Video Update #1!
A writer I like introduced this idea of sending simple updates to the people to care about most with the happenings in your life, and it is simply called "Update". I really like the idea of doing this sort of 'open journal' where I tell you what's new and we're able connect over that a bit better than just another post of "here's a photo I took." So here's the first crack at that. Let me know what you think, and let me know what you've been up to!
A writer I like introduced this idea of sending simple updates to the people to care about most with the happenings in your life, and it is simply called "Update". I really like the idea of doing this sort of 'open journal' where I tell you what's new and we're able connect over that a bit better than just another post of "here's a photo I took." So here's the first crack at that. Let me know what you think, and let me know what you've been up to!
Stuff I mention:
- Gretchen Rubin on "Updates"
- Yasujiro Ozu
- The Nerdwriter - Minimalism
- 35 Claver, where I photographed a showroom for Nooklyn
A night out in Greenwich Village
A night out in the east village is always a good time for photos.
Some of my oldest and fondest memories of NYC were formed on Macdougal Street on my very first trip to the city in 2005. I love going back there because I always get a good dose of nostalgia.
Greenwich Village
Dillinger's
I passed over this spot several times and finally came in to check it out. It was really beautiful on the rainy day I visited it. Turns out it's closed now due to health code violations. But hey, the photos can live on.
Dillinger's
Dizzy's Club Fall 2017
The menu at Dizzy's Club for Fall 2017
Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Fall Menu 2017
10 Columbus Circle, New York
Client: Great Performances
Date: September 19th, 2017
Dizzy's Club Spring 2017 Menu
Photos at Dizzy's Club for Great Peformances
Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Spring 2017 Menu
10 Columbus Circle, New York
Client: Great Performances
April 18, 2017
East One Coffee Roasters
Checking out East One Coffee in Carroll Gardens
Tia invited me to join her and Johnathan at a new coffee joint in Carrol Gardens.
East One Coffee
384 Court Street, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
April 15, 2017
Journey to Olivebridge Cottage
A quick visit to Woodstock, Ny & The Ashokan Reservoir
Supply Run in Woodstock, Ny
April 15th, 2017
Across the Ashokan Reservoir
Phoenicia Diner
Phoenicia Diner is the kind of place the uninitiated might drive right past thinking "nah, I'm not in the mood for diner food." But that would be a terrible mistake... A terrible mistake I made on several occasions as I went for hikes in the catskills.
One day, probably while reading some food publication, I discovered that Phoenicia diner is actually a bit of a local food destination and serves incredible farm to table food at reasonable prices. It's a taste of the city but accessible to the locals. This is what I'm always searching for when I'm traveling.
Where is the best food, even in the middle of nowhere in the mountains?
Right here.
Phoenicia Diner
5681 NY-28, Phoenicia, NY
April 15th, 2017
1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge
A rainy day at 1 Hotel.
On a dark and rainy day I walked the shimmering streets of Dumbo, making my way to the 1 Hotel for a Creative Mornings meet up, the first one I'd ever been to. The city is beautiful in the rain, and the hotel was jaw dropping. There was a serenity to it in the soft light. It made for a cozy and contemplative day.
1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge
Dumbo, Brooklyn
2017 Retrospective - March
My retainer ends and I become a completely independent photographer.
A new chapter
March of 2017 started a new chapter for me. I had been doing work on retainer for Nooklyn for two years building out their neighborhood guides and photographing apartments and cool places all over New York City and even doing two weeks of intense shooting in San Francisco. I had an amazing time working on these projects with them, but they shifted their focus away from building out the neighborhood guides and so it was time to bring that to an end.
I still do a bit of real estate photography for them from time to time, but my focus shifted heavily toward doing more client work in architecture and food.
That leads up to the major events from March:
March 23rd - Midcentury Modern Residence on Staten Island
I bought myself a DJI Mavic Pro and got into the world of flying cameras. It's funny to think that I've only had it for less than a year.
March 29th - Made my first drone video
I attended my first (and only so far) Creative Live event. I was so enamored with the beautiful hotel that I stuck around afterward and took photos of it. While doing so, I met Sophie, A blogger from New Zealand who had just moved to New York. We bonded over our love of Cabins and started plotting a trip upstate that eventually became our Olivebridge adventure.
I haven't edited or posted the other photos from that day at the One Hotel, so look forward to seeing those next time. They're dark, rainy, and moody - something I've really been loving lately as an antidote to all the ultra-bright real estate images I've been making for so long.
Have you got a trend in your work that you've found yourself wanting to lash out against?
Lido Key Tiki Bar - Discover Hidden Tiki Treasure
Follow the treasure map, find the rum.
Where is it? Where are we? This can't be right.
These are questions that might float through your mind after you park your car on a residential street and wander along the sidewalk, following a crude map someone doodled online.
I don't know that I've ever needed a treasure map to find my way to a bar before, but this time it was absolutely essential.
Lido Key Tiki Bar
1250 Benjamin Franklin Drive
Sarasota, Florida
February 26th, 2017
As we walked along the sidewalk an older gentlemen commented on how Regina and I must really be in love, since we were holding hands, and that it warmed his heart to see. That was a sweet and surprising treat. Completely unexpected. Just like the alley we were trying to find to get to our destination.
