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Ashland Independent Film Festival Ends and Photo 365 of 365 Baby!!

13 Apr

AIFF 2011 Banner

I left you yesterday with our busy Saturday of screenings at AIFF, which ended late Saturday night with our second screening of Hello Lonesome.  Just twelve hours later, we headed over to the Varsity Theater for our third Hello Lonesome screening early Sunday morning, which left us basking in the glow of Ashland love.  I’m telling you, Sunday morning was probably our favorite festival screening yet.  The theater was packed, the audience showed HUGE support for both the film and for Adam as a filmmaker and it just felt so freaking good!

I was never involved in the film business until I met Adam and shared with him the experience of making Hello Lonesome. And I gotta tell you… being an independent filmmaker is HARD!  It is a never-ending uphill battle.  One minute you get crushed, the next minute you get celebrated and every step along the way you have to generate support, ask for favors and work your butt off as your own greatest cheerleader.  That is why I found this festival to be so inspiring.  Now that I am familiar with the extreme hard work and dedication that goes along with making a film – not to mention a really GOOD film, I have so much respect for all the filmmakers and supporters I met in Ashland and I can’t wait to have a bigger role in the next movie we make! Having screenings like the ones we had in Ashland makes it all feel really worthwhile.

So for my photo #365 (which I thought was #364 at the time), I’ve chosen a photo of the Varsity Theater – because every time I look at it, I will feel all warm and fuzzy – and that’s a good note to end on right?

Photo 365 out of 365 – “The Varsity Theater”

"The Varsity Theater" - Settings: ISO 500, f/2.5, 1/50 sec, 50mm lens

After our Sunday screening we said our goodbyes to all the folks at the festival.  Unfortunately we had to get back to NYC for Monday so we were going to miss the awards ceremony that was happening Sunday night.  We went back to our B&B to pack and then we met up with Christopf and Anna from Hood to Coast for one last quickie meal in Ashland at Agave – a super yummy taco spot.  I had a carnitas taco and a duck confit taco.  Both were delicious but the carnitas won – carnitas always wins in my book.

Then boo hoo… we drove off to the airport to catch our redeye back to NYC (via a two-hour layover in San Francisco).  I stopped to take pictures along the way.  This looks just like the drive to JFK!

Drive to airport

And then – goodbye Oregon.  We will miss you greatly.

Goodbye Oregon

The awards ceremony started at seven-thirty and we landed at SFO for our two-hour layover at around quarter to ten.  The second the plane landed, we checked our phones to see if there were any texts or messages about which films won awards.  And… NOTHING.  Not a peep.  We searched online to see if anything had been announced and nothing.  We figured that meant we didn’t win anything because we were sure we would have heard something by that point – so we shlepped to our gate at SFO and plopped down to wait for our flight to NYC.  And then at around eleven o’clock a barrage of texts and Facebook messages came flooding in to let us know that:

Hello Lonesome won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature!!!

Yee haw!  We were thrilled!!  I think Adam might have shed a little tear.  The audience award was what we were secretly hoping for.  Out of fourteen narrative feature films (all with sold-out screenings), the audience chose Hello Lonesome as their favorite.  Man that felt good.  Thank you Ashlandians!!!  It was the perfect sendoff and the perfect end to our amazing week in Oregon.  And then… a redeye. Yuck!!  But we tossed and turned with smiles on our faces. :)

And finally yes, that is the 365th photo of my 365 day photo project.  I can’t believe it’s finished!  It sort of blows my mind.   Just to drag things out a bit, I’ll post my 366th photo tomorrow (the one I intended to be #365).  I think I’ll make it the cover of my 365 photo book, which is a new project I’ll be starting now that this one’s over.  For everyone that has joined in to follow me along on this crazy adventure… thanks.  Having an audience to write and take pictures for certainly gave me that kick in the butt I needed and pushed me to rise up to this challenge!  I couldn’t have done it without you.

See you tomorrow!

The Ashland Independent Film Festival – Part 2

12 Apr

So… where did I leave off?  Oh yes, Friday.  Friday and Saturday we saw lots of movies!  We started out with a beautiful narrative feature called Stranger Things, made by Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal.  Those two are NYC’ers also and we got to know them a bit at the Woodstock Film Festival back in October.  I thought the performances in their film were excellent – very restrained and honest.  I found it especially interesting to learn how the film was made.  Ron and Eleanor basically worked closely with the actors to develop the characters and their stories and then they only revealed the script to the actors piece by piece  as they were shooting, so the actors didn’t know what was going to happen.

After Stranger Things we shot over to another theater to catch the documentary film Hot Coffee, directed by a trial Lawyer from Ashland, OR named Susan Saladoff.  This movie really got me fired up and I think everyone should see it – just to become informed about our own rights in this country and how they’re being diminished.  It is an entertaining and rather disturbing film focused on the US justice system and how normal people like you and me rarely have the ability to get a fair trial in this country anymore.  Big corporations have pretty much taken over the justice system in the US (as well as everything else) – and some of the stories of how regular people have been affected were heartbreaking and infuriating.  I left the theater on a rampage (and needing a stiff drink).

After that film, we saw another documentary called The Big Uneasy, directed by Harry Shearer, which was about the flooding of New Orleans after Katrina, and how it wasn’t really a result of the force of the storm.  Instead, it was more about the faulty construction of the levies, politics and the ineptitude of the Army Corps of Engineers.   I wasn’t personally as crazy about this film. I was interested in the subject matter, but the way the story was told was not as compelling to me – especially after seeing Hot Coffee just before it, which had me completely engaged.

