Happy Holidays to you and yours. I hope your homes are filled with warmth, love and delicious treats this holiday season!
Eat, drink and be Merry!!
Hey everyone! So things have been full speed ahead over here lately. It’s been an incredible ride! I just got back from my show opening on the picturesque and adorably New England island of Nantucket. The show opening was a huge success with an enormous turn out. People were flooding the sidewalk outside the gallery and stayed and discussed the pieces for hours. It was overwhelmingly positive and quite incredible to hear the discussions people were having about the work. Pretty dang cool!
Anyway, there hasn’t been any time to shoot some pretty food for ya’ll but I wanted to share some quick happy snappy photos of the gallery space and the press release from the gallery with you guys. I don’t have photos from the actual opening (I was too busy talking and drinking!) but I imagine with all the people none of the work would be visible anyway!
If you find yourself on Nantucket this summer, please stop in and visit Susan to see work from myself and 3 other extremely talented artists. If you do, be sure to let me know what you think!
Have a lovely week!
A major project I’ve been working on for the past few months is a summer gallery show at the Hostetler Gallery in Nantucket, MA. This was an incredibly fun project that allowed me to just get weird in the studio. Simply fantastic and liberating! The imagery sort of took on a look of it’s own and, to be honest, a traditional matted photograph framed behind glass simply isn’t my style so I spent time experimenting with different papers as well as contemporary and unique ways to present the print. Well, I found it! The presentation is glass free and floated, simply gorgeous. The paper has a chrome quality that accentuates the contrast and graphic nature of the photographs.
Anyway, enough of that. If you find yourself on the beautiful mini island of Nantucket please pop into the gallery and speak to Susan, the gallery director. She’s fantastic and will make you a lovely brew to sip while you look at all the amazing art she represents. If you do stop in, I would love to know what you think!!!
Hostetler Gallery
42 Centre Street
Nantucket, MA 02584
508.228.5152
I’ve also added a “personal art” section to my website to showcase the images that are currently available for purchase at the gallery or directly through me if you don’t find yourself in Nantucket. The prints come in a few different sizes and they are all limited edition.
Here are a few “teaser” images;)…
I’ve sort of been down the rabbit hole lately working on some important and exciting projects. Sometimes so many things need to be done at once it’s hard to know where to start. One big project I have yet to bring to the blog will be the subject of next week’s post so stay tuned;)
This week I’m happy to say that I updated the imagery on my professional photography website. This is always a daunting task just dealing with all the files, resizing, editing and editing and (oh did I mention editing?). Once it’s done though it’s a pretty gratifying. I’m in the process of re-branding and making a new print portfolio so the updated website is the first step. It’s definitely going to be a great book!
Would love to hear what ya’ll think of the updated site. Favorite photos? Least favorite photos? It’s tough to edit your own work so I’m grateful for feedback!
Have a great week!
Okay, this will be the last honey post for a while. I know, I’m obsessed. This is, as of now, the last of a tiny series of sorts focused around honey, which I use for EVERYTHING! It’s delicious chewiness lends itself to everything from toast to stir fry (just a spoonful of honey makes a happy tummy) and I also use it in homemade lotions and scrubs as well as a moisturizing and antibacterial face wash. Eating raw local honey can even help allergy sufferers over the long term. Thanks bees for letting us steal the fruit of your incessant labor!
Honey is a fun subject with it’s amber hue and sticky slow motion it lends itself to some pretty fun light play.
I’ve been engrossed in a pretty fantastic project these days and I haven’t had much time to shoot for the blog lately so please forgive me if things are a bit erratic or I miss a week here or there. I hope to share some of what I’ve been up to soon:)
Have a great week and don’t forget to take your spoonful of honey!
food photographer, food photography, los angeles, crystal cartier
I’ve been wanting to shoot an entire raw octopus for a while now. I had all of these shot visions meticulously thought out, but when I got the 10 pounds of octopus back to the studio it became clear that they looked nothing like I had envisioned. So after some “hmmmmmms” and one “that’s okay!” the shoot took a turn in a new and different direction. Then I called my friend Secia from Petite Insanities to see if she wanted to hand model in an unusual capacity. As you can see, she is a pretty good sport with a strong stomach for slimy, cold, and somewhat stinky food fun. Awesomeness ensues when your mantra is PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD!!!
