California, New Cuisine of the American Riviera

All photographers love book projects!

Commercial Fishermen Unload Sea Urchin, Shrimp and Rock Cod

Commercial Fishermen Sell Crab and Lobster

Abalone Farming, California

I know that’s a rather sweeping statement, but I have never heard of any pro turning down a book assignment.  It’s the opportunity to immerse yourself in a subject, to really cover an area or topic and not just skim the surface.  And there is no denying that receiving your advanced copies and holding that book in your hands after sometimes years of work is a real rush.  The satisfaction is immense.

Vineyards of the Santa Ynez Valley, California

Vineyards of the Santa Ynez Valley, California

I was recently fortunate to feel that sensation upon receiving my copies of “California, New Cuisine of the American Riviera”, written by Anne Lenze and published by Kosmos in Germany.  The photography in this book is only half mine.  I was hired to shoot the extensive location material while a food studio in Stuttgart shot the actual preparation of the recipes.

Bar-B-Que

Each subject, whether avocados, abalone, grapes  or walnuts, turned into a complete photo essay of its own. I like to work this way and the photo essay approach worked well with the diverse subjects that needed to be covered for this project. The Santa Barbara area produces an amazing variety of crops, wines and seafood all year  long and local chefs take full advantage of this abundance. The ethnic diversity of the area also impacts local cuisine, resulting in such amazing dishes as chef Budi Kazali’s Asian-infused paella.

Farmers Market

Avocados

Avocados

Lavender Harvest

My shoot list leaned heavily towards the sources of organic ingredients used by local chefs. Farms, vineyards, shops, winemakers, bakers, fishermen and chefs were all part of the mix, along with festivals and local scenes. The diversity of the subjects was immense, making the project constantly fascinating. With such a long shoot list, efficiency became critical. Much of the assignment was spent contacting individuals and arranging photo shoots. My assistant, Renée Giles, spent many days tracking down our subjects and dealing with the inevitable changes in appointments. The logistics turned out to be quite complicated.

Solvang and Cupcakes

Santa Ynez and Western Americana

The really unique aspect of this assignment was the emphasis put on location.  This is a new trend for cookbooks, adding another dimension to both the text and photography. In addition, the design team at Kosmos was exceptional, applying very high production values to the book, including a sand texture on all parts of the cover that depicted a sandy beach and printing full-color panoramics across the inside of the dust jacket and cover. The layout was beautifully done and I had never seen either of these novel techniques used in a book.

Santa Barbara, California

Jalama Beach, California

Pumpkins at Holloween

Oyster Shooters and Desserts

Two very talented photography students from Brooks Institute, Tony Mac and Austin Sosa, were kind enough to assist with the cover shoot, as was Santa Barbara’s premier stylist, Claire Stancer. And I cannot forget the unflagging support of my lovely wife Gerry. Just like my last book, this project would have been much more challenging if not for Renée and Gerry.

Cover Stylist and Lighting Assistants

It was a great pleasure meeting so many people involved in creating our local cuisine. Many chefs graciously sent me home with whatever I had photographed. I essentially grazed my way through the assignment. Now if I could only read German.

Chef Mary Jane Curry

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of spending the day with professional chef Mary Jane Curry. Mary Jane works as a personal chef and although we had never met before, she is the type of person that makes you feel like an old friend right from the start.

chef Mary Jane Curry selecting squash blossoms

We began by picking ingredients in her backyard—and her neighbors yard as well. We then moved to her kitchen to whip up some sample dishes for the photo shoot. This was a great kitchen and even had room for some lighting, a luxury not always available to location photographers. There was plenty of window light, so a large softbox was the only additional lighting necessary.

Vegetable Curry with Lentils topped with a carrot knot, with a bowl of Tuscan Style Lamb Shanks

Carrot cake being frosted by chef Mary Jane Curry

Sour Cream Apple Pie being top browned by chef Mary Jane Curry

Ginger Creme Brulee prepared by chef Mary Jane Curry

I got a crash course in preparing ginger crème brulee, icing carrot cake and browning the top of a sour cream apple pie with a blowtorch. I never realized cooking desserts required a welding background. The pie looked great, however, after a quick torching.