With all these movies – I didn’t have time to take many photos – but downtown Ashland is so beautiful, I was able to snatch a few in between screenings:

Photo 364 out of 365 – “Spring Has Sprung in Ashland”

"Spring Has Sprung in Ashland" - Settings: ISO 100, f/2.5, 1/6400 sec, 50mm lens

And here our view walking from the parking lot to the theater – not too shabby right?

Amazingly beautiful downtown Ashland, OR

We were supposed to see a fourth film that night but we were maxed out – so instead we just met up with the other filmmakers at the local hangout Black Sheep and had a couple drinks before turning in for the night.  Saturday was another day full of amazing screenings!

The Black Sheep - AIFF Hangout

On Saturday we we jumped right into screenings again after a most delicious breakfast (huevos rancheros!) at a local restaurant called Breadboard near our Bed & Breakfast.  Our first film of the day was another documentary called Hood to Coast.  This movie totally rocked!  And instead of a documentary that leaves me hating our country and feeling hopeless, this one was super inspiring and positive!  It’s about the largest relay race in the world called Hood to Coast, which takes place in Oregon.  Teams of twelve runners cover one hundred and ninety-seven miles from Mount Hood all the way to the Oregon Coast – overnight.  It’s insane and totally awesome!   We got quite friendly with the filmmakers (Christopf Baaden – Director and Anna Campbell – Producer) as well as one of the women featured in the film who completed the race – Rachel (she was completely hilarious).  In the film, she made one comment that totally stuck with me and made me love her.  The gist was… why not partake in a crazy event like that?  If it’s terrible, it’s only a weekend wasted… what really do you lose?  On the other hand – an experience like that has the potential to change your life – so why does it ever make sense to say no to experiences? I like that mode of thinking!

After Hood to Coast, we hit up ANOTHER documentary called Connected – An Autoblogography about Love, Death and Technology. Again, this movie really blew us away.  And again, this was an optimistic, inspiring film that left me feeling energized and uplifted instead of defeated and angry.  I like that type of documentary!  The movie is about shifting our thinking from looking at the world as full of independent things and people to looking at everything as interdependent.  Our environment, our resources, plants, animals, people – we are all connected in ways that we don’t realize – and we’ve been finding that out gradually as our actions turn out having negative effects that were initially unforeseen.  But the overall tone of this film was a faith in the human spirit and a belief that the technology, which now connects us all can be used to save our world and our species (yes, humans… scary stuff).

Whew… and now that I’ve written a book, I have to run out to a photography workshop!  So I’ll post this now and then return tomorrow with the outcome of the festival and…

drumroll please

the final photo of my 365 photo project!!

Actually, I sort of miscounted while I was away – so I have a photo 365 and then I have a photo 366 (for good luck), which I actually intended to be 365 until I realized my mistake!  Ha!

So come back tomorrow. :)

Leg Two – Exploring the Oregon Coast

7 Apr

Hello again everyone – our Oregon adventure continues!  Today we left Depoe Bay and drove five and a half hours South and East through gorgeous Oregon countryside to Ashland.  We took an hour stopover for lunch in Eugene at an extremely unassuming, yet completely authentic and delicious little Mexican joint called Taqueria Mi Tierra … thank you Yelp, and arrived at at our adorable B&B here in Ashland (Morical House) at around six o’clock.  I took a walk/jog into town while Adam did some work and now, we are sitting side by side on the couch, in the living room, in front of the fire, working away on our laptops.  Nerds.  We have the entire house to ourselves tonight as none of the other filmmakers are arriving until tomorrow.  FUN!

Anyway, the coast itself was breathtaking – though we missed out on the northern coast (didn’t have time and it was hailing so we skipped it).  I hear Cannon Beach and Astoria (where Goonies took place!!) are awesome so we’ll have to hit them up next time.  The seaside towns we did drive through and explore were a tad disappointing.  They weren’t quite as charming as I thought they’d be – but maybe we didn’t go to the right places.  Our little town of Depoe Bay was TINY with not much going on and nearby Newport was nice – though a little disappointing as well.  My favorite activity was just driving around and exploring the coast by car – stopping to get out and walk around when the scenery called for it, which was quite often.

The Channel House, where we stayed, offered an amazing location overlooking the ocean, with the waves crashing just below us.  Man… those waves were INTENSE!  The ocean is so violent out here… stormy and rough.  I spent much time staring out the window in awe.  Though the decor at Channel House needed a little sprucing (in my opinion), the room was cozy and comfortable, and our private hot tub on our private deck was just as amazing as I hoped it would be.  Cut to… Adam and Nell drinking a bottle of Glenlivet in the steaming hot tub, in the cold rain, at night, overlooking the sea.  AWESOME.

We arrived in Depoe Bay on Monday late afternoon.  It was raining (typical) so we spent some down time in our little room before heading out to dinner nearby.  I broke out the 70-200mm lens and was having fun taking pictures of the seagulls from our deck.

Seagull flying by our deck

Until…

Photo 360 out of 365 – “Seagull Attack”

"Seagull Attack" - Settings: ISO 640, f/4.5, 1/2500 sec, 70-200mm lens (200mm)

I swear this gull started flying right at me!  I managed to snap this photo before I freaked out and ran back inside – convinced this crazy bird was going to bite my face off.  Of course, when I looked at the picture on my camera, I loved it!  So I spent the next hour trying to get the birds to fly at me again but no such luck.  The bird attack was a one-time thing.  Bummer.

Yesterday, after a lovely breakfast at Channel House, featuring homemade granola, pastries, coffee cake and other delights, we hit the road and did some exploring along the coast.  The scenery is incredible.  On our way to Newport, we stopped at several lookouts and parks to stretch our legs and get the flavor of the area.

