This weekend has been all about artisan foods.
I’ve been fortunate enough to catch portions of creativeLIVE’s 3 day weekend online seminar with premiere food photographer, Penny De Los Santos. I always thought it would be so wonderful to shoot food ~ all those textures, colours and layers. I love nothing more than watching the Top Chef challenges, but I learned from Penny that taking a pretty image of a plate of spaghetti is a lot harder than you may think. There are so many elements to think about that are inclusive of food photography like culture, place, people and time. And of course all the technical elements of lighting, placement of items, plate and prop selection, and the relationship of the foreground to the background. Not only is Penny a well-established food photographer, but also a photojournalist that shoots for National Geographic so her understanding of all of these elements combined is unsurpassed.
I love well-made dishes with good, healthful, locally-produced ingredients. And I also truly love artisan foods. By artisan foods, I mean food that is made in a very traditional way using the best ingredients possible for the freshest taste. And nothing gets more traditional than fire-baked bread.
I have gone to the Bulkley Valley Farmer’s Market twice now since it opened last weekend and I am so excited about the producers that are there currently, including Rustica Bread. One look at their loaves and I want to melt into grain heaven. There is something completely indescribable about a home-baked loaf of bread. Perhaps it’s the weight of it from all the hearty whole grains or the delightful crust and soft inside ~ whatever it is, a beautiful loaf of bread will get me every time. I bought one loaf (I had to limit myself!) and I photographed it today, trying to channel my inner Penny. I’m not sure I quite made it there, but I think you’ll at least get a good sense of how beautiful a handmade loaf of bread can be.
I also found this fantastic article from Northword Magazine about micro-bakeries in the Bulkley Valley. It’ s such a beautiful thing when community and food come together.
Be prepared for more locally produced food blog postings this summer, the things coming out of this valley are truly gastronomically inspiring. Including my own garden!
no comments