Long before we moved to rural Maine to begin our slow living homesteader life (well, if I’m being honest, homesteader light), a friend of mine gifted me a few homemade canned items after a conversation about preserving food. Her status was immediately elevated to Renaissance Woman. I mean, we were coworkers, and I knew she was talented and smart and a whole lot of fun to be around, but finding out that your urban architect friend was also into the old school time honored tradition of canning was next level.
Gifting things you made with your own two hands might be the kindest gesture that exists. In this world of online ordering something generic that gets wrapped and shipped by a retail worker, taking the time to prepare a homemade gift is the most thoughtful way of expressing yourself. This gesture, along with several books I had been reading on slow living and flower farming, inspired me in many ways to want to move in that direction myself. There were dozens of signs over the last few years that we lived in the Seattle area that my next chapter would involve a slower pace, a more intentional life and a self reliance I never knew I had in me.
It also gave me an excuse to stage a photoshoot. I love photographing food for several reasons: the challenge of producing a photo that will make the viewer’s mouth water, the opportunity to inspire the viewer to make something similar, and finally, the abundant meal when the photoshoot is over. To accompany my precious canned goods, I picked up a small wheel of Woolwich Triple Creme goat brie cheese, and planned to melt it into a cast iron skillet with some nuts on top.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, we had just started a renovation project to create an outdoor kitchen. Staying home for a few months gave us the time needed to complete it, and it turned out to be the thing that saved our sanity. There’s nothing like dinner under the stars in the summer, and we also had an outdoor gathering space to meet safely with friends. It was the perfect backdrop for photographing the scene. I grabbed some hand dyed fabric to use as napkins and assorted utensils from my staging stash. Since it was right around the summer solstice, I assessed that the shoot must take place at golden hour, otherwise there would be harsh shadows in the scene.
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