Photo 361 out of 365 – “Thumbs Up Oregon”

"Thumbs Up Oregon" - Settings: ISO 100, f/18, 1/50 sec, 70-200mm lens (70mm)

By the time we hit Newport, we were hungry (for a change), so we went to a recommended spot called Local Ocean on the historic Newport bayfront.  My favorite part of the meal were the super fresh and delicious local raw oysters:

Oregon Oysters @ Local Ocean Restaurant in Newport, Oregon

After lunch we did a little shopping in the Nye Beach area of Newport.  We went into a gallery shop and fell in love with these little piggies – so we bought them as a souvenir from our trip.  We always like to buy something for our home when we travel and these little guys are perfect, as we’ve been total pigs on this trip full of delectable eating!!

Ceramic Piggy Souvenirs

Aren’t they cute?  They make me smile every time I look at them. We are naming them after our favorite restaurants on the trip. So far we have Pok Pok and Beast – the third pig’s name is still TBD.  I’m sure an Ashland restaurant will get that honor. :)

Anyway, that was mostly it from our two days on the coast.  We are super excited to be in Ashland now – the town looks adorable and we can settle in a bit since we are here for four nights.  Tomorrow is the festival welcome party and tomorrow night is the first screening of Hello Lonesome!  Due to popular demand, they’ve added a fourth screening this week, so I’m hoping it’ll be a crowded house tomorrow night.  I’ll keep you posted!  Until then – if you haven’t done so yet, become a friend of Hello Lonesome on Facebook to get the latest scoop from the festival.  Bye for now!

First Leg: Portland – a Food Paradise

4 Apr

So we’ve now spent a full day and a half in Portland and I’m in no way ready to leave!  I wish we had two weeks here instead of two days.  True to form, we’ve mostly been eating our way through the city – would you expect anything less?  But later on today our plan is to say goodbye to Portland (after hitting up a few more food carts) and then we’re heading south for the second leg of our Oregonian adventure – the Oregon Coast.

As for Portland – yes, we could totally see ourselves living here.  Although every time I say that to someone local, they bring up the weather as a big factor.  And to be honest, I’m not sure I could handle cloudy rainy days being the norm.  It might be a tad depressing.  But leaving the rain out of the equation, this city has a great vibe to me and I could totally see myself thriving in this type of environment.  There seems to be a spirit here – of creativity, idealism, optimism and a joy of life.  The food so far has been OUTSTANDING – I mean, a couple of the best meals I’ve maybe had EVER.  For real.  The city feels pretty new – with a sort of industrial, modern design thing going – but then there are all these charming little houses all over – like little cozy hobbit houses. We want one.  And it’s pretty quiet – and there are cool art installations all over and a cool free public transportation system and trees!  Lots of green and parks and trees!  I love that.

But now – onto the most important thing… food.

Actually – before I go there, here is my photo from Friday before we left.  I was apartment hunting in Brooklyn with Lyon – our awesome broker.

Photo 357 out of 365 – “The Brooklyn Heights Apartment That Won’t Be Ours”

"The Brooklyn Heights Apartment That Won't Be Ours" - Settings: ISO 400, f/3.5, 1/25 sec, 10-22mm lens (10mm)

So yeah, this apartment was SICK!  Gorgeous doesn’t even begin to explain it.  It is a Co-op – and the owners will only agree to a one-year lease and it’s a little out of our price range… so it’s not happening.  But man… this place feels like a real classy grown-up apartment.  You know?  Oh well.  Ours will be way cooler when we find one. :)

Ok – so now onto Portland food.

The first meal we had in Portland was at a place called Pok Pok on SE Division Street.

Pok Pok - SE Division Street - Portland, OR

It was recommended to us by a couple people – our foodie friends Kelly & Val said it was the best meal they’ve ever had…EVER.  So – we dropped our stuff off at the hotel and headed straight there!  No dilly dallying when it comes to food.  Before we went to the restaurant, I snapped Photo #358.

Photo 358 out of 365 – “SE Division Street – Portland”

"SE Division Street - Portland" - Settings: ISO - 100, f/5.6, 1/125 sec, 24-70mm lens (24mm)

Pok Pok serves up Southeast Asian pub/street fare – mostly from the North and Northeast of Thailand.  We ordered a specialty of the house – Spicy Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings, which seriously rocked our world.  This dish was named as one of the ten best restaurant dishes by Food & Wine Magazine in 2007… well-deserved.  The coating of caramelized fish sauce and palm sugar created a “candied” texture to the wings.  Ridic.

Pok Pok Spicy Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings

We also got our pork on with an order of pork loin satay skewers as well as green papaya salad with jasmine rice and sweet shredded Carlton Farms pork, fried shallots and cilantro.  This dish was actually our favorite of the three.

Meal one in Portland – holy shitake amazing.

Pok Pok - Papaya Salad w/Pulled Pork and Pork Satay Skewers

After lunch/dinner (it was five-thirty Portland time, but for us, it was eight-thirty NY time), we stopped at the little food cart pod across the street.  I couldn’t eat a thing – but we stopped at the pie spot and picked up two mini pies to take home for dessert – we would inevitably get snacky later.  The butter pecan pie was the perfect sweet ending to our first half-day in Portland before we crashed at around ten o’clock after being up for twenty-one hours.

the pie spot - SE Division Street

Yesterday – day two – was even more delicious.  We woke up, did a little work in our awesome funky suite-style hotel room at the Inn at Northrup Station (we totally love this place and don’t want to leave – it’s Austin Powers meets Willy Wonka).  Here is a picture of our hallway:

Inn at Northrup Station Hallway

Then, the foodie fun continued.

We had noon brunch reservations for a restaurant called Beast.

