Great Food Photos: Nik Sharma

Can you tell me what you’re trying to capture when you take your food photos?I want to convey emotion when I photograph my subject/s. With food, it always comes down to textures, colors and flavors and since I can’t have people eat what I shoot, I do my best to (hopefully) share those emotions that are running through my mind when I taste something for the first time and when I’m cooking.

How did you get started in photography and how has your relationship with photography evolved from then to now? My dad’s a professional photographer and though I got to watch him shoot in and out of studios, I honestly never fell in love with photography till I became an adult. My food blog, A Brown Table, was what made me realize how much I love to photograph. In many ways, it’s also become a platform for me to practice and learn and a medium for me to express what is going on inside my head when I see a subject be it food, people or places. My sense of food styling has also evolved over time, I initially started out photographing ingredients and the final dish but over time, I realized that I missed an essential component of what I wanted to convey in my work, emotion! And as a cook, I knew I felt several different emotions when I prepared food in the kitchen. From excitement, to anxiety, to joy, to frustration, I go through a series of emotions when I’m cooking a dish, so why not share how I feel through my photographs. My work today is a much more mature expression of the food I love and in a way representative of me, as an individual.

I love your style. I love the use of empty space and shadows in your photos. How did you come about photographing food in this style? Thanks, Donny! I’m fascinated with light and shadows, they constantly play with each other and depending on the combination, the two can create visually interesting textures and perspectives. When I first started to shoot food, I followed the general norm of using white backgrounds and bright light but I’ll be honest, my heart was never in it and I could feel that vibe stare at me in my work. It lacked what I wanted to convey as a photographer and what I wanted to do. After some serious thinking, I decided to follow my heart that I need to style and shoot the way I wanted to, it’s not that I have anything against white backgrounds and bright light (I still shoot with those mediums) but I think low lit or brightly lit, I need to create and share an interesting perspective or story to the people that view my photographs.

Any food photography heroes? If not any photography heroes?Beth Kirby, Steve McCurry, Lyndon Wade, and Diane Arbus.

Best meal you had in 2015 so far? By far the best meal I’ve tried this year was the one I ate at Al’s Place in San Francisco. Every plate is a visual delight but there is careful thought put into the pairing of flavors and ingredients in each dish that’s brought to the table. They have a knack of making their fresh vegetables stand out without giving that overstepping the dish appear affected.

All photos courtesy from Nik Sharma of A Brown Table

Great Food Photos: Elizabeth Cecil

Can you tell me what you’re trying to capture when you take your food photos?I strive to capture both authenticity and beauty.

Have you always been interested in photography? Yes, for as long as I can remember. My dad photographs trains so I chased trains with him when I was little. It was really fun and exciting and that always stayed with me. My brother-in-law, Livio, also loved photography and gave me my first camera when I was seven. He just recently gave it to back to me. How he kept it all these years, I have no idea. It is in mint condition and I am just shooting my first roll of 110 film since 1984.

When and what made you decide to become a full-time photographer? I studied photography for my undergraduate degree and then floated around a bit after college, working and traveling. I decided to go to a photo workshop in Maine to get some creative inspiration. I attended a lecture by Cig Harvey who is an amazing photographer and incredible speaker. She really motivated me to go back to school and pursue photography full-time.

I like to know how has your idea of photography, your relationship with the camera changed from studying it in college to having it as your career now. My idea of and relationship with photography is always evolving as I learn and grow with every experience and every job. Coming from more of a fine art track and transitioning to photography for work was a little challenging at first. Bringing artistic intention to the work is something that I am always striving for and the thing that keeps me going. Pushing myself to create personal projects while working to maintain a career can be demanding but also very rewarding. Overall, I feel lucky that I am able to do what I love for a living and that this interest and creative outlet has been with me for most of my life.

Favorite subject to photograph? Food and the landscape.

Any food and/or photography heroes?Sally Mann has been a photography hero to me since I was very young. I have seen her speak many times and her passion and dedication to her craft always inspires me. I also love the work of Uta Barth, Ditte Isager, Wijnanda Deroo and Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Best meal you had so far in 2015? I recently got married and all of our best friends who are amazing chefs and home cooks made food for the wedding. We had a taco bar with pork, salsa, cabbage slaw and all the fixings. Everyone put their own special touch into each dish. The food was incredible and the love that was put into it made it even better.

