Wine, Garden & Gun

Have you gotten your October/November issue of Garden & Gun yet? Check your mailbox, or your closest Barnes & Noble quick! This one might be a sellout with an incredible pecan pie gracing the cover and a guide to the 50 best southern foods. Don't read it hungry. No, really.

In those yummy pages you will find a feature I photographed in Delaplane, VA last month. Or the month before. Hard to remember these days. But it was a beautiful summer evening and I traipsed about Rutger's underground cellar with my tripod wishing someone, ANYONE was with me to go 'oh my God this is so cool' with. It was somewhat surreal, Patricia surrounded by barrels and barrels of fine wine in what felt like James Bond's secret lair.

I drove my truck the way it was supposed to be driven (not as a suburbanite bus of sorts, hauling sweaty children from activity to activity), up mountains and back down in search of the perfect images to capture this magnificent place. The sunset was casting a wicked pink glow and I set my tripod on the roof of the car, clambered up the windshield (in hindsight possibly dangerous since I was truly alone) and just kept shooting, Blue Ridge mountains to my back. Rutger had accompanied me for a bit to get his portrait then headed out for dinner and I just embraced the solitude and watched the sun set. Click. Click.

I stayed in Winchester, searching high and low for a place to grab dinner that the local serial killers didn't frequent (yes, we know I watch too much Law&Order) and finally settled on a slice of pizza in my room while I uploaded photos and got a good night's sleep for my sunrise shoot at Linden Vineyards. Yes, we photographers are funny about the light and I will even get up crazy early for the good stuff.

I headed off to Jim's at 4:45 am or something awful like that, and was rewarded with a killer sunrise over the rows of vines and grapes. He loves what he does and seemed to enjoy being out there pruning the vines. I wonder if he thought the same about me, camera glued to my face snapping away, yapping about the gorgeous light. 'Cuz I gotta say, I really, really do love it.

Now go get a glass of fine Virginia wine, a slice of pie and your new issue! But seriously, eat something first.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

At the risk of sounding like a lame college application essay I always say one of the best parts of my job is the awesome people I meet and the cool places I get to visit. I know, I know, I hated to even write it, bleccch, but when your assignment is to get a shot of Mary Chapin Carpenter in her beautiful country home, then bazinga, that's a job perk!

So I'm in her office doing my camera things. She's holding her favorite guitar telling me this great story about how she came to own it, a testament to the goodness of people and their faith in her obvious talent when she was starting out. Her sweet animals, her pack, surround her as she starts to play on my request (because, you know, to hold a guitar naturally you should play it, right?). I involuntarily stop what I'm doing. I listen. I want to sit on the floor in front of her and hang out, but I don't since I'm a professional and all, and I pinch myself (not literally, that would have been weird) then start snapping away.

She is such a gifted artist with a row of Grammys to prove it (which I did NOT touch even if maybe I wanted to hold one for a quick sec and pretend to give an acceptance speech), and an incredibly humble, super nice person.

Yeah, I really do love my job. And the awesome people I get to meet.

Secret Gardens

Now you know I love food shoots, but once in awhile a garden or home shoot is presented and I pinch myself thinking how fortunate I am that I get to see and experience these spectacular places. I mean, to spend the day outdoors meandering through history, taking in views that are often reserved for the owner, family and friends. And taking pictures too?? It is not lost on me. It's a good gig.

And then I feel the pressure, how do I capture it so everyone else can experience it too? So I walk the space, repeatedly, up and down different walkways, trying to figure out what it is that makes it 'what it is', and determine the angles or vantage points that tell more in a single image than others. Or maybe it's just a little 'moment' or vignette of two chairs that speaks to me and 'feels' like what I am experiencing there. I only have a couple of pages to encapsulate a scene that could feasibly take up an entire coffee table book. Oh the pressure! But then I remember that no lives are at stake or anything, so that helps a lot.

I spent a breezy summer day at the estate of John Graham capturing this breathtaking series of restored gardens. On one side, with the Atlantic Ocean peeking through in the distance, I shot a restored 19th century alleé from a somewhat perilous spot atop the 200 year old plantation home ("don't lean on anything" being my sole instructions and the mantra I repeated while shooting up there). On the other side, a gorgeous 1930's formal garden with incredible boxwoods cut into three dimensional federal chain sculptures. Just beyond, a 21st century garden designed and dedicated to John's parents with lovely oyster shell paths.

