The wizard behind the curtain!

Since most of you never get the opportunity to be on a photo shoot or see our magic in action, here are a few "behind the scenes" shots to give you a glimpse of how we do it. This day we were on location at the fun Panama Joes in Long Beach with the dynamic duo, Cindie and Denise (and Tiffany, the soda fountain queen). They gave us some space in the back of the restaurant to shoot their tasty new dishes. We had full access to the kitchen (ever been in a commercial kitchen before? We have!), they served us what ever we wanted from the menu for lunch and we spent the day pondering whether Elvis was mexican or not (his velvety portrait hung over our heads between day-of-the-dead masks and colorful depictions of brave bull fighters; go figure).

Don't you feel just like Dorothy??

All photos courtesy of Heather Winters

Tiny Bites of Goodness

We had the opportunity to shoot for a secret upcoming product... cupcakes! The ladies made hundreds of mini-cupcakes and decorated them in all different ways. Every one of us was buzzing around the studio on a sugar high. We will let you know when this product hits the stores... you're gonna be excited!

Zoso. So Surreal.

Come Sit with Me. Come Drink with Me. Come Play with Me. It's not an illusion. It's just a really cool place. Hotel Zoso - Dig it.

Sweet Dreams...

Yes we can shoot a wine bottle on white. Yes we can shoot a portrait of a man. Yes we can shoot a hotel bedroom. But, what we love to do is take our everyday photo assignment and turn it into something special. Art, if you will. The same 'ole, same 'ole will get you stuck in a rut, unable to expand your creative horizons. So, we step out of the box and try to see our everyday in an amazing new way.

We like to keep dreaming.

SNEAK PREVIEW!

If you are one of the lucky few who read our blog, you will be thrilled to get a sneak preview of our upcoming promotional book, a Winter Cookbook (title to be released when Heather thinks of it)! In collaboration with the dynamic duo, Denise and Cindy of Food Fanatics, we decided that we wanted to do a project for ourselves, with ourselves as boss. It's all the recipes that the girls have created in their genius brains' and shot exactly the way that we think it should be shot. We call it "playing" in the photography world. Incredibly exciting after a year filled with doing projects for our clients, this one is all for Us! And if you're thinking, "Wow, I can't wait to get my hands on one of those spectacular books!", don't worry, we will be making them available to you when they are finished. But wait, there's more! Since this project has gotten our creative juices flowing once again, we have decided to make it a series. Yes, one for each Season. Lucky You!

We will let you know when it's complete, so go ahead and get your apron on and cooking pots dusted off...

Can I take your order please

Very excited to not be looking at, photographing or eating turkey anymore, we were in studio today taking beauty shots of different cuts of RED meat. Yum. Yum. Yum. Simple white plates with minimal garnishes, these steaks and chops would entice even the most adamant of vegetarians. No joke. With gorgeous light and superior food styling (the girls have been up to their elbows in raw meat all day) these scrumptious cuts are going to jump off the page! Which cut will you have?

They don't make them like they used to.

On our last trip to Atlanta, we had the chance to stay at the historic Georgian Terrace Hotel. Famously it is known for being the place where Arthur Murray, while still in college, started teaching dancing classes in the hotel's Grand Ballroom. As well, the Georgian was where they held the movie Gone With the Wind's Gala event. All the famous stars of the day were in attendance! Sadly, this gorgeous hotel fell to rack and ruin due to declining revenues, and in the 80's it was boarded up and considered condemned. Yet luckily for us (and our quest to always stay in amazing places) it found itself on the National Register of Historic Places due to being part of the "Fox Theater District" and was revitalized, first into luxury apartments then back into a splendid hotel. Since it was built back in 1910, the windows in each of the rooms opens outward (have you been in a modern hotel lately where the windows even Opened?) to give you an amazing view of the city below. Gazing upon our grand view of the city of Atlanta, it made us not feel so bad after missing a great playoff ball game that day. Such sights to behold!