Beast Sign

While we stood out front of the restaurant, eagerly awaiting our noon seating, I took photo 359 – our reflection in the Beast window.

Photo 359 out of 365 – “Adam & Nell – Reflection in Beast Window”

"Adam & Nell Reflection in Beast Window" - Settings: ISO 320, f/4.0, 1/60 sec, 24-70mm lens (70mm)

Beast offers a four-course prix-fix brunch – two seatings – Sunday only.  We sat at a small communal table with six other diners and enjoyed one of the best meals of our lives.  Shout out to Amie and Rob for the recommendation.  Here is the menu – complete with wine pairings:

Course I

Rhubarb Clafoutis

Soft Whipped Cream

Maple-Glazed Bacon

Paired with Domaines Schlumberger Pinot Gris Les Princes Abbes – 2007 from Alsace, France

 

Beast - Clafoutis

Course II

~Beast Hash~

Cattail Creek Butter-Poached Lamb

Market Potatoes, Maitake Mushrooms, Ramps

Green Garlic & Brussels Sprouts

Poached Farm Egg & Oregon Truffle Hollandaise

Paired with IBY Blaufrankisch Classic – 2009 from Burgenland, Austria

 

Beast Hash

Course III

Selection of Cheese from Cheese Bar – Pont-l’Eveque, Beecher’s Flagship, Everona

Viridian Farms Arugula

Aged Sauvignon Blanc Vinaigrette

Paired with Morin Sancerre Vieilles Vignes – 2009 from Loire, France

 

Beast - Cheese Course

Course IV

Chocolate Truffle Cake

Molasses – Buttermilk Ice Cream

Paired with Warre’s Otima 10 Year Tawny from Oporto, Portugal

 

Beast Chocolate Truffle Cake

Ok – so this meal… UTTER PERFECTION.  I’m serious.  The first bite of that delectably light, creamy, eggy clafoutis (with BACON) and tart little pieces of rhubarb started the meal off with “ooooh’s” and “ahhhhh’s” and proclamations of potential weeping.  The Beast Hash was the main event with rich, savory, earthy flavors.  The perfectly poached egg, when broken, spilled its bright yellow yolk, mixing wonderfully with the roasted veggies and moist, flavorful lamb.  A total knock-out of a dish.  Then there was cheese.  Can you imagine how blissed out I was??  The three cheeses were all delicious, with the Everona – a sheep’s milk cheese from the Piedmont region of Virginia – being my favorite of the three.  The peppery, nutty arugula went wonderfully well with the cheeses, freshening up our palettes after the rich Beast Hash.  And finally – the dessert.  I’m not a huge dessert person, but this chocolate truffle cake was wonderful… and the Tawny… delicious.  Though I must say that the cheese freak in me was craving a nice piece of blue to go along with the port.  Overall the pacing, the portions, the company (a couple who just moved to Portland from Australia and their mother) and obviously the food will make this meal go down in nellsdish history as one of my favorite restaurant experiences ever!!  I’m drooling again just writing about it now.  Amazing.

After our meal at Beast, our heads were in the clouds.  We were giddy, sated and in love with Portland.  We took a drive out to a mansion in the Northwest part of the city – a beautiful drive.  We looked at gorgeous houses along the way and then toured the mansion and walked around the grounds a little.  Later on (after digestion), we hit up some food carts for dinner:

Herb’s Mac & Cheese

 

Herb's Mac & Cheese Cart

Brian’s Pizza Truck – Slice

 

Brian's Pizza Truck

And our favorite of all carts thus far – the Koi Fusion Truck.  The asian tacos were so amazing here, I forgot to even take a picture.

At this point, we were stuffed… I know, we’re pigs… but I had to experience this rich food scene in only two days!  You gotta do what you gotta do.  Right?

So we finished off our day number two with a movie – Win Win.  I liked it a lot – didn’t LOVE it, but liked it a lot.

Whew.  Ok – that’s definitely enough for one day.  Now we’re off for the coast after a little Portland shopping.  I’ll catch up with you in the next couple days!

Off to Oregon!

1 Apr

I must be brief tonight.  We’re getting picked up at four-thirty in the morning to head to Newark airport.  Ew.  And of course we haven’t packed yet and we’re waiting for our dinner to be delivered and I’m tying up all kinds of loose ends before we leave.  We’re both a little strung out with tons going on… movie stuff, moving, taxes, work, etc.  But ahhhhh… by one-thirty tomorrow afternoon, we’ll be in Portland, OR – with a full week on the other side of the country providing (hopefully) a little headspace and some serious relaxation.  We’re bringing several fun lenses and I’m bringing my computer so I will be checking in throughout the week to dish on our trip and on the festivities at the Ashland Independent Film Festival!  And actually, now that I think about it, I think I’m going to be posting photo #365 out of 365 on Sunday, April 10th – the day we’re taking the red-eye home from Ashland!  Crazy.

So without further ado -

Photo 356 out of 365 – “Cornelia Street Cafe”

"Cornelia Street Cafe" - Settings: ISO 100, f/2.5, 1/250 sec, 50mm lens

My friend Jessica took me here yesterday for a delicious lunch.  The Cornelia Street Cafe is a “cultural landmark” in NYC – serving excellent food and promoting artists and musicians in the West Village since 1977.  I ate huevos rancheros and they rocked.  I’m a sucker for huevos rancheros.

Ok -off to pack now!  Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Basketball and Rooftop Photo Shoots

21 Mar

Happy Monday everyone – it’s nice and dreary outside in NYC today.  It seems to be sort of spitting from the sky… hence, I’m still in my PJ’s catching up on indoor kinds of things.  Taxes anyone?

