Somewhere along the way, at a random rest stop in remote Massachusetts, the lowly assistant turned off the van and went to fill up the tank when she heard what sounded like a cat.  And it was coming from the back seat.  I can’t even imagine the look of creeping horror that came over her face as she searched through the boxes and realized that the cat was somewhere inside the props!  At this point the only natural course of action was to get out the box cutter and very delicately open the top. Huge mistake.  The cat launched out like a jack in the box, mad as hell, and sprinted out of the van and somewhere into the dark woods behind the gas station.

At this point, there is really one rational course of action.  Walk away and pretend you didn’t see anything.  Kidding.  Probably.  But no, this was the most loyal of assistants who would go to the ends of the earth to retrieve a scared and confused cat from the haunted woods that were probably filled with zombies.  So, she spent the next 3 hours frozen to the bone trying to find that damn thing.  And finally, miracle of miracles, she did.  It had gone back to the station and was inside drinking a bowl of milk on the floor, and had probably been there the whole frickin time.  Back in the box and back on the road, the cat spent the next week enjoying tons of attention on set while the assistant quietly kept her walking pneumonia to herself.  And so, the moral of this story: get a dog!

Safety lesson aside, I am always amazed at James Worrell’s approach and the conceptual nature of his work. The subjects of medicine, food, business and entertainment, as well as matters of the heart, soul, and mind are all captured with a clever and unique point of view, brought to life by James’ keen sense of lighting. Check out the post on his own blog LESS IS MORE.

We’ve been waiting a long time to have the opportunity to share with the world Jim Bastardo‘s incredible process for delivering high-quality, unstoppably cool images. A consummate professional and a rock-star team player, Jim has helped to produce yet another exemplary catalog with the stellar creatives at Design Within Reach. Produced by Kara Packouz, “Your First Summer Crush” presents warm-weather, Miami-driven photographs pointing to summer’s imminent threat upon the rest of us (finally!). Of course, we’ll happily take Spring first.

Credits:

DWR Catalog: Photography-Jim Bastardo, Styled by Aaron Hom, Produced by Packouz Inc.

Video Production by ZBABAM

Combining all of her creative assets into one accessible site, Barbara’s work, contacts, blog and bio are conveniently located together, so you don’t have to go far to see the amazing projects she’s up to and to keep in touch!

bstyle offers many services including:

• Brand Strategy & Development
• Advertising Campaigns
• Video Production
• Web Design & Implementation
• PR & Authoring
• Interior Design & Expert Trending
• Print Design & Packaging
• Photo Art Direction
• Tradeshow & Interior Design
• Set Design & Location Shooting

Check out Barbara’s most recent collaboration with photographer Hector Sanchez for Spaces Magazine:

The couple that owns the 150-year old house also runs a company called Emersonmade - selling fine clothing and objects.  Here are a couple more spreads from the story:

For the first round of images, Big Leo artists Andrew Purcell, Sarah Cave, and Carrie Purcell teamed up to bring a new twist on the tried and true food shoot.  See the first entry here. Second entry.

#3. German

Sarah:  The eclectic combination of these props – lot of gold crackle detail, stylized bronze and cordial glasses, dark wood and vintage velvet – it led us straight to an imagined Austrian vignette. I had the vision that there was probably an oversized fireplace nearby, that the meal was a casual & rustic snack, and that those were simply the clean dishes on hand.

Carrie:  When Sarah found this beautiful gold crackle plate, it’s funny but we all collectively thought of sauerkraut! Something about the translucent color and jagged shapes of pickled cabbage just felt appropriate. The rest of the food easily fell into place to compliment the idea of sauerkraut and the rich hues in the props – dark purple potatoes, super grainy mustard and ghostly pale weisswurst.

Andrew:  The only feel for this photo that would work was dark and masculine.  What better way to shoot meat and sauerkraut than with dark linens and gold plates – as if all you are there to do is eat and drink like a man.  Although the props are the main concept for this project, this shot quickly became all about the food and the feel.  I wanted to have heavy shadow areas to offset the plates and really let them stand out.  Otherwise I wanted the light and the angle to really make you feel as though you were at the table ready to dig in, no matter if it was 2010 or 1910.

Heidi Johannsen was a natural fit to style the amazing recipes – she has such an eye for the simple, clean lines and fresh feel that the photos required.  In a lot of respects, this kind of food styling is the easiest, because natural ingredients have an inherent beauty.  Compare that to styling anything that comes frozen in a cardboard box, and you’ll see that beauty goes hand in hand with eating healthy.

Shot by the preeminent Gentl + Hyers and styled by Helen Crowther, it is not hyperbole to say that this is the ultimate dream team for making a cookbook transcend its recipes and enter the realm of art.

For a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot, check out Terry’s posts on the making of the cookbook:  Post 1 Post 2

Chef Massimo Bottura is known worldwide for his restaurant, Osteria Francescana.

For the first round of images, Big Leo artists Andrew Purcell, Sarah Cave, and Carrie Purcell teamed up to bring a new twist on the tried and true food shoot.

#1. Drainers

Sarah:  Seeing these objects for the first time, they were clearly very old, cream-ware and transfer-ware with the patina and proportions of real antiques. The word ‘trivet’ was thrown around, but we weren’t convinced.

Then we spotted a long cream-ware fish platter nearby, and lo- the long pointed oval piece from the top left of the image fit perfectly inside, the tolerance a miracle of by-gone craftsmanship. Drainers… some quick research confirmed it- each of these once belonged to a platter or tureen, usually unnoticed but practical. Somewhere in the stacks we probably could have found the matching servers. Instead, we decided to shoot them on their own, highlighting their graphic nature while they did their job with matter-of-fact elegance.

Carrie:  What could compliment the look of the strainers? Any old noodle just wouldn’t do. We needed something that was both beautiful and shocking – fish heads strained right from the stock and a bloody rare roast!  I also loved the fresh ricotta in cheesecloth: whole milk is attacked by a little salt and lemon juice, causing it to separate into curds and whey. Strain the tasteless pale liquid away and you’re left with a rich creamy ricotta cheese.

Andrew: Visually the drains needed to be the hero. No offense to the food but the uniqueness of the strainers needed to be shown in their best light. The overhead framing really allowed the shapes of the drains to stand out and be graphic. With that in mind I thought a higher contrast would work best. Lighting props first and food second provided a unique visual representation for our project. It really opened my eyes to the importance of lighting for multiple layers within a single composition.