They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions....

It's been two years, almost, since my last update. Two years since I took the plunge, and then seemed to plunge right off the edge of the world. I had forgotten about Murphy's Law, and how when there is an opportunity for something to go wrong, it will go wrong. I am ever an optimist, and I guess I just assumed the best and forgot to prepare for the worst. In this case "the worst" turned out to be that both of my computers, and all of their sacred data, died a spectacular death shortly after our move. I am still without a computer, but have been able to temporarily cobble together an eyefi card for my camera, along with a tablet with a copy of Photoshop Touch for editing. It's a lit more pared down than what I'm used to working with, but I have been able to make it work. In fact, I even got hired on by a new Nashville magazine called Main Course, where I have written a few articles and made photos for a column of my very own. Other happenings over the last couple of years include:

Contemplating Ophelia's Roux



Attending the rodeo, twice!



Watching the coldest winter of my life invade North America



Learning to let go of stress





Playing in the kitchen



Finding a new pool to call home



Watching my daughter continue to grow into an amazing girl



And... here we are again; Autumn.



I've struggled a lot these past couple of years with my own personal journey. I moved to the Nashville area with every intention of hitting the pavement and getting both feet in the door to the career that I want. Having no computer has meant that I have been cut off from any real means of making that happen. And it has also made me question a lot of big things, too; like...what do I actually hope to accomplish with my work, anyway? It's something I'm still mulling over. As the lyrics go, "you can't always get what you want, but you might find you get what you need."

In the meantime, I have several personal projects that I intend to finally make time for. It's way past time to crawl out of survival mode; peel myself out of my comfy hermit crab shell, and get back to work by whatever means necessary. I look forward to seeing where it takes me, and I hope I see you along the way!

Tea Time

I really enjoy the process of brainstorming an assignment and watching the many ways it morphs from one idea to the next. The colors, shapes, texture, and light leading me ever down the path to The Shot on the journey through The Land of What If. Here are some ideas I came up with for tea!

Tree of Life

I spent about an hour photographing this necklace; it was a purchase I made while down in Florida in October. It had reminded me of the great big tree at the end of our road that all of the neighborhood kids used to go hang out and climb. Great big live oak with massive branches hanging low to the ground. I wonder about that tree a lot still; if it's still there, what kind of shape it's in, if I'd still have the courage now to climb as high as I did back then. How many neighborhood kids have called that tree their own personal "The Tree" since I was a kid? Maybe one day I'll see it again! Until then, I have this necklace to remind me of it.

Hangin' Out

I got to hang out with one of my best buddies and fellow commercial photographer in Atlanta, Keith Taylor. We went out to my favorite hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and spent a large part of the day. Afterwards, we grabbed some lunch at the best BBQ joint on the planet, and then went out to Cataloochee Ski area to see what we could see. Happened upon a gorgeous sunset and some horses roaming around before we headed home. It was great being able to spend the day with someone so dear to me that I respect and admire. Check out Keith's website here: www.keithtaylorphotography.com

From the Kitchen

Some photos of the delicious things that have been going on in my kitchen lately!

What's Cooking?

Here are some of the things that have been going on in my kitchen lately!

Next week I'll be photographing all things toffee with Steeplechase Toffee in downtown Waynesville, NC, and am very much looking forward to it! Barb and Michelle have graciously allowed me the opportunity to not only photograph their wonderful products, but to get some behind the scenes in the kitchen, as well! Fair warning, though: you won't be getting any insider recipe secrets from me - you'll have to go straight to the source and taste for yourself!

Double Cherry Walnut Brownie

Yum. I mean, seriously: yum. I made these brownies last week, deciding to spruce up a box mix I had laying around. I really enjoy taking food that anyone can get their hands on at a fair price, and making it into something really special. I added in chopped walnuts, dehydrated cherries, and then topped it off with cherry pie filling, which sent it so over the top that my teeth hurt just look at it. Ohboy was it good. I think a lot of people see food as some sort of chore that they have to "get through," or worse, opting to pick up something from a burger joint [if those things even really qualify as burgers] because they don't want to make the time to cook, and it doesn't have to be that way! Your food is only as special as you make it, and you should have confidence in yourself that you can do a good job. Hey, sometimes it doesn't go well; I recall attempting to make a peanut chicken that came out so horribly that I made jokes about it for weeks. It was not edible, and we ended up ordering pizza or something. It happens! But don't give up.

