So, having said all this, I’d love to share with you a farm to table workshop that my friend and fellow food photographer Clare Barboza is holding on the majestically beautiful Whidbey Island, WA this May 23-26. Let me just say…what a treat it will be and how I WISH I WERE ABLE TO ATTEND!
If you are lucky enough to go, and it came from this post, please be sure to tell Clare hello from me!
Here is her blog post link with all the information as well as the registration link.
Clare has given this workshop several times now, so you can look through her blog and see the amazing imagery from the farms and markets that will be visited. Here are a few of Clare’s photos to get you started:

photos ©Clare Barboza

Natural Light Food Photography Workshop ~ on May 11th

This will be the first in a series of photography and photography/cooking workshops. Each will have a different overall theme/topic- such as field trips, foraging, farms and chefs…all with an eye on telling visual stories. I will share more about those a little further down the road.

For now, let me tell you about this first workshop…
**Although this workshop is called Food Photography Workshop {the basics} – this is NOT a Photography 101 class. I know some pretty amazing photographers who offer that course and I would be more than happy to pass their names and information on to anyone looking for/needing that before joining in on this workshop.
 To enroll in this digital natural light food photography workshop, you need to already have an understanding of your own camera and it’s manual functions. You do not need to be a professional photographer or own the latest, most expensive camera equipment to take this workshop. This workshop is perfect for anyone (food bloggers, food writers, hobbyists, amateurs) wanting to learn to improve the quality of their images and/or how to approach, set up, style and make beautiful images of food using natural light in the simplest of settings. I create many of my food images in the dining room of my own home with simple props and basic equipment, and you can too. 
My goal for this {basics} workshop is to share with you my approach along with the components of creating beautiful photographs of food that you can take with you, continue to practice with and use to create enticing images to grab your reader’s/client’s attention on your own websites, blogs or personal projects. Let’s be honest, it’s the visuals that grab your audiences attention before anything else, so strive to make engaging imagery to hold your reader’s/client’s attention so that they keep coming back for more.

You will need to bring your digital camera and it’s manual, extra charged batteries (just in case), additional lenses (if any), a tripod (very helpful, if you have one), a laptop (with all necessary cords) with your editing software, and cards/card reader as this is a hands on workshop. You will be shooting and uploading your images.

Topics we will cover:
What makes a good {food} photograph:
Slideshow of imagery for discussion.
Artistic:
The thought process behind a food shoot – purpose/theme/color palette/mood
Styling:
Choosing backgrounds, props and styling simply (and the importance of not over-styling)
Technical:
Light:
How to see and find light as well as understanding the differences in the qualities of light.
Ways to light your food.
How to manipulate light with simple and affordable materials.
How your manual settings play an important role in the artistic choices you make in creating an image as well as understanding when and why to make certain choices.
Composition
Camera Angles
Hands on shooting with foods/props and specific exercises to practice.
There will be beautiful foods for you to photograph along with plenty of props on hand for use to practice some of what we will cover.
Post Production:
I’ll walk you through some of my basic editing as well as share some examples on how I marry imagery and design for interest and impact.
You will upload and choose your favorite images and we’ll share with a show and tell of everyone’s images from the day.
Q&A:
I’m here to share with you and you’re here because you want to learn, so don’t be shy. Ask away, I’ll do my very best to answer anything and everything to the best of my ability.

Marti Heard of Marti’s Floral Design has graciously opened up her uber creative, colorful, and beautifully styled studio at 915 Monmouth for this workshop. You can take a peek at the studio right here.  You will immediately see a plethora of fabulous surfaces as well as beautiful light that will be available for us.
I’m also so excited that eat well celebrations and feasts will be catering our lunch as well as a light breakfast offering while we’re getting settled in. There will be no shortage of beautiful, delicious food. Thank you Chef Renee Schuler!
** If you have special dietary needs or severe food allergies, you may want to consider bringing your own snacks and lunch, just to be on the safe side. Regardless, please let me know.
Seats are limited. Full workshop fee is due at time of booking and reserves your spot.
Please know the workshop fee is non-refundable. If something comes up and you must cancel, you will be responsible for finding someone to replace your seat. Should there be a wait list, I will also help with finding a replacement.

Email me at gina@513eats.com with any questions.

Date: May 11, 2013
Time: 9:00am-4pm
Location: 915 Monmouth, Newport, Kentucky
Cost: $295 per person SOLD OUT

***If you’d like to be put on the email list to be notified of upcoming workshops, just send me an email at gina@513eats.com
Thank you!

Below is some of what you’ll see in the mini gazette we created for his story.
Click any of the images to view the full story as well as the full recipes. ~Gina

photography ©Gina Weathersby

Head down the flight of stairs from 6^th Street’s Boca, and you enter a whole other world. Sotto, (or below, in Italian) is the subterranean sibling, and more casual dining experience from Chef David Falk and his team. If you’re fortunate enough to be at Sotto for this Monday’s grand opening, you’ll be greeted with one of the warmest, most inviting spaces we’ve seen in quite some time. After many years, Chef Falk’s vision of an authentic Italian trattoria with a menu of comforting, “grandmotherly” type dishes has finally come to fruition.

The former La Normandie is completely unrecognizable, having been entirely transformed; stripped down to its bare bones of wood and raw brick, exuding rustic warmth you could expect to find on a holiday abroad. Small, thoughtful details are evident everywhere, including some of the light fixtures, which were handmade by chef Jono Fries, and the tables, which where all fashioned from re-claimed wood, hand hewn by Cincinnati’s own Brush Factory.

