New Dog, New Cookbook
Catching up on the past few months
When the world’s on literal and metaphorical fire, jumping back into regular posting to a newsletter seems futile. And on top of that, there’s so much to catch up on, so where do I start?
Guess I’ll start with the good stuff and take it from there.
Our Birdy-girl
After losing Benny, I decided we needed to adopt a different breed of dog— smaller, easier for me to lift, and less prone to osteosarcoma than greyhounds. When Gil and I boarded the plane for our return flight from Louisiana at Christmas, I took a quick look at Petfinder and saw two adorable aussiedoodle sisters who seemed like a good fit for us — laid back and submissive, though a bit younger than we were looking for at 11 months old. I fired off an email to the agency immediately, heard back from them within a few minutes and started the adoption process. By the time we landed, she said they had over 20 applications for the sisters, but we were first in line, so we settled on Nova, now Birdy. She joined our family December 30th, giving Gil a baked-in excuse to avoid NYE festivities with friends.
She’s been an education, to say the least. We knew about, but didn’t understand an aussiedoodle’s intelligence; greyhounds have a smarts-ceiling we’d gotten used to over the years. Birdy blazes her way through puzzle toys, loves watching videos of birds, and exploits loopholes like a seasoned lawyer. We started obedience training a few weeks ago, and it’s going well, even with her headstrong ways. She’s been an expensive lesson too, necessitating new shoelaces, AirPods and reading glasses almost immediately.
Follow along at https://www.instagram.com/ourbirdygirl
Photography happenings
With commercial photography, there’s usually a big lag between the photo shoot and when the images are able to be shared. With cookbooks, it’s the better part of a year before I can post images, going down to only weeks with most social media or website jobs. Packaging falls somewhere in the middle.
Last fall, the team at Smith Design hired me to photograph vegan mushroom steaks from Meati to be featured on their packaging. We also photographed plated dishes incorporating the steaks for the back of the packaging to give the consumer serving ideas. While you might look at these images and think they’re fairly straightforward, they were the culmination of detailed, strategic planning, mockups and rounds of approvals before we even stepped foot into the studio. The talented food stylist at Smith Design brought those plans to life, and I highlighted color, texture and a general sense of yummyness through careful lighting and attention to detail.
I couldn’t be happier with the way the images and packaging turned out!
December and early January were spent photographing a new cookbook — The Secret Life of Chocolate Chip Cookies by Marissa Rothkopf! It’s an extension of her Substack (which you really should subscribe to — I’ve already bookmarked her latest recipe for sticky toffee pudding). Though I’m not a cookie person and am rarely persuaded by chocolate, I happily sampled everything that crossed my lens, and let me tell you — this is one cookbook you won’t want to miss! Marissa’s recipes are inspired, and go far beyond the starting point of Toll House Cookies. Keep an eye out for her white chocolate-macadamia nut-lemon zest cookie; it’s an outstanding recipe.
Last week, I had my first big studio shoot of the year, where I photographed packaged scones for social media and website use. I had a ball and came home with a big box of delicious goodies. Can’t wait for them to hit stores here in the northeast! Maybe this’ll be the year of baked goods photography?
A midwinter sale
Because this winter is grinding on me, and we all need to stretch our dollars further, I’ve discounted the prints in my shop for a limited time. I just printed several of them for an upcoming art show and love the vibrant colors my printer is able to put on paper.
Here’s a small collection of my favorites.
Links and more
Speaking of, The Opera House is streaming for free at Met Opera on Demand
David Johansen’s brought a lot of joy to a lot of people over the years. He’s had a run of poor health in the past several years and could use some help.
The creativity spiral will knock out your anxiety.
Courtney Milan on the card catalog effect
“For most people, social media gives you this sense that unless you care about everything, you care about nothing. You must try to swallow the world while it’s on fire.”
Social media posting =/= political activism. But calling your elected officials counts, and 5 Calls makes it easy. I’ve also been volunteering at our local food bank since my old knees made volunteering at the animal shelter too difficult. I like working with my hands, meeting people face-to-face, and serving my community in some small way.
Reading
Box Office Poison by Tim Robey. As an unapologetic fan of David Lynch’s Dune, I really enjoyed reading about the clusterfuck that project was from start to finish.
David Kibbe’s Power of Style
Stop Looking for Zebras by Robert B. Smith
“The writer’s role is to be a menacer of the public’s conscience. He must have a position, a point of view. He must see the arts as a vehicle of social criticism and he must focus on the issues of his time.” Writing Lessons from The Twilight Zone by Matt Zoller Seitz
Listening
Highway Prayers by Billy Strings
Absolute Torch and Twang by k.d. lang
'Love is a myth,' Grandfather Trout said. 'Like summer.'
'What?'
'In winter,'Grandfather Trout said, 'summer is a myth. A report, a rumor. Not to be believed in. Get it? Love is a myth. So is summer.”
― John Crowley, Little, Big
I found a tattered copy of Little, Big at a used book sale at Oakwood Mall back in early ’80s. The themes were obscure and too advanced for me at the time, but it took root as my favorite book and has remained so all these years. Gil bought the illustrated anniversary version for me/us, and it’s been sitting on the shelf since; I think it’s time for another re-read. I’m sure I’ll discover something new in its pages, the way I always do.
Sure, we’re covered in snow and ice and spring seems as far away as ever, but now’s the time to prepare for morel season.
Watching
For the past couple of years, we’ve been working our way through old TV series. Barney Miller and The Mary Tyler Moore Show both held up really well, but later seasons of MASH and The Bob Newhart Show maybe not so much. Now, we’re onto The Rockford Files, which is loads of fun. I especially love that Jim’s primary motivator seems to be getting paid.
Lovely post, Amy.
Very happy to see all the stuff you are doing.
New dogs... are always a challenge but oh so worth it.
Keep on shooting!
Completely agree with Don. Great informative post. 👍