There is something about shooting food. It is always a challenge, a puzzle, to make all the elements of a dish line up, and get it to look as tantalizing as possible, while making it believable at the same time. This is why I have tremendous respect for the work that food stylists do. Unfortunately, I do not get to work with one very often, so it is usually up to me to make sure everything looks right. Take the chili from Tolbert's in Grapevine, for example. They have been photographed multiple times in national magazines, so it was a bit intimidating to make something that could compete. However, after working with the chili, and figuring a few things out, I managed to style it to my satisfaction. Then eat it. Delicious.
The fun part about the next two images is that I shot them back to back, going from one culinary extreme to another. It is an experience to drive all the way to Mary's Cafe in Strawn, TX, which I had never heard of before this shoot, the town or the restaurant. In either case, it was amazing. I was hungry when I got there, and she fed me a medium chicken fried steak, which I absolutely could not finish and was stuffed beyond belief. Then she brought out the large. As you can see, it is bigger than the platter it comes on. And I do mean platter, not plate. That is a Texas-sized dish. And boy did it taste good. Next to shoot was the Magret du Canard at St. Emilion Restaurant in Fort Worth, TX. For those of you who are not well-versed in French, it is duck breast. So, in a day's time I was able to shoot the biggest CFS I have ever seen, then experience beautiful French cuisine. Lovely. This is why I love what I do so much, I seriously never know what I will be up to next.
