Day in the Studio | Pasta Shoot

Toronto Food Photography by Fulcrum Imaging Studio

On the menu for dinner last night was a delicious pasta dish featuring Ginger Garlic and Lemon marinated Chicken Breast over a Pesto Spaghetti base along with a mix of farmer's market and fresh from my garden Tomatoes and Basil. I hope you enjoy the food photography and will check out the Fulcrum Imaging website for our full portfolio.

Overhead Perspective

Getting in Close

Third Perspective

We look forward to our next assignment and hearing from you for all your food (and more) photography needs.

#food #savourtheflavour #fulcrumimaging #lenstoweb #cooking #foodblog #foodphotography

Food Photography | A Day With a Chef

As part of a recent trip to France, a stay in Dijon was part of the itinerary. My wife Marie, to my surprise had arranged for us to join chef/eduator/author Alex Miles for a "Day with a Chef" cooking adventure. You can find out all about Alex here http://www.i-food-france.com. I can only say what a great unique experience it was.

It all started when Alex stopped by our apartment we had rented in the morning and we got a great guided tour of Dijon as we walked through historic city. Dijon certainly was a feast for the senses. 

Walking through the historic centre of Dijon. 

After a quick coffee at a cafe on Place Francois Rude we set off to explore the market and gather some fresh meat and produce for our meal we were going to prepare. I  am going to save many of my market photos for another post but the Farmers Market in Dijon was an experience of sight and scent all it's own and Alex knew his way around like a cat stalking a mouse, procuring produce from select vendors that were most local and would compliment our meal.

Just Another Day at the Cafe :-)

Inside the Dijon Farmers Market

Chef Alex at the Dijon Farmers Market.

Here we also picked out our protein for the day, fresh rabbit. We also selected two styles of fresh bacon from one of the vendors for the Rabbit braise. After the market it was on to a wine store we had discovered independently the day before, La Route des Vins, where we picked up a great bottle of Burgundy to compliment our meal. An excellent and expansive selection of wines and very helpful staff, the Route des Vins was the ideal place to get some Burgundies. Website here http://www.la-routedesvins.com.

Boulangerie

Of Course with Alex Being a former Pastry Chef and me a Food Photographer we had to see some of Dijon's best treats in the area too.

Another stop on route to Alex's apartment to get some bread ( a few stops to look at pastries) and we were set to cook. Alex had a beautiful place close to the market and it was such a joy to cook in his home and meet his wife as well. One can't help but marvel at his kitchen and it's bright red professional range (which I neglected to photograph)! After a glass of Kir, a great local drink of white wine and creme de cassis, we got down to making our meal. Of course Alex the great host he was had some of his terrines handy just to whet the appetite. (not that extra food was needed!)

Alex's Home Made Terrines perfect with the fresh bread.

We began by prepping dessert which was beautiful apricot and vanilla custard tart. I won't say much the picture speaks for itself.

May as Well Show Dessert First!

Next on the prep list was our rabbit which we browned with some of the bacon and then slow braised to give a perfect tenderness. Also on the menu was medley of fresh local vegetables and mushrooms, including some very unique field Asparagus which I had never seen before. 

These wild Asparagus had such vibrant color and delicate structure to match a rich taste that was totally unique to us. 

Dishing up a fresh vegetable medley for the first course. Delicious!

First course plated and ready to go topped with some freshly baked puff pastry. 

There did come a point where I decided to forego photography in favour of savouring the experience, but I did manage a shot of our table with rabbit. It was such a pleasure to sit with Alex and his wife for our mid day feast. The conversations were as equally enjoyable as the gourmet food. 

Getting ready to enjoy the rabbit, with some unique to the area, naturally buttery mini potatoes and of course a Dijon mustard sauce for the rabbit. 

The Apricot tart was the perfect finish to the meal but...... if that wasn't enough Alex had a cheese board with about 7 local selections and some dessert samples from a previous day's pastry lesson!

 A complete cheese board after everything else! My love of cheese is second to none and I sampled all, but needless to say a nap was in order after the walk back to our rental. 

The Personal Touch, thanks Chef Alex. I hope our paths cross again.

So if you ever find yourself in Dijon, save a day and book a session with Chef Alex, you won't be disappointed, it was a feast for all the senses and a great adventure exploring a great city.


Robert is a Toronto based photographer specializing in Food, Beverage and Product work. His business is called Fulcrum Imaging and he is available for freelance work both home and abroad. His portfolio is available at www.fulcumimaging.com.


As usual our images are copyrighted . We love to have our work shared with credit but using our content for your own gain or profit is not cool.

Copyright 2015 Fulcrum Imaging and Robert Greatrix Photography.

Food Photography | Showing Off New Work

Food Photography | Showing Off New Work

The last few months we at Fulcrum Imaging have been busy shooting delicious new food drink and product self assignments, meeting great people and continuing to learn both in the studio and in the kitchen. I am sure you will agree our work has improved measurably over the past year and we want to showcase the best of our recent images. We have also updated our website with a new look and we love to show it off, so stop by www.fulcrumimaging.com to see what we have to offer and in the meantime enjoy the sampling below.

Food Photography | Fulcrum Imaging

We love burgers! And we ground our own mix of beef and pork shoulder to make this one. 

Product Photography | Fulcrum Imaging

Lighting is important for any product and we continually try new ideas to bring out the best in any item. And Bourbon is a favourite.