Eventually we found a sidewalk leading down an alley, completely unmarked. It was sandwiched between a fence and a garage.
Could this actually be it?
After a long walk of wondering if we were really in the right spot, the alley opened up right on to the beach and we were rewarded with straw roofed cabanas and a bar pouring extremely potent tiki drinks.
We got there right at sunset. Sunset is the right time to arrive.
This is the last major visit of our Florida trip. As I told you in the Boatyard post, we visited Boatyard again on the way home from Florida, so no need to cover that again. We spend most of the rest of our days just relaxing with Regina's family. We were very clear that we were there on vacation, not to be put to work, as parents might often light to do when their children come to visit.
It was a wonderful trip and it set the stage for a year filled with a significant amount of travel, the start of a trend I hope to continue in 2018 and beyond.
Siesta Key - What makes "The Best Beach in America"?
This is the best beach in America.
"The Best Beach In America"
That's what the sign says right outside of Siesta Key. Now, they didn't make this up like the "world's best famous authentic coffee". They actually were awarded this title by Tripadvisor.
Why did they get this award? The sand. It's this incredibly soft and cool to the touch powdered white quartz. I don't know where it came from or how it happened, but it's like nothing I've ever beneath my feet at a beach.
Normally it's more coarse, but most importantly it's usually blazing ass hot. But here, even in direct sunlight, it's nice and cool.
Siesta Key Beach
948 Beach Road
Siesta Key, Florida
February 26th, 2017
This is Regina's territory. She'd spent a lot of time here in her childhood. I had only been to Florida once, and I had a horrible, horrible experience and I never wanted to come back.
But the years passed and that changed!
Usually I do a lot of research on places to go, things to see, what to eat (most importantly). I didn't have to this time. I still did, out of habit, but it turns out Regina already knew the best beach around. She didn't tell me that, and I didn't tell her that I'd done research, it was more like we got up in a morning and she said "we're going to beach", and off we went to these amazing places.
Because we flew to Florida, we didn't have a car. We could have rented one, but Regina's family is there, so why would we when they were happy to lend us one?
Regina really wanted to drive her mom's car because it was so cute and sporty. It was a bright red Mazda Miata. It was a very fun to car see, but is SO SMALL. I could barely fit in it in the drivers seat, which goes back a little bit further than the passenger seat. But when Regina was driving, I was in the passenger seat and it was cramped. I love being in a convertible, It's the right car for driving to the beach. But this one was tiny.
Outside of the car, though, it was a really pretty drive. We drove through a lot of nice, green areas. Lots of really pretty neighborhoods and pretty houses that I wanted to get out and photograph, but there was no time for that. I remember driving across several bridges and through lots of pretty little cities. I even remember us shooting some videos in those places. Ah, here it is!
We were getting to the beach late. Regina's wisdom is to show up to the beach really early in the morning so you don't have to deal with parking and crowded beaches. But we were lazy this day and didn't get there until around 2 in the afternoon. A terrible time to arrive at a beach.
I drove up and down the road running along the beach, not even turning into the parking lot proper to start. I thought "surely if I just get far enough away from the beach, it won't be a problem." But that plan fizzled when the distance away from it just got to be too great to make sense. So around we swung and entered the slow churning fray of the parking lot. It was the stuff of nightmares.
Have you ever tried to find a parking spot in Park Slope? If you have, you may well know the pain of the hunt. In suburbia, your most likely parking nightmare would probably only be at the mall on Black Friday. But trust me, this was much worse.
After nearly an hour of hunting for parking, my typically calm and collected demeanor was falling to shambles. I couldn't take it anymore. So Regina came to the rescue. "Get out and go relax on the boardwalk, I'll park the car." I put up a fuss at first, trying to be tough, but when has 'trying to be tough' ever really been the right choice?
I was SO EXCITED to be out of the car, I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself. I wandered around in awe of the vastness of space around me. I wasn't stuck in a tiny little box, I could me around freely! And oh, what's this? A concession stand? Sure!
What's on the menu?
Softserve ice cream and pina coladas.
The cure for what ails you.
It's important to get some snacks to help you cope with the parking nightmare.
Happily cooled and increasingly intoxicated, I waltz around the beachfront plaza taking it in. I read some little plaques about the history of the boardwalk and something about sea turtles and other marine life. Several other people sat or walked around about the place, some stopping to reach the same things, others noshing away at whatever they'd gotten from the concession.
I felt great, at peace, relaxed, and I hadn't even gotten out on to the beach yet. In my quiet contemplation my eyes began to wander, and thats when they fell on this incredible structure.
There are simple beaches, where a gravel parking lot gives way to sand and maybe a few plants, and that just continues out into the beach in the ocean. But then there are beaches like Siesta Key, where there's a gorgeous work of modern architecture to welcome you.
As I walked around it to take a few pictures, I wondered what could be inside? I'd like to imagine all sorts of incredible things and that the room surrounded by all that glass is a gorgeous place to look out on the happenings of the plaza. And since I don't actually know what's in there, I am happy to preserve that fantasy.
The presence of this fantastic building let me to do some research into how this plaza came to be what it is. Turns out in all my wondering around it while waiting for Regina to park the car, I only saw a tiny portion of it. Turn out it has just undergone a massive overhaul in the past year. I had no idea going in.