Chocolate Cranberry Bread Pudding prepard by chef Mary Jane Curry

The assignment went smoothly, we had a great time together and Mary Jane invited me to try any of the dishes she had prepared. With my usual focus on healthy eating, I dove into the desserts and raced home afterwards on a major sugar high. You gotta love a job with those kinds of benefits.

mortar and pestle collection in the kitchen of chef Mary Jane Curry

Cafe Stella in Santa Barbara, California

I have been a little lax in my blogging for the last couple months and wanted to catch up with the restaurants I photograph for Westways Magazine.

Le Café Stella, located here in Santa Barbara, was a real pleasure to visit, with its comfortable French bistro decor and delicious French-American comfort food. Owner Philippe Rousseau has created a great place to relax with some friends and the patio area is dog friendly. Finish your meal with the amazing crème caramel. You’ll thank me.

Cecco Ristorante in Solvang, California

Cecco Ristorante is an elegant new Italian restaurant situated in Solvang in the Santa Ynez Valley. Chef-owner David Cecco infuses traditional Italian recipes with his own personal touches using local ingredients. David graciously sent me home with a wild boar sausage, braised kale and smoked mozzarella pizza. It was definitely one of the best pizzas I have ever had.

Cadiz Restaurant in Santa Barbara, California

Cadiz is a relatively new addition to the downtown Santa Barbara restaurant scene. The architecture is quite beautiful with its Moorish arches and the menu features a range of Mediterranean dishes. Get there early if you want a table. Cadiz has become a popular spot with young professionals and it can get crowded.

Lobster fisherman with catch

The fall means pumpkins and colorful leaves to many, but to Southern California foodies, it means the start of lobster season. To commemorate one of my favorite seafoods, I stopped by Fisherman’s Market last Saturday to photograph the day’s catch and stumbled on the granddad of all lobster. These monsters are normally thrown back, but this one had been held for a special order.

Lobster fishermen are a sturdy, independent bunch and, as in all my environmental portraits, I wanted to capture that unique personality. Combining warm lighting on a foggy morning produced the right balance for both fisherman and lobster. Although I doubt the lobster appreciated the lighting, I was fortunate to find just the right subjects in the right environment. Better lucky than good.

Happy Hour at Playa Azul Cafe, Santa Barbara

Happy Hour was recently inaugurated at the venerable La Playa Azul Café, located on Santa Barbara Street across from the Presidio State Historic Park in Santa Barbara and I was called on to produce the images used to announce this change.

Like many Santa Barbarans, my wife and I have been going to Playa Azul for over twenty years. It’s one of our favorite Santa Barbara restaurants and I can’t stay away from the shrimp dishes there. The owners, Dee and Nacho Elias, serve a wide range of Mexican dishes and I was looking forward to seeing what appetizers, or botanas, had been added to the menu.

shrimp piccata, La Playa Azul Cafe, Santa Barbara

margaritas during Happy Hour at La Playa Azul Cafe, Santa Barbara, California

hibiscus margarita at La Playa Azul, Santa Barbara, California

Happy Hour, of course, is built around drinks and in the case of Playa Azul, the margaritas come in a dazzling range of flavors and tequilas. A substantial wine list and selection of beers is also available and a variety of smoky mescals will soon be added to the list.

The dishes were meticulously prepared favorites like the spicy flame roasted pasilla chiles stuffed with cheese, taquitos filled with chicken or beef and tostaditas heaped with shredded chicken and two types of salsa. A new addition to the selection is seasonally available dishes like grilled white corn on the cob.

interior decor of La Playa Azul Cafe, Santa Barbara, California

taquitos at La Playa Azul Cafe, Santa Barbara, California

roasted corn at La Playa Azul Cafe, Santa Barbara, California

Playa Azul is all bright colors, a comfortable front deck shaded by large trees and umbrellas, great food and an attentive staff. The photography had to illustrate all this. I tried to incorporate color in every image, whether a margarita in a bright blue glass, colorful shrimp on a white plate or people dining among the delicate pink bouganvilla.  The job was done over several days and I had a great time sampling each dish after it was photographed. My favorites, as always, were the seafood dishes, but Playa Azul Café has something for every taste. The greater selection during Happy Hour is definitely icing on the proverbial cake.

