Farmer's Market Still Life

In our five shared years, Shravan and I have never taken a picture together. Photography was a shared passion long before it became a profession for him and a project for me, an interest that introduced us back as summer employees at a student photo lab.

But working on the same photo? Never. We’ve taken them in the same place, of course – on trips, at family gatherings – but we always had our separate cameras, styles and setups; it’s easier that way.

Yet when my friend Amanda, the cook behind the famous tortilla soup, requested food photos for the walls of her new apartment, I knew I was out of my league. I wanted to create a still life series with fresh summer produce, a year-round reminder of farmer’s market bounty.

But doing that well takes more than a sunlit window and colorful plates. So I called in the expert, and in a matter of minutes our living room sprouted a forest of flashes.

The full studio setup is a little daunting, seriously painstaking… and highly effective. As Shravan’s expounded for years (on deaf ears), flashes let you paint with layers of light.

I can’t see myself going to these lengths every day, and might have had a minor meltdown somewhere around the 83rd constructive suggestion. But I’m pretty pleased with my first imperfect attempts, and I have Shravan to thank for patiently pushing my photography to new places.
 

Both photos are inspired by entries to a food lighting challenge on strobist.com.