Did I mention they were designed by Chip Callaway? Landscape artist extraordinaire.

Check out these images from the August/September issue of Garden&Gun Magazine. The must-read, happening magazine for Southerners and anyone who likes the South.

Yum.

Hands down, this was the best sandwich I have ever eaten in my life. Was it the homemade mayonnaise that tasted nothing like the white stuff in the jar that makes me cringe? The organic applewood smoked bacon? The fresh baked bread that had literally just come out of the oven, still warm to the touch and so soft it almost melted into the bacon when you handled the sandwich? The greens we picked from her garden called, no lie, 'Drunken Woman Frizzy Headed Lettuce"?

Regardless, it was another brilliant journey with Virginia Living magazine. To a place nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where the streets take odd turns and the house numbers aren't in order. A magical little place I'd never have seen were it not for this fun assignment, and a shoot with a subject so lovely and vibrant she makes you say "excuse me, did you say you're 70?"

Loved. It.

The Forager

I am going to come back and fill this little space, and the two entries below, with some insights, information and witty (ha) comments, but for now I just wanted to share this piece I did for Garden&Gun. I loved the day I spent shooting with Vickie and learning about how she forages food in her backyard. And was most happy that I didn't end up with chiggers, like someone else who visited her. Yeah, just google that term and you'll be glad too. Come back if you're curious later...

I also have about, oh, 6 or 7 awesome weddings I cannot wait to put up. A few are on hold as they await possible publication decisions, but they were all so gorgeous and the couples were fantastic.

My typically sleepy January February went bonkers on me and time has been a luxury I haven't had much of... but I cannot wait to get back on this blogging, if for no other reason to stop my friends from harassing me about how slow I have been to post! I guess the good news is I have been shooting a ton, and am so glad for that.

Darryl Carter

Very possibly the hardest part of shooting gorgeous homes is coming home and thinking what I need to do around here. It's every so slightly depressing! Terrible home envy ensues.

But Darryl Carter was so fun to work with and his home on Embassy Row (it used to actually BE the Embassy of Oman) in Washington, DC was simply breathtaking. I loved his home, I loved his dog Otis, I loved him, and his awesome employees. I love my job.

More Home Work

I recently photographed this funky geo-thermal, environmentally friendly house that sits on the shore of the James River, in Hopewell.

Garden & Gun Magazine

In TIME magazine, Jay McInerney (you remember... fabulous author, "Bright Lights, Big City") contributed a short list of 5 items that are catching his eye these days. One of the items listed is what he named "a very unlikely magazine." He went on to say "I couldn't believe the title either, but Garden & Gun captures the contradictions of contemporary Southern living. Beautiful photography and prose from the top Southern writers." This merely confirmed something my husband and I, and most southerners, had discovered a year or two before. Garden & Gun has graced our coffee table and flipped between our nightstands for some time now. It's yummy.

So when I got a call this summer to shoot a feature for them it took me zero seconds to respond. Really? Wow. Um, shooting carnivorous plants? Of course, I love shooting... plants!!! Now, is it me, or did this not conjure up for you images of Shaggy and Scooby running away from a large plant with teeth and an oversized pink mouth? It didn't matter, I was on it.

One steamy summer evening my assistant and I drove into unknown territory somewhere west of Charlottesville, and were pleasantly surprised to find Robert's secret garden filled with the most intricate, dazzling array of plants that just so happen to digest bugs for food. They were such a treat to shoot, almost overwhelming in this 'oh my gosh am I doing them justice' kind of way, all the while listening to Robert's incredible descriptions of how they worked, the patience required to grow them (30 years for some), and his love of all things botanical. He is a really neat guy. And I'm glad he didn't tell me about the snakes and black widow spiders that liked his garden until I was nearly done. Mental note: no more flip flops on shoots.

I just finished another piece with them last week that I cannot wait to see. More Garden & Gun adventures (and I mean adventures) to come! I shot another piece in the issue prior about a nice fella in Virginia who happens to make moonshine in his basement. Of course, I did NOT try it. :) Mmmmm.