La Playa Azul Cafe, Santa Barbara, California

dessert at La Playa Azul Cafe, Santa Barbara, California

wine cabinet at La Playa Azul Cafe, Santa Barbara, California

tostaditos at La Playa Azul Cafe, Santa Barbara, California

shrimp in soft tacos at Playa Azul Cafe, Santa Barbara, California

shrimp cocktail at La Playa Azul Cafe, Santa Barbara, California

Playa Azul Cafe, Santa Barbara, California

Artisan Restaurant in Paso Robles

Paso Robles has changed a lot in the last twenty years. In the early part of my career, I would stop there for gas on my way north. It was all gas stations and cattle country. The arrival of vineyards has changed all that.

I recently photographed an assignment there for Westways Magazine and was amazed at the beautifully restored historic downtown with galleries, a wide range of restaurants and tasting rooms run by several of the local wineries.

Artisan Restaurant in Paso Robles, California

wine cellar, Artisan Restaurant in Paso Robles, California

The very elegant Artisan is a restaurant located on the edge of old town Paso Robles. With its emphasis on seasonal, local ingredients and area wines, brothers Chris and Mike Kobayashi have created a mecca for local foodies and wine tourists alike.

Santa Barbara is a bit of a drive from Paso Robles, so the brothers made sure I ate something before I left. I ordered the Charter Oak beef burger with white cheddar cheese and grilled onions. It was a perfectly grilled three-napkin burger– messy, as are all truly great burgers. Maybe it’s just the way I like to eat burgers, but it kept me humming all the way home.

Artisan in Paso Robles, California

Feast Bistro Restaurant, Ojai, California

The first thing that struck me as I walked through the doors of Feast Bistro was the deep red color of the interior. The second was the wonderful aroma of clams and mussels in a garlic cream sauce. As far as I am concerned, even cardboard would be tasty with garlic cream sauce. I knew I was destined to have an up-close encounter with those clams and mussels.

Susan Coulter, the chef/partner of Feast Bistro, popped out from the open kitchen to greet me. Susan was a wonderful hostess, introducing me to her partner Beryl Schwartz and her staff and going over the dishes we would photograph that day for Westways Magazine.

While Susan worked her magic, I wandered around the restaurant, shooting the warm, red interior and the artsy chalkboard menu out front. The ambience was perfect for a cozy dinner or a fun lunch break while touring the local art galleries.

After photographing several dishes, Susan graciously asked if I would like to try any of them. When it comes to great food, I never hesitate! Those clams and mussels tasted every bit as good as they smelled. My wife and I visit beautiful little Ojai every so often to tour the galleries and have a nice lunch. Feast Bistro will now be our restaurant of choice on these day trips. Great place.

chef Susan Coulter and Beryl Schwartz, Feast Bistro, Ojai, California

menu, Feast Bistro, Ojai, California

table manners sign, Feast Bistro, Ojai, California

duck breast, Feast Bistro, Ojai, California

assorted age abalone, Cultured Abalone, Goleta, California

One summer during college, I worked with my home state’s Conservation Department on an experimental program raising oysters. It was pretty fascinating and we were all able to bring home lots of fresh oysters. It’s hard to beat a fresh oyster rolled up in a slice of bacon and quickly fried. It was a great summer!

Recently I was asked by book publisher Kosmos to photograph an abalone farm above Santa Barbara. I was excited to see how aquaculture had developed since my college years and arranged to visit The Cultured Abalone a few days later.

Victor Salutar met me at sunrise to show me around the facility. Long, narrow tanks seemed to fill the valley at Dos Pueblos Canyon. Seawater from the nearby ocean was being pumped into these tanks, some of which contained abalone and some of which were storage areas for the kelp and dulce, or seaweed, upon which the abalone feed. Thin panels of cement were immersed in the tanks to give the abalone a surface on which to perch as they grazed on the seaweed. Different age groups were separated into different tanks, some with tiny, pink seed abalone or larger, striped, one-inchers. Doug Bush soon joined us and explained that the market now prefers the smaller, greenish fist-size age group.

