photography at Le Pigeon

Carly Diaz August 1, 2016

Le Pigeon is one of those tried and true gems of Portland, which I've had the pleasure of photographing for almost two years now. It is considered by many to be one of the best restaurants in the city and Chef Gabriel Rucker is constantly experimenting with new flavors and ingredients. When the menu undergoes a significant refresh, I'm called in to capture the new dishes and atmosphere of the restaurant.

Each shoot begins right before dinner service starts, when the kitchen is prepped and ready to start cooking. This gives me the best of both worlds. Beautiful food, thoughtfully plated before the rush begins, but also the active atmosphere of an open restaurant. Gabriel and I have a brief rundown of the evening's plan before we're off and running. Each shoot consists of 5-10 new dishes, which are a variety of starters, mains, desserts, and special items from the tasting menu.

Probably because they are one of my favorite things to eat, it's no surprise that I adore photographing desserts. Pastry chef Helen Jo recently stepped in from Little Bird, Le Pigeon's sister restaurant. Helen's desserts are whimsical and complex, deftly integrating a variety of textures and the best flavors of the season. And simply gorgeous!

After I finish setting up in the back for the food photos, I start photographing the action on the line. The chef's counter overlooks the open kitchen situated at the heart of the restaurant and allows me to capture a variety of visuals: the food, team, and guests in the background. Once the first dish is ready for photographs, I whisk it to the back and take a few moments to observe the plate and how best to capture the food. Once I have the 'it' shot, I head back to photograph the kitchen or dining room until the next plate is ready.

Things move fast in restaurants and I have to be on my toes to transition quickly between shooting food, servers moving swiftly around the room, and the kitchen team preparing dishes. While I love the excitement of discovering a new place with my camera, I also appreciate working in a familiar setting. I know the small nooks that I can back into for a few extra inches in the frame and the angles that work best from every corner of the room. And while the shoot location might be the same each time, so many other factors are constantly in flux: the light, the guests, the team, and of course, the food. I always look forward to each photo shoot at Le Pigeon and appreciate the opportunity to work with such a fun, welcoming group of people that create such incredible food.

a weekend in Austin, Texas

Carly Diaz July 11, 2016

In early May I took a trip to Austin to visit my amazing friend Sarah. It was my first time in Texas (outside of airports) and ended up being one of the best weekends I've had in a really long time. Sarah and I go way back to my days in Amsterdam. We met in 2007 at the student center of the University of Amsterdam. I had an extra bicycle and she was in need of one. Done.

Throughout our residencies between Europe and the States, we've stayed in touch and have bonded further over the last year as we negotiate the ins and outs of running full-time photography businesses. The weekend was an opportunity to have an in-person pow wow and eat all the tacos and bbq.

It's pretty widely known that Austin is a great city and I was not disappointed. After arriving in the afternoon and dropping my stuff off at Sarah's super cute house, we headed to Licha's Cantina for tacos and margaritas. Because, you know, Austin. Uber had just stopped service in the city a few days before (what?! so crazy) so we took off on foot, which is one of my favorite ways to explore.

After dinner we wandered around Sixth Street, stopped for drinks at Small Victory and then ice cream at Gelateria Gemelli. I thought we were done for the night, when Sarah decided we should pop into a place a few blocks away from her house. We entered The White Horse (self-described as East Side Honky Tonky) and it fulfilled every dream I've ever had of Texas.

There was a country band playing while people young and old two stepped (lined danced? I don't even know) their hearts out. We got Lone Star beer (yes) and then a man asked Sarah to dance. To my utter amazement, she said yes!

If you've been following her 12 Experiments project, I shouldn't have been surprised, but it was my first time seeing people dance like that and I had no ideas she had the skills. I was asked to dance by several men who seemed in disbelief that I wouldn't not be able to dance like that. I even turned down their offers to teach me, happy enough to watch Sarah twirl away on the dance floor.

The next morning, we went to Lady Bird Lake to take Sarah's dog Kevin for a walk. It was a bustling park, full of people running, kayaking, and watching the wildlife, including a swarm of baby turtles hanging out by some rocks. So cute!