Not my picture, but oh boy do I love this aesthetic. I plan to take some photos like it next time I'm down there.
After I wandered around taking photos and getting tipsy on pina colada (aka living in my natural state), Regina finally parked the car and showed up at the beach. At this point she was experiencing a little bit of frustration, too, and was giving me the "must be nice to be wandering around having a good time" face, which I quickly dispelled by passing her the remaining booze and ice cream. Few things can cause so instant a shift in mood as that combo.
With that, we were finally ready to make our way out on to the beach proper, and what a beach it is.
We stepped past the plaza, dreading the feeling of burning hot sand sneaking into our sandals... but it never came. The sand was cool, even during the hottest part of the day. I was filled with wonder. I took of my sandals and dug my feet into the sand. It was soft, finer than any I’d ever encountered, and just as it was brilliantly white, it was also gloriously cold. What more could you ask for than a beach on a warm day that doesn't sizzle your feet? It felt wonderful.
Being February, though, the water wasn't exactly warm. I wasn't going to let that stop me, though, so I quickly made my way out. Regina reluctantly followed, vocally unhappy with how the chill was seeping into her toes, but we pressed through. I saw a line of people standing on a bank quite a ways from the shore and that struck me as an exciting point to reach. So we moved forward and the water got deeper and chillier, but then it sloped back and and shockingly we ascended to ankle deep water and a great view back toward the beach.
Time for a selfie, right?
I don't often do selfies, but when I do, they're with Regina. A beautiful beach backdrop is a plus.
Regina often shoves the camera away when I try to take pictures of her, but she was enjoying some posing this time.
I can't really say enough great things about this place. Sure, it was crowded and it took forever to find a parking spot. There is a reason. The water is clear and gorgeous and the sand is just unbeatable. There's no beach I'd rather walk on. You owe it to yourself to check this out as soon as you can.
Just, y'know, try to get there early.
And then after the beach, if you're anything like me, you might just have tiki cocktails on the brain. Next stop:
Sunset tiki cocktails at the hidden Lido Key Tiki Bar at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota.
Casey Key - How to overcome sunburn trauma and embrace the beach life.
A beach boi is born
I got the worst sunburn of my life in Pensacola, Florida as a teenager. We're talking blistering scabs all over my arms and and back. No amount of aloe would save me.
I couldn't sleep.
I couldn't wear a shirt.
I could barely even BE.
Naturally, I completely swore off going to the beach.
One visit to these incredible beaches further south in Florida, and I changed overnight. Oh my god! Summer, sand, palm trees, sign me up!
Regina has since been like "I don't even know you anymore."
Casey Key Beach / Nokomis Public Beach
115 S Casey Key Road
Nokomis, Florida
February 24th, 2017
As I walked by I saw a guy set up with an easel doing a painting facing in this direction. I turned to see what he was painting and saw this beautiful view. I knew there was a better composition here, but I didn't want to crap the guy's artwork, so I snapped this real quick and moved on.
A beach boi is born!
Regina took me to the most beautiful beach I'd even seen. She didn't know it would make me a different person.
Casey Key was the closest nice beach to where Regina's mother lived at the time. About an hour or so drive in the cramped little Mazda Miata. I could barely fit inside it. I enjoyed being in a convertible, yes, but I could never own one of these cars. I'd die from cramps.
The beach was gorgeous. I'd never seen water so clear in all my life. This is what people picture when they talk about paradise. I immediately understood: This is why it's a thing.
This is what the beach was made up of. Gives you some perspective in to how sandy beaches are made.
This beach was made almost entirely of visibly large seashells. I'd never been to a beach that gave way from sand to just being made entirely of shells. It blew my mind a little bit. It's like I finally understood how beaches were born.
Another thing that blew my mind - there was a snack shack, called Shark Tooth Beach Concessions, that sold beer - beer you could carry out on to the beach! WHAT?
Not gonna happen at the beaches around NYC. Probably because millions of reprobates would leave beer cans everywhere.
But anyway, I was really pumped about it and so excited to bring this beer back to the sand. I also picked up some dippin' dots, because I hadn't had them since I worked in a movie theater as a teenager and we got a dippin' dots machine. I kind of hated them at the time but munching this package on the beach restored my faith.
So there's a fun combo. Not only did I come around on the beach idea, but Dippin' Dots in the same moment. That's a life changing trip.
After a perfect day of lounging on the beach, Regina was excited to take me for some seafood fine dining.
Fin's at Sharky's
This is the only photo I took at Fin's, and I wrecked it because it was so bright I couldn't even see my iPhone's screen. Decided to give up after this and just enjoy it.
There's this super kitschy beach bar on the pier called Sharky's and upstairs is, funny enough, a pretty fancy restaurant. Regina and I had some really delicious, if wildly expensive, seafood here and thoroughly enjoyed it. Though we were baking a little bit in the sun with the seat we chose, I kinda wanted to soak up as much sun a possible this whole trip.
I know if I lived down here I probably wouldn't want to spend very moment outside, but as any nature deprived new-yorker will tell you, we want as much time outdoors as we can get.
Next time: THE BEST BEACH IN AMERICA!
Are you pumped?
