RIP Breville 800

It’s with great sadness that we bid our constant friend farewell. Yes the Breville 800 is only a domestic espresso machine but for 6 years she was our “Domestic Goddess”.

Possibly the second most essential part of a photographer’s kit, next to their camera, is the coffee machine. Used to fuel, awaken and pacify the photographer, it is also strategically successful in keeping clients and art directors contented.

RAVE & TIPS:

The Breville domestic machines (anything from 800 up) provide a great shot with a decent crema. We recommend using a good burr grinder, it makes a huge difference, and quality beans. Make sure you don’t keep your beans for too long as they can go off very quickly, especially in summer. While you can’t beat a good café coffee we did manage to make everything from flat whites to long blacks (in our humble but obsessive opinion), pretty damn fine - we would go as far to say better than some cafes!

Day in and day out she would tirelessly provide us with the caffeine to fight another day. Everyone from clients to stylists to art directors had a great coffee from our little Breville (some even experienced her sweet nectar and went home to purchase one themselves!).

Hmmmm where to from here;  E61 machine, the new Breville BES900 dual boiler espresso maker? Who needs their coffee machines photographed………

Which RAW converter?

A while back a professional photographer publically ridiculed me for using Adobe Lightroom, they actually got quite rude and then called me stupid. Ah, the joys of social media where you can be more public, more permanent with things you wouldn’t say in person.

But I digress…..Their point was that Lightroom does nothing more than Adobe Bridge, which is free as part of Photoshop.

I beg to differ.

Bridge is a fantastic RAW converter, and there are plenty of tools for working on your images. And for many, it fulfills their needs. Lightroom has a heap of features that Bridge doesn’t. At least 100 according to Adobe guru Scott Kelby . (see link below)

We like the database functionality of Lightroom. We have a separate database for all of our previous work, means we can easily and quickly search for photos from years back. It’s just one of the many features we use that Bridge doesn’t give.

BUT, Lightroom is a tool, much like my computer, my camera, lenses, pen and paper on my desk……..

For instance, when working on RAW files from the Hasselblad, I much prefer the file conversion of Hasselblad Phocus software. Lightroom can handle the images, but doesn’t seem to do as good a job .

For those on Mac’s, Aperture will recover overexposed highlights so much better than Lightroom or Bridge.

My point is there are many tools available for photographers post production and we all have to find what suits us personally and professionally. And often it’s best to have several tools so you can use the best tool for the specific job.

Head along to http://www.photoshopuser.com/lightroom to hear Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski go through 100 of the differences between Bridge and Lightroom.

Bye Bye to ProDesign

Photography by Jeff Brass | Think Photography.
(cover courtesy of AGM Publishing)

It’s unfortunately the end of an era for one of our favourite mags; Prodesign. For the latest and last issue I had the REALLY tough job of shooting in the bars of Britomart. The interior designers attention to preserving the past while it’s juxtaposition with the modern gave my shots an airy sense of Auckland’s history (Britomart Country Club, 1885 and Box Café, pictured). Some of the detail and hours of work in the fit-outs are fantastic; from tiny tiles in old fashioned kitchen green to painstaking work of chipping back old paint to reveal old wall signs. The preservation of what the space used to be gives the new interiors depth and soul.

By keeping the glow of bar lighting in my images it helps emphasize the interiors warmth and inviting nature – I will be going back for a beer. “Cheers” Prodesign!


Press release: ProDesign – Past, Present and Future:
ProDesign was first launched in 1992 and has been a faithful communicator of events and activity within the commercial design sectors of graphic design, product design and commercial interior design. ProDesign has enjoyed a long relationship with the Designers Institute of New Zea¬l¬and and has also been a sponsor of the Best Design Awards for many years.
AGM will launch a new magazine in September 2011 that will provide focused coverage of the commercial interior design sector.
The new magazine will feature interior architecture and design projects across office and workplace, retail, hospitality, education, public and other interior commercial envir¬on¬ments. It will also offer an intelligent mix of news, opinions, profiles and interviews.
The new magazine will be edited by Michael Barrett, editor of ProDesign, and designed by Matthew Straker, AGM’s creative director, who recently redesigned Urbis magazine. It will be published four times a year in large format.
AGM would like to thank the many read¬ers of ProDesign and its advertisers for their support over the last 16 years.
AGM Publisher Parul Sheopuri says, “AGM is looking forward to better meeting the needs of those readers and advertisers associated with the commercial interior design sector. It’s an exciting time to be launching a new magazine for a sector that is primed for growth.”

http://prodesign.co.nz/

Colonial Bacon TV Ad - Bacon & Ham shot

Check out Colonial Bacon's creative new TV ad's by the Common Room, featuring my mouth-watering bacon shot. (Trust me it was hard to resist!) Jump onto Colonial Bacon's youtube channel to see their other ad's.

In collaboration with The Common Room we designed a brief for the final image of the TV ad to echo Colonial Bacon's branding feel. The image was to say "kiwi summer BBQ", shouting the brand colour of green and red, while showing the fantastically yummy bacon that it is!

Shot at Think Photography; I positioned the table of food, packages and garden herbs inside shot under studio lights giving the illusion that they are outside by the BBQ. With techniques to balance light, we created an outside glow of greenery for a seamless image.

Under the watchful eye of the Common Room and Colonial Bacon directors the closing image for each of the 7 TV ads came to life.

Tell us what you think...

Food Photography Tricks ewwwwww??!!?

Food Photography has lots of tricks but the American's take it to another level:

• Spray deodorant, which give grapes that desirable frosty look.
• Hairspray, which can give (the appearance of) freshness to a drive piece of cake.
• Brown shoe polish, so partially raw meat appears to be just out of the over succulent
• Motor oil, as a stand-in for un-photogenic syrups.
• Want more?  http://www.pixiq.com/article/food-photo-tricks

Did you say "Ewwwwww???!!!"

http://www.southernocean.co.nz/

People often ask me what the "Food Stylist" does on a shoot;

Stock Imagery - NOT one size fits all

Couldn’t believe seeing the marketing nightmare when two different companies use the same stock image!

Book Launch - Helen Jackson's Kitchen

On the shelves today! Photographing Helen's book was real a pleasure. From beautiful food to fun people shoots this book has a real sense of home, life and the love of good food. It's a proud day in the office. CLICK HERE TO WIN A COPY

Please come and celebrate with us