After our walk, we grabbed drinks at Juiceland and, after a quick stop to change clothes, headed to Black's BBQ in Lockhart, Texas. Yes, we drove 45 minutes outside of the city for some amazing BBQ and I was not disappointed. Hello, most delicious ribs ever. And just look at those side dishes. Intense. Our eyes were obviously bigger than our appetite and we ended up packing up the rest for a midnight snack. I definitely couldn't eat like that on a weekly basis, but it was a fun experience and an amazing atmosphere.

We went back to Texas to relax for a bit and, after somehow working up our appetite, we headed to Contigo for dinner. A 'ranch-to-table' restaurant with fresh, seasonal Texas-driven ingredients that I had heard great things about. Loved the drinks, pictured at the top of the post. On the left the Violet Sabbatical with vodka, berries, mint, and lemon. On the right, El Pepino with tequila, cucumber, lime, and mint. The food was also exceptional, and the starters vegetable-driven, which was just what we needed after the BBQ lunch. Pictured here. Rainbow carrots, leek, brown butter, and pistachios. Beet, spring onion, mint, and pickled strawberries. And Texas okra, walnuts, tomatoes, and sherry.

I expected the weather to be sunny, warm, and humid during my trip, but we actually had a substantial does of clouds and rain. At night it cooled off so much that I wished I had brought more sweaters. I was happy to be able to enjoy the city without the heat and humidity that I've heard is to be feared. The patio at Weather Up Bar where we enjoyed more yummy cocktails. The last stop of the night was Justine's Brasserie, a late-night spot that feels like you stepped back into 1920s Paris. More drinks, more food. I don't know how we did it all. And funny enough, the website homepage says "Very late dining. When you think you've gone too far, keep going." Touché.

When we woke up Sunday morning, we were determined to explore a bit more of the city. After brunch at Clark's Oyster Bar, we walked all over, visiting an art gallery, a bookstore, a few shops, including the super cute Take Heart, and eventually settled in at a cafe to get some work done. In between all the eating and drinking, Sarah and I spent a lot of time discussing our photography businesses and sharing experiences on everything from pitching to client experience, social media to pricing. We wanted to start putting some of the things we had talked about into action.

It was such an inspiring weekend, not just for the experience of exploring the incredible food and drink scene in Austin, but for what I took away from those conversations. It's been invaluable for me to be able to dialogue with someone who has similar values and keep me accountable in my business. Prompting growth and development and challenging me to fine-tune the things that work and evaluate areas that may not be working. And to be able to do that with a delicious spread on the table made for one fine weekend indeed.

photographer: Anna Ådén

Carly Diaz February 26, 2013

I'm taking a break from everything Amsterdam and moving related to share the photography of Anna Ådén. She is a Swedish art and portrait photographer with an amazing ability to capture scenes of nostalgia and nature. When I first discovered her work, I thought they could be images from a film set for a British period piece - especially the first and last images in this post.

Her photography caught my attention not just for the strong sense of composition, but also for the soft lighting and muted tones she creates. So I wasn't surprised to learn in this interview that she is also a painter. Check out more of her work on her website or blog.

All images by Anna Ådén.

2013 World Press Photo Contest

Carly Diaz February 16, 2013

For the past three weeks, my life has been all about visual journalism: photography, multimedia productions, and producing content around the judging of the two World Press Photo contests. This was the fourth contest I experienced, and it was the last I will see up close as the move to Portland and the time to say goodbye to an amazing organization draws near.

After working intensely with an amazing team to create the context around the images and judging, the winners were announced yesterday morning. Paul Hansen, a photojournalist from Sweden, was awarded the main prize. In all, the jury awarded 367 images from 54 photographers of 32 nationalities. Some of the single images that most impressed me were from Micah Albert (USA), Wei Seng Cheng (Malaysia), Yongzhi Chu (China), Daniel Rodrigues (Portugal), and Nemanja Pancic (Serbia).

