MattBites

Introducing Teri

Perhaps one of the greatest things that has happened to me lately was getting the nicest email from a photography student at Art Center College of Design. She expressed interest in working together in an educational capacity and for about two weeks I was completely floored. Me? Matt? What on earth could I possibly to do help a student? Let alone a student from Art Center??????? After getting to know Teri (it turns out we have a mutual friend, the ever stunning and sweet photographer Gabriel Goldberg) and some very official paperwork from the college I am now super pleased to say I am working with wonderful young student on an independent study program. As in, this doofus is a mentor! With a student from Art Center! Can you believe it?

Like almost every situation in life, things run both ways. In getting to know Teri I am inspired by her interest, creativity and desire to learn. These qualities are almost eclipsed by her talent....man oh man she's good. And while I'm happy to share my experience with her I'm also secretly in love with the fact that I get to learn what she brings to photography and what drives her to create. And we both have graphic design backgrounds. I think that's mighty neat.

Here are two shots which sum up how amazing she is:

Teri also has a great blog about photography and design (and some gorgeous polaroids, too!) and you should check it out here.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend and Teri, thank you thank you thank you!

Dear Margaret

This is my friend Meg. We've known each other forever and we go wayyyyy back. I mean, like, prehistoric times. She's the only person I know who caused me to get in so much trouble for cutting up in an office which led to a big cubicle panel being installed between us. I love that. And I love the fact that I was with her as she peed on little sticks numerous times as she double and triple checked the results of her pregnancy test.  I love her because she makes yummy vegan dinners when we visit and we sit outside and eat. And I love her because she knows me better than anyone else and is so pleasantly crabby it ain't funny. Or is that crabbily pleasant? I also love her because her husband is super super super famous and amazing and sweet.

I love her so much that I'm willing to forgive the voicemail that was left for me today. It went like this:

"Hey Mo, it's me. Where the hell are you? YOU ARE SO COMPLETELY BORING AND YOUR BLOG IS DEAD. DEAD AND BORING AND OLLLLLLLLD. Tired and old. OLD and tired. Gaw. You must post again. Toodles!"

Ok, so I made up the "toodles" part because if you know Meg you know she's never really all that pleasant. Or at least not to me she ain't. Look at that picture again and try to argue. And that's exactly why I love her.

And the truth is yes, I've been painfully absent from this blog lately. I don't mean to be, it's just that I've been busy with the day job, shooting amazing food for people like Mark Peel and these lovely ladies, as well as lining up some really interesting gigs.

Oh, and yea, there's this:

Ladies and gentlemen, this is my new studio.

MY. NEW. STUDIO.

As in a real, naturally lit space in downtown Long Beach. If you think I'm not giddy and giggling like a child then you're wrong because I cannot wipe this permasmirk off my face. And why would I? I'm super excited to be shooting in such an amazing space now and not in my garage or some random space. Not that I don't love my garage and all. It's just, well, you can see why I love it.

So Meg, I hope I'm off the hook for not posting lately and I promise that once I get settled I'll be back to sharing way too much information about myself and your pregnancy tests.

Forgiven? I thought so. I love you!

Is This Thing On?

I had a great time chatting with Greg Washington of Inquiringmind Magazine for their second edition of the online magazine Focus. Have you seen it? Damn, it's sharp sharp sharp and I'm honored to have been included in it this month. It was nice to have some questions that made me think and took me way back to my childhood and it was really refreshing to leave the tech specs alone for a bit.

Tell your friends! It's a great thing these guys are doing and their design skills make me drool. Oh, and try not to scare yourself with the big picture of my dorky face that flashes on the screen. In fact, you may want to get some paper and a piece of tape and cover that part of your monitor. I promise no one will look at you strange if you explain what you're doing. Yikes.
 

Behind the Turkey Scenes

While the rest of us get ready for the big day and scramble to decide on which turkey (heritage? natural? frozen?) and which method (bacon-wrapped? deep-fried? traditionally roasted?) I'll be planning on celebrating my secret Thanksgiving tradition. It involves a sandwich or two, some wine, maybe some pie, and a giant stack of DVDs, pillows and small dogs. Am I refusing to give thanks on this very special day? Of course not. It's just that for the past 10 years or so I've celebrated Thanksgiving smack dab in the middle of summer with a gaggle of stylists, photographers and assistants. Of course it's not a real Thanksgiving but one specially created for the amazing world of advertising. A world that exists so that you'll buy the ultimate/free-range/perfect/no-fuss/quick-and-easy insert-item-here. And like the Wizard having his curtain accidentally pulled back, I decided to let you in on a few Thanksgiving advertising secrets.

