I enjoy certain aspects of my job more than others. Today was one those fun days where I got to prop shop, set style and photograph a recipe for the magazine I freelance for. I also have to make the food in these cases and this reader recipe turned out to be pretty tasty.
The Piazza della Repubblica is in the heart of Florence—a gathering place for tourists, artists and musicians and at the center is a wonderful antique carousel. It's the Picci family carousel and while the gaily colored horses were beautiful by day, they were even more compelling when illuminated at night.
The food was so good in Florence that I ate it all before having the presence of mind to photograph anything. Sorry. Really.
Ever tasted cioppino? It is divine. What the heck is cioppino you ask? is a fish stew with origins in San Francisco and is traditionally made from the catch of the day, which in San Francisco is typically a combination of clams, dungeness crab, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels and fish. It's similar to bouillabaisse and I was lucky enough to have it not in San Francisco, but in Milwaukee at Roots Restaurant and Cellar. I occasionally travel for editorial stories doing backup photography for fact-checking and I'm a firm believer in eating what you shoot so things don't go to waste.
I get heartsick thinking about food photo shoots where much of the grub goes into the trash. It's a sin in my book so I help out in my small way by shooting fast and making sure someone gets to sample the chef's creations if it's not me.
