Monday, February 22, 2010

Food Photography with Penny de los Santos

How lucky am I to have been able to take a food photography workshop taught by the talented Penny De Los Santos. Her photos have been published in National Geographic, Newsweek, Time and Saveur Magazines just to name a few. One of her photographs graces the cover of the March 2010 issue of Saveur.

Last April I gave up a seat on a flight in return for an extra night in Miami, firsts class tickets home the next day and a voucher for another flight within a year. I thought I wasn't going to have the chance to use the voucher before it expired this spring until I saw that Aran of Canelle et Vanille had made arrangements for Penny's workshop to come to a culinary school in West Palm Beach! There was no way I could pass this up and frankly, escaping New England's winter for a few days in Florida was a perfect side dish to the whole plan.

Penny's class was worth every bit of this little adventure of mine - which included not eating a single proper meal yesterday as I connected my way down from Logan Airport. And you all know how I feel about not eating...and in particular, eating crap.

The four-hour workshop was well organized, informative, instructive yet informal. Penny shared wonderful insight, gave gentle constructive criticism, and allowed for plenty of questions and discussion. She mixed lecture with hands-on picture making sessions and really allowed us to take what we had just learned and try to apply it to a real-world situation. You really can't get more out of four-hours.



For me, what I leave with is a new approach to my picture making, a more intentional focus, and a desire to make as many pictures as I can. I can't wait to get back into the kitchen!