St. Louis Editorial Photography: Green Cuisine

When I do editorial photography and commercial photography, there's always some lag between when photos are delivered and when I'm able to share them with the rest of the world. I never want to scoop the publication that I'm shooting for, after all. While days go by, the wait to share the photos can be grueling, especially when I love what I've ended up with and had a fantastic time shooting.

Now that this particular article has been published, I'm thrilled to finally be able to share some photos and the associated story, Green Cuisine: Earth-friendly, healthy recipes from top chefs and local farmers, from the Union of Concerned Scientists. I loved this assignment!

Now, on to introductions.

This is a pig:

While it may appear like any other pig you've seen, it is different. It and its peers live together in deep straw, have the freedom to wander into a pasture when they choose, and are hormone- and antibiotic-free. They are raised by their mothers in an environment without the pressures of modern industrial agricultural practices.

This is Russ:

Russ is a hog farmer who switched to drug-free farming after nearly dying from an antibiotic-resistant infection. He went on to found the Ozark Mountain Pork Cooperative to produce premium meat "raised in humane and environmentally friendly conditions without the use of unnecessary additives."

This is Andy:

Andy is a fixture in the St. Louis culinary scene. As the former owner of Riddle's Penultimate Cafe and Wine Bar and current owner of Eat Here St. Louis, Andy has been a longtime proponent of eating locally-sourced products.

This is KT:

KT took the reins at Riddle's from her father after years of working in the kitchen. As the current owner-operator, KT continues to source fresh, local ingredients as she constantly experiments in the kitchen with seasonal produce and locally-sourced meat. Chefs like KT help drive local, sustainable farming.

With the introductions complete, I have to share that I was (and still am) completely blown away by the care and love that Russ has for his pigs. Even though these pigs are bred to become food (such as Riddles’ Pork Tenderloin Stroganoff, photo at the end of this post), Russ treats them respectfully and with dignity. His pigs live better than many household pets and happily interact with Russ and visitors to the farm as if they were family.

The partnership between Russ, Andy, and KT forms a circle of healthy and sustainable farming -- fueled by consumers making conscious decisions about where and what they eat.

Here are some more photos from our day on the farm and then back at Riddle's -- and again, please read the UCS article to get the whole story of Russ, Andy, and KT (with more, different photos!):

3 Quick Tips to Help You Take Better Photos Today

People constantly ask me what they can do to take better photos. While it's true that you will be able to be more creative with a good DSLR and wide-aperture lenses, neither of those are required to improve the quality of your photos today. With your current camera - whether it's a vintage Holga or a brand new Canon EOS 5D Mark 2 - using these three tips will dramatically improve your photos.

I'm going to use edible subjects to illustrate these tips; you can click on each photo to go to its individual recipe from my wife's wonderful blog of cupcake recipes.

1) Take advantage of light.

You need light to take pictures (that's what your film or camera sensor records, after all), so give some thought to the kind and quality of light you want to use. While direct flash tends to yield harsh, unnatural shadows, the sun at noon is equally harsh and unpleasant. The best conditions for shooting with natural light occur late or early in the day or on overcast days when shadows are soft. If you want to be more creative, think about how light should fall on your subjects and make that happen with lamps, reflections from turkey roasting pans, or any other do-it-yourself solution.

The glass of almond custard seen on the right is lit from the upper left of the frame by bouncing a flash unit off the ceiling.

2) Don't center your subject.

It may be tempting to press the shutter button as soon as you have your target in the middle of the frame, but more often than not, that will yield a photo that's uninteresting and lacking context. Why is your son's head right in the middle, and what's going on above him? Try taking a photo with your kids playing on one side and all of their toys strewn about on the other. Stand back and capture the whole room as Aunt Helga walks through the door to her surprise party. Putting your subject(s) elsewhere in the frame can create tension and release and set the mood for a photo (see the Wikipedia article on the rule of thirds for some good starting points).

I decided that moving the delicious chocolate cupcake pictured here to the left side of the frame would create some good negative space on the right, which helps to draw the viewer to the dessert.

3) Focus and recompose.

If you plan on using the tip above, recomposing your shot should become part of how you shoot. Assuming that your camera is set to focus on the center of the frame, don't press the shutter all the way as soon as it registers focus. Instead, press the shutter halfway to lock focus, keep it held there, and pivot the camera to give you the composition you want; the camera should remember the focal distance as long as you keep the shutter held halfway. When you have the composition you want, finish pressing the shutter completely to take the picture.

I focused on the orange cupcake itself, then pivoted the camera to the right to include the fork and some more atmosphere.

Did you find these tips helpful? Do you want to see more? Please let me know in the comments!

