover story for the AJC (two covers in one day!) goes in depth on black squid ink pasta, specifically prepared by Chef Mike Patrick of Storico Fresco. Mike prepares three types of nero pasta, including Black Cavatelli with Lamb Sugo, Black Tortelli with Arrabbiata Sauce, and Black Chittara with Pancetta, Turnip Greens and Squid. In this story, Mike explains the history and differences of using squid ink in pasta in his dishes. Check out the full article here. Pastas are available for purchase at Storico Fresco, located in Buckhead, Atlanta.
Hannah Chung $20 Dinner
This story covers another successful $20 Dinner with Creative Loafing, this time with star chef Hannah Chung. I worked with her previously on a "Chefs to watch in 2015" assignment, which turned out to be quite an accurate prediction. She has now opened the new restaurant Simply Seoul Kitchen in Ponce City Market which features her signature kimchi and Korean steamed buns. For this dinner, Hannah prepares a stunning Bibimbap with ground beef bulgogi, fresh veggies, her famous kimchi, and soybean sprout soup. Check out the full story by Stephanie Dazey for recipes and more (as well as a page with a wonderfully insane amount of photos!).
100 Dishes Project
This year's 100 Dishes Project from Creative Loafing has been one of my biggest food assignments and accomplishments so far to date. Shooting 23 dishes at 14 locations, this project has given me more knowledge of Atlanta's food scene than the rest of my years here combined. The variety of dishes span across five star restaurants with pressed linen napkins to hole-in-the-wall cafes where you would be lucky to find a chair. While this project was a huge undertaking, at the end of it, I realize that I've only barely scratched the surface of this diverse foodie city.
Check out the complete list of dishes here.
Photos of the Year
This image of mine, previously featured as a Time and Place photo for Creative Loafing, was chosen to be included in Creative Loafing's December cover story- The Year in Photos 2014. I take this as a very high praise, and am so proud to be included and published next to such talented photographers!
12:15 A.M. AUG. 10, 2000 MORELAND AVE. S.E.: This photo was taken at the Starlight Drive-In, Atlanta's only drive-in movie theater. That night it had been pouring, a steady summer rain, but there was a brief moment when it lifted and people began to get out of their cars. I immediately grabbed my camera and started taking pictures, trying to capture the unique quality of the place. Everything came together at the right moment. I saw a woman's silhouette was framed in a doorway at the same instant that a light came on inside the car in front of me, illuminating the figures of the two men inside. The movie playing to the right, adding a third source of light amid a dark background, completed the shot. It was a passing moment, there only for a second before everything shifted.
Link to the full story here.
$20 Dinner With Jarrett Stieber
This month I had the pleasure to photograph a cover story for Creative Loafing featuring Chef Jarrett Stieber from Atlanta's Eat Me Speak Me. I always enjoy these types of assignments the most, both for the diversity of images and because it feels almost like a collaboration between me and whoever I am photographing. For this story, Jarrett prepared a full dinner for under $20 with food purchased from a local farmers market.
Check out the story, including the recipe to his "Yummy Sauce" (my personal favorite) here.
First Magazine Cover
For a collaborative project at school, my photography class partnered with writers and a couple graphic designers to create first edition of THOM, a semi-annual magazine for the Thomasville Center of the Arts. As a group we spent two weekends traveling to the town of Thomasville, getting to know the area and the people. I was chosen to photograph the story spotlighting one of the locals, Charlie Whitney. As a great surprise at the end, one of the photographs that I had taken at his home was chosen for the cover of the magazine as well! It is my first magazine cover in print.