Anyway, first off, I’d like to welcome any new readers to nellsdish!  Last week I noticed a spike in traffic and a bunch of new subscribers (from all over the world… amazing!) – and I discovered that nellsdish was picked up by a site called PopPressed.  I am now listed as a featured blogger on their site – the tagline being “The Freshest in Culture”.  Fantastic!!  Thanks PopPressed! I’m rather excited. :)

As for this weekend, we spent a lovely seventy degree Friday evening walking around our dream neighborhoods in Brooklyn – Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill - and then had dinner with some friends at a restaurant called Breuckelen in Cobble Hill.  It was a great dinner – nice atmosphere (definitely a bit upscale) with delicious eats.  In between our appetizers and our mains, the chef brought out a taste of one of his favorites…capellini with meyer lemon, AOK roof chilis (? – no idea… looked them up and don’t know what this is), parsley and cold-pressed olive oil.  This dish is a testament to the idea that quality ingredients prepared in the simplest of ways can create magic.  This was probably my favorite dish of the entire meal.

On our walk before dinner, we stumbled upon these adorable little girls jumping rope in an alley adjacent to Cobble Hill Park. A perfect scene for photo 343 right?

Photo 343 out of 365 – “Jumping Rope in Cobble Hill”

"Jumping Rope in Cobble Hill" - Settings: ISO 400, f/2.2, 1/400 sec, 50mm lens

On Saturday we watched a LOT of basketball and did a little spring cleaning.  We don’t normally watch basketball, but we filled out a March Madness bracket at Adam’s office, so we’re suddenly super into it.  The games have actually been really exciting.  These guys are so young and passionate and they want it so badly!  I actually jumped to my feet and screamed at the TV a few times… that’s how into it I’ve been.  Kind of hilarious.  Then Saturday night we celebrated our friend Mark’s birthday at a lovely little West Village restaurant called Palma.  The party was in the restaurant’s charming and cozy carriage house out back through the garden.  Here’s a picture of the birthday boy:

Photo 344 out of 365 – “Max Blows Out the Candle”

"Max Blows Out the Candle" - Settings: ISO 6400, f/2.2, 1/50 sec, 50mm lens)

On Sunday Adam was my model for a photo shoot I had to do for my portraiture class.  Now, this is the part of photography that still makes me the most uncomfortable.  I have this fear about being the director, being the one who creates the vision, the one who has to make decisions about the styling and the mood and the poses… I find it completely intimidating.  Adam was a great help to me in this regard. Since he himself is a director, he was good at coaching me through it.  We picked out some outfits for him and styled his hair and I did some research on poses and moods I wanted to create.  It was fun!  I definitely need more practice to chase those nerves away, but this was a good start and I’m really happy with the photos!  Here is photo 345 in addition to some of my other favorites from the shoot.  He’s such a stud! :)

Photo 345 out of 365 – “Adam”

"Adam" - Settings: ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/250 sec, 10-22mm lens (18mm)

And a few more…

And finally, many of you have probably already seen this already, but I just saw this today on Laughing Squid and I think its absolutely hysterical!  It sort of made my day.  Enjoy!

Moody Monday

21 Feb

Well, there’s no denying it.  I’m in a bit of a grumpy funk today.  I attribute it to this winter weather.  We had a glimmer of spring a couple days ago… two days in a row of fifty and sixty degree bliss.  The energy of spring was in the air.  I walked and walked and walked, camera in hand, a lightness in my step and a new outlook on the city around me .  New York is awesome when springtime starts poking around the corner.  Everyone is outside, coats off, smiles, a crackle of excitement in the air.  Hope and possibility on our minds as we collectively breathe a sigh of relief that we survived the winter months.

So that happened on Thursday and Friday and then Saturday came roaring through with fifty mile per hour freezing cold winds and then Sunday brought us snow.  And now here we are…  white wintry sky, snow once again on the ground, a thirty degree chill in the air and those forty-eight hours of spring feeling like just a big tease.  I’m grumpy.  I need a change of scenery big time.

But I am happy to say, my mood started to lift a bit as I began going through and working on my photos from over the weekend. The lack of inspiration I’m feeling inside is not really apparent in the photos I took.  I’m actually quite pleased with several of them.  So that helps. :)

Photo 314 out of 365 – “Old Man in Washington Square Park”

"Old Man in Washington Square Park" - Settings: ISO 100, f/4, 1/800 sec, 50mm lens

I took this on Thursday – it was beautiful outside and Washington Square Park was buzzing.  I spent about an hour there, moving around to different areas of the park, observing and taking pictures.  I was sitting on a bench when I caught a glimpse of this man approaching.  I love the way he looks – his long serious face, his hat, his wool coat… he looks like a man who has stories to tell.  I’m so glad I was able to snap the picture before he was gone, though I wish I had more time with him – to learn about his life and to take pictures of his super expressive face.  I played with the coloring and vignetting in Lightroom later on to give the photo an aged look.  I’m really pleased with the way it came out.

On Friday I met another interesting character… Captain Bob .  I was waiting for the bus to take me up sixth avenue and Captain Bob was waiting alongside me.  I got the vibe right away that he’d be open to me taking his photo, which he was.   Then, as we parted ways, he gave me a hand-drawn business card with “Captain Bob” on it along with a cartoon drawing of a Captain, an NYC address and phone number complete with an extension.  Again, I wonder what Captain Bob’s story is… is he really a Captain?  Does he have any family?  Did he work for USA Today?  Is he a little quirky?  A little crazy?  I don’t know, but I had a nice moment with him and he came across as very kind.  People are so interesting to me.

