It was a near-perfect weekend for shooting a Kansas cattle drive and sampling the cooking of Josh Hoy. Josh and Gwen Hoy operate the Flying W Ranch near Clements in the Kansas Flint Hills and have opened some of the working cattle drives to guests. Josh’s cooking may be more of the draw than the cattle, in my opinion, but the whole package was amazing. For a real Kansas experience, this is tough to beat. I’ll just let the photos do the talking:
Our recent trip to eastern Canada and Maine coincided with National Acadian Day. The shot above and the two that follow are from the Tintamarre in Squatec, QC. (Think of a “Tintamarre” as a very loud parade. People march through the town banging on pots and pans, blowing horns, etc., creating an undeniably fun and festive atmosphere.)
A ployes-making demonstration made for a tasty break in Edmundston, NB. Ployes are made from buckwheat flour and are like light pancakes or crepes that can be sweet or savory, depending on their filling:
We dipped back into the USA for a couple of days as well, in part to catch the Acadian Festival parade in Madawaska, Maine:
Here’s a fun clip for the portfolio: I supplied several photos for an article on New Zealand’s food scene by my friend David Lang that just ran in the Chinese edition of Travel+Leisure. I think it looks great.
It may be surprising but I don’t often see the finished pieces that use my photography. Stock sales are often reported rather vaguely so I only know that I have a full page image in a North American text book or a cover for a travel guide to be distributed in Korea. It’s fun to actually see a piece in print occasionally. It’s more fun when that piece is well designed, and even more fun yet when it’s in Chinese. Thanks to David for giving me the chance to collaborate on this project. I hope we get to do it again soon.
That’s the opening page above but here’s the entire spread (full disclosure — the food shot on the bottom of the second page is actually David’s, not mine):
Life continues to keep things interesting around here so I’ll toss out another shot from Fiji to keep y’all occupied as I dodge and weave. On my last day in Fiji, I had some time to kill and I spent a couple of hours wandering the market in Sigatoka. The place was filled with portrait potential. The light bounced around the stalls nicely and the faces were fantastic. Here’s just one. It’s a bit more “processed” than usual but I was experimenting. I’ll live with this version for a while but I have a feeling this might be a shot I come back to from time to time. It has a painterly quality that I like but I’m not sure it’s coming across at its full potential yet.
Nearing the end of my trip to Germany last month, I found myself in the town of Passau on a less than perfect day. It was cold and grey and overcast. The light was nice and soft, however, and you just had to pick your subjects appropriately. This produce stand, for instance. The colors were so saturated and the lack of direct sunlight kept the contrast from being too great.
I also found the light to be nice for some of the tight alleyways where I could shoot and not show any sky. Again, the contrast of direct sun would have made these areas very difficult to capture but the clouds helped keep that contrast down. The town is also famous for its glass museum which was another comfy place to shoot on a chilly day. The lesson is: make the most of your situation. There’s always some way to make the weather work to your advantage.
While in Regensburg, Germany, I had lunch at the historic Sausage Kitchen — the oldest in the world at over 9 centuries. The food was great and, of course, I had to grab a few shots of the women in the kitchen before I left. I can recommend the potato soup and the bratwurst with sauerkraut. Actually… I think that’s the entire menu. But you do get your choice of 6, 8 or 10 sausages — and a great view of the Danube.
Navigating the narrow, cobblestone streets after lunch I ran across more weiners:
My second day in Thailand began with an early morning visit to the market. In addition to a vast indoor space where everything was sold from clothing to hot meals, there were a line of vendors along the street stretching for several blocks. This was true convenience shopping in that people could ride up on their scooter and do their shopping without ever getting off of their bike.
Smoke from the nearby agricultural burning still hung in the air lending a soft warm glow to the light.
Day one in Thailand continued as I photographed a cooking class at the Four Seasons in Chiang Mai. Beware the Bird Eye peppers in the bowl above. They are small but they are mighty.
I have to say that the food that came out of this cooking class was some of the best I had while in Thailand, and I had some incredibly good food! Hopefully I’ll be able to recreate some of the dishes at home from the recipes provided by the Four Seasons but I’m afraid my attention was more on photography than the preparation instructions. I may come to regret that later.
The top photo of this grouping is the Gaeng Kiew Warn Kai, or Green Curry with Chicken in Coconut Milk (that may have been my favorite). Bottom left shows the open-air “classroom” and bottom right is a Som Tam, or Green Papaya Salad. If you want to learn to cook Thai food, I can’t think of a better place than this. If you want to photograph people cooking Thai food, I only suggest that you step back when the Bird Eye peppers hit the hot wok.
After a long day of battling the wind on various interstate highways, we arrived in Amarillo, Texas, just in time to catch the last rays of sun on Cadillac Ranch. I’ve wanted to see this for years and now… well… I have. So there you go.
Now in Albuquerque, it’s looking like opportunities to connect to the internet are going to be few and far between. Luckily the iPhone is keeping me current with emails and calls but I’ll likely have to wait and post any New Mexico photos to the blog until I get back to the office.
I spent yesterday morning exploring the Trois Estate near Fredericksburg, TX. I’m not even sure what to call the place. Part private home, part B&B, part restaurant, part museum — it’s truly amazing. The architecture utilizes everything from weathered doors salvaged from around the world to wine bottles to create a surreal Spanish-esque village. I hope to get a chance to see this place again when it’s completed. I can’t even imagine what surprises are still in store.