Boatyard Restaurant - How to be in the moment and enjoy the little things
On our first full day of snowbirding (aka the best idea ever), we discovered a fantastic restaurant.
Don't take pictures. That's what Regina often stresses to me when we're on vacation. She wants me to be in the moment and more importantly to be present with her, rather than wrapped up in creating pictures.
But when you walk me in to a place like this, what do you expect? You can't just take me somewhere beautiful and ask me to ignore it.
Can't. Be. Done.
So let's talk about this place I can't resist. Boatyard is what I like to call 'upscale nautical.' Let me paint the picture:
Super yachts parked in the canal out back
Thick wooden beams
White beadboard walls
Navy blue accents
A chandelier made of oars
A canoe-turned-light-fixture
A furled sail hanging from the ceiling
Ropes. Ropes everywhere!
There's even a bar cabana among the palms on the back patio along the canal.
Excellent space by Miami's Big Time Design.
The food, by the way, is excellent. Not to be missed.
Boatyard Restaurant
1555 SE 17th Street
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
$$$
★★★★☆
February 23rd, 2017
We flew into Ft. Launderdale because the tickets were way cheaper than flying into Tampa, which was much closer to where Regina's parents live. We'd need to cross the state by car, but that was a problem we'd be dealing with the next day.
We came in a day early and stayed at a hotel. We enjoyed a morning in the town while we awaited Regina's father to come pick us up. It was really nice having some alone vacation time together before visiting the family. I learned later this year a massive difference exists between "a trip to see the family" and "a real vacation". And while the later days of this trip fall more on the former side, I'm going to keep calling it a vacation none the less.
I digress.
Not being one to go hunting for food willy-nilly, I looked up places to go on the Eater's "10 Hottest Resturants in Fort Lauderdale". There I discovered Boatyard, which we loved so much we made a second stop here before we flew out.
I don't know if I've always had such a love for the nautical, but it certainly feels like it's always been there. I'm a calm person and I like to relax, some might even refer to me as "chill." I get the feeling most folks who like to drift on the waves feel the same way. That's the life in Florida, right?
Possible Florida Life Priorities:
Take it easy.
Lounge in the sun.
Put your feet in the sand.
Enjoy life.
Sounds about right.
When we stepped into Boatyard and saw these ropes dividing the rooms, a canoe light fixture, and a chandelier made out of painted oars, I immediately knew I loved this place. The entrance is dark and the other rooms have bright skylights and open up onto the canal beyond. It's a fantastic use of framing and hide-and-reveal design.
We asked for a table and were lead out to the patio along the canal, which is exactly where we wanted the to be. We only sat down for a moment before I sprung out of my seat to roam around the restaurant taking pictures.
Fortunately it wasn't busy on this particular day and I was able to get some nice shots of the space itself without a crowd.
The beams, the ropes, the tile, the beautiful wooden floor, the sail, the white beadboard... what more could you ask for?
I don't often do a lot of extensive editing / photoshopping on images like this where I'm just roaming around taking photos. But this one below compelled me to work on it.
Can you spot all 7 of the changes?
In spite of all the work I did on this, including the nightmare of photoshopping out the vent duct, I still prefer the previous image from the other side of the bar.
There's a lesson in there about not trying to force it. Just seek out the best compositions that already sing on their own.
Still, it was a fun exercise and I learned a lot of good techniques doing it.
This was our first day in Florida, our first day of escape from the harsh and crippling northern winter, and it couldn't get any better. Is there any better departure from cold weather driving you indoors than to lounge in the sun and have a meal outside in a t-shirt? I think not.
While I absolutely loved the design and detail of the place inside, I was most happy to be sitting out here and soaking up the atmosphere. Contrast gives us clarity, and I'd never felt anything so nice as escaping winter and coming to this.
Let's talk about the food!
I didn't take many food photos here, in fact the only one I have to show you is this singular image below. In the spirit of truly enjoying the vacation, I was not going to risk letting my food get cold. So when this dish came out I moved quickly and made this image with the bubbly Regina had ordered.
I've mentioned before how much I love grilled octopus, and they do it exceptionally well here. The sautéed greens, chili oil, and crispy fried chickpeas made for a flavor and texture explosion I was in no way ready for. Would I say it was among the best octopus dishes I've had in my entire life?
I would.
'Oh hey, I heard you like pictures so I'm going to take a picture of you taking a picture.'
After this amazing lunch an excellent introduction to Florida, Regina's father came to pick us up and drive us back to his side of the state. In a convertible, naturally! Could you live in Florida and not have an open air car? That would just be silly.
Once we arrived on the gulf side, we settled in to relaxing slow days in the sun, and planned out our upcoming beach excursions. Check in next time to see our first stop.
By the way, if you'd like to know more about this trip, you can get the introduction here, or take a look at the February Retrospective for an overview of the whole trip!
Bunker Vietnamese - How to take better food photos on location
Bun-Ker was one of the restaurants that really put Ridgewood on the map. Back in the day, Ridgewood was just a sleepy neighborhood with nothing exciting around. The first touch of hipsterdom was Bun-Ker Vietnamese, this restaurant in what was basically the middle of nowhere on an industrial stretch of Metropolitan Avenue. I remember when I first drove by and saw a crowd of people huddled outside and thought "where the hell are they going?" That popularity begets growth, though, and times change. Bushwick has grown radically since those days and Bun-Ker traded one obscure location for another, and simplified its name to just "bunker". The food, though, has gotten even tastier. Have a look.