Interesting tidbit: Octopus is considered an aphrodisiac, go figure!
I’ll never think of “finger food” the same way again! Ok, no more puns;)
gallery , recipes , studio shoots , visual living
Raisin Walnut and sweet citrus whipped compound butters
I promised and I’ll deliver. Sweet compound butters are a game changer. I’m officially obsessed!! Don’t think about it, just make these and allow them to change your world. Ha! I know, I’m a bit food creepy but it’s fun (at least for me;) On with the show! Try these with toast, of course, but also for cooking pancakes and french toast or making brown butter sauces. Someone hide the spoons, these butters are too tasty to stop with just one itsy bitsy pad!
Nevermind that they are quite beautiful and look like a spun delicacy. Yum!
RAISIN WALNUT:
- 1/4 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup somewhat finely chopped walnuts
- 1/8 cup chopped raisins
- juice and zest of 1 small orange
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon hazelnut extract (optional)
SWEET CITRUS (my fave!):
- 1/4 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- zest and juice of 1 small orange
- 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
~ Leave butter out in a bowl until softened.
~ Add all ingredients and blend with a hand mixer until whipped and light.
~ Refrigerate for a couple hours (ideally) to allow flavors to fully develop.
***And don’t forget to brown butter these babies for extra flavorful sauces. The sweet citrus is especially divine for this purpose 
food photographer, food photography, los angeles, crystal cartier
The other day I was perusing the magical shelves and piles of vibrant produce in one of the larger mexican markets in our neighborhood when I noticed the strange looking but beautiful beans sitting unassumingly on a produce shelf. What are these long long beans?! Magic beans?! Maybe….well, no but I simply couldn’t resist my curiosity and picked up a big bundle. Shoot first, ask questions later is definitely my motto when it comes to gorgeous mystery foods! These little beauties are called Guajes and taste as if garlic and onion had a baby that came out tasting mostly like papa garlic. They are a delicious and powerful ingredient for salsas and, in this case, guacamole. If you happen by guajes at a mexican or asian market, pick up a small bundle and give them a try. I’ve even been throwing them in stir-fry dishes or some extra ooomph!
Try this fresh, healthy, and super flavorful guacamole at your next get together!
- 3 avocados, flesh scooped out
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 handful chopped cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon fresh guajes seeds pulled from the bean, finely diced or smashed
Mix avocado and lime juice in a large bowl, draining any excess juice. Mash in cumin, cayenne, salt and gaujes. Fold in tomatoes, onions and cilantro. Top with a squeeze of lime juice and a few fresh whole guaje seeds.
ENJOY!
food photographer, food photography, los angeles, crystal cartier
I recently shot a fine art type series with Pacific raw oysters, which are much more interesting looking that the east coast varieties I was accustomed to seeing. Like octopus, oysters are considered an aphrodisiac. I suppose there is some food sexiness in the strange shapes and glistening texture beneath that ruffled, harsh shell. My Petite Insanities friend Secia hand modeled in this one for a female component to this aphrodisiac claim. Regardless of their aphrodisiac status, shooting these slippery little suckers was a fun and tasty exploration.
REFRESHING and TANGY! As stoners and chefs (and now this food photographer) have known for ages, butter fat is an amazing tool for capturing the flavors of herbs, spices, and foods. Compound butters are so much more complex than the sum of their parts. Give it a try! It’s super easy and makes all kinds of dishes a bit more special. This one is super garlicky and lemony, great for fish dishes, rices, chicken and anything else you can dream up. Stay tuned because soon I’ll share a couple sweet compound butter recipes for toast, pancakes, french toast, you name it!
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1 tsp smashed garlic
- juice and zest of 1 meyer lemon
- 1/4-1/3 cup finely chopped herbs ( I used parsley, chives, cilantro and scallions)
~ Leave butter out in a bowl until softened.
~ Add all ingredients and blend with a hand mixer until whipped and light.
~ Refrigerate for a couple hours (ideally) to allow flavors to fully develop.
ENJOY and remember to share your own ideas with us!
*** Vampires beware! With all this garlic you can sleep soundly;)
Don’t forget to try compound butters with the oh-so-famous no knead dutch oven bread!!
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