All photos courtesy of Elizabeth Cecil

Great Food Photos: Yossy Arefi

Yes! It's always awesome to find a photographer that still photographs with film. There's no room or time to fuss around with the subject when you're shooting analog because you only get certain number of frames you can shoot with. You really need to know what works before clicking the shutter. And Yossy Arefi of Apt. 2B Baking Co. does it amazingly. Check out my interview with photographer Yossy Arefi about shooting film and find out who are her photography heroes.

Q. Can you tell me what you’re trying to capture when you take your food photos? A. I want to show tangible and real moments; moments that aren’t quite perfect. I want the food I am shooting to look delicious and edible, like someone could just grab it off of the page. I much prefer a photo of a freshly baked pie, bubbling away on a sheet pan to a perfectly styled and propped whatever. For my blog, I also like to show a bit of real life food prep and a bit of real mess. I think those types of shots really inspire people to roll up their sleeves and cook, which is what a good food blog should do.

Q. Have you always been interested in photography? A. Yes! I remember discovering my parent’s point and shoot camera when I was a kid and bringing it to school so I could take pictures of my friends. They gave me my first SLR when I was a senior in high school and I took classes at a local studio, then took a couple more classes in college. I loved the magic of processing my own film and developing photos in the darkroom. I have so many memories of my first semester at college; away from home, holed up in the darkroom, watching photos come alive in the developer and listening to Pearl Jam and Sleater Kinney while it rained outside. Does that sentence make it glaringly obvious that I went to school in the Pacific Northwest? Haha!

When I moved to New York I stumbled upon a Pentax K1000 in a thrift shop and it reinvigorated my love for taking photos. I just love the heavy click of the shutter and the textures that camera and lens captures. Around that same time I started photographing food for my blog and eventually transitioned out of the kitchen job I was working at the time to freelance food photography, food writing and food styling.

Q. Moving from Seattle to NY, did it change the way you create recipes and in your photography? A. Yes, absolutely. I had always been a hobbyist photographer when I lived on the west coast, but I really dove into photography seriously around the time I moved to New York and started my blog. There are tons of photographers living and working in New York, and I have been lucky to meet and work with some really talented people here that have helped me develop both my technical skills and artistic vision.

I have lived in New York long enough to have some roots forming here, but I still am a Northwesterner at heart. It is just so lush and beautiful there all year long. I try to spend a good chunk of time in Seattle every summer to pick wild blackberries, visit the ocean and mountains and recharge and get reinspired. I know people think Seattle is a dark and rainy place, but the summers there can’t be beat and let us not forget that all the overcast mornings make perfectly diffused natural light.

Q. What is it about film that keeps you shooting with it? A. I love the natural texture, color and luster of film photographs. There is something about the way that film captures color and light that I find so appealing. It feels tangible and gritty and sometimes imperfect. I also really like that shooting film forces me to slow down a little and really consider everything in the frame. I have to manually focus each shot and I usually only shoot about 10 exposures for a blog post so there isn’t much room for error. When I get my scans back from the lab there is no re-touching. I mean, if you are processing your own film and developing your own prints, there are plenty of adjustments you can make, but when I get my scans back from the lab I usually just do a little cropping and maybe a contrast adjustment and that’s it. When I am processing and retouching my digital photos, I find that I get caught up in that editing process and can keep making slight adjustments forever…That said, I shoot most of my professional work digitally for ease and flexibility.

Q. Any food photography heroes? If not any photography heroes? A. Oh man, too many. Like just about everyone you’ve interviewed for this series, I am a huge fan of Gentl and Hyers. I also am so inspired by Ditte Isager’s soothing images and Marcus Nilsson’s striking ones. I love Jonathan Lovekin’s moody photography in Nigel Slater’s books and the photography in Donna Hay Magazine by Chris Court is so simple and lovely. In the non-food world, I love Sally Mann’s evocative and intimate portraits and Vivian Maier’s street photography is truly incredible.