A friend recently told me he loves giving subscriptions to G&G to friends and clients, northerners especially, as it is such a unique treasure, and lifestyle magazine, that appeals to everyone. Here, I made it easy for you! Just click and you can sign yourself up or give the awesome gift of Garden & Gun Magazine. Shameless plug, sure, but you'll thank me later.

More Home Work

In August I did an interiors shoot for R Home and really enjoyed meeting the designer, Betsy Gate Moore, who was featured in the magazine that is on newsstands now. We shot on a day of legendary Richmond heat and humidity, so we kept our time outdoors to a minimum as we stared longingly at her fabulous pool. Sigh. We even had to start a fire in her fireplace since, well, fireplaces look better with flames in them. That didn't help with the heat, but we worked fast and got the shot.

I tried to get the inside scoop on the work she did for Johnny Depp's private island home (can you imagine?!?!), but mum's the word... dang.

A Little Home Work

Last month I had the pleasure of shooting the Carr's beautiful country home on a sunny and intensely blue-sky day. The entire time I was there I was in a state of awe with a twinge of space, grass and country envy. And porch envy. The breeze came in one door and went out the other bringing with it the scent of honeysuckles, fresh cut grass and well, country. While the city is my home, I could see myself picking it all up and heading out there, but of course I'd have to kick Melissa and her family out to make room and that's not nice.

The dogs were not paid actors but they certainly wanted their share of the limelight. Every time I set up a shot they would mosey over in their relaxed country dog saunter and comfortably melt into the scenery. While I was editing I was playing 'where's Waldo' with the dogs, because they showed up in ALL of photos. But they were so perfectly color coordinated to their rooms that I left them, and kind of forgot they were even there.






Lee, the Art Director sent me the lovely behind the scenes photo below, and it only seemed fair to post it since I post photos of everyone else and, it makes me laugh. I was on the jeep to take the cover shot as I needed a higher vantage point so you could see more house, less driveway as it was on an incline. And yes, I look particularly dorky but I swear that's not how I focus. I was turning the polarizing filter and it's hard to do up there without sticking your fingerprints on the glass and working within the lens hood, while trying not to break the jeep. That I would never live down.

Enjoy the magazine, it's on newsstands this week!

Keeping Busy

I was with my (awesome) bride in NYC over the weekend and telling her how awful I have been about keeping up with my blog. She said, "I know! Every time I click on your blog link and that oyster comes up I'm like, UGH, not the oyster again!" My assistant all too eagerly agreed (she's fired...KIDDING). Hmmm. I guess after 20 times of visiting for some scoop and seeing, again, how to shuck an oyster, you're pretty ready for things to move on. So thank you ladies, for that much needed reminder.

To catch you up quickly, here's what's been going on. My son has ESP, Lordhelpme school is almost over, my daughter still wants a dog and we are healthy, aside from the effects of the sea of pollen that we swim through daily, but no real complaints there. I'm still not a very interested cook, I have only blown up one additional set of hard boiled eggs since my last egg entry, and I am probably going to be kicked out of my book club. I am good at the wine part, but my book reading time is challenged. Phew, OK, so that's that.

Work-wise, wedding season is heating up again and I am ready! In addition, my editorial and other jobs continue to get increasingly diverse and I am no longer even surprised at what the next potential client phone call brings. A prison? An underground alcohol-brewing operation of questionable legality (funnily, not related to the prison story)? Girls in bathing suits on the beach on the Caribbean? A stunning country home? I think my new tag line is going to just be 'shoots people and... stuff'. But I can say this, I think it's really making me a better photographer. I walk away from every single shoot I do having learned something. Every. Single. Shoot. And all of this I bring to your shoot, so just look out. I am bringin' it.

The article in this post is in the current issue of the always beautiful Virginia Living Magazine. On a brisk morning in April I headed up to Lorton, VA not quite sure what to expect out of a visit to an old abandoned prison built in the early 1900s. Accompanied by a guide and two security guards (I think to make sure I didn't accidentally lock myself in a cell) I made my way around the peeling paint, rusted cots, and crumbling brick. Cold and creepy? You betcha. Oh, if those cinderblock walls could talk.