Bunker Vietnamese
99 Scott Avenue
Bushwick, Brooklyn
$$$
★★★☆☆
February 16th, 2017
This was one of my first photos of a restaurant dish that I did some intentional styling on. For years I've been photographing dishes exactly as they're served, which doesn't always make a compelling image. So this time I played around with adding some of the ingredients that make up the dish. In this case, the summer rolls, or gỏi cuốn, contained mint and basil and the sauce contained peanuts and chilis. Deciding what to do with each of the items was a bit of a challenge, and I definitely moved that pepper around several times. Here a few photos I took along the way, to give you an idea of how it came to be.
So that was a fun beginning to styling food images, and you saw that I got much better at it by the time I went to photograph Cebu later in 2017.
I didn't do a lot more with the styling here after that initial experiment, though. On the papaya salad, I had a sad little pile of peanuts that looked a little too intentional. But the light is good, so that's nice. I tried a few different compositions and styling, but the light shifted away from this spot so none of them were quite as good as this one.
The next dish they brought me was this fried crepe filled with bean sprouts, called bánh xèo. I had no idea what it was at the time. I was also surprised by the amount of greenery on the plate, which is always a welcome addition.
I decided to switch up the location on this one and move to a spot with better light as well as a little bit of character from the restaurant. they have this round counter with a planter in the middle filled with bamboo, something unique I've not seen elsewhere. I felt adding the bamboo leaves to the frame helped to put the food in context, giving a little a little hint of vietnam's tropics.
I kept the bamboo leaf vibe going for the next dish as the sun was just starting to hit the leaves and give them a nice glow, which I felt added a nice dimension fo the images. Although looking back at it, they may be a little too bright and stealing attention away from the rolls. This whole looking at year old images thing really gives some perspective, haha.
I think these are called chả giò, spring rolls.
Next up was the Pho, which for me was one of the starts of the show. I struggled to include some stuff to style in this one and ended up with just the two little peppers. I'm also noticing now that that bamboo leaf is a little on the sad side. But the red bowl and the spots of red beef in the pho pull the eye, so it's still pretty eye catching (and tasty).
We picked up the pace to move through more dishes, so I cut back on the styling and just went with simple images for the rest of the shoot.
This next dish went through a minor change in styling, but I feel it makes a bit different for folks who obsess over patterns: going from three cucumbers and two tomatoes to three cucumbers and three tomatoes. I also rotated the pork chop slightly to give it more prominent placement. I also had never before seen the steamed pork quiche, called Chả Trứng Hấp, and that was pretty mind-blowing. So luscious and fatty.
I really love the design inside Bunker, it's a very fun and colorful spot with a lot of character and I wanted to work that into these images. You know how I love interiors, given that the bulk of my photography is either food or places. Why? Because it all goes together to inform the experience. Being in the place sets the mood, it starts to transport you, and then the plate arrives, culture and history right before you that you get to ingest and become one with. It's a beautiful thing.
Anyway, that's why I always want to get a bit of atmosphere in with my food images, because when you're eating at a restaurant, you're not just having some food, you're getting an immersive experience.
Blurring out the colorful chairs in the background helped to play them down a bit so you can still focus on the fish. Your eye starts in the top left corner and is lead right by the colors and lines, then your eye hits the vertical lines of the bottles, which brings you down to the lovely fried fish
I kept the theme of showing off the restaurant's character going in the next shot. There was this beautiful painting on the floor that struck me as a great backdrop for this curry. I started with just the bowl in the center, but I needed a little something else to feel lively. Adding the diagonal lines with the chopsticks did it, and adding the rice bowl gave a little more bulk to the image and also shows off the complete dish.
Daylight was fading fast, this being February and all, so I was getting up in several second exposures that aren't so great for food that is quickly getting cold. It was time to get out the lights. Bunker has a great night time vibe and I wanted that to come through some of the images as well, so I started working on some darker flashed images. The first pictures were a little too heavy on the darkness to fit in with the rest of the set, so I found a good balance with a contrasty flash lit foreground and a soft, inviting tungsten background, that says "come in and enjoy this fantastic, perfect plate of shrimp.
And were they ever amazing! For all the amazing flavors present in the other dishes, the spicy, sweet, lemongrass tinged sauce and perfecty juicy shrimp of this dish won me over as my favorite of the night.
Thanks for reading!
Have you been to Bunker? Do you like Vietnamese food? Hit me up with your favorite dish in the comments.
Blue Bottle Bushwick - How to find a great coffee shop
The finest outpost of a major third-wave coffee brand to make its mark way out in Bushwick. Bringing the light and design to our little corner of the big city.
Read on for my ruminations on why coffee shops are great and further thoughts on this lovely establishment.
Blue Bottle Coffee
279 McKibben Street
Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York
February 8th, 2017
I’ve got a soft spot for coffee shops, I suspect a lot of people do.
They’re our defacto third place, the spot you go to have a conversation with a friend, get a little work done, or spend a little time in quiet contemplation.