I started getting involved with food at a really young age; I remember baking cookies from scratch when I was maybe 7 or 8 and home alone, and my mom coming home and absolutely freaking out that I could have burnt the house down or wounded myself. For about 5 minutes I don't think she believed I'd actually made perfect Russian Tea Cakes right out of the gate, but I showed her the recipe and the utensils I'd used, and of course the smell of fresh baked cookies was pretty undeniable. It was a simple recipe, and as easy as following the directions. Anyway, the point is, I have always approached food in a very fearless spirit of experimenting and adapting recipes to suit my own tastes and according to what I happen to have on hand. I am never going to be a chef, and that's okay too; you don't have to be one to enjoy cooking and playing in the kitchen. I think a lot of people don't see it in that way, and therefore it becomes the mundane same-menu-every-week kind of affair that would bore anyone.

This year I have also decided that I am going to be trying a lot of foods that I don't have experience with. I began with conquering a childhood aversion to brussels sprouts which have become my new favorite vegetable, I steamed and attempted to eat my first artichoke even though it didn't go very well at all, I have some fennel in the fridge which is going to make a lovely fennel and blood orange salad, and then I am going to try mint in a non-dessert food. After that, who knows? I have raised my children in this same spirit and they are wonderfully open to trying whatever is put in front of them. My 9 year old daughter's favorite tv station is Food Network, so perhaps she will become the chef of our family!

Play with your food!

Leftovers!

One of my very favorite things about cooking a big meal is ... leftovers! It's probably not coincidental that some food just tastes better the second day, because not only do the flavors really get to meld together, but there's very little work involved! I decided on Reubens for our leftovers, and throw my own little twists into it. I like mine with smoked gouda, a leaf of red cabbage, a layer of sauerkraut, the ever necessary corned beef, and a bit of Dijon or course brown mustard. Throw it all together on some rye and pumpernickel and either grill it on a panini press, or have it cold. I had mine as a late lunch and decided to have the leftover brussels sprouts, baked potato salad, and par-boiled carrots, celery, and onion. I'm all set for lunch *and* dinner, and ready to go hang out with a glass of wine and a good movie!

lemon sugar cookies

Well I can't seem to stop playing with the color yellow, and lemons in particular, this month! I made these ridiculously delicious cookies yesterday; I'm usually more of an oatmeal + chocolate chip kind of gal, but I think I have underestimated the versatility of the simple sugar cookie. They were a hit with the family, and I am looking forward to creating other flavors with them in the kitchen!

Also, over the last weekend I switched over my photography facebook page from my old site to the new. The url still says External Focus Photography, but I just thought it made more sense to change the page rather than make an entirely new one and expect everyone to make the change with me. The url is a little strange, so I may end up making a new page eventually; I haven't decided yet. For now, you can find the page on the sidebar on the right, or by clicking this link:

http://www.facebook.com/ExternalFocusPhotography

Pizza: The Hawaiian Sink

There are relatively few meals that I can think of that you can add almost anything into the ingredients list and it will still taste like a slice of perfection. Pizza is one such bearer of deliciousness. I call this pizza The Hawaiian Sink because you put on some pineapple, and then throw everything else at it, including the kitchen sink! The ingredients could be anything, really; I had intended to fry up some spicy crumbled sausage and put on some shredded ham, as well, but dinner was relatively late in happening last night and this photo was on the elaborate end of the scale. Turns out that the pepperoncini stood in just fine for the spice and salt factor. Of course, any pizza could be made entirely vegetarian, too, and still satisfy this meat lover! What are some of your favorite pizza ingredients?

Mellow Yellow

I think I've been a little in love with the color yellow this past week! The weather has been miserable here, starting with gorgeous 70 degree sunshiny warmth, a day of tornado warnings, and now snow. Yellow has kept me happy, though; it's sunshine and daffodils and egg yolks and lemons and the ubiquitous color of "Don't Worry, Be Happy" smiley faces across all languages. I love that we naturally make these kinds of associations with colors or smells or objects and can be instantly transported to another point in time.

Baked Fuji Apple

I think Fuji apples are the prettiest! Striped, mottled, crispy, sweet perfection; this morning as the sun finally crested the mountains, I stood with camera in hand, photographing as golden light streamed onto golden skin. Once again I paired the fresh against a background of well-used [clean!] kitchenware; I really haven't figured out entirely why this combination trips my happy trigger -- I think it appeals to a deeper symbolism. Fuji apples have such great character that it's difficult to make an uninteresting photo of them, but I think you have to keep it simple or else be visually overwhelmed. This morning everything came together in a way that reminded me of standing in a grandmother's kitchen as a youngster, watching as the apples were being prepared for baking; the perspective felt right, and I went with it.