St. Louis Commercial Photography: McCormick & Schmick's Grand Opening

I was contacted by the agency representing McCormick & Schmick's in St. Louis to come out to the seafood restaurant's grand opening and to capture the action using photography. Since I do St. Louis commercial photography and St. Louis editorial photography, I was happy to accept.

Grand openings tend to be fairly similar in structure, but not this one!

The party included not only a fish net cutting (rather than the traditional ribbon cutting) but also a "fish toss" to commemorate the first delivery of seafood to the restaurant. The term is in quotes because no fish is actually tossed at any point; it's gently handed off between the dignitaries present:

A very special guest was invited to the event: Fredbird! He's in the photo above, too - did you spot him? I freely admit that I was just as excited to see Fredbird as I was as a child going to Cardinals games. He's always quite the charmer:

There are at least two sides to every story. This alternate side was captured by Stef:

The chef is required to raise the fish high above his head for a photo op:

Lots of people worked very hard to make this event happen. Here, one of them is attacked in typical Fredbird fashion:

Check out the stained glass inside at the bar!

Last, but certainly not least, the restaurant invited a giant crab to attend the ceremony. Jake weighs 700 pounds, is 8 feet tall, with a body 17 feet wide and legs that extend another 25 feet. Fredbird's feathers aren't even ruffled with the realization that Jake could eat him as an hors d'œuvre. I kept my distance.

As big as he is, Jake is not as horrifying as the real-life Japanese spider crab. Warning: do not click that link if you want to sleep soundly ever again!

The Underground Restaurant

Underground (adj.):

Hidden, furtive, secretive.

These criminals operate through an underground network.

(Source: Wiktionary)

He goes by "the clandestine chef" and the secret dining room roams about the St. Louis area. Not much is known about him or his helpers at Entre, but the food and experience were both unique.

The night I attended, they - whoever they are - presented three cocktails for sale and a beer pairing with each course:

• Wilted salad with duck vinaigrette / goat cheese and pear


• Acorn squash and apple soup / bacon and cider foam


• Grapefruit confit with mint


• Pancetta wrapped elk tenderloin with carrot juice risotto


• Butternut squash ice cream with sage shortbread

I cannot divulge details of the event such as the location, names of workers, or attendees, but suffice it to say that I had a great time photographing this special evening.

One never knows, but I believe the chef and orchestrator may be reading this post. As always, feel free to ask questions or leave comments.

I leave you with a brief photographic record of the evening:

An Afternoon at Bethlehem Valley Vineyards

This month's Sauce Magazine insert features a photo story about an afternoon at Bethlehem Valley Vineyards. Dan, Connie, family, and guests who came and went all afternoon were so friendly and hospitable to all five of us who drove out there.

This article represented many firsts for Sauce and me:

1. Sauce has never done a story quite like this, to my knowledge.
2. I've never worked with a stylist before. Rusty Conklin did an amazing job. I hope I get to work with him again!
3. I have never had miniature horses try to eat my lenses.

I treated the shoot as if it were an event or wedding: I got pictures of details, the setting as a whole, interactions, and emotions. After driving time, six hours of shooting, and time spent processing the RAW images from the shoot, I provided the assistant art director, Meera, with 651 photos. These included cows, horses, tractors, grapes, vegetables, meal preparation, an antique truck, and 17 photos of chickens.

Let it not be said that I fail to provide choices to customers!

I'm not quite sure how Meera narrowed it down to the nine photos she used, but I couldn't have been happier with the finished product, a result of everybody's hard work:

What Goes Into Your Meal

One of my specialties - and joys - is food photography. For those who don't know me or my story, I do food photography in St. Louis regularly for Sauce Magazine and for my wife's inspiring (and often hilarious) cupcake blog. I've also written a little about food photography techniques and tips for Digital Photography School.

While food itself is a huge component of my work, I love capturing the personalities involved in the preparation and serving of the meals we eat, from farmers to bussers. These people work hard for many hours in brutal conditions trying to satisfy everybody. Their hard work goes into every sip we take and every bite that we savor. Food photography has made me appreciate this fact even more.

Below are some of my favorite photos of food and of the people working to make it end up on your plate.

Please send my compliments to the chef.

Are You Looking for Photos?

While my site, St. Louis photographer J. Pollack Photography, features galleries of St. Louis engagement photography, St. Louis wedding photography, St. Louis maternity photography, St. Louis baby, children, and family photography, and St. Louis commercial and editorial photography, I haven't had a great vehicle to share my latest work with current clients, prospective clients, and peers. Keeping a web site up-to-date takes more time than I have free hours in the day, and it also doesn't let me express anything about an individual shot or share why I like it or how it came to be.

My aim with this blog is to share current work and projects, discuss techniques that I use, talk shop, field questions, and learn from the dialog that will take place.

Thanks for visiting, and hopefully if you're looking for photos, you'll find a lot to enjoy.