Oh, the hate mail I am sure to get over this.

Before I go any further, let me tell you that the food I work with is always real. Always. Thanks to that law known as truth in advertising, all of the food I art direct or photograph is real. It has to be. But that doesn't mean it has to be edible. But if you know me personally you know I'm not much for duping folks or stretching the truth so I keep it real, yo. It's just easier that way.

Advertising vs. Editorial

Pick up any editorial magazine on the newsstand and you're likely to see a real, fully cooked turkey on the cover. I love the fact that most of the turkeys photographed are real -- crispy burnt edges and all.  However, look at that ad selling stuffing or stemware and most likely that turkey has been partially cooked and painted. Yes, I said painted. But don't freak out, it's all edible, although Tamari-tinted Turkey probably won't be a hit with your guests. Believe it or not, people freak out when they see a real turkey but feel slightly comforted when they see a perfectly shaped, light brown specimen. Gotta give the peeps what they want.

Summer Turkey & Stuffing

Because of production deadlines and the fact that we work in advance, us advertising folks prepare months ahead of time to meet print and distribution deadlines. This means that as I type this I'm up to my eyeballs in Valentine's Day and spring food holidays like Easter and Passover. For the end of the year I always try to get my holidays in by mid-August, but therein lies the problem: access to real seasonability. But that doesn't mean I don't have tricks up my sleeve. I have a secret source for pomegranates and pumpkins, and if I'm lucky I'll get them by the end of the month so that my Thanksgiving table looks like it's really November -- even if we're still slathering on the sunscreen off camera.

I learned a very nice tip from my friends at Gourmet; work out a year in advance and take advantage of the bounties of the season. They shoot summer spreads in summer for the following year and they do the same for the holidays. In fact, for a fantastic inside peek you should watch this.

A Turkey Is A Turkey Is A Turkey

Luckily Thanksgiving is such a traditional holiday. I mean, there are only so many ways to shoot a turkey and that makes my life as an art director a bit easier. While there are people who offer their own delicious twists on what to do with the birds it's nice to know that it's still a holiday celebrated pretty much the same way all over. Having said that I thought it'd be fun to go into my work archives and talk turkey. A poultry show-and-tell. And just so you know, doing this makes me feel tired and old and only emphasizes how delicious my non-turkey sandwich is going to taste next week.

Photographer: Jon Edwards   Food Stylist: Mardi Brown

Boy, me and my bright ideas. My concept was to take it outdoors and show a turkey in a vineyard. This is California, after all, where sunshine is in ample supply and we're fortunate enough to play around with the slight seasonal irregularities. Or so I thought.

After this campaign ran someone brought it to my attention that Thanksgiving is in November and that grapes would have already been harvested. Ooops! Isn't that funny? Isn't that just silly? Who knew?

But seriously, look at those grapes! You can't buy grapes that beautiful! Ok, maybe you can.

Prepping a turkey in a makeshift kitchen and rushing it a few miles down a back road and into the middle of a working vineyard when the sun is blazing can certainly test your patience. Not to mention the terrifying flesh-eating bees that began to burrow into the turkey. I'm not kidding.

What I learned: keep it in a studio
What I liked: Come on, with the exception of the implausible seasonal scheduling, it's still a beautiful shot.

Photographer: K. Russel    Food Stylist: Janet Miller

You wouldn't know it but just 100 feet from these beauties were working trannies, meth users and a few hustlers. I guess when you shoot in the middle of Hollywood that's bound to happen. But these are real and make me hungry. The turkeys, not the drug users.

Many times photographers and art directors will shoot multiple versions and angles for different uses. It's also nice to let the food stylist experiment and work their magic on the turkeys.

What I learned: bitches better step off, that's my corner
What I liked:  Simplicity is always elegant. Sex workers not so much.

 

 

Photographer: Jon Edwards   Food Stylist: THE Norman Stuart. Yes, that one.

Had I just gone camping? Returned from an African safari? Whatever it was it's quite obvious I wanted wild! lush! turkey! Look at all that garnish! Luckily the ever-amazing Norman obliged me and gave me abundance, and I thank him. He also prepared this turkey with the ultimate crunchy skin, but in retrospect I should have selected another bird as this gal ain't the shapliest. But I only had 2 to work with and we had to move fast. C'est la vie.

What I learned: Tons of Hollywood gossip from the 70s and 80s, and oh, always bring extra turkeys.
What I liked: It's different and looks like no other turkey I've done.