Photo 315 out of 365 – “Captain Bob”

"Captain Bob" - Settings: ISO 100, f/2, 1/4000 sec, 50mm lens

On Saturday we stayed in most of the day until later on the evening when we hopped a train to Brooklyn for “game night” with some friends.  We got there a bit early, so we sought shelter from the gusty freezing wind in a cozy little place called Brook.Vin in South Park Slope.  We had a glass of wine and a taste of a delicious cheese called Von Trapp, Oma.  It is a raw cow’s milk washed-rind cheese from Vermont, made by the Von Trapp brothers and aged at the Cellars at Jasper Hill.  It’s meaty, perfectly pungent and delightful.  I took this photo while eating cheese and drinking wine at the bar.  I played with the color a bit in Lightroom to give it this cool, moody look.

Photo 316 out of 365 – “Blossoms Against a Brick Wall”

"Blossoms Against a Brick Wall" - Settings: ISO 3200, f/1.4, 1/15 sec, 50mm lens

And to finish off the weekend, yesterday I went wedding dress shopping with my lovely bride-to-be pal, Pam.  I just love looking at wedding dresses!  Though I took lots of pictures of Pam in several knockout dresses, I cannot post them, as the dress must remain a surprise!  But on the walk home, I snapped this photo of a tree on 2nd Street that had about fifty pairs of sneakers hanging from its branches (rumor has it that marks a gang territory… anyone know if that’s really true?).   Anyway, I took lots of photos – some capturing all the sneakers, some from underneath, some from across the street, but this one is my favorite.  I like the framing of the shot with the branch running along the top of the frame, the brick apartment buildings in the background and the solitary pair of yellow sneakers.

Photo 317 out of 365 – “Yellow Sneakers”

"Yellow Sneakers" - Settings: ISO 100, f/2, 1/250 sec, 35mm lens

So… that’s all for now.  Adam and I are going to go do a mini shoot on the roof.  I hope everyone is having a lovely President’s Day and that’s IT winter!  I’ve had enough of you!  Go away!  I’m ready for spring.

Cheese Plate at Otto

17 Feb

Today I had a great blind date with a new friend.  I mentioned this in a previous post, but a friend set us up because of our mutual interest in food, photography and writing, and after a few rain checks due to illness we finally met and lunched today.  We went to Otto as we are both rather fond of cheese, and Otto has a nice selection with an option to do a three, five or seven cheese tasting plate.  We opted for seven… when it doubt, EAT MORE CHEESE!

Here is the cheese plate:

Otto Cheese Plate

The menu probably had around twelve cheeses on it – listed by name, milk type and region.  I was familiar with some and had never heard of others.  With seven cheeses, it was easy to have a variety of textures and milk types.  We asked our server for some advice on the sheep’s milk cheeses, as there were a few I hadn’t heard of and I wanted to know if they were soft or hard, strong or mild, etc.

Here are the cheeses we selected starting at twelve o’clock and going clockwise around (ending with the blue at eleven o’clock).

  • Coach Farm Triple Cream Goat Cheese – this is a pasteurized goat’s milk cheese from the Hudson Valley area of New York.  I had never tried a triple cream goat’s milk cheese before.  Usually it’s cow’s milk or a mix of milks so I was intrigued when I saw this on the menu.  This cheese is white in color (typical of goat’s milk cheese) with a soft, white, edible bloomy rind.  The consistency was wonderful – super silky  and creamy with a buttery, rich flavor touched with a hint of tangy goat.  When I tasted it with the rind, it was a bit stronger.  I actually liked it better without the rind (unusual for me.)
  • Fontina – a raw cow’s milk cheese from the Valle D’Aosta region of Italy.  The first thing that came to mind when I smelled this cheese was stinky feet!  It definitely had a funkiness to it.  The paste was pretty soft and pliable and it had a definite barny/animal flavor to it.  Fontina can evidently be on the milder side or more pungent and this one was definitely a little pungent.  I liked it – but didn’t love it.
  • Pecorino Grand Old Man – a pasteurized sheep’s milk cheese from Tuscany – this cheese is aged more than fifteen months, is yellowy gold in color, with a harder, more crumbly texture – like a Parmigiano Reggiano.  The smell is sweet and nutty and it’s delightfully snackable.  This was one of our favorites of the plate.
  • Marzolino – a raw sheep’s milk cheese from Tuscany – made from the early spring milking in March (the name comes from Marzo – the Italian word for March.)  I found this cheese to be pretty intense.  The first taste sensation I had was bitter – then nutty, animal, funky, salty and sour.  This was definitely a unique cheese for me – but not a favorite.
  • Bergkase – a cow’s milk (not sure if pasteurized or raw) mountain cheese made in the Alps.  The cheese is aged three to nine months and is made with summer milk (the cow’s graze high on the alpine pastures).  The curds are cooked and pressed.  The cheese to me smelled just like buttered popcorn – it was a bit chewy in texture, nutty, salty and buttery in flavor.  It is supposedly a good melter!
  • Taleggio – a pasteurized washed-rind cow’s milk cheese from the Lombardy region of Italy.  This is a funky cheese from the stinky washed-rind family (orange rind… washed regularly with liquid during aging process – sometimes wine, brandy, beer, salt-water, etc.)  This cheese actually made my tongue prickly a bit – not sure what that means.  This Taleggio was semi-soft in texture, and fairly mild but some Taleggios are described as pudding-like and easily spreadable on bread (like an Epoisses).  This wasn’t like that.  I think that means the one we got was younger and not quite at full ripeness?  It was only ok in my opinion.   I’d like to try it when it’s funkier, bolder and spreads like pudding. :)
  • Gorgonzola Dolce – a pasteurized cow’s milk blue cheese from the Lombardy region of Italy.  Gorgonzola dolce is the sweeter milder version of Gorgonzola.  It is cave aged for only about three months.  It still has that blue bite and spiciness to it – but it’s creamier and moister and has a sweetness that makes it a little easier for those who are not into super strong blues.   I think it’s a delicious blue!

