Lots of bright sunlight shining through the kitchen windows and then through empty glasses sitting on a table. The result: beautiful shadows and flashes of color.
Archive for the ‘Kitchen Inspirations’ Category
Just Light and Shadow
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged color, illumination, light, Photography, visual art on January 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »
In a Nutshell
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged chestnuts, cranberries, food, kitchen, Photography, pottery, spinach on November 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Monthly Updates: Japan and More
Posted in Guest Contributor, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, On the Road, Photography, Photography Exhibits, Publication Updates, tagged Charles River, Festival of Ages, Fire Festival, flowers, food, guest contributors, Japan, kimonos, Kobe, Kurama, Kyoto, octopus balls, Orion Magazine, Photography, sushi, takoyaki, temples on October 31, 2010| 1 Comment »
First up, Japan! As mentioned in last month’s update, I had the unique opportunity to travel to Japan where I spent three days in Kobe and three days in Kyoto. View images here. Food was a highlight. While there, I was indeed introduced to takoyaki, also known as Octopus Balls. While I admired the satisfied looks on peoples’ faces as they popped the delicacies into their mouths, I decided to abstain until my next trip.
I did indulge in some of the best and freshest sushi I have ever eaten. Just before departing Japan, I saw a Michelin man dancing in front of a bookstore. Here’s why. My favorite food discovery was the art of preparing food for display.
An unexpected visual treat was to stumble upon the Festival of Ages, and to trek to Kurama outside of Kyoto to attend the annual Fire Festival. More pictures forthcoming.
Special thanks to recent guest contributors, friends and family who shared their images, including Lorraine’s Rainbow, Keith’s Sunrise and Frank’s Rose (below).
Publication Updates
- A Boston-based nonprofit serving the homeless has selected one of my photos for its walls, Harbor Rocks.
- Steve’s Kitchen Window appears in the November/December issue of Orion Magazine, in bookstores now.
- Monday, November 1st, visit the Evolving Critic for a guest blog about my photographic adventures along the Charles River.
Upcoming
- Inspired by his years of traveling in Japan, guest contributor Steve will write about sake.
- Photos of New England in autumn.
- Updates on winter sales events, silent auction participation, and other upcoming exhibits before year’s end.
And that’s the scoop, folks. Thanks for reading!
Japan: The Art of Food
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, On the Road, tagged fake food, food arts, food photography, gyodan, Japan, Kyoto, Photography on October 27, 2010| 1 Comment »
As you walk around Kyoto, you’ll notice in the windows of restaurants or any type of establishment selling food items, the most beautiful displays of freshly prepared delicacies. Shrimp, appearing as if caught just that morning, top noodles and float in bowls of clear broth. Sushi artfully arranged on bamboo platters glistens in the sunlight. In front of the Italian restaurants, calzones spill melted cheese onto white plates. It is amazing as you press your face against the windows to realize that every single dish is a fake. Every scale, every shell, every bit of liquid is synthetic. But the craftsmanship is of such a level as to make the mouth water even after you realize the dishes are plastic!
Monthly Update: As August Gives Way to September
Posted in Branches, Contributing Writer, Guest Contributor, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, Photography, Publication Updates, tagged blue, Branches, color, flowers, gold, green, leaves, nature, Photography, poetry, rain, sunlight, trees, water on August 31, 2010| 2 Comments »
When I first spied these illuminated leaves in the Middlesex Fells, I was stopped in my tracks. At first, I thought the leaves were monarch butterflies — they so resembled the pictures I’d seen of monarchs dripping orangely from the trees along their migration routes. There were many such sights in the Fells this past Sunday. Such a journey, with the sunlight so golden and falling at that end-of-summer low angle … it was a definite highlight of the month. Following are a few other highlights of the month, as well as a some plans and prospects for September.
For those of you new to my blog, these more or less monthly updates are my attempt to regularly share with friends, family and colleagues my creative activities. These updates also help me put a public stake in the ground about what I am planning to do in the near future … so that (ahem) my friends, family and colleagues can help hold me accountable and keep me honest! Even if you regularly visit my blog, I think you might find a few new items of interest … especially if you like chocolate. 😉
Where Inspiration Found Me
Inspiration appeared in unexpected places in August. For both words and images, Steve’s Kitchen, was a source of inspiration. The images are below. As for the words, you can read the recent short that appears here in Orion Magazine’s online Places Where You Live. FYI, the picture you see in the online story will be appearing in the magazine’s November/December print issue.