And below, some of the photo stories:

Mournful by Ebrahim Noroozi (Iran)

The Cage by Xiaoqun Zheng (China)

Japan After the Wave by Daniel Berehulak (Australia)

Mirella by Fausto Podavini (Italy)

The Pink Choice from Maika Elan (Vietnam)

Emperor Penguins by Paul Nicklen (Canada)

All winners can be seen in the 2013 Photo Contest gallery.

a week of multimedia

Carly Diaz February 1, 2013

in the judging room Over the past week, I had the opportunity to watch some amazing examples of visual storytelling today and listen to conversations from its leading practitioners, thanks to the World Press Photo multimedia judging. Now in its third year, I have seen the contest grow from the inaugural year to a refined look at what's going on in the world of multimedia. In the last days, I watched about 50 of the 287 submitted productions, observing the process as the jury narrowed it down to the final selection and interviewing judges about the winners.

Here is the list of the winners, with two of my favorites embedded below. I can also highly recommend 'Dreams on Freewheels' coming out of China. And all the interactive productions are worth the time to explore.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyaBky73b18&w=560&h=315]

Online Shorts 1st Into the Shadows 2nd Living with a Secret 3rd Aleppo Battleground

Online Features 1st Too Young to Wed 2nd Dying for Relief: Bitter Pills 3rd Dreams on Freewheels

Interactive Documentary 1st Alma: A Tale of Violence 2nd Bear 71 3rd Lost and Found Honorable Mention UnknownSpring

[vimeo vimeo.com/50982590 w=500&h=400]

And below, interviewing Samuel Bollendorff with my favorite cameraman.

interview with Samuel Bollendorff

Lottie Davies: images from Syria

Carly Diaz October 14, 2012

I first discovered the work of London-based photographer Lottie Davies through her series North and have come to admire the way she captures other places and people. A few weeks ago, I was revisiting her portfolio and spotted her images of Syria taken in 2007. A striking contrast from the images we currently see coming out of Syria. I asked Davies to take us back to that trip, the people she met there, and her approach to photographing them and their land.

What led you to work in Syria in 2007? Lottie Davies: Actually it was a very personal trip - my father is very interested in early Christian architecture, and Syria (Aleppo particularly) was a cultural hub during early Christianity. He wanted to visit the area and learn more about its history, so we went together and split our time between his explorations and my photography. For a female photographer in an Arab country, it was the perfect combination - travelling with my father was considered extremely respectable, so we were welcomed everywhere, and unusually, my father was able to meet women because being with me was considered appropriate.

What was your impression of Syria and its people? Lottie Davies: Syria is a beautifully verdant, thriving place. The countryside is green, the earth dusty and warm. Aleppo bustles with markets and people selling clothes, SIM cards, and plastic trinkets alongside jewelry, spices, and traditional foods. It is a mixture of medieval fortified city and modern trading centre; ancient temples sit next to apartment blocks covered in satellite dishes. The country's position means that it has been a meeting point for cultures and peoples for many centuries and that is still very evident in its daily life.

Your images often focus on the people within their cultural context. Why do you take this approach and what did it reveal in the Syria project? Lottie Davies: I find the differences between cultures totally fascinating, the subtle differences which develop in different climates, different geography, and within different religious and social contexts. That's what human society is about; how we live together and organize our interactions on a family, local, and international level. I try to approach each project with that in mind, so that I can learn about other cultures and understand the subjects of my photographs better. I feel it is important to at least try to understand someone's cultural context if you are purporting to represent them.

In Arab countries, welcoming visitors and inviting them into your home is considered extremely important and part of everyday life. My father and I were invited to have tea, coffee, lunch with total strangers who fed and watered us and were genuinely interested in getting to know us. Arab hospitality is famous, of course, and I was struck by the difference to Britain, in my experience. We are so suspicious of 'foreigners' here, the last thing we are likely to do is invite a total stranger from another culture into our home and give them lunch and ask about their opinion on the war in Iraq. In Britain, we are much more private. I think we would consider it an imposition on their time, might oblige them to eat with us when they would probably rather be on their own, would we have the right food, we would worry that we would offend them, and let's face it, we can be fairly xenophobic when the mood strikes.