To accompany the cheeses, our server at Otto brought out a few plates of pairing condiments.

Condiments for Cheese

The condiments were apricots with chili, truffle honey and sour cherries.  The truffle honey rocked my world.  I tasted it with almost every cheese and thought it went great.  The cherries were quite bold in flavor and overshadowed the cheeses for me most of the time and I didn’t care for the apricots very much.  But oh… that truffle honey.  Heaven on a plate.

Overall, our cheese plate was good today.  I question whether all the cheeses were given to us at their absolute prime.  I definitely think the cheese selection and quality at Casellula was still better. I’m dying to go back there again!

Now – for my photo of the day from yesterday:

Photo 313 out of 365 – “Tyler & Ducky”

"Tyler & Ducky" - Settings: ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/60 sec, 35mm lens

This is Tyler.  He is the son of our friends who are part of the “Brooklyn Boys” gang.  He is one of those babies that makes me want to have a baby… like now.  Just super chill, adorable and easy.  Can I place an order for one like that?

Casellula Cheese Plate

9 Feb

Ok… so where were we?  Casellula for cheese.  YUM.

So, when I left you last, my cheese friends Andrew and Manuela and I had just enjoyed a superb cheese experience at Casellula. We each planned on ordering two cheeses for a total of six… but Andrew knew the Fromagier from back in the day at Murray’s, so he surprised us with an extra cheese each for a total of nine (and then we couldn’t pass up a tenth – blue for dessert!)

We’ll start with my cheese plate (pictured below).  We had already dug into cheese number one before someone had the brilliant idea for me to photograph our plates (my camera was sitting right on the table – but I was too wrapped up in cheese splendor to think about anything else.)  I have to say, I’m disappointed in myself that I did not take detailed tasting notes while we ate and drank, because now it is two days later and I can’t really remember the specifics of each cheese.  BUT – I will list each cheese we tasted and include tasting notes from the menu, from the blogosphere and from my memory.  Next time, I have to write my notes immediately!  Another good learning experience.

Nell’s Cheese Plate at Casellula:

In order from left to right, the cheeses are:

  • Nocetto di Capra – a pasteurized goat’s milk cheese from Lombardy, Italy.  The texture was super creamy and luscious. Casellula described it as “like whipped cream with a tang”.  To me, it was rich, velvety and sweet with only a hint of the usual goat tang.  It was paired with a sweet vanilla pear concoction, and together, I have to say the flavor was actually a tad sweet for me…  I’m more more of a savory girl, but I like the cheese alone – more as a dessert cheese.
  • Menuet made by Dancing Cow – a raw cow’s milk cheese from Bridport, Vermont.  Aged for a minimum of five months at the Cellars at Jasper Hill (where the lovely Cabot Clothbound Cheddar is aged… among others), this cheese is a little sweet and nutty, creamy (coats your tongue) and has some woody/grassy flavors.   This one was paired with a pine nut and thyme (or maybe rosemary?) cluster, which was quite yummy.
  • Battenkill Brebis made by 3-Corner Field Farm – a raw sheep’s milk cheese from Shushan, New York.  This cheese is pretty mild with that nice salty, sweet, sheepy flavor that I often find to be really snacky and yummy.  This one was paired with a grain mustard, which I liked very much – the little grains popped in your mouth when you bit down on them.  Fun.

My favorite from this cheese plate was probably the Menuet!  I’ll have to find it again and taste a lot more of it… I can barely remember it now two days later!  That’s the thing about new cheeses… you have to keep tasting them over and over to commit them to memory.  It’s a tough job that takes real dedication (yes please!). :)

Ok – on to Andrew’s plate at Casellula:

In order from left to right the cheeses are:

  • Nuvola di Pecora – a pasteurized sheep’s milk cheese from Romagna, Italy.  The name translates to “sheep clouds” in English – which is probably because it is a bloomy-rind cheese (like brie) – with a soft white rind and pretty white-colored paste.  The cheese is custardy, mild and creamy with only a little hint of the sheepy tang flavor.   This was paired with a delicious nut brittle.
  • Lou Bergier Pichin – a raw cow’s milk cheese from Piedmont, Italy.  This cheese is made using thistle rennet (common of many Portuguese and Spanish cheeses).  Casellula describes it as “Buttery.  Artichoke and floral notes.  Fantastic!”  This cheese is aged for sixty days (the minimum allowed for raw-milk cheeses to be sold in America) and was paired with a cilantro tomatillo relish, which was refreshing and zippy.
  • Pecorino del Parco made my Marcelli Formaggi – a raw sheep’s milk cheese from Abruzzo, Italy.  This cheese has a harder, more crumbly texture and a grassy, floral flavor, which comes from all the wild herbs and flowers the sheep eat in the mountain grass.  Oh – and this one was paired with roasted tomatoes.

My favorite cheese in this round was the Nuvola di Pecora!

