11:43AM, 2/3/2010 - Late Season Winesap Apple with Dead Leaf

The leaf is dead, but the apple lives on.

I find it amazing that apples keep for so many months after harvest. According to AskMen.com (a web site for kitchen challenged men, among other things), “if stored in a cool, dry area (the basement and the fridge drawer are always good picks), apples can last anywhere between 3 to 6 months.”

Honey has an indefinite shelf life. Supposedly in Egypt in 1800, some archeologists found a pot of honey and, when opened, found it tasted just fine. (Both died later from the curse of Tutankhamen. >I’m making that part up<).

Sliced turkey, on the other hand, gets slimy in a few days.

Go Figure.

10:28AM, 11/4/2009 Rose Hips Heart

Occasionally, I’ll mosey over to Wikipedia to gather a little information about something I’ve recently shot and then grab a couple of key words and search for more reliable information. Today’s results were more amusing than usual.

Hmmmm. Fact or Wikipedia fiction? “Rose hips have recently become popular as a healthy treat for pet chinchillas. Chinchillas are unable to manufacture their own Vitamin C, but lack the proper internal organs to process many vitamin-C rich foods. Rose hips provide a sugarless, safe way to increase the Vitamin C intake of chinchillas and guinea pigs.” Now, is that so the chinchillas will make nice shiny fur coats?

Continuing on, “Rose hips are also fed to horses. The dried and powdered form can be fed at a maximum of 1 tablespoon per day to improve coat condition and new hoof growth.” Okay, maybe that’s plausible, but why the dosage? So we do it right?

And then it goes on, “The fine hairs found inside rose hips are used as itching powder” Itching powder? What? No reference to whoopee cushions? And finally, this: “Rose hips can be used to make Palinka, a traditional Hungarian alcoholic beverage.” That’s a traditional fruit brandy produced in Transylvania (no references or links to either, True Blood, The Vampire Dairies or Twilight). Nice, but I looked that up in Wikipedia and there’s no mention of rose hips.

I didn’t search elsewhere today, this was too much fun. Gotta love Wikipedia.

Anyway, we’re deep into fall and this capture was a pleasant surprise. There’s something about that long, bare green stem in the foreground that makes this work. Maybe because it looks like that big vein that real hearts have.

10:15AM, 10/07/2009 - Plums at Union Square Market

It’s been a long week and I’m off to Boston to do some cycling and check out the markets. There are some plans in my back pocket for new portfolio pieces and those should be under way next week some time. I’m thinking about moving on to a black portfolio, the white book is pretty well rounded out and it seems a good compliment. Anyway, fire looks good against black. Look for the test results, coming soon to a blog near you.

And, Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. That should make his day. It sure made mine.

Now, if only he can get a decent healthcare bill through congress so freelancers aren’t penalized by the system any longer.

3:09PM 06/24/09

Red Onions as Fireworks, Union Square Market, NYC – 3:09PM Wednesday, June 24, 2009

I couldn’t help but think of the 4th of July, post processing these puppies. It wasn’t until a “root mask” was made and the contrast boosted that these absolutely incredible roots revealed themselves, metaphorically, as a trajectory of sparks. Later in the week I whipped up a stir fry with these guys – some fresh broccoli, snap peas and carrots and a nice chunk of broiled salmon marinated in mirin, garlic, ginger and soy sauce on a bed of somen noodles.  I have to learn to plate this stuff. I can cook. I can’t plate. Maybe I just need a stylist.

Happy 4th.

The Three Amigos

I’ve been shooting fruits and vegetables for so many years in the studio and in Union Square and other markets, that it has produced an ongoing relationship (get it? Produce? Oh, never mind…). Richard Avedon once commented, “I’ve worked out a series of nos. No to exquisite light, no to apparent compositions, no to the seduction of poses or narrative, and all these nos force me to the yes. I have a white background. I have the person I’m interested in and the thing that happens between us.”

Somehow I’ve managed to do that with fruits and vegetables.

3:00PM 6/24/09

Bin of Bing Cherries, Union Square Market, NYC – 3:00PM, Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Sometimes I just hang around a piece of fruit until it gives me something I can use.

(Random note to self: So much rain. The total New York City rainfall from June 1 – June 24 is 8.65 inches. That’s 5.60 inches above normal so far and we’re not done with June. We’ve had rain 20 of the first 24 days this month… No wonder everything tastes waterlogged. Hey, where’s summer?)