The article explains much better than I can (I work in pictures remember, so bear with me), but basically Teddy Roosevelt built this prison as a model for a reformatory penal system, where inmates would be rehabilitated and taught skills. Largely a low-security workhouse for short-term offenders, they could serve time while learning to become bakers, farmers, ummm and I think dental assistants. Not kidding. Later, the good old-fashioned penitentiary was built for the more serious offenders and of course, that was creepy as all get out. Mwaahahahaaa. I loved it.

But the coolest part of the story is that the prison was shut down in the early 2000s and the first parcel was taken over by the Lorton Arts Foundation and turned into sweet artists' studios and galleries. The brick exteriors were fixed up but kept in the original barracks configuration, and the interiors were gutted and turned into these incredible, well-lit, friendly and beautiful spaces. What will come of the other two sections I got to see remains to be seen, but what they have done so far is really impressive.

And here at the bottom, well this is quite another story. A fun one for sure. More to come, but basically yep, shooting a 2010 calendar in the Cayman Islands. You can learn more on the Vanity Fair Magazine Blog (I know, right??) which featured this snapshot of us hard at work. Yes, permission granted to roll your eyes, but it really was work. No, really!


photo credit for Cayman photo: Mark Chaloner

In case you were wondering...

Just in case you were wondering, this is how you shuck an oyster. Oh, and that's my photo too! Yay! A few months ago I got a phone call from the photo editor at one of my favorite magazines, Garden & Gun, asking to purchase one of my oyster pics for an article. Naturally, I agreed - what an honor. This is a magazine every southerner (and I use this term loosely, as I like to think we all have a little southerner in us) should have on his or her nightstand. The writing is fantastic, the photography is beautiful, and the articles are so varied and appealing that my husband and I quietly fight over it. When I can't find it with my things, I know exactly where to look.

Last week I photographed my first feature with Garden & Gun which will be posted as soon as I am allowed, and also shot two items for my other favorite magazine, Virginia Living. It was a really fun and adventurous week that took me out of my comfort zone and challenged me in a few different ways. More to come on those!

I wrapped up a busy shooting week with a beautiful Richmond wedding on one of the most gorgeous days of the year so far. Emily and Ted were fun, totally relaxed, and sweet as they come. Will be posting those soon. Can't wait!

Bring it on, January!

WHERE DID DECEMBER GO?? Oh my goodness, December is a blur. While I was in the actual month it felt like forever and ever, especially on a 14 hour direct flight to the Middle East, during which I watched 4 episodes of "The Office", three movies, took two naps, and was so eye-tired the whole time I couldn't read a single article. December couldn't pass fast enough during my bout of pneumonia when I was bed-ridden for 4 days with temperatures hovering around 103. And December felt like eternity trudging through the malls and shopping for my hard-to-buy-for husband and three fickle kids. Don't even get me started on the trauma of putting those candles in the windows, decorating... not my favorite, though the holidays would not be the same without the results.

But all in all, you won't believe this. It was the Best. Month. Ever. What an incredible month! Shooting Adam and Dana's beautiful December wedding to wrap up the year. Catching up with friends over recession-friendly potluck parties where the wine flowed and some people shared their secret dance skills doing Beyonce's 'Single Ladies' performance (no, no, not me). A quick jaunt to the Middle East for a wild project. A candlelit Christmas Eve service, so quietly beautiful and moving when the congregation sang an a cappella 'Silent Night' that tears involuntarily welled up and spilled onto my cheeks (while also hoping my kids didn't drop their candles and light the place up).

And best of all, Christmas Day. In our own home. Wrapped in my brand new Snuggie, the one of a kind blanket with arms and legs (KIDDING... did not get a Snuggie, though the kids later confessed David shot down their perfect gift idea). We had nowhere to go, I was surrounded by my favorite people, we had toys and new games to play, and it culminated in a fancy dinner with David and the kids in THE dining room (surprisingly we don't go in there much... we prefer kitchen coziness). Alas, we closed out the month with a flurry of family visits and fun with cousins over the next week, and an insane abundance of comfort food.

It was perfect. It was crazy. We might have put on a few pounds. But I wouldn't have it any other way. And now, January. We recuperate. Regenerate. Sleep. Maybe even exercise. And get ready for all the craziness and wonderfulness that 2009 will bring.

Here is a great start to the year, a "stew" piece I shot with Virginia Living. Tyler said "Shoot soup?". I said "Yup". He doesn't have to twist my arm too hard. Food? Photography? People? Great magazine? While getting paid (can't forget that part)? I'm in.