Food and Beverage Photography | Fulcrum Imaging

Our portfolio was lacking some drink photography so we teamed up with talented stylist Marianne Wren http://foodstylist.org to create this summer look lemonade.

Food Photography | Fulcrum Imaging

What more needs to be said, muffins don't last long in the studio as you can see. 

Product and Beverage Photography | Fulcrum Imaging

I'm a wine lover, so I chose to do a shot that would challenge my lighting skills. And what better way to celebrate a successful creation than with a glass of Vino. 

 It looks like spring is on its way and we still have spots left in March and April so book your food product or corporate shoots soon for the summer season. Call or email we would love to talk to you and discuss how we can help solve your problems, 647-408-6354 or rob@fulcrumimaging.com.

Cheers




As usual our images are copyrighted . We love sharing with credit but using our work for your own gain or profit is not cool.

5 Tips For Working Motion Into Still Photography

5 of My Tips For Capturing Motion in Still Photography

One thing I like to do more often now, is capture a sense of motion in my photographs. It makes an image much more interesting, can lead you in or out of the shot and lends itself to adding more to the story of the photograph. Here's a few tips:

1. If you are not entirely comfortable with all your camera settings shoot in shutter priority mode. It will let you focus on the shutter speed only. Set your camera to high speed burst mode too. 

A Lone Subject Surrounded by Motion Gives An Incredible effect. Timing Can Be Everything.

2. Practice practice practice. You will develop a feel for what shutter speed you need for a situation. Hand held I find 1/60 of a second plus or minus a stop works well. I still want to maintain a sharp image  with the subject blurred or a sharp subject and a blurred background if panning. 

Setting a Shutter Speed, Following the Action and Burst Mode Got This Panning Shot

3. Be prepared to fail. You may not get a great a image every time you try this but when you nail one the reward will be great. 

A Perfect Example Of Getting the Right Shutter Speed. The People are Visible but Just Enough Blur to Give a Sense of Motion. It Doesn't Happen Every Shot or Every Shoot. 

4. Like any photograph pay attention to what when and where you are shooting. All the effect in the world won't help bad light or a uninteresting scene. But like everything in photography there are no set rules, the subject may make the photo. Also be aware of your surroundings and don't get too caught up in the action and put yourself in harms way. 

Be Aware Around Traffic. Staring Through the Lens Can Throw off Your Sense of Balance and Location. 

5. If you find a great location look for something or someone coming into the scene. Previously I would wait and wait to get a shot with no people or distractions now I embrace "distractions". Use the burst mode to your advantage and fire off some successive shots and stay with it until the end. 

Night is Definitely One of my Favourite Times for Motion Blurring Effects. Find the Scene and Wait for Your Subject. 

Here the Motion Of the Skater and Dog Made the Scene But I Needed to Apply Some Nik Software Effects to Bring Some Life to the Overall Image. 

Go out and try this and get creative, motion in photography can make some great artistic expressions and some very unique abstracts. I hope my tips may help and inspire.
Robert Greatrix is the owner and photographer behind Fulcrum Imaging, for more of his work please visit www.fulcrumimaging.com. 

Havana Cuba Travel Highlights

Havana Cuba Travel Highlights

By: Toronto Photographer Robert Greatrix

I am a little late in writing this post, but better late than never. With a lot of change happening in my life right now I found myself thinking back to a somewhat recent and very memorable excursion my wife Marie and I made to Havana Cuba. 

As a photographer the experience travelling to Habana and Cuba itself, was exhilierating to say the least. I felt like I couldn't walk more than a dozen paces with stopping to focus my camera on something new and exciting. The old classic automobiles were one of my particular favourites and shooting opportunities abounded. 

Havana Streets

The above shot was one of the first I took upon getting settled in Habana, taken from the balcony of what was our residence for a few days. I can think of no better option than to stay in private accommodations while in the city and is by far my preferred method of travel. 

48

Cruising

Not only were the classic cars in the city abundant to shoot but the locations to capture them were also as unique. Not to say the shots are easy, one has to be patient to get shots of only time period vehicles (which I prefer to get that lost in time feel) and  as a photographer you still want to give a sense of place. There is no substitute for bad composition either. The above shot of the purple convertible was taken along the Malecon, a long seaside boulevard, and I used a slow shutter speed to emphasize the blur and sense of motion. The picture of the green 48 was taken along one the colourful streets of the city.

Fighter

Slice of Life

Waiting

Just as interesting as the cars were the people. I found the daily life in the city fascinating and the people were both friendly and colourful as their surroundings. As one who considers himself a traveller, my choice is to explore a city on my own terms, but the top photo of a gentleman named Damien was taken after a horse and buggy tour he gave us of the city. And when visiting Habana there is nothing like a city tour and cruise down the Malecon at night in a classic convertible to feel like you are stepping back into the 50's.

Habana Nights

The night time in old Havana, Habana Vieja, provides spectacular views, this one from the restaurant atop the Biltmore Hotel.

Capitole

One thing that you are constantly reminded of in Cuba is its history. The overpoweering presence of the Capitol Building is visible from almost everywhere I seemed to go in the city and seems to reinforce that sentiment constantly. I think this last shot is one of my favourites and gives me a personal connection that draws me back to visit Habana and Cuba again.

Robert Greatrix

The travel images in this blog are available for license and more can be seen at www.fulcrumimaging.com . Robert Greatrix is a Toronto based professional photographer who is available for freelance travel, corporate and commercial work.