Tuna Waldorf Salad

Today was one of those photo sessions where everything came together and I had to stop and do a little dance! The planning for this shoot started yesterday, and I didn't expect it to go on for as long as it did, but the end results were well worth the effort! I spent about 10 hours sketching out [and erasing and re-sketching!] the layout that I wanted, which product would be in which container, the color scheme, and lighting ideas. I had to go purchase the food items, and with the weather being super windy and cold and my needing to work outside for this shot, I had to wait until today to actually work with the camera! I started at 9:30 this morning prepping my props and products and began shooting shortly after 10. I worked the scene for about an hour, brought my materials inside, and then reconstructed everything again to make some studio shots of the layout for another hour. That completed, I constructed my sandwich, made a few photos of that too, and then had my lunch as I began the editing process at around 12:30. I spent about an hour and a half looking through and then finally editing my four final photos, which puts this session at around 15 hours!

My kids have gotten into the habit of coming home from their day at school and checking out what I have been working on while they've been gone. It's always the best compliment when my eight year old picky eater comes home and, even if he doesn't care for the food pictured, says, "I don't like _______, but that looks awesome! Is there any left?"

Brownies are good for you!

Dark chocolate, blueberry, walnut... I mean, this thing is practically health food, right? That's what I told myself on my second helping, anyway! Nothing beats a fresh out of the oven brownie, except perhaps deciding what kind of goodies you want to mix into your recipe. Cherry or walnuts or blueberry or peanut butter chips or macadamia or crushed up toffee; the possibilities are endless and highly habit forming. Forewarned is forearmed!

Recipes for happiness.

Someone asked me the other day: "I notice that you commonly take the shot from directly above the food. Do you think this is the secret to creating the abstract, graphic quality of your images?" I thought it was a great question because not only did it parrot back to me what my intentions were and that I was hitting the mark, but really solidified my vision for me. There definitely are certain things that I want in my photos, an interesting angle is just one of the facets. Color, shape, and texture are integral to my style, as is my choice of lighting. I want bold, in your face images that make you want to go out immediately and pick up the product I've just shown you! I make images that elevate the ordinary into the decadent; that tell the story of food, whether it's your bowl of tomato soup and crackers, or your afternoon cup of tea.



Here again, color, shape, texture, even with a little different lighting and different angle. Can you smell the jasmine as you patiently wait for the green tea to turn the water ever darker? I love the shape of this little glass, even with it's scratches, and I think putting it in this gorgeous light while surrounded with some sort of grubby looking textures makes this photo exactly what I expect of all of my photos: simple, graphic, decadent. I take my inspiration from many, many different sources - other photographers, music, drawings, movies, and plenty of abstract ideas, as well. Most of all, I just listen for that little whisper that instinct has to offer; what story do you want to tell today?

A chocolatey redesign, and other big changes!

I just launched the redesign of my website and blog this morning, and am loving the way it looks and all works together! It was important for me to pare down my main website because not only do I really dislike having to maintain a big, bulky website, but .... External Focus Photography is becoming obsolete! You may have already noticed that this blog's address has changed to http://emthomasphotography.blogspot.com in anticipation for my new domain name on the website; it's in the works. I've gone as far as I wanted to with that work and branding, and am ready to fully move into the new direction that my photography has taken me.

I am in the processing of forming a new company with two very talented and wonderful photographer friends of mine, and I'm really excited about our future together! This is another reason why I felt it important to put my former site to rest, as well. I will still be maintaining Em Thomas Photography and this blog as my personal portfolio, and it will eventually be linked into our main business, Thomas Artus King Photography. As a creative group, we will be offering a variety of services ranging from wedding and event photography, commercial and corporate photography, as well as family portrait work. Look for us soon!

The redesign of my website and blog are based on a recent photography assignment from our Pro Project 52 group, run by Don Giannatti. Our assignment was based on "chocolate," and I spent half a day photographing and arranging various chocolatey goodies while my family paced in anticipation of a taste. Below are a few of the resulting photos from that day; I hope you enjoy them... and if they make you want chocolate... give in! ;)

What's on the menu?

I've been having a tremendous amount of fun playing with my food this month! I really enjoy the colors, shapes, textures, and finding the perfect composition to compliment my subjects. I find myself mentally making photos of things while walking through the grocery store, and bringing my vision to life is like scratching an itch I didn't know I had. I love it!