Over the past few years I’ve had somewhat of an obsession with tying up food. Let’s call it a fascination…obsession sounds a little bit too psycho, and I’m not that. At least I don’t think I am. Norman?

If you’ve seen my food pairings series you’ve watched as I’ve tied meatballs to San Pellegrino with spaghetti, or a scoop of ice cream to a mug of root beer with string. There are others in that food pairings series, each tied precariously together.

So, what happens when we introduce a model to the equation? Well, it’s not completely about tying someone up…let’s not go there. But the idea of tying up things (or people) does force the question about how a person might interact with food, or try to interact when restricted in some way.

That’s the basic premise for what has evolved into a series of images involving models in the role of a marionette. This series is an ongoing project for me. Unfortunately I don’t see an end to the images swirling my head for this concept.

Here are a few images from the first set.

Credits: Hair & Makeup: Giovanni Delgado; Wardrobe Styling: Rebecca Neenan; Food Styling: Mary Ann Fowlkes

And as always a special thanks to our excellent crew.

That’s it for now.

– Kyle

Here’s the April 2013 desktop calendar / wallpaper image for you to use on your own computer. (download here)

Chocolate cake on a fork…hard to beat that…unless it’s chocolate cake in my mouth. 🙂

Happy April!

– Kyle

Directions:
1. Download Here.
2. (on Mac) go to  > System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver
3. Click the ” + ” button
4. Find the downloaded image on your computer and “Choose”
5. Close Preferences by clicking on the red dot in the upper left corner.

I realize I’m a bit tardy on posting February’s highs and lows. I have no excuse. Sure, I’ve been busy but my lack of commitment to getting a “high/low” blog post for February is very apparent. But today I am determined. I am committed. I am going to do this. Here goes…

February isn’t really my fav month in Nashville. It’s usually gray for the most part. It’s cold, most of the time. And, it’s just not a month to look forward to for me. Add to that the pressure of expressing my love on the 14th and I kinda get paralyzed. But, I’m happy to say I made it through February without too much trouble.

(By the way, I kinda focus on the business side of things for these highs and lows blog posts in case you’re thinking “Wow, Kyle has no personal life.” That’s probably still debatable.)

Highs
I lead a small workshop for Watkin’s College of Art, Design & Film where attendees learned a few things about food photography. The event was hosted by Silo (Elevated Southern Cuisine) a relatively new restaurant in the Germantown area of Nashville. We covered mostly lighting for food photography and some food styling tips and tricks. I always enjoy leading these kinds of workshops…the people that attend are always so interesting and eager to learn.

Mid-month I ventured up to Louisville to spend a day photographing unique restaurants and their owners and chefs for Food & Wine Magazine. There’s a small area experiencing some revitalization on East Market Street in Louisville. Look for the story to print in May. Nothing like getting out and doing a day of reportage photography…unpredictable available light, unusual surroundings…it’s like the complete opposite of how we operate in studio. It’s good therapy for me.

We had some good client work in the studio. Nothing too outlandish, just good clients with good shot lists and as always our good crew on good behavior. Sometimes “good” is perfect. No complaints here.

Lows
I’m a little concerned. Maybe I need to keep better notes during the month so I’ll have some really good “lows” to report. Perhaps I’m losing my edge…I used to be really critical. I honestly can’t think of any lows for February. Happy crew. Happy clients. Happy me. Personally? We’re good. The fish is still alive. My boys got to make a snowman or two. Went to a Predators game…won in overtime!

So there you have it, or as Jill, my agent in the 90’s would say “Bob’s you uncle.”

Ah…wait! I almost forgot…mid-February I started seeing a huge surge of inquiries regarding my Food Pairings series. Come to find out Trendland picked it up and started a flurry of traffic. Next thing I know I’m talking to Huffington Post, San Pellegrino, Winelife (The Netherlands), Le Journal de Femmes (France), Trendhunter, Design Taxi, and answering emails in Spanish, French, Dutch (as best I can with an online translator). This list goes on (see Google search results). Apparently Food Pairings are quite the rage. 🙂

Until next month (which is already the day after tomorrow)…

-Kyle

Well, you asked for it…or maybe you didn’t. Regardless, I’ll be speaking Wednesday March 27 at AIGA Nashville. Come hear (and see) me share the one single thing (and the many other things) I’ve done over my creative career.

If that’s not enough to lure you to come then consider all the cool creatives you’ll get to mingle with at this event. At least come and say “hi”…or just heckle during my presentation. Rotten tomatoes are optional. 🙂

details:
Wednesday, March 27, 2012
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
9 Lea Avenue*
Nashville, TN 37210

*Emma Headquarters in the refurbished trolly barns across the street from Crema.

Here’s the March 2013 desktop calendar / wallpaper image. (download here) These wonderful ceramic bowls were created by Kristin Murray and are just part of a series of pieces we photographed for this talented artist.

Happy March!

– Kyle

Directions:
1. Download Here.
2. (on Mac) go to  > System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver
3. Click the ” + ” button
4. Find the downloaded image on your computer and “Choose”
5. Close Preferences by clicking on the red dot in the upper left corner.

I hate to sound unexcited about the New Year but I’ll be honest, January came and went with no big news or unusual events. I do like the energy the New Year brings—clients wanting to push some things creatively, renewed enthusiasm and focus, and a general sense of starting with a clean slate.

Highs for January:

After months of editing and paginating, my new food photography portfolio arrived. I felt like Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin in The Jerk) when he got all excited screaming “The new phone book’s here! The new phone book’s here!”. I was completely blown away by the quality of the printing and how the book all came together. Hats off to Lincoln and team over at Pushdot.

An ongoing “high” I take for granted is how much fun I have working with our great crew and great clients. There is always laughter on set and that’s always a high on my list.

Lows for January:

For me with the New Year comes with new goals and aspirations—from new concepts I want to shoot to new ways of running the business. I’ll be honest, that all comes with a sense of being overwhelmed. I bring this upon myself and that’s not always good. But, I continue to push—that’s just the way I’m wired. So, January turned out to be a bit overwhelming…setting goals, making my lists and probably doing more “thinking” than I should. Perhaps I need a goal to set less goals. 🙂

Now on to February—my month for “doing”.

On a personal note, I finally got over to experience Barista Parlor. While I may not become a regular there, I’ll certainly be back.

Have a great February!

– Kyle