Well, this is really so very fun! It's been a solid four to five years since I last entered a professional photo competition, but a couple of months ago a great friend of mine sent me an e-mail with a link to PDN's TASTE Food Photography Awards competition. It was one of those days where you had *just* enough time to whip together a submission and I sent off my photos - if anything, just happy to have them in front of the amazing judge's panel (which was filled with a load of talent).
To be honest though, when it comes to submitting for anything - to be published, for competition, etc. I am of the mindset that I 'submit and forget'. There's too much going on here to dwell on if we are going to win or not and I always want to stay focused on the clients and projects at hand.
However, when you get news that you WON! that is something to be excited about, take a moment and celebrate! I am happy to say that we are one of four winners in the Professional Editorial category, with a series of images that were created for the July 2015 issue of Food & Wine Magazine, featuring Jim Christiansen of Heyday and his award as Best New Chef! Liz Gardner did the styling on this shoot and it just turned out to be a magical set of images that I couldn't be more pleased about.
PDN is a global leader in the photography industry and to be a part of this roster is a HUGE honor. I'm just happy that this opportunity came across and that we actually took the time to submit. It's a great reminder that sharing your work and taking a risk is most definitely worth it!
The July issue of Food & Wine just hit the news stands and I am THRILLED to be a part of not one - but two! - features in this issue! The first is the exciting news of Chef Jim Christiansen being named one of the Best New Chefs of 2015! Jim is one of 10 amazing chefs from around the country to receive this honor and I couldn't be happier from him! I've had the pleasure of photographing Jim + the entire crew at his restaurant Heyday over the years and it has been so cool to see all of their growth and also how much of a team effort they all give!
For this story, we photographed the "Trend Setting Dishes" and I just love how it all turned out! Of course, we pulled this off with our own amazing crew - a big thank you to Liz Gardner for food styling and to Melissa Hesse for assisting this day! Food & Wine has been on my dream list for a long time and I am incredibly proud to begin this relationship with them! Make sure to check out the full July issue of Food & Wine to check out the full spread + see who all the Best New Chefs are! We'll be sharing more images from this shoot later this summer, but in the mean time, here are some behind-the-scene photos, too!
