the creme du jour: January 2013

Sunday, January 13, 2013

I'm home.

Looking back, it's been a little nuts. I've been in the office 1 day since December 18th. I've been away from home for 17 of the last 21 days. Feels good to be back in NYC. The crew on my most recent shoot was pretty amazing. We're all coming home with a couple of great images, some pretty good stories and a few extra pounds-we ate well. Our shoot took us to the fishing docks in Portland, the airport in Atlanta and a business in the very strange and mysterious Alsip. Bizarro-town, USA. I don't think anything has changed there since the 1970's. And what's with all of the graveyards? We decided Alsip where people go to die or to get into the business of cutting headstones?

Shooting on the coast of Maine in January is downright insane. Shooting and lighting a space in the busiest airport in the world is a big challenge. And the lesson in Chicago was about ambient light. We shot so many plates on this shoot--a consequence of shooting in a dimly lit environment. Cheers to our brilliant retouchers who will bring it all together.

Favorite restaurants in each city were...

Portland

• J's Oyster- A little dive-y but, they deserve to be recognized for having the best chowder and lobster rolls around!

http://www.jsoyster.com/

• Fore Street-This was a very special dining experience. We had a huge party but, everything we ordered was spot on. I'd go back again in a second.

http://www.forestreet.biz/

Atlanta

• Miller's Union-Grapefruit cocktails and delicious desserts.

http://www.millerunion.com/site/

• The Optimist - Said to be one of the best restaurants in the country right now. We'd have to agree. The hushpuppies and maple butter blew our minds!

http://theoptimistrestaurant.com/

• Clermont Lounge-Look it up. I can't talk about what goes on there. Smokers welcome.

Chicago

• The Purple Pig-Tapas you will tell your friends about. They do meat. This was no question the best meal of the trip. We went back for lunch the next day.

http://www.thepurplepigchicago.com/

• Table 52-Think tiny little house in a big city. Room for 10-15 tables. Call early.

http://www.tablefifty-two.com/

• The Southern-Kickass bar and comfort food. Portions were TOO BIG. We left a lot on the table.

http://thesouthernchicago.com/

Sunrise at our freezing cold Portland, ME location.

Downtown Portland.

I don't think lobster gets any fresher than this...

Karen and Ryan before our plane took off from Portland at 6:44am.

The view from my room in Atlanta.

And a crappy picture of my view at dusk. Sorry, iphone only on this trip.

Becky and I had time for a quick morning hike up Stone Mountain.

They didn't get real creative with the name but, I guess you know when you've found it.

The tram.

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Dessert at The Purple Pig. Bananas, marshmellows and Nutella. Umm...yeah.

Flying over Illinois.

Quick trip to Millenium Park with a few of the fuzzy photo boys.

Obligatory shot of Kapoor's Cloud Gate, aka The Bean!

There you have it. A quick peek into the last few days. More soon!

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Tulum, Part II.

So, I took a few photos. I still feel like there's so much I didn't get. I think I need a good point and shoot to stick in my pocket. As it is...these posts are made up of images from a variety of sources but, I didn't want to leave anything out. Enjoy!

This is the door to our gated community. #airbnb