Behind the Scenes w/ Capital Cooking {1.28.2012}

Episode: Setting the Mood with Food

I had a great time capturing some behind the scenes stills last month at the Capital Cooking Show filming with Lauren DeSantis! All the guests on the show were really great, from their personalities to their recipes. Catch more Capital Cooking episodes on WETA, Fridays at 7pm!

Chef Enzo from Elisir

Chilean Sea Bass in Fennel-Anise Broth with Smoked Purple Potatoes paired with a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc

Pastry Chef Mallory from 1789

Lauren and her husband, Corey, reading about the aphrodisiac qualities in some of the ingredients used in this episode’s recipes: avocados, chocolate, arugula, bananas, mustard, wine. Good to know for the approaching holiday, eh?

Chocolate Cinnamon Waffles with caramelized bananas and rum ice cream

Avocado Salad with Colman’s Mustard

Veronique Beittel, creator of Diep 9 Genever. The vanilla and chocolate flavors were featured in this episode and they were oh-so-good! You’ll want to get your hands on a bottle or two of this unique Belgium spirit.

2012 Sugar & Champagne Affair @ The Reagan Building

Another year, another fabulous charity event hosted by Ellen & Todd Gray {owners of Equinox, Watershed, & Muse at the Corcoran} at The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center! I love seeing such a wonderful organization as The Humane Society supported by so many Washingtonians. With a seemingly endless supply of sweet treats, tasty cocktails, and cute pups everywhere you turn, it’s no wonder why the Sugar & Champagne Affair is in its 11th year!

Bell Book & Candle Restaurant in NYC

Food photography and I met by chance. It all started when I began an internship with Lauren DeSantis, host & producer of her own show, Capital Cooking, while in photography school and I’ve really enjoyed it ever since. You could, in fact, call it a love affair because I never grow tired of it and I am always wanting to do more! I am very pleased with this shoot in particular. I can see how my technique and style has improved and evolved and I’m looking forward to doing more work for chefs and restaurant owners in the future.

The visual feast below took place at Chef John Mooney’s West Village restaurant, Bell Book and Candle. It’s a unique establishment known for its aeroponic roof-top tower garden (I hope to photograph this garden on my next trip there!) which makes it the city’s first and only “rooftop-to-table” restaurant. Chef Mooney is as talented as he is innovative and the food is as amazing as it looks!

Human Rights Campaign Holiday Party @ Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams

I had such a great time last week at the HRC Holiday Party with Candy + Liza of Stache DC Event Planning and Amit of Spilled Milk Catering! The Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams home furnishing store on 14th street made for a beautiful space to shoot in. It was an honor to have been apart of this organization’s annual event and I hope to get to work with the HRC again in the near future!

{Candy + Liza with their mustache tattoos — love it!}

{Liza + Candy’s obliging husbands!}

{Delicious snacks prepared by Spilled Milk Catering}

{Sally Greenberg, the Executive Director at the National Consumers League, stopped by for the event as well as the HRC President, Joe Solmonese}

{Patrick of SoundSign Group LLC donated his services to the event}

{Candy + Amit = awesome events!}

{Steven Grodnitzky, Federal Club Chair}

{Another event sponsor – Joseph Lagomarcino, a Residential Mortgage Professional at Wells Fargo}

{Joe Solmonese accepting an award for his dedication and service to HRC}

{Jason Laney , member of the HRC Federal Club in DC}

RAMW @ Todd Gray’s Watershed {11.28.2011}

The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington held their recent event at Todd Gray’s Watershed. For those of you who don’t know, Todd Gray, the executive chef of Equinox + Watershed in Washington, D.C. took home the highly coveted Chef of the Year award at this year’s RAMMY’s, which “honors achievements and excellence in the Metropolitan Washington restaurant industry”. This was my first time at a RAMW event, but I hope to attend more in the future. They also may have the best motto: ”fighting for the right to eat, drink and be merry, hospitably, responsibly and profitably®” – I fully support this! Watershed was also a great place to host this event. The ballroom looked beautiful and the patio was perfect for roasting oysters!

{Ellen + Todd}

12th Annual Starlight Children’s Foundation Gala MidAtlantic @ Four Seasons Hotel {by Brown-Stout Productions}

Lyn Stout of Brown Stout Productions is one of my very favorite clients. I always know that whatever space I am shooting at for Lyn, it will be beautifully decorated and lit (God bless up-lighting and people who use it! It makes such a difference in photos). The last event I shot for Lyn was at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown earlier this month where the 12th Annual Starlight Children’s Foundation Gala was held. Lyn is very talented at event planning and envisioning amazing room set-ups. My favorite part of the set up for this event, as you will be able to tell, was the dessert bar!

{Event Chairman: Jim Bell}

{Dr. David Nelson, Department of Pediatrics at Georgetown Hospital accepted on behalf of Georgetown Hospital the award of Peter Samuelson Founders Award}

{Cafe Milano’s owner Franco Nuchese received the Community Star Award}

{Zhane Taylor-Watson, 12 years old and has an amazing voice!}

{Live auction}

{The Fabulous Fantoms}

{Also a favorite photo from the event, so cute!}

Tessa + Colby’s Wedding {Spotsylvania, Virginia 10.15.2011}

At any wedding, it’s hard not to take a ton of pictures. Combine that with a bride who is also a model + a gorgeous antique property out in Spotsylvania, Virginia, and you might end up with thousands and call it a photo shoot, too, ha! Of course we took plenty of pictures of Colby, the bridal party, both of their wonderful families and all the guests! Everyone had a great time at this beautiful wedding last month on a perfect fall day. I loved the colors Tessa chose for her wedding (purple and silver), her dress + veil, and the historic venue where the ceremony and reception were held, called Stevenson Ridge. Thank you Tessa + Colby for having me as your wedding photographer! I can’t wait to design an album for you with all of these awesome photos!

My Favorites from Michaele’s Cookbook Photo Shoot

This shoot actually happened earlier this year, but I say it’s never to late to blog about anything! So, that being said, I’d like to first introduce Michaele Samuel of Michaele’s Menu – she is a Grenada native who got her passion for food from her mother, who was an excellent cook, while growing up in the West Indies. Michaele enjoys showing her viewers how to “infuse international flair into American dishes and how to create traditional Caribbean meals” and makes cooking “easy, elegant and enjoyable without breaking your budget” (check out her Facebook page for more info!). Michaele plans to publish a cook book in the near future showcasing all her delicious recipes and my photography – I can’t wait to see it!

Hungry? See what’s good at Todd Gray’s Equinox!

Stop by for the perfect fall meal – Citrus Marinated Beet Salad, Bev’s Ossabaw Roast Pork, and the Brown Sugar and Pear dessert!

{located at 818 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.}

{I got to taste this amazing dessert by pastry chef, Tom Wells, sooo good!}

{Equinox Restaurant‘s talented chefs – Karen and Blair}

Mallory + Brent {Engagement/Family Photos at Sugarloaf Mountain, MD} 11.5.2011

What a perfect weekend for getting out of the city, heading up to the mountains and taking engagement pictures! I met Mallory, Brent and their baby boy, Jackson, out in Dickerson, Maryland where Sugarloaf Mountain is located. The falls leaves were in full effect and made for a gorgeous back drop. I had a great time hanging out and getting to know you both – can’t wait for your wedding next May!