And maybe being in Steve’s kitchen set the tone for the month, because food in general inspired me. I sent off poems about food. I’ve been reading books about food. Heck, I may even watch Babette’s Feast tonight. I do know that in August I spent a lot of time photographing food … first at the farmer’s market, and then … in Steve’s kitchen.
Additional images can be found here.
Though it is darn toasty now where I live, earlier this month there were heavy, steady rains and the air was so chill, people had pulled out sweaters and scarves. On my way into work one day I was captured by the pools that had formed on the sidewalks. And floating in the pools were fallen leaves.
More images like these can be found here.
Leaves in general have been inspiring me.
A leaf at the Middlesex Fells. You can view more Fells images here.
Okay, that’s a snapshot of the past month. What’s on tap for September?
* continuing to send off submissions for both the writing and the photography
* investigating what it would take to publish a book of my photos
* following up on some really cool story leads that people have been sending my way
* keeping better track of the arts events taking place in my area, especially those coming up for the holidays
* assessing and investing in the tools of my trade, from pen and paper to camera equipment
I think that’s it for now. Here’s hoping we all have a good September! 😉
A View Through a Somerville Window
Posted in Contributing Writer, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Photography, Publication Updates, tagged family, kitchen, musings, Photography on August 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »
A nice surprise today when I checked email today and saw the latest Orion Magazine newsletter. At the bottom of the page, in the “Places Where You Live” area, there was a link to “a couple of our favorites.” Well, one of the favorites was a link for Somerville, Massachusetts. Since I live in Somerville, I clicked on the link and what did I see? Well, you can see for yourself. I hope you enjoy.
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/place_where_you_live/view/somerville_ma_5820/
Steve’s Tuna
Posted in Guest Contributor, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged bread, capers, carrots, food, Photography, red onions, tomatoes, tuna on August 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »
What can you do with one can of tuna, leftover bread, a few veggies and basic condiments? This is what Steve creates.
Open 1 can of tuna. Drain, rinse, then place in bowl. Add 1/2 cup of finely chopped carrots. Toss in 2 tablespoons of capers, 1 tablespoon of spicy brown or Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup of olive oil and two cloves of garlic that have been coarsely chopped with sea salt. Mix all of these ingredients together. Meanwhile, thinly slice bread then sautee in olive oil until crusty. Rub with fresh garlic. Provide the following sides on the table as people prepare their own mini-sandwiches: finely chopped red onion, fresh basil and thinly sliced tomatoes. Chilled white wine makes a great accompaniment.
Still Playing With My Food
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, tagged food, Photography on August 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »
July A Month of Light and Color
Posted in Guest Contributor, Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged color, ducks, flowers, fog, light, nature, Photography, reflection, spider webs, trees on August 1, 2010| 1 Comment »
Pink is not my favorite color, but this July pink flowers kept catching my attention, as did blooms in white,
and in gold.
I love photographing trees reflected in water. But sometimes I was so focused on shooting such images, that I nearly missed the ducks for the trees, like these little fellows sitting silently in the bottom of my frame.
Spiders — yes, spiders! — continued to woo me with their wondrous webs. As imperfect as they are, I cannot help but share these images of spider webs I saw one July night in Maine. Layers upon layers of fog-covered webs illuminated by night lights.
Guest contributors added visual and culinary spice to our lives by sharing recipes and photographs. Links below will take you to recent posts. Expect many more tasty selections in the coming months.
Tell Me About the Petunia Wall
And what does August hold? Hmmm.
* New submissions to writing and photography contests, magazines and other Call for Artists.
* Putting better business practices into place around my creative life, from fun stuff like new business cards to better systems for cataloging and tracking images and articles.
* Following up on recent opportunities to tell other peoples’ amazing life stories.
* Pulling together all my camera gear and giving everything a good cleaning!
* Writing. Writing. Writing.
Strawberries with Sugar and Basil
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged basil, food, lemon, lime, Photography, strawberries, sugar on July 26, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Ingredients
6 medium strawberries
1/2 teaspoon of sugar, plus extra pinch
splash of red wine
1 tablespoon lemon and/or lime basil leaves, chopped
Hull strawberries. Slice in half. Place in medium sized bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and splash of red wine. Gently toss until strawberries are well covered. Place in shallow bowl or in center of a plate. Sprinkle with basil leaves and the pinch of additional sugar. Enjoy morning, noon or night.
Recipe and images by Cynthia Staples.