Sarah Hurst styled with her usual aplomb, creating visual feasts that made us want to live in that French country-looking fantasy stew world. Chef J Frank made mouth-watering stews so delicious that a local thief stole his amazing Salmon and Corn Chowder! We caught him red-handed, stew dripping from his snout and tail between his legs as he ran from the shoot. It was comical, we had left the stews outside in their huge pots as it was nice and cold out. A dog had followed his nose to the porch and somehow removed the top of the pot, thought he had found heaven and dove in. Literally. Sarah came out and chased him away, and he looked back at us, his only regret being not to have taken more. Thankfully we had already shot that part, but it was supposed to be our lunch! No perks that day. Well, except maybe a little wine at the end. And bread. SO francais!

A lot of the beautiful pieces and tureens came from the fab new store Fraiche on Libbie and Grove, behind Starbucks. Have you been there? I could buy every single piece in there. I mean, I can't, but I would.

Enjoy, and stay tuned! Happy, happy new year.

Virginia Living for the Holidays

Here's the new holiday issue of Virginia Living! The title is a nice silvery metallic, so don't be fooled by the gray on your screen. I am so, so excited they picked an image I shot for the cover. My guess is it has something to do with those cute munchkins in their ballet attire. Lemme tell ya, the other photographers who contribute to the magazine are really amazing, so to have my photograph be chosen is an honor like you wouldn't believe.

The little girls were adorable. We weren't exactly sure how they would ultimately be incorporated into the shot (should they twirl? run across?), but once they got ahold of the chocolates they just did their thing and we let them concentrate on trying to break into those little candy pouches. Richard Stone styled the piece, brilliantly incorporating silver wrapped chocolates into the mantel decor. The girls sat there much longer than we'd have ever expected as a result, my dorky comments to make them laugh not even necessary. And our guilt over the candy eating was assuaged by the fact they were headed straight to the Dentist's office afterward. Which was a very good thing.




The Champagne Dinner piece was such a blast to shoot once I got past the urge to sit down and join them. My good friends, Reed and Scott, came to the rescue as we sought a house and 'models' who would provide a really beautiful and holiday-ish backdrop for the 5 course dinner that would be prepared for them. It was a wild shoot as there were six of them enjoying the great food (yep, that's Hyde, Manoli, Lacey and Ned in there too!), but there must have been 15 of us in the kitchen. Chefs cooking, writers writing, sommeliers providing proper champagnes, shooting, lighting, styling. It was nuts, but it really came together and they got a great evening out of it with a gourmet meal prepared by the folks a One North Belmont.

Thank you guys for being such good friends and smoking hot models! It's nice to know you have that second career to fall back on. And Scott, I will forever be impressed by your ability to saber a champagne bottle. Even if it did take a...couple...of tries.

Sensational Cakes

So I'm checking my phone messages last month and one begins in an unmistakable New York accent. "Hellooo Patricia" she starts, "this is Sylvia Weinstock calling from New York." I'm thinking, wow, telemarketers are getting crafty with their recordings.

Now, Sylvia Weinstock isn't a household name to all, but if you are getting married, enjoy a little Martha Stewart TV or read her gorgeous magazine, or like to check the footnotes on celebrity weddings (oh wait, that might just be me), you have probably come across Mrs. Weinstock. You may have even caught her in a guest spot on "Gossip Girl" in her signature owl glasses. Or read that she provides cakes to folks like Oprah, Donald Trump, Mariah Carey, and the royal family in Saudi Arabia. Her cakes literally ship all over the world, and recently two came via the fabulous party planners at Easton Events to my little corner of it.

I clued in that it was a real message when she continued, saying she had seen some beautiful images from two weddings I photographed in Charlottesville, and that she had chosen them to be included in her new book "Sensational Cakes". Cool! And they'd like to use them for publicity. Even better! We spoke several times of the phone and she is a seriously savvy businesswoman in addition to master baker. She was lovely, sharp as a tack and I do hope to work with her again someday. Her cakes are masterpieces, each and every item on them 100% edible. The flowers are little sculptures and people come up to her cakes constantly, their noses inches from the decorations, still disbelieving that these precise and intricate petals are handmade.

Oh, and they taste delicious too (shhh.....).