Finally… Manuela’s plate from Casellula:

 

In order from left to right the cheeses are:

  • Dallenwiler Geisschas – a raw goat’s milk cheese from Dallenwil, Switzerland.  Casellula describes it as “meaty & herbaceous”.  I’m sorry to say, I really don’t remember what this pairing is!  Manuela?  Andrew?  Help?  PS – this cheese is fairly impossible to find anything about on the internet.  Interesting.
  • Pondhopper made by Keeley’s Cheese Co.  - a raw cow’s milk cheese from King Ferry, New York.  This cheese is an Irish-style washed-rind cheese (the daughter at the farm is named Keeley and she studied cheese-making in Ireland before coming back to make cheeses at her family’s farm).  Casellula describes it as “Yeasty, sour, semi-firm yet creamy.”  I remember it being a little pungent and funky, which is typical of washed-rind cheeses – and also those are some of my favorite flavor profiles!  This was paired with sunchokes, which were earthy, vegetal and really paired well with the cheese (maybe my favorite pairing of the evening).
  • Amarelo de Beira Baixa – a raw sheep and goat mixed milk cheese from Beira Baixa, Portugal.  Described by Casellula as “Bluish flavor, spicy.” – it has a semi-soft texture, with small irregular holes and has a slight tangy, sour, bitter flavor.  For the US market, it has to be aged sixty days (in Portugal, it’s usually aged more like twenty) – so our version is a little firmer with a bit of a stronger flavor.  It’s a pretty yellow color, which is how it gets its name “Amarelo”, which means yellow in Portuguese.  This cheese was paired with a pineapple condiment.

Oh yeah, and for dessert, we had the Persille du Beaujolais Chevre – a raw goat’s milk blue cheese from the Rhone Alps in France.  ”Musty, spicy, classic” are the notes from Casellula.  They paired this (for dessert) with chocolate and cherries (in syrup – like a compote of some sort) – and they served us some tawny port to wash it down.  RIDIC!!!

Overall, I thought the cheeses and the selection at Casellula were AMAZING!  This is the first menu I’ve seen in a while that had a slew of cheeses I’ve never seen or heard of.  I am eager to go back and taste some of these again AND taste others!  To be honest, I love cheese so much by itself, that I often hesitate to pair it with anything – and I felt that way mostly at Casellula too, though their pairings are so delicious, I enjoyed them immensely on their own.  Tomorrow I’m meeting a friend for a cheese plate at Otto – so it’ll be fun to compare experiences.  I’m bringing my notebook with me this time!!

Now – for photos of the day:

Photo 304 out of 365 – “Windows and Mirrors”

"Windows and Mirrors" - Settings: ISO 6400, f/4.5, 1/40 sec, 50mm lens

I took this one in black and white, but when I loaded it, it was in color and I liked it better that way.  I like how you can see the reflection of my hands holding the camera in the bottom center of the fame and how you can see the sign post way back in the mirror and then again up closer in the window reflection.  Kind of fun.

Photo 305 out of 365 – “Owl Overhead”

"Owl Overhead" - Settings: ISO 400, f/3.2, 1/160 sec, 50mm lens

I took this at my friend Beck’s house yesterday – it is a funny little owl hanging from the lamp above her kitchen table.  It is translucent and I like how the owl was sort of glowing with light from above.

Now I’m off to the second photography lecture at ICP!  Whew.  ’Til tomorrow!

 

And… I’m BACK!

7 Feb

So – it’s been several days since my last post, but I am about 95% healthy again!  Yay!  The chicken soup, neti potting, ten thousand cups of tea and massive amounts of clementines definitely seemed to do the trick.  I love when the body rallies!

Anyway, tonight I had a divine cheese experience at Casellula – a place in hell’s kitchen I’ve been dying to try.  They had quite an extensive cheese menu and I went with a couple cheese-maniac friends of mine – Manuela, my fellow Murray’s cave intern and Andrew, a monger at Murray’s.  We got to sample ten cheeses – each served with a pairing treat of some sort – almost all of the pairings were made in-house.  The cheeses were awesome!  Our tasting tonight blew away the tasting experience Manuela and I had at Artisanal the other week.   I brought home the menu so I can list for you all the cheeses that we tried.  However, I’m going to do that tomorrow because it’s already almost ten and I need some QT with the hubby!

Here are my pictures from the last four days:

Photo 300 out of 365 – “Monger Madness”

"Monger Madness" - Settings: ISO 1600, f/5, 1/60 sec, 85mm lens

Yes… just another day at Murray’s buying cheese.  I was there last Thursday and this monger in the picture here is Michael.  It was his birthday and he was dressed to impress!  There’s always a lively time to be had at Murray’s!

Photo 301 out of 365 – “Bird Watching”

"Bird Watching" - Settings: ISO 100, f/4, 1/250 sec, 85mm lens

I took this photo last Friday.  I was walking by Tompkins Square Park in the East Village and there was a tree just on the inside of this fence with hundreds of these little birds in it.  Every couple minutes, they’d venture out from the tree and would line up on the fence or poke around on the sidewalk – until someone would walk by.  Then they’d spaz out and all fly back to the tree.  I was there taking pictures for a good ten to fifteen minutes before I got this photo I wanted – of the little bird on the fence in sharp focus with the neighborhood behind in blur (shallow depth of field).

Photo 302 out of 365 – “Dave”

"Dave" - Settings: ISO 6400, f/2.5, 1/60 sec, 85mm lens

Here’s our friend Dave again… he is super photogenic – it’s such a blast taking pictures of him!  I’m going to do head shots for him when it warms up a bit outside, which I’m really looking forward to.  Anyway, I’ve decided to spend the next week or so shooting in black and white – just to focus more on light and shadow and form.  I started this on Saturday and I’ve been enjoying the change of pace!  Everything sort of looks more serious in black and white – a little more artful in a way.

Photo 303 out of 365 – “Jake Plays Piano”

"Jake Plays Piano" - Settings: ISO 6400, f/2, 1/100 sec, 85mm lens

This here is little Jake – serenading us during the Superbowl halftime show with a piano recital.  He is gooooood.  I’m talking serious musical gift good… which is really quite inspiring and amazing to see in a five year old child.  It also makes me want to go back to taking piano lessons.  Another thing to add to the list!

Ok – signing off for tonight.  I’ll report more on our delicious cheese selection tomorrow!

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