Catching Up

I once took this stress survey at work where you indicated what you had going on in life and added points up. At the time, I didn’t really understand why fun activities like “getting married” and “taking a vacation” resulted in stress points (oh, sweet summer child). Now, I get it.

Life has been pretty nutty for me between settling into my new role at work that has me traveling 50-60% of the time and planning a wedding / getting married! Fortunately, unlike the genesis of this project, I’ve found much better coping mechanisms and managed to get through all the madness with virtually none of the angst.

That all being said, I’m woefully behind just in terms of purely tracking the hours I’ve spent shooting, let alone reviewing and editing and posting, so definitely need to play catch up!

Based on my SD cards and Lightroom uploads, the last 9ish months of just shoot time comes out to… 56 hours!! I’m still slogging through the editing process and considering what I could have done to make these captures better. Excited to take my creativity to the next level!

Active Shooting Time: 56 hours
Editing Time: TBD
Hours to Date: 704

Travel On

I've never met anyone who doesn't like to travel.  Well, except for the frequent business traveler.

When I was recruiting for jobs out of college, recruiters frequently asked if I would be willing to travel.  I always responded with a hearty yes and they'd always give me a little pained smile, said something blithe like "great" and moved on.  I never really understood that response until last year, when I started traveling a LOT for work (my record: 6 weeks straight of going somewhere different each week) and am reminded again now that I've just accepted a promotion into a new role that is up to 60% travel.  To put that in perspective, in a given month, that basically means being on the road every Tuesday-Thursday.

Work travel sucks - you're taking first flights out, last flights in, and delays or cancellations are an inevitability.  And even if you're going somewhere interesting, once you finally get to your destination, you typically only see the insides of conference rooms or hotel rooms.  It takes a real effort and some planning to squeeze in some sightseeing when you're exhausted and have to prep for tomorrow's meetings.  Topping it off with the toll on your body between time zone changes and self-imposed dehydration so you're not getting up every 10 minutes to pee on the plane, it can be downright unpleasant.  

Potentially the worst of all, I never have enough room in my carryon + 1 personal item (and can't risk missing checked luggage) for all of the stuff I want to bring.  Some of that is normal routine creature comfort stuff like my preferred face lotions and potions, but trickier is not being able to squeeze in my DSLR to try and get some shooting in.

Fortunately, a DSLR is not even close to being a requirement for photography.  Most of good photography is about lighting and composition - developing your eye to see something that other people might miss.  With that in mind, I'm constantly taking pictures with my iPhone and I've been able to get pretty amazing shots, especially when I shoot in RAW.  It's not going to be the low light beast that my Nikon D750 is, but it will do ~85% of the time.

Active Shooting Time: 30 minutes
Editing Time: 1 hour
Hours To Date: 648

Runway lights through a frozen window at IAD.  At this point, delayed 3 hours.

Built myself a nice roaring fire during our winter quarter meeting at a rustic dude ranch.  Skills from my Girl Scout days definitely came in handy!

Winter in Colorado.  

I am definitely not a food photographer

How does that Killers lyric go? I got soul, but I'm not a soldier.

My take is: I'm a foodie, but not a food photographer.  Much clunkier, but true point.

I love food.  Probably a little too much, given my now super rigorous shedding for the wedding wellness plan.  But, boy, do I suck at photographing food.

I don't think this is entirely my fault, after all, food styling is a profession for a reason.  A quick google search will reveal all kinds of crazy secrets, from swaps with real foods (but not the ones the photograph is supposed to be capturing) to just using ... other stuff, like sunscreen for milk to keep cereal crispy-looking.  Not to mention the use of tools like brushes, tweezers, and rulers even in the setting and plating of real food. 

I totally understand it from a visual and composition perspective - for most people, the first step in craving the food on your plate is by seeing something tempting with your eyes.  But, when I'm presented with some delicious food, the first thing I want to do is taste it while it's fresh - steaming if it's hot or frozen if it's cold.

Case in point: not a stunning photograph, but one of the most amazing and interesting things I have ever eaten

Foie Gras - Terrine with Maple and Apple
Eleven Madison Park | New York City, NY

Don't get me wrong, I am 100% the person who quickly snaps a photo of my food with my iPhone before I tuck into it.  Mostly to remember the experience and what I ate, but also partly to share on social media.  

That being said, I'm not the kind of person who will drag a full DSLR/lighting/staging setup along with a food stylist's Mary Poppins bag of tricks (seriously, how obnoxious would that be) into a restaurant with me when all I wanted to do was to go in and eat some damn tasty food.  

I'm sure we've all witnessed and snarkily judged people (Elite Yelpers? Bloggers?) in restaurants who interrupt the whole experience for everyone they're with because they have to set the perfect stage for their photo.  Nobody (except maybe the business owner, who is actually trying to sell food) cares that much, get over yourself. 

I'm just not that kind of photographer and I'm not sorry about it.  I like to be fully immersed and capture moments and tell stories authentically with my photos.  And I love being able to call those shots and be selfish and picky because it's not my job.

One of my better snaps that definitely makes me want to eat this again.

Tuna 3 Ways
Sushi Wasabi, a hole in the wall omakase-style restaurant in Tustin, CA

I was so eager to dig in, I squeezed the lemon first.  Also, I managed to cut off half the oysters from the shot, not that they're that photogenic anyway.

Fresh Oysters on the Half Shell
Hog Island Oyster Co. | San Francisco, CA

This actually came out okay, I think because we were sitting outside, so there was some indirect afternoon light.

Assorted Charcuterie Board
Bestia | Los Angeles

I think this photo came out better again, because we sat outside and it was early evening, so there was lots of natural light.  It still looks a little messy though, composition-wise. 

Wafu Carbonara - bacon, egg, and ramen
Katsuya | Glendale, CA

A hidden gem discovery while on a work trip.  Eating by myself meant I had an entire table to move stuff around.

Skinny Jeans, served in a bowl: egg whites, goat cheese, avocado, spinach, scallions, roasted sweet potato
Pulp Lifestyle Kitchen | Salt Lake City, UT

Cheers to those food and lifestyle bloggers who take beautifully styled photos of their food alongside a recipe.  My homemade noms almost never turn out that nicely, usually due to time and space constraints.  I don't generally have the time to plate food I just cooked and set lighting/camera position because that means either plating ridiculously hot food or accepting that I will be eating cold food because I was too busy photographing.  The lack of time was especially true when I was juggling full-time work and part-time MBA and it's hard to get a cleanly composed photo in a small apartment kitchen setup. 

Potstickers, not even plated.  I was just pleased I batch-made these for the freezer and they seemed to turn out fine in the pan.

Active Shooting Time: Basically 0 - I spend seconds taking these photos before I eat, so it's not worth tracking
Time Spent Reading about Food Styling and Reviewing My Photos for Patterns: 2 hours
Hours To Date: 647