For me, and my work, the experience was about being open, and just seeing what the day would bring. I had no particular preconceptions about the place or its people, I was simply curious. Of course, at that time there was no war, and although the state had a fairly tight grip on the population, it was beginning to relax (hence the relatively new ability to watch non-state television like CNN and the BBC) and there was no obvious sense of state control. The people I met were just people along the road who live around Aleppo, whose day to day concerns were their family, their jobs, their livestock, what they would eat for dinner, just like the rest of us…

What are your hopes for the people of Aleppo and Syria? Lottie Davies: Clearly I hope for an end to the conflict as soon as possible, and thereafter peace and self-determination for the Syrian people and others across the Middle East. If I were to go back to Syria and meet those people again, I would wish them Allah yafrijha alekum, which translates as 'May God free you from your troubles'.

Aaron Hobson: Cinemascapes

Carly Diaz August 31, 2012

Aaron Hobson's Google Street View edition of Cinemascapes is not the first work of photography that utilizes the navigation tool for artistic purposes. Michael Wolf is a favorite, capturing mishaps and urban moments. In contrast, Hobson explores remote areas not often seen by outsiders. His artist's statement explains that he is 'in search of enchanted and remote lands typically only reserved for the eyes of its inhabitants, but now are captured on camera by the automated and aesthetically-neutered street view cars that linger.'

photography by sarah natsumi

Carly Diaz July 27, 2012

Sarah Natsumi is one of those people that oozes creative talent, whether she is taking photographs, making a film, designing a website, or applying a paintbrush to canvas. Her Etsy shop has a beautiful collection of vintage inspired travel photography, from the beaches of Spain and the parks of Amsterdam, to the mountains of Japan and the deserts of Texas. She also has a collection of European city postcards that capture scenes from some of my favorite cities.

I met Sarah in Amsterdam in 2007. She needed a bike, I had an extra one for sale, and a friendship was born. Five years later, she recently returned to her home in Austin, Texas and this city just won't be the same without her. For now, I have her beautiful Romantic Amsterdam photo collection (below) to remember her by and now a great reason to visit Texas someday.

fine lines

Carly Diaz July 6, 2012

A series of Polaroids by Erin Curry, an artist from Florida. Powerlines gazes upwards to the lines overhead that connect us.

scandinavian moments

Carly Diaz July 5, 2012

The eleven photographers that make up Moment Agency spend much of their time capturing stories around the world. This summer, they are returning to their homes in Scandinavia on a road trip that will take them from the north of Norway, across Sweden, to the southern tip of Denmark. Working from their own perspectives, the work will collectively become a document of Scandinavian identity today. They're raising money for Scandinavian Moments on Emphasis.

[vimeo vimeo.com/43379412 w=500&h=400]

wedding photos

Carly Diaz May 3, 2012

A selection of our wedding photos is on the website of our amazing wedding photographer. Choosing a photographer was one of the most important decisions we made while planning our wedding. And we couldn't be happier with her results. Thank you so much Christine!

2012 World Press Photo Contest

Carly Diaz February 10, 2012

This morning, I headed to the Amsterdam City Hall for the announcement of the winners of the annual World Press Photo contest. The past two weeks have been a blur of interviews, website preparations, and, of course, looking at tens of thousands of photographs. Tonight I will celebrate, not think about photography, and get some much needed sleep.

