More X1 Photos and another SNAP photo shoot

Well, I've finally added a few more shots to my Leica X1 gallery.  HERE.  Additionally, I had the pleasure of another photo shoot at SNAP sports bar in NYC.  Here are 3 that I like.

Burger & Barrel Photo Shoot

Had a great photo shoot at the newest NYC burger and wine hot spot (B&B) with their Chef, Josh Capon.  I definitely recommend B&B...and not just because they're a client.  The food tastes even better than it looks and the bar is amazing.  Here are a few shots from the session, and you'll find more on their website.

Brooklyn Winery

So I have a new side project...making wine!  The Brooklyn Winery is about to open in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and in addition to having a restaurant and bar they offer the opportunity for groups to make their own wine.  I'm in one of their first wine making groups, and we're a barrel of Pinot Noir.  We're involved in every step of the process; choosing the grapes, de-stemming and crushing, pressing, racking, bottling, and labeling.  It's a great opportunity to learn about wines and the wine making process.  Very, very cool.  They will officially open in the next week or two.
Check out the link to their website if you want to learn more, and see some informal photos I took while I was there de-stemming this weekend.  Brooklyn Winery.
I'll also be taking some high quality shots of the interior space and menu items for their website and advertising soon.

A Single Chef

Recently, I was lucky enough to meet and become friends with a very talented cook/chef/blogger named Marguerite. She runs a blog called A Single Chef, and specializes in demonstrating and explaining how to prepare meals for one or two people. She includes a section that will help identify the appropriate kitchen equipment to help replicate the amazing dishes she shares with her readers. Oh yeah, in addition to her amazing recipes and advice, you can find pictures that I have taken of the food she prepares. We will continue to work together in the near future because it's so much fun! Follow her and follow me for a good time and great food.
A Single Chef
enjoy.
-L

The Best Camera is the One You Have With You

It's an overused statement, but I think it is so true.  Whether you're using the camera on your cell phone, a point and shoot, or a super tricked out high dollar professional rig, what's most important is that you get the shots you want.  As a photographer, I have many camera bodies that I keep around even after I've purchased new ones.  Some people in my life would even go as far as to say I have too many cameras in my growing collection.  Oh well.  :)  I go through stages of really loving to work with one of them for a few months and then switch to another one for a while.
During my 2009 Appalachian Trail thru-hike I used a small plastic 8 megapixel Canon A95 point and shoot.  I was able to take wonderful shots for the entire 5 month journey with this little camera that I bought for less than $150.  (On the right side of this page there is a link to my Trail Journal with pictures from that hike and links to more.)  In everyday life I use the camera on my iPhone quite a bit, but I try to have some type of camera with me at all times because I never know when a great photo opportunity will present itself.
My current favorite walk-around camera is the Canon S90.  It's a 10 megapixel point and shoot with a metal body and the ability to shoot images in RAW format (my preference for file format).  It's small, lightweight, easy to master and includes full manual shooting capabilities.  I love this thing, and the samples below were shot with it this weekend.  Whatever your choice of camera, make sure you learn how to use its features so it can give you the best possible results.  The happier you are with your photographs, the more likely you are to continue shooting and learning more about photography.  Happy Shooting.

-L

 

Seasonal Ingredient Map

As I work and talk with people in the restaurant and food blogging business, the topic of Seasonal Ingredients comes up over and over again.  I've seen several charts and graphs highlighting this subject, and recently I found a very cool interactive map on the Epicurious website.
This map allows you to see what is in season by state and month. Hope you find it interesting.  I appologize in advance to anyone who can't view Flash...but they haven't made the switch to HTML5 yet.  :)

Here you go: Epicurious.

Savoy, Thank You

Last night was the tenth annual Calçotada, a traditional Catalan onion festival that marks the start of spring, at Savoy in SOHO.  It was an amazing event with great food, wine, music, and dancing.  I'd like to thank the owner, and chef, Peter Hoffman and the equally amazing chef and personality superstar, Ryan Tate for their hospitality and great work.  I'll be posting pictures from the event on my website soon.
If you're ever in NYC, please stop by Savoy and enjoy their amazing food and service.  They have the "freshest" menu around.  Pair that with their great service and you have a match made in heaven.

Documentary Photography

Today I had a great meeting with award winning documentary photographer Marc Asnin.  Talk about passion, energy, and talent.  WOW, this guy is amazing.  I'm lucky enough (and hopefully talented too) to have been accepted by Marc to work with his team on a couple of projects he currently has underway.  This is some really amazing stuff.  Check out his website above for samples of his work.  I'll keep the updates coming and I'll be posting more often over the summer.

On a "Food" note, I'm talking with several downtown restaurants right now about shooting their menus and interiors for websites and ad campaigns.  So things are still moving.

Photos up on Lure Fishbar website

Some of my pics are up now on the new Lure Fishbar website under the Gallery page, including some pics of their dining rooms.  Interesting update to their site; they went with a Blog style site and seem to put up a lot of "celeb-sighting" photos.  Check it out: Lure
Getting ready to send out a new marketing email this week.  Excited about the potential work coming up.

Food Photography Workshop

Attended a really great food photography workshop yesterday and met some wonderful people. Sponsored by Adorama and facilitated by the amazing Lou Manna. They limit it to 10 participants so there is a great deal of one on one work. He's probably the number 1 food photog in the country. He reviewed my portfolio, gave me excellent tips for my workflow, and provided some great ideas for future gear purchases. Check out his site at: www.loumanna.com

Lance Madson Photography Website Live

The new website is live and in living color. visit and connect and revisit.  It's so exciting.

Enjoy.
Lance

www.LanceMadson.com

Remaining Photo Shoots

So after spending the last week looking through all my shots (mostly Food Photography), and also shooting more over the weekend, I've created another list of food that I want to shoot before finalizing the galleries of my new website.  I think I can have them all shot and processed by early next week so I can get the website up and running by the middle of the month.
In addition to this work, I've been coordinating and linking this blog (ahead of the website launch) to the website along with Lance Madson Photography (LMP) Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts. I'll be representing on all fronts.  Here we go.

L

Food Photography Website Fun!

Had lunch today with a former colleague and we had a good discussion about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for websites and blogs.  This is something I've been thinking about quite a bit lately as I finalize my new website.  It's good to know that others are going through the same thing and having to wade through the same flood of information as me.  Sometimes the Internet can provide more problems than solutions.  So much junk to look through before finding a few pieces of gold.  We also discussed another issue I've been dealing with...when to pay someone else to do something that's not my core competency - Photography.  I want control, I'm starting out with limited means, and I like knowing how all these things work, but at some point I have to let an expert do what they do...for me.  I know this is a traditional small/new business dilemma, but I didn't realize how difficult it would be for me to handle.

I have another food photo shoot this weekend for a restaurant and then I think I'll have enough food shots for galleries on the new website.  I keep looking through my photos over and over and over again trying to decide what to use.  Then I choose a different set and process them a little, and then I decide to start over again.  It's a mad house...a mad house!
Oh well.  Enough for now.
Later, L