Photographer: Jon Edwards and me    Food Stylists: Denise Vivaldo & Cindie Flannigan

TALK ABOUT A PRODUCTION! After years of keeping it simple I decided to bring in Laurie Behr, prop stylist and amazing friend, to build a set based on some rudimentary illustrations I sketched up. I wanted tons of light through windows, a very warm and sunny feeling, and by golly she hit the nail on the head! That's not a real room, it's not a real wall, but it's a real turkey and real wine back there. How do I know? I poured it (and sipped it throughout the day).  My friends Denise and Cindie worked magic on this turkey and it captures a beautiful warm Thanksgiving afternoon meant for a crowd. Did I mention it was like 97 degrees that day?

Photographer: Matt Armendariz    Food Stylist: William Smith

I don't need to tell you how much trouble I got into once the invoices rolled in back in 2006. Turns out hiring a staff of 11 to work on a holiday shoot isn't cheap, but I'm a firm believer that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than persimmons. Get it? I made a joke.

Bad art director! Bad!

This was my first year shooting my own Thanksgiving campaign from beginning to end and because of that I was able to keep it reasonable. I had no choice. I worked with the wonderful William Smith and it was a quiet, intimate shoot. He's a master with food and has a way with garnish like no other. I wanted a rustic, casual bird with a nice shape, but if you've shot turkey it's always a bit difficult to get a good angle. I think I did aiiight.

...........................................................................................................................................

So what have I learned through the years? Turkeys are kind of ugly but taste good, I dislike Thanksgiving in August and I couldn't work with a more talented group of people. I'm also starting 2008 next month to take advantage of the seasons. Why? Hunting for cranberries in July is for the birds.

Ok, I'll stop.

A special thanks to everyone and to the respective photographers for allowing me to post these images.

Matt Teaches A Class!

Are you in New York City? Are you interested in a few hours of food blogging talk, photography chit chat and some food styling tips with some really goofy guy named Matt whose blog you just happen to reading this very second? Then stop by the Culinary Center at Whole Foods Market Bowery where I'll be teaching "The Ins And Outs of Food Blogging" with the good folks at my alma mater on Sunday, July 15th.

I must admit that I was flattered beyond belief when I was approached for a class. It's Whole Foods Market, for pete's sake! And although it's my first class with Whole Foods Market, I'm no stranger to the natural foods juggernaut. I got my start in the food business back in Austin with Whole Foods 17 years ago (anybody remember Brodie Oaks?) and even though it was a small natural foods grocer at that time with 5 stores and I've since moved on, I've never lost my deep connection to the company as they've expanded and gone global. I still consider them part of my family, so when the offer came to teach a class I didn't have to think twice.

You can register for my class here as well as discover all the other amazing classes they offer. I'm bummed I missed the cooking class series with the folks from Saveur Magazine! I can only imagine how cool that was.

I look forward to seeing you!

In the next few weeks I will begin working on my very first cookbook. Ok, it's not my cookbook exactly, but a cookbook for a celebrity personality that will hit the stands sometime in February 2008 (and god no, it's not Ms. EVOO... I have some standards, people!).  I'll be art directing the whole shebang and providing some additional photography for the book. And while I'm no stranger to providing creative direction  (I've probably art directed over a thousand photo shoots over the past 17 years), this will be my first cookbook adventure from beginning to end. And I'm thrilled. And excited. And nervous. And giddy. Between nonstop emails between the editor and food stylists ("more dramatic food shots? more action shots? who's doing wardrobe? who's paying me? what's for lunch? can we hire really cute hot models? do I get a director's chair?") and scouting a location for the last day of photography, I've been a busy boy and that's good...it keeps me out of trouble.

I often get asked about the creative process and if I have a method to my madness. I do not. I am a sponge and try to absorb as much as possible. Inspiration comes from everywhere, and about the only thing I can count on is that inspiration and ideas are always spontaneous. I've jumped out of the shower to jot something down, pulled over on the side of the rode to make notes, and flung my exhausted body out of bed at 3:23am to make a note about a certain color and its relation to plate or napkin. But because this is a big budget job it would behoove me to prepare a creative brief so that we're all on the same page and ready for every single little detail and snafu that can and will arise during a week-long shoot.

Ah, there. All done.

So now that my creative brief is done and my margins are jumbled with notes,  I will rest better knowing I have a direction based on the theme and recipes from the author. As soon as I can reveal or share the details I will. But as I spent the past few days going through cookbooks and identifying what I loved and disliked about them it made me think: what are your favorite cookbooks, gentle readers? I know we're all pretty savvy readers here and I'd be interested in hearing what your favorite cookbooks are and why. What makes you love a cookbook? Is it the simplicity of recipe preparation? Colorful and engaging photography? Wit? Good Design? Clever writing? Something new fangled or an old trusty reliable tome?

I'd love to hear from you!