David Sorcher's PhotoWorld: February 2015

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

From the Sea to the Plate

Lobster as a meal did not become associated with class and wealth until well into the 20th century. Before that is was considered food fit only for the poor or lower class servants. In the right regions it was even served in prisons, often to the displeasure of the inmates. These days, of course, it generally means rather expensive dinners at fine seafood restaurants. But that doesn't always need to be the case.
The Canadian Maritimes are known for their lobster and their numbers are still abundant in the region. Even in the local supermarkets they are fairly cheap, but by taking a short drive out to the source we were able to purchase the freshest, sweetest lobsters available for only about $5.00 a pound. It also made for a great excuse for a sunrise ferry ride across the LaHave and a quick photographic expedition to one of Nova Scotia's great export industries.

The Crossing ©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Inside/Outside

This house is always a special treat for my eye whenever i am visiting Nova Scotia. It is a home away from home and base of operations for all our adventures in the Maritimes thanks to most gracious and loving hosts...but it also provides constant visual stimulation that commands my attention on a fairly regular basis. This collection from this past Christmas is pretty evenly split between DSLR and iPhone photos. Some mornings, as pictures presented themselves, i honestly couldn't be bothered to pull out the big camera between eggs and coffee. If you pay attention you can see which is which (lord, i do hope my DSLR still produces a superior quality photo), but the iPhone served perfectly for my purposes on enough occasions.
Here then is a series of images of interiors (mostly) and exteriors, inside and out. When i am here it feels like home.

©David Sorcher 2015

Ollie ©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

Ollie ©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

Nova Scotia; House; Shadow; Green; Windows, Door

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

©David Sorcher 2015

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Black & Ice

Here we are almost to the middle of February and i am still mining work from my Nova Scotia Christmas trip files...and yes, there will be more to come after this.
Today i present some images from an icy visit to Risser's Beach. The bleak weather of the day seemed ideal for a black & white treatment as the cold, gray sky was sucking most of the color out of the world anyway.

(Please click on images for an enlarged gallery view)

©David Sorcher 2015

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Eat, Drink & Be Merry...

I generally reserve this space for my more personal projects, but every now and then i like to highlight some of the work that actually helps pay the bills. Shooting food and drink makes up a good portion of the commercial work i do each year. My approach to food photography is an editorial one on one hand and an artistic one on the other. Usually i am on assignment for The Enquirer creating an online tour gallery of the latest bar or restaurant in town or providing some art for one of Polly Campbell's wonderful restaurant reviews. I tend to treat each meal as a miniature landscape on a plate that needs the same consideration of light, composition and color as any sunset lit cliff face in Nova Scotia might. But given the circumstances of the job i need to take a rather guerrilla approach to this work since i must usually get in and out fairly quickly, often during open business hours or while a new establishment is still gluing tiles to its floors and screwing lighting fixtures into its ceilings. So i don't have time nor space for big lights, food stylists or glycerine sprays and other food "cosmetics" to augment the beauty of my subjects. I generally like to work with natural light when i can, supplementing it with a reflector or a speedlight or two when necessary. My goal is not to necessarily produce the studio retouched perfection we see in high-end cookbooks, but hopefully to get your mouth watering and lips smacking just enough to make you think, hmmm, that looks tasty. Here then are my favorite food and drink shots of 2014. Bon appétit!

(please click on images for an expanded gallery view)

©David Sorcher 2014

Chef Jeremy Luers ©David Sorcher 2014

©David Sorcher 2014

Chef Mike Worth ©David Sorcher 2014

Just to expand a little on the food theme, here are a few favorites from the previous year that i hope whet appetite and your whistle just a little bit.