In keeping with the traditional style of an authentic Italian trattoria, the menu is filled with simple, straight forward dishes. Fresh pasta plays a huge part, and indeed there is a pasta prep room complete with viewing window for your inspection. Steaks will be fresh cut and grilled on a de riguer hearth. Authentic bruschetta, fresh vegetable antipasti, fresh fish, and pork round out the rest of the menu. An extensive list of Italian wines, beers, and cocktails will be served. ~Ilene Ross

Here a few peeks from our visit yesterday.

Photos ©Gina Weathersby

I didn’t take any formal picts, so I’ll just share my ig’s. They are not the sharpest, but you get the idea.  The recipe is at the bottom of the post.
As far as the herb/spice mix…add what you like. The same goes for the toppings, add your favorites. I’m on a fennel kick, so fennel landed on my carnitas, as did radishes. Whatever you like. ~Gina

photos © Gina Weathersby

photographed by Gina Weathersby
words & poetry to accompany by Sebastien Hue and Ben Greenberg

A few images before linking below to the full evening spread.

To view entire story, just click the image below:

photography ©Gina Weathersby

The recipe below is my adaption of the original by Beatrice Peltre from her new cookbook ‘La Tartine Gourmande‘ ~ enjoy! Gina

* Please note that all printed issues are printed and mailed directly from our publisher as well as an estimated delivery date will show with choice of shipping fees/ methods.  513{eats} is not responsible if your CC/PayPal shipping address is incorrect, so please double check your address on file. 513{eats} has no way of checking on orders or problems with shipments so please contact Magcloud directly.  You can do so {here}.
If you have any questions, e-mail me at Gina@513eats.com

The average New Yorker is not easily taken aback. They’re constantly bombarded with stimuli, and it usually requires something quite out of the ordinary for them to glance up from their smart phones. But recently, the sight and sound of Ian Kapitan, Executive Chef of the Long Island City eatery Alobar whizzing up the Mid-town streets astride his throaty Harley Davidson, balancing a stunning D’Artagnan pig on his shoulders, complete with a chase car and scooter en masse caused them to not only look, but positively gawk. Mouths dropped open, and although they weren’t quite certain exactly why it was they were witnessing what it was they were witnessing, those smart phone cameras began snapping away furiously.

Far from being simply an attention getting stunt-although the viewership was most certainly appreciated-this ride was a dual purpose endeavor. Following chef and carcass was, in the chase car, film-makers Dennis Rainaldi, Rob Cole, and on the scooter, Brian Rainaldi, of Listen Films. The goals of the team were to make a bad-ass food porn video highlighting Alobar and its pork-centric menu, as well as Chef Kapitan’s commitment to humanely raised, locally sourced meat. When the video is finished, it will encompass the entire voyage of the pig from ‘purveyor to plate’, so to speak, complete with butchery, in high speed, and set to music. The idea for the, “Hog on Hog” type approach seemed like a natural fit for both the film team and Chef Kapitan. “Alobar has a very ‘Rock & Roll’ mystique about it, and they’re getting a lot of great press in that light. We wanted to do something with Ian on his bike; we all ride, and we loved the idea of coming up with this modern, whimsical advertisement for Alobar,” said Brian Rainaldi. The team worked in conjunction with Jeff Blath, Alobar’s owner on the concept.

For Chef Kapitan there is that deeper message to convey as well. “I really want to feature where the pig comes from, my bringing it to the restaurant, breaking it down, preparing the dish, showing the finished dish; all done with respect to the total animal. This isn’t some commodity animal that we just pulled off a ranch somewhere. D’Artagnan is all about raising animals humanely, respecting and paying farmers fairly, and sourcing products regionally and sustainably.” And yes, he’s prepared for the shock value he knows the video might cause. After all, although the sight of a dead pig being hauled around on a motorcycle might be the norm in many third world nations, it DID draw a couple of not-so-friendly stares on the Manhattan streets. Chef Kapitan sees it this way; “Look, for me, I mean, obviously, I’ve got the tattoos, and I’ve been a bad-ass all my whole life. I don’t mind drawing a little attention and maybe taking a little heat, because ultimately, and I don’t want to offend anybody, but the bottom line is this, we have a f*cked up food system in this country but we don’t talk about that, and if this helps, so be it. This isn’t to offend vegetarians or anyone.”

Jeff Blath agrees with the two-fold message he hopes the video will convey. He’s glad for the recent press the restaurant has received in regards to their pork dishes and whole hog butchery. “We quietly decided that whenever possible we would get whole hogs in and butcher them in house and that nothing would go to waste; we use every bit of the animal. There are a lot of chefs that wouldn’t know how to do that, and that’s why Ian is such an asset.” The provenance of the meat is as important to Alobar’s owner as it is to its Executive Chef. “We source from a few places like D’Artagnan and Fossil Farms. We trust them because they have high standards. They know which farms the meat came from, what they feed, and that they don’t use growth hormones,” says Blath.  As for his feelings on the video’s potential shock value, Blath is quick to again point out the Alobar model of snout-to-tail consumption of the pigs the restaurant purchases. “We are doing this with a conscience. We’re trying to emphasize being a meat eater with a conscience. If you’re going to eat meat, embrace it and don’t let any of it go to waste.”

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