West Coast Reuben in St. Louis

Yesterday I went to Maria’s Deli (map) to photograph some of their great sandwiches.  It was nothing fancy and I was shooting the sandwiches as they were being made.  Unfortunately we did not have the time nor the budget to make a model of each item, place it just so, adjust all the lighting and get the perfect image.  This was a run and gun shoot if I have ever seen one.  Maria was taking orders, Jason was making the food and I was trying to get some shots while staying out of the way as much as possible.

While I think we got some good images that will be great to use on their soon to be released website, I have yet to process them all.  However, I did experience their West Coast Reuben (spelling corrected) that was phenomenal!  So I just have to share.  It is pumpernickel rye, oven roasted turkey, smoked gouda, sweet & sour slaw and Jason’s killer mustard.  Served hot and delicious.  If you are ever near St. Charles rock Road and 170 between 11 & 2 Monday through Friday, stop in.  The rubin is typically the Tuesday special, but follow @MariasDeli on Twitter for daily updates.  Yesterday was National Milk Chocolate Day so in addition to having the rubin, cookies were two for one.

Jackson Park Chili Cook off

The boy scouts of Jackson Park School, held their annual chili cook off and I was there with my camera.  Mostly I was playing with the Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 lens that I rented and wanted to see how it worked in the low light.  It did a good job, but trying to add a little fill light with just the camera’s built in flash caused a nasty round shadow at the bottom of the image.  Typical for a large lens with lens hood on.

Olivia’s brownie troop was there selling desserts that really hit the spot after trying to taste 20 different chili recipes.

I was then asked by Mr. Barnes to get some photos of the award winners.  He sure does appear to have fun being the emcee.

All the photos from the evening are available at jeffreyphoto.com in Events.

Pork Steak Photography

Sure,it is a bit odd but when I was grilling on Sunday I decided to bring out the SLR and a flash to see what type of photograph could be made when the subject was pork steaks.

Of course you have to start with the raw meat, sitting on a tray (covered in foil so you can discard the foil and use the same to bring them in).

My suggestion for the above image is different that what I typically recommend.  For it and other photos of slabs of raw meat, I don’t think it is wise to look at the image in the original resolution.  It is just a bit to meaty. (more…)

We have decided to call it a Munk, and they are delicious.

My mom sent me an easy sounding recipe for a pumpkin bread. Take a spice cake mix, add a can of pumpkin and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Easy enough. Although she said hers turned out a little mushy in the middle, so she made “cookies” that were better. Taking that idea and adding some pecans (also mom’s idea) as well as raisins (Jen’s idea) I tried some cookies. While they taste great, I struggle to call it a cookie. Much more the consistency of a muffin. But look at them. Not exactly what I would call a muffin. Jen decided that they are chunks of a muffin, so that became a muffin-chunk or shortened down to a Munk.

So grab a box of cake mix, a can of pumpkin and make yourself some munks. Both my girls like them and Olivia thinks they go best with whipped cream from a can resting on top. Personally, I am good with a cup of coffee with my Munk. Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

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Grilling some ‘shrooms.

Big old mushrooms on the grill make for a wonderful burger substitute.

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Updated 12/23/2009

Who will win?

We are at the Barnes Family annual Memorial Day party. Every year they have an appetizer contest and this is our first year entering. I will update with the winner later. Jeffrey

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Updated 12/24/2009