Latte Dreamin'
An overview of Blue Bottle's Bushwick location, from plant wall to BigAssFan to merch bins
What I like about coffee shops is that they’re often calm and quiet. The rowdiest they tend to get is people having a lively conversation, which is pretty rare, really. For the most part, people are there either to engage in a personal project - like reading a book, writing, drawing, or doing some work on their computer or similar tech, or they’re there to meet with someone or several people. It’s a place for productive work or communion.
Even better when the place is beautiful and the products they serve are top notch. The quality of what they serve outweighs the atmosphere for me.
So meaning - I’d rather be in a sorta bland shop aesthetics wise that serves great coffee than a beautiful shop that serves terrible coffee. That’s a rare combination, though. I’ve been hard-pressed to find a coffee shop that’s very intentionally designed that lacks great coffee. But there are plenty of places in the world where there’s a pretty comfy or cozy atmosphere, but the coffee is just not great.
I’ve got some systems for deciding what to order or whether to even patronize a coffee shop. Interested?
1. Pourovers - The best sign
This is my main factor. If they are serious enough to do pour overs, they’ve passed the test and are nearly certain to be great. No bland joint that’s serving lame coffee will take the time to do a pour over. Because they’re time-consuming to produce and the entire purpose is to get a really excellent extraction. Sure, there are probably places that do them and just dump everything right into the filter without intention, but that would probably be more a result of a barista who doesn’t care much vs. a place that serves low-quality beans.
A La Marzocco FB80 gleaming on the counter is a pretty sure sign that you'll be sipping a fine espresso.
2. The Espresso machine - Good Indicator, requires familiarity
Let’s say they don’t have any pour over setups. I’ll look at their machine to see how serious they are about their espresso game. Pulling good espresso is an art that requires a precise and exacting process. It’s not that everyone is on it all the time, and having a high-quality machine doesn’t automatically mean that they are serious about dialing in their shots, but a fine machine is a good indication that someone cares.
The search for beans is, of course, null at a place like Blue Bottle. What are they serving, I wonder? Probably beans from Blue Bottle. whaddayaknow :)
3. The beans - No great coffee without great beans
I’ll look around the shop to see if the beans they serve are on display. I’m looking for brands I know and trust, or something new and exciting. I’m also looking for brands I do not care for. So if I come into a place and they’ve passed the first two tests, but the only beans I see are ones that I know I dislike, then I’ve got to pass on the place. Since these likes and dislikes are my personal preference, I won’t air my grievances with certain brands here. It’s up to you to taste different coffees and decides which excite you and which make you run for the hills.
Look closely. You see any gross syrup bottles stashed away where? Of course not.
4. Syrup bottles - Bad News
This is nearly an instant no go. If there’s a huge shelf of Monin syrups behind the counter, you can bet your dollars that they’re maying sugary, milky concoctions to cover up the taste of wretched coffee. No one is taking the finest beans in all the land and brewing up the perfect extraction just to drown them in coconut syrup. Sure, I got into the coffee world by starting with this junk as a teen, but I don’t think that’s the only way to get into coffee. I suspect if you want from Folgers to Devocion, you could easily be a coffee convert without ever having to drink syrupy poison.
5. Flavored Coffee - Terrible
This is right up there with the syrup bottles. If they’ve got “french vanilla dark roast” you can be certain the underlying beans are terrible. Again, the logic is simple - Would you take an exquisite product with an incredible, complex flavor and completely obliterate it with flavoring agents? No way. I want no part. Single origins and intentionally crafted blends are the name of the high-quality coffee game, not bizarre alterations.
So that’s all on the subject of the product. It’s nice if they have some tasty snacks, too, like fine pastries or other foods. It’s also nice if they’ve got tea from a high-end brand, because I often enjoy having a cup of tea, especially if it’s later in the afternoon when a cup of coffee would have me up all night long.
6. Atmosphere & Design
Now, about the space. This is another major consideration if your intention is to hang out there for a while, which is often quite nice to do and is a big part of what makes visiting a coffee shop desirable. But, it can vary significantly. There are places that are dark, small, and filled with cozy couches and dilapidated antique armchairs. This can be super cozy for settling in with a good book or chatting with a friend, maybe even playing a board game. But it’s not the place I choose if I want to bust out my laptop and get some work done. For that, I want modern. I want a clean, bright, open space with a lot of natural light pouring in. I want some peace in my surroundings so my mind can feel clear to get absorbed in my work.
It’s great to have a place that’s well designed so I can bask in the beautiful creation of it. This is what I tend to look for and it often gets me more excited than the cozy-style joints. I do want to find a place that’s got some couches and feels like a second living room sometimes (particularly on cold and dreary winter days), but often what I want is a place with a beautiful interior that feels great to be in, but also has a view out the window for when I want to zone out and watch the world go by.
7. Bonuses
I don't necessarily look for these things as qualifiers before I choose to order in a place, but they're very nice to have
Baristas who are excited about coffee and the process
Friendly Staff
Friendly Patrons
Plants
Quality products for sale, like coffee brewing implements
Beans for sale
A short, simple menu
Snacks, or even full meals
Snack zone! Bring on the carbs.
Merch so you can show love for your favorite coffee joint.
