Here's to Matt Gibson. He's just passed his 2 year anniversary here at Ryan Skuzlik Photography.2 years of abuse and still going strong!
The choice of a new generation.
Applied Arts 2013
It's always nice to be included in the Applied Arts Photo Annual.Here are some of my photos that made the cut this year.
To see the rest of the winners click here
Ultra Decadent Chocolate Cake
Toronto Life Cookbook - Lobster
Toronto Life Cookbook - Sandwich
Toronto Life Cookbook - Burger
Fog on Dwarf Trees A
Fog on Dwarf Trees B
Eat Street
I am always pushing to go messier, oozier, and runnier when shooting food… but it’s a fine line before it gets, well, sloppy. Shooting the Eat Street Cookbook put that concept to the test. Each recipe was provided by various food trucks found across North America, and our goal was to shoot each one with a casual, street food feel. It got messy, and we stained a lot of things, but it was a helluvalotta fun.
Whole Truck Burger
Chili Fries
Chocolate Diablo Cookies
Terimayo Oroshi
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Soba Noodles
Crab & Brie Grilled Cheese
Mac N Cheese Cones
Oysters
Grilled Swordfish
Pimento Mac & Cheese
Pork Chops with Lemon Potatoes
Mustard 5 ways
Food Styling: Noah WitenoffProp Styling: Madeleine Johari
5 different mustards
in a salad dressing
on toast
on a burger
as a marinade
on meatballs
Waiting
I love shooting landscapes and working with natural light. It's such a different approach than what I am used to working in studio. I had an opportunity to do this recently on a commercial shoot in Oregon and I was reminded how much waiting is involved. Waiting for the sun to move into the right position or waiting for the clouds to clear, waiting for the light to work it's magic and bring the landscape to life...so much waiting. Sometimes the waiting is completely wasted as the sun gets into that perfect position and that's when the clouds roll in and ruin everything. I don't really mind this though. It's a refreshing change of pace. It's like going fishing, it's fantastic when everything lines and you get that awesome shot, but it's also just nice to be out there even if thing don't fall into line. All that waiting gives you an opportunity to reflect and everything just seems to slow down a little.
So here are a few shots I took while waiting and waiting and waiting...
Toronto Star Cookbook
Jennifer Bain's Toronto Star Cookbook hits the shelves this week. We shot this project in studio last April. It's funny how you kind of forget about the work for a while and then it comes back to life with the release of the book a year later.
With recipes ranging from Brazilian fish stew, to bimbimpbap to beef kaftas to grilled cheese sandwiches, this cookbook is definitely the most eclectic selection of recipes i've ever shot.
The Toronto Star Cookbook includes recipes from the province's chefs, farmers, home cooks, food writers, store owners and many others. Inside are recipes from more than two dozen cultures, reflecting the province's rich multicultural food scene, as well as many Canadian classics. Jennifer selected and personally tested every one of the book's recipes, most of which have been featured in the Star since she took over the food beat in 2000. Also included are 25 READERS' CHOICE recipes, chosen by Star readers as their favourites of all time.
Prop Styling: Madeleine Johari Food Styling: Noah Witenoff
Publisher: Appetite by Random House
The Cover
Smoked Cheddar Grilled Cheese with Sriracha Ketchup
Ontario Buffalo Mozzarella with Tomatoes and Basil
Pasta All'Amatriciana
Bread Spread
Chapter Opener
Porchetta & Co's Rapini with Garlic and Chili
Garlic-Basil Smashed Potatoes
Beef Kaftas with Tahini-Lime Sauce
Caju's Brazilian Fish Stew
Geetha's Sweet Potato Usli
Noodle Spread
Carrot Quinoa Pie
Chocolate
Flavour Principles
Here is a sneak peak at Lucy Waverman and Beppi Crosariol's new cookbook, Flavour Principles, due out in the fall. We shot this cookbook over 2 weeks in Lucy's beautiful home last September. The house was turned upside down as the living room and dining room were converted into a studio and the basement was filled with props. I'm sure she was happy to have her home back after we left.
I've admired Lucy's work for a long time and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with her on the new cookbook. Her recipes are by far some of the best I've shot. Visually, the sense of colour, texture and freshness made these recipes a pleasure to shoot, and absolutely delicious to eat!
We saved the cocktail shoot for the end of the shoot, and as you can see in the last shot, Beppi's cocktails were a smash hit!
Art Director: Colleen Nicholson Prop Stylist: Madeleine Johari Food Stylist: Eshun Mott
Buffalo Mozzarella with Roast Tomoatoes
Stockyard Spare Ribs
Bubbly Drinks
Lemon Poppyseed Cakes
Grilled Pork on Flatbread
Korean Beef
Oysters
Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake
Celebratory booze fest at the end of the shoot.
New toy in the studio
We recently got the new Mola Rayo in the studio.Not sure what it does, or how to use it, but we're pretty pumped about it.
Toronto Life Real Estate 2013
The new Toronto Life Real Estate guide is out with cover shot by yours truly. I was hoping to see my adopted home of Mimico crack the top ten of the 'Where to Buy Now' neighbourhoods, but unfortunately, we didn't make the cut.
Interestingly, Greenwood-Coxwell (home of controversial, bad-boy designer Brooke Hennessy) made the list. Seems like there's a lot of great things going on in the east end. It's very cool to see how the city is changing as the years keep rolling on.
Out with the old, in with the new.
The time has come for me to part ways with my snapshot camera,the beautiful but dumb, Fujifilm x100.
I was drawn in by it's beautiful retro exterior, but after using it for a over a year, it's safe to say it's just not working out.
Here is my detailed review of the X100
Focus system: Garbage
Auto Exposure: Brutal
Image Quality: Decent
Body: Gorgeous!
So I've replaced my Fuji with the Olympus OM-D E-M5. I've just started to play around with it, but right off the bat it seems to be a vastly superior camera.
We shall see i suppose...