Now it is time for everyone else to enjoy this fantastic collections of images. The jury awarded 350 images by 57 photographers. Some of the singles that impressed me include the photos by Samuel Aranda, Damir Sagolj, Denis Rouvre, Vincent Boisot, and Jenny E. Ross. And for the photo stories:

Never Let You Go by Alejandro Kirchuk

Interrogation Room by Donald Weber

Rhino Wars by Brent Stirton

Pastoral by Alexander Gronsky

Child Brides by Stephanie Sinclair

Photography: Vladimir Longauer

Carly Diaz January 7, 2012

Lost in the photography of Vladimir Longauer, an Irish photographer capturing quiet scenes in medium and large-format film.

the people of Afghanistan

Carly Diaz November 16, 2011

My thoughts again returned to the people of (and in) Afghanistan with this beautiful video by Lukas and Salome Augustin, looking beyond the images of conflict and occupation to the people and their lives (via).

Some of the footage makes an appearance in the recently-published MediaStorm production A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan by photographer Seamus Murphy.

All images are stills from the video.

spoon fork bacon

Carly Diaz August 30, 2011

The new food blog Spoon Fork Bacon is a delicious feast in itself. The photography is top notch, the styling inspired, and each post sprinkled with complementary design elements.

First on my list to try out are the grilled zucchini tacos, the spinach and ricotta stuffed shells, and the simple blackberry jam. Served up with a kiwi capiroska or sweet cherry gin and tonic.

Images courtesy of Spoon Fork Bacon. Photography by Teri Lyn Fisher and styling by Jenny Park.

Weekend Links #34

Carly Diaz August 7, 2011

Weekend Links is a collection of the interesting bits and pieces that I’ve come across on the streets and online. The weekly post is my chance to share with you a few things from the week, in a list compiled during the weekend. I hope you enjoy them as well.

A few things I enjoyed over the last week: 1. Receiving tickets to see The Avett Brothers at Paradiso thanks to a dear colleague (pictured above via) 2. Watching Jack Goes Boating at the open air film festival Pluk de Nacht 3. Reading an interesting interpretation of a book I recently re-read, Seeing Catch-22 Twice 4. Contemplating the dangers of fast fashion again while reading The Tyranny of Trends (via @tout_moi) 5. Enjoying Rachel's stories of short fiction on Elephantine 6. Viewing Don McCullin's lost negatives of the Berlin Wall

dear photograph

Carly Diaz July 29, 2011

Dear Photograph is a collaborative project that gathers photos from the recent past that align scenes with photos from the distant past in the same location. Beneath each image is a short note to the photograph, reminiscing on past moments. This concept of layering different moments in time is well known, but I like that the final photo that we see only hints at the memories captured within the imagery.

launching the new World Press Photo website

Carly Diaz July 29, 2011

On Monday, we launched the new World Press Photo website. An intense and amazing project that I have been working on for the past year with fantastic colleagues and coworkers. From design and content strategy to IA and development, I walked through it all and am very proud of the result. A showcase for photojournalism in context. Below is a photo gallery overview page.

One of my favorite features is our collection of lectures, interviews, multimedia, and other productions, which share the insights of photojournalists and the work of our organization.

There is also a dedicated gallery for young, emerging photographers who have participated in the annual masterclass.

A website rich in content, with much more to come in the next months. See more at www.worldpressphoto.org

Weekend Links #31

Carly Diaz June 27, 2011

A few things I enjoyed over the last week: 1. Browsing the imagery on Someplace : Something, a feast of contemporary photography (pictured above, photo by Jo Metson Scott, via another something) 2. Watching the amazing talk by Jim Gilliam about what can happen when humans are connected, entitled 'The internet is my religion'. Amen 3. Art bombs in Amsterdam and beyond, Dutch protesting cultural funding cuts (pictured below) 4. Drinks at my favorite Vesper, my favorite cocktail bar in Amsterdam

Weekend Links #30

Carly Diaz June 19, 2011

A few things I enjoyed last week: 1. Seeing a performance of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises as part of the Holland Festival (pictured above, photo by Mark Barton) 2. Watching this impressive time-lapse video 3. Watching Conan O'Brien's commencement speech delivered at Dartmouth 4. Renewing my admiration for the canine species with this Fresh Air interview and these photos 5. Getting a glimpse at Platon's portraiture work, which has come together in the publication of his book Power. Browse the collection of photos on The New Yorker and watch him speak about the project here (pictured below)