With all that said, let’s talk about Blue Bottle Coffee in Bushwick. What I like about it: They serve incredible coffee, and the interior is bright and light. They don’t have wifi, so if you’re going to do work, you need to bring it with you. But mostly when I go there it’s to be in the nice, clean space and to diligently enjoy a fine cup. I’m very happy to have an outpost so close to my house.
It’s one of the only ‘big name’ 3rd wave coffee joints around Bushwick. There are other great coffee shops nearby, but nothing with quite the same clout as Blue Bottle. So it’s really exciting to have them.
That said, I just realized I haven’t been there for quite some time - because while it is somewhat nearby, it’s still outside of the radius I commonly travel. It’s far enough away that if I’m going to go there, I’m often committed to getting on the train or driving, in which case I’ll often continue on to Williamsburg or Manhattan.
For those times that I want the great coffee experience and I’m going to stay in Bushwick, it’s practically at the top of my list. So if you haven't been, check it out.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, let me know in the comments below!
What's your favorite coffee shop?
2017 Retrospective - February
I tried it 'snowbirding' for the first time and it changed my life.
Feb 1st - Another Met Trip, this time with folks from the Seanwes Community
Of course I spent half the time just enamored with the architecture in this one section. All this ancient art, and I wanna look at the building it's housed in.
This piece caught my eye. Such intense colors and the range between the brightest and darkest parts is incredible. I should go back and look at this one for a few more hours. Love it.
There are a few members of the Seanwes community that live in the tristate area and they sometimes come to NYC to meet up. One such visit included a trip to the Met. What better to do on a cold winter day than wander around indoors? Speaking of which, it's getting about time for me to visit again.
Feb 8th - Blue Bottle Bushwick
Pour-over action at blue bottle coffee
While I was at Blue Bottle I decided to do one of these popular "what in my bag" Images. It's a little bit of a mess, haha. I no longer have the big Tokina lens on the left. The aperature started to jam up all the time. It had to go.
It was really exciting that Blue Bottle opened an outpost in Bushwick. There aren't nearly enough excellent coffee shops in the neighborhood. It also had a clean white modern look that few other coffee shops around have. Moiz, too, was pumped about it coming around, so he asked me to meet up with him there. We talked about restructuring the photo team and moving away from the retainer system, so February was my last month of retainer work for them. It's been all project-based since then, which has been fantastic. It has freed me up to take on a lot more client work elsewhere since they no longer need me to produce content constantly.
Also Feb 8th - Galen Gatzke's F*ck Cancer Benefit
I realized a few years ago that I really don't enjoy event photography, so I stopped doing it professionally. But, when a friend from Nooklyn got cancer and his sister was hosting a benefit for him, I was very happy to do my part to help out. There was a raffle and some really cool art and really amazing prizes, including something like $900 of advertising and a fancy Yeti cooler. I should have bought more raffle tickets, haha.
Feb 10th - Snowy photos in Forest Park
I see all these wonderful photos of snowy places on Instagram and it makes me jealous. So I tend to stroll out and look for fun things to photograph when it snows. But I still haven't taken one that I'm really proud of. So the quest continues.
Regina and I started working on Save the Dates for our wedding later in the year. Or at least I have some samples in Photos on this day.
Feb 12th - Dinner at Kyo-Ya with Jacob
I only took one photo at Kyo-Ya, but it's of Jacob being Jacob, and therefor not suitable for this blog. Instead, here's a rainy sidewalk near the restaurant. I really wanted to reflection, but I wish now that I'd waited one more second to get this person stepping into the puddle and creating ripples.
I'm well known for taking tons of photos every time I go out to eat. It's the curse of being a food photographer and takes quite a bit of fortitude to overcome. But I did in this case. I was incredibly excited to try out Kyo-Ya. It's a French-influenced Japanese Kaiseki restaurant with an incredible prix-fixe menu. And with that, I've got another Michelin Star dining experience under my belt.
Feb 16th - Bun-ker Vietnamese
Lil' fried meat rolls by the bamboo.
Harley is buds with the owner of Bunker, so when they opened in the new location Harley set it up for me to photograph some items from the menu.
This is when I first started to play with food styling and including ingredients in the photos. The spring roll had the most transformation, going from just the rolls and sauce to including all the mint, peanuts, and peppers. It's a much more exciting image than what we had before.
Bunker is a fun and pretty place. I definitely recommend you try it out.
Feb 21st - Harley's House
Meow!
Harley's house is beautiful and a very comfortable place to be, so I always enjoy when he invites me over to photograph it. He and Tristin (now his wife!) had done some redecorating with a bunch of flea market finds, so he wanted to get some new photos to show the place off. I'm very happy with these images and a few of them are still in my portfolio. I love the vibe they've got going here and would be excited to snap more places like it.
We took Harley's son to the park afterward so he could burn some energy. The kid is an atomic bomb.
Regina and I went to Florida to visit her parents and also to escape from the brutal NYC winter. I've heard of this 'snowbird' concept of people leaving the frozen north to enjoy a winter in the tropics. I always assumed it was just an activity for the rich and not something achievable by mere mortals. But thanks to having family down there to visit, we were able to have a fairly cheap trip out of it, and it really affected me. I want to do it every year from now on. And since I'm writing this blog post in January of 2018, that means it's time to get cracking on planning it. Especially since this year's winter has already been so rough.