Q. Best meal you had in 2014 so far? A. That’s a tough one! I took a quick trip to Philly for work a couple of weeks ago and ate a delicious meal of brightly flavored small plates at Zahav that I just loved. It was full of warm bread, fresh hummus and lots of crazy-good vegetable dishes. I also discovered that Alameda, which is luckily just up the road from my house, has the most delicious cheeseburger in the hood and a great late night happy hour. I always love a good burger.

All photos courtesy of Yossy Arefi from Apt. 2B Baking Co.

Nostalgia And Self Doubt

I've been thinking, well I think a lot... sometimes way too much.

"These days, the stars seem out of reach"

Next month, I'll be starting my 11th year in New York and that's about how long I have had my Flickr account. I couldn't help it but I scrolled through 147 pages of photos. Reliving so many things, weird and exciting and mundane stuff, from 2014 back to 2004.

I miss grad school. Those 2 years were so much fun. Everyday I learned something new about myself and it changed me in so many ways. I feel that cause of grad school and obviously all the friends (they're pretty much my family now) brought the real me out of this shell. I mean I'm still shy, I still get these sudden feelings of sadness and anger and constantly regretting my choices but the 2003 me was such a different person. A person I couldn't imagine how/what he would be now if he had stayed in LA. I am glad I moved to NY.

I miss all the wild Thursday Night Outs, the crazy karaoke sessions, the get togethers...

Though beginning my 11th year here, most of those friends had already moved away, started families and are planning to start something new in another country. I hate feeling nostalgic. I want to keep holding onto the old days.

Time doesn't stop. Time doesn't care. 11 years ago, I moved to New York City. I had no idea how my first year at grad school was going to be. I didn't plan my life after grad school. I didn't plan my life when I turned 29. Turning 30 was a big deal. Now I wish I can be 30 again. Turning 35 was another big deal because I didn't plan that either. At 2003, I didn't plan this far ahead. I've been going one year at a time. Should I have my shit together by now? 36....I'm scare to turn 40 and I barely know what I'm doing and while I have a "job," I don't have a "career." What the fuck am I doing?

But Leonardo Da Vinci didn't become famous till 46, so I got some time.

Do what you love, they say. But what do I love? It's been hard to motivate myself. I started a food blog with a friend in 2009 and just last week I told him that I wanted to stop. I just can't "review" places or dishes anymore. I can only write YUM in so many different ways. It's getting tiring. Also, I suck as a food writer. I eat my food too fast!

So what about photography? Yes, photography. Here's where the self doubt comes in. I don't know if I'm good enough. I keep staring at other people's work and their images are 100x better than mine. Why am I doing this? Thank goodness I have a regular 9-6 job or else I wouldn't be able to make it as a freelance photographer. And it's so hard to find my own voice because is it my voice or did I just copy someone's style? And this frustrates me. I should give up.

I need to be happy with my choices. I need to be happy with my photos.

All I can do is be myself and create the path that I want to walk on.

I know one thing for sure though, which is rare, that I love love love photographing behind-the-scenes stuff. I like being in restaurant kitchens and shoot for hours. No need to worry about food styling. Things that happen in the kitchen are natural and raw.

But you know, I find so much energy and inspiration when I'm negative. I get motivated to do things, start new projects. I'm asking one of my friends to help me design a tattoo that incorporates the idea of "me." I've been quoting from an anime, Gurren Lagann. It has so much awesome quotes.

"Never afraid of what the future holds, never regretful of the present."

"We evolve beyond the person that we were a minute before. Little by little we advance with each turn."

"Go beyond the impossible and kick reason to the curb!"

"Don't be held back by someone else's bullshit in fake memories.The one path you chose for yourself, is the truth of your universe."

I need to kick my own butt. I get lazy when I'm feeling comfortable. I give myself excuses and then I don't do anything. I need to take more photos. The only way to improve is keep at it every freaking day.

I know, things could be way worse. Stop whining. Okay, I'm over it. Moving on...

Thanks for letting me vent.

Maybe I should stop listening to moody music.