First shoot since moving to Tassie
Hello to whatever readers of this blog are left after an extended period without a post. We upped and left Queensland at the end of September 2010 and moved into our new home, a converted church hall and unconverted (as yet) church. Extensive renovations are under way; after 5 months we’re still working on the kitchen design, although we have purchased the appliances. For the range we went with Falcon, the gas/electric combination manufactured by Arga of the UK. Our new fridge and dishwasher are by Liebherr and the rest of the kitchen will be pretty much commercial - vinyl floors and stainless steel benches. Outside we’re in the process of constructing a 6m x 6m hardwood structure complete with kitchen sink and toilet which will house a barbecue, pizza oven and refrigerator.
Naturally there hasn’t been a lot of opportunity to work due to the upheaval so we were please to pick up a couple of projects. The first, a web site for Exquisite Flavours of Hobart is under way. The second was a photography and video shoot for Kabuki Restaurant and Accommodation located on Tassie’s east coast south of Swansea. A stunningly beautiful location houses a fabulous Japanese restaurant and a number of delightful cottages. Over 2 days we produced 9 food images and 34 minutes of video footage for the Kabuki web site.
Here are a couple of the final images. The first is Kabuki’s signature dish, a Japanese style seafood platter which includes sushi, sashimi, tempura, abalone as well as more traditional seafood platter offerings.
Part of the deal with Kabuki was that they had to put us up and feed us for the two days of the shoot so we managed to sample pretty much the entire menu, including this delicious offering. Chef Mitsuko (Michi) Nakanichi selects only the freshest seafood available in Tassie, as well as flying some in from Japan to ensure the quality remains the highest possible. Yet at $69 for two the price is very reasonable when you compare it against the price of similar seafood platter type offerings from other restaurants.
The second dish we photographed was ‘Michi’s Magic Bento’ which was essentially a tasting plate of many of the restaurant’s dishes. Michi adds Australian ingredients to his dishes, such as his Wallaby Yakiniku - thinly sliced wallaby pan fried with seasonal vegetables in a sauce made from sake, fresh ginger and garlic. I had this a couple of times while we were there as it really was so mouthwateringly delicious. This dish has now become the header image for this blog.
The dish was photographed on black plexiglass we took along for the purpose. We always carry black and white plexiglass as well as neutral polycarbonate when we go on location. These complement our paper rolls and portable background system. All our gear packs into our 6×4 trailer fitted with a security cage and waterproof cover. The trailer is lined with 2 inch polyester foam and the most delicate equipment - lights, cameras, etc - are securely packed into Pelican cases.
The restaurant is situated right on the edge of Oyster Bay and has stunning views as can be seen from the next image, shot to show a range of side dishes and other smaller menu offerings (right).
For the shot of the sushi platter we moved the camera position to almost directly overhead. The main light, a small Westcott softbox with double diffusion was moved to highlight the texture of the rice and prevent it burning out against the white plate. All in all this was a very enjoyable shoot for several reasons. Not only was the food top quality and well presented (although Michi did get a bit edgy with us after we’d take his carefully plated dish apart and rebuild it to our satisfaction. When he saw the images, though, he understood the necessity for plating and finishing in camera and that even with the best chefs preparing the food, you cannot simply take a dish, plonk it in front of the camera and shoot it if you want professional quality food images. When you’re shooting for restaurants this is often hard to convey to chefs. Luckily both the owners, Michi and Terry, were the most delightful clients we’ve ever had and gave us free rein to present their food and location in the best possible way. Thank you, guys!
Shortly after the images were finalised and sent to Kabuki’s web developer, the Japanese earthquake and Tsunami happened. We pray for Michi and his family that they were spared the devastation and are safe and well.