market size abalone are inspected, Cultured Abalone, Goleta, California

Although there are several varieties of abalone along the California Coast, these were all red abalone, the variety preferred by cooks. Wild abalone have been closed to commercial harvest for some time, making abalone farms like The Cultured Abalone the only source of abalone steaks. The Cultured Abalone supplies many California restaurants, such as Sly’s in Carpinteria, but also ships their product all over the world. Aquaculture, it seems, has made great strides since my days working with farmed oysters.

seed abalone are grown on ceramic tiles, Cultured Abalone, Goleta, California

market size abalone are inspected, Cultured Abalone, Goleta, California

young abalone, Cultured Abalone, Goleta, California

dulse, a type of seaweed, is fed to young abalone, Cultured Abalone, Goleta, California

the foot of an adult abalone at Cultured Abalone, Goleta, California

worker inspects abalone at Cultured Abalone, Goleta, California

market size abalone are inspected, Cultured Abalone, Goleta, California

Gordon Myers and family at Lincoln Elementary School, Ventura, California

Sometimes it’s a privilege to cover an editorial subject and a recent job for Disney’s Family Fun Magazine was one of those subjects. Dr. Gordon Myers and his family started a recycling program to help save their children’s elementary school art and music programs from budget cuts. Student’s bring in redeemable bottles and cans from home. A local recycling company picks them up and issues the school a check which pays for both music and art classes. There is also an incentive program by which students receive a ticket for each bag of bottles and cans. At the end of each quarter the tickets are entered into a raffle worth $5-$20. It’s a clever incentive.

This idea has already spread to other local schools and is being adapted around the country. Art and music are often the first programs to be cut and this has turned out to be an elegant solution. As a professional photographer and instructor at Brooks Institute, I make my living from one of the arts and know how important early art and music education can be. Gordon Myers spent several years getting this program started and he and his entire family deserve a great amount of credit for developing this program and establishing its use throughout their hometown. The Walt Disney Company also deserves a lot of credit for recognizing this program in their magazine and backing up that choice with a sizable cash prize for the charity.  For more information on school recycling, go to http://www.recyclenowforlife.com/.

Arch Rock Fish Restaurant

 Growing up in the coastal Northeast, I spent the summers during my college years digging clams commercially. Wading around at low tide in chest deep water with a clam rake, I would keep moving until it felt like I was stepping up onto a slight mounding of the bottom, which was a bed of clams. I would work the area with my rake, sloshing the built-in basket until the mud had washed off and only clams remained. These were dumped into a bushel basket floating behind me in an inner tube, which was tied to my waist with some rope.  Not a very elegant arrangement, but it was good money and my family got to eat a lot of clams. Like many New Englanders, I have very definite opinions on how clam chowder should be made.

I recently photographed a new addition to the restaurant scene in Santa Barbara, Arch Rock Fish, for Westways Magazine. The name derives from a natural arch found on the tip of Anacapa Island in the Santa Barbara Channel. Arriving before their main chef, Scott Leibfried, I photographed the interior of this elegant restaurant and while waiting for the main dishes to be prepared for our photo shoot, I was offered a bowl of clam chowder for lunch. It had that slightly salty scent of the sea with a smooth, creamy texture, lots of large pieces of clams and small chunks of potatoes. A high ratio of clams to potatoes is always the way I measure the quality of a chowder, and this one had the added  bonus of smoked bacon. It was wonderful with a basket of crusty bread.

Scott was a pleasure to work with and the photo shoot went smoothly. My wife and I returned there recently to try out their Happy Hour menu. Everything was excellent, especially the quirky grilled cheese. Scott uses Stilton for the cheese and adds truffle honey. This was, luckily, not my Mom’s grilled cheese sandwich. If it hadn’t been for all the other dishes we wanted to try, we would have asked for a second order of the grilled cheese. Great Happy Hour!

Interior, Arch Rock Fish Restaurant, Santa Barbara, California

seared ahi with spicy cucumber and lime vinaigrette, Arch Rock Fish Restaurant, Santa Barbara, California

bartender serving an "El Presidio" martini, Arch Rock Fish Restaurant, Santa Barbara, California

menu board, Interior, Arch Rock Fish Restaurant, Santa Barbara, California

Interior, Arch Rock Fish Restaurant, Santa Barbara, California

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