I intended to make some vlogs from this trip but only ever got around to making one., which is linked above. I've got lots of footage left to make the additional videos, but it will probably never see the light of day, in lieu of spending time on better things I can produce now. You can check it out here.
Below are a couple of highlights from the trip that I never posted about. I also recorded some video that I intended to make vlogs with, but that hasn't happened. I did, however, write posts for all of these upcoming things, so I'll link those when they're up.
Stay tuned. There's a e-mail sign up at the bottom of this post if you want notifications when they're up!
23rd - Boatyard Restaurant, Fort Lauderdale
She snappin' me snappin' her.
Feb 24th - Casey Key
I fell in love with the beach.
Feb 26th - Siesta Key
More beach love, this time with a side of architecture.
Also Feb 26th - Lido Key Tiki Bar
The Speakeasy of beachside tiki bars
A Fond Farewell to Florida Fronds
2017 Retrospective - January
So much happened last year that I haven't covered yet that I decided to break the 2017 retrospective down into months. So here's how it begins!
2017 was a wonderful year for me. I had some of the biggest projects I've ever done, my business is growing, and best of all I got married and went on an incredible honeymoon. I traveled a lot more than I expected this year, and I'm planning to fill 2018 with even more growth in both my business and my travels. So, let's take a look at everything that happened.
I initially did an outline of the entire year, which was pretty lengthy. When I started to fill it out with photos I realized I'd have a hefty megapost on my hands, so I decided to split it up into months. You know I love a meal of several courses much more than a wild feast. Everything would get cold before you could get to it. Who wants that?
Let's get started:
January
Jan 1st - New Years & Visiting Buds
Sphere Crew at Erie Basin Park behind Ikea
Alex and Annika visited for New Years from Finland. We watched the fireworks at Prospect Park. We hung out for several days while they were in town. The photo above is from Jan. 4th, when we went to Red Hook for reasons I cannot recall.
Jan 5th - Metropolitan Museum of Art.
"Dancing Celestial Deity (Devata)" - Probably among the sexier statues in any museum.
The detail and lighting in this temple get me every time.
We spotted this Doyle awning and Annika instructed me and Dustin to stand under it for this IG photo.
The crew wanted to take off after about two hours, I still wanted to see the whole rest of the museum. I don't know why I don't ever just go by myself so I can spend the whole day there. There's a lesson in there that I can't seem to internalize.
Jan 13th - Winter Trip to Vermont!
13th - 15th. Winter Vermont Trip. Stopped in Hudson on the way up. Cooked prime rid and yorkshire pudding. Was not impressed with the prime rib, given how expensive it was. I suspect I failed in cooking it somehow.
I didn't take many photos this time around, but I really loved this trio of birch trees and the light was just right. The background is too distracting for it to be a great image, though.
I was excited to put my hammock insulation to the test. It was pretty cozy.
Meredith managed to get a photo of me snowshoeing through the yard taking photos.
Jan 19th - First Vlog attempt of the year
I made a video about photographing an apartment. I never edited it together, so it hasn't seen the light of day.
Late January - Edited tons of photos from 2016
Autumn is the ever faithful laptop editing helper.
Jan 31st - Winter photos in Glendale.
This shot was a lot of fun to make. I wanted a background on which the snow would show up. I used a circular polarizer to remove the glare from the pavement and make it the deep black color you see here.
One thing people really love out NYC is its grittiness, and I felt that right on this train bridge. But there's also some really nice trees here that are beautiful all year round. So I really like this little spot for that. Fun fact: This has actually been cleaned up significantly and now houses and outdoor gallery with artwork by the Greater Ridgewood Youth Counsel.
There's a nice little park just a few blocks from my house, just to the left of the frame here. In order to get there, I walk under this rail bridge and out to this little curve in the road. The curve here is really pleasant and I always enjoy it when I'm driving around this corner, so I wanted to capture that here.
Here was I was going for an image that wasn't so obviously new york, but could be anywhere in the northeast on a nice snowy day.
Similarly here, I wanted a little more nature focus and less gritty city, so I got in close to this hedge to make this image of snow covered needles.
Took some winter photos near Evergreen Park on the border of Ridgewood and Glendale, Queens. This is right around the corner from my house, and I think this was the first snow of the year in new york city that year. Or it may have just been the first time it snowed that I actually went outside. I was very excited to take the pictures and I think I posted some on instagram, but most of them sat around in Lightroom until December, when I finally wanted some more snowy pictures.
That's it for January 2017. Tune in next time for February :)
Cebu Interiors Case Study Video
In the previous post I showed you the images I created for Cebu of the restaurant's interior. To dive deeper into how that project came to be and how the images went from concept to finished project, I produced this video!
How I fixed my unruly images in my Mailchimp RSS campaign.
Perhaps, like me, you use mailchimp for your business's newsletters and blog updates. And perhaps, like me, you've had images so big that they bust out of the frame and make your e-mail all ugly. No one wants that.
After some headscratching, I finally came up with the right search terms and found this perfect and simple fix:
https://artshacker.com/make-mailchimp-images-behave/
And that's how I went from this:
To this!
World's greatest newsletter?
Not yet. But progress is progress. Incremental improvement is what it's all about.