Our gorgeous Pacific NW summer is at an end, and to celebrate how awesome it was I thought I’d share some of the work I did (in the studio and the garden) during the season, and give an update on a few projects from earlier in the year.

This summer, thanks to the weather and a larger plot size, my p-patch garden really took off!  I had pounds and pounds of peas and green beans (which I used in a cute photoshoot with my littlest brother – see below), and an insane amount of cucumbers, which led to my first foray into at-home pickling and canning.  I didn’t get any pictures of the process but I would say it was a success, I think there will be more canning in my future

I also got to take a fun road trip up to Bow-Edison a few weeks ago, and I’ve got to say, this little town is the coolest place!!  The main town center is a block or two long and houses a very impressive string of restaurants and markets that you absolutely have to visit if you’re ever in the area (…even better, make them your destination for a relaxing day trip out of Seattle).  I went to Breadfarm – an amazing bakery with fresh baked cookies, pastries, and bread (I couldn’t get enough of the jam thumbprints, cocoa nib shortbread, or the cinnamon bread), Slough Food – a market/deli with a great selection of supplies for a picnic, they also have a really cool patio area in the back that has tables nestled into the trees where you can sit and look out over the slough, Tweets Cafe – DELICIOUS restaurant with a rotating menu featuring what’s fresh from local farms, and Mariposa – a flavor filled taco spot also featuring fresh seasonal combos.  I had heard of this area multiple times before and how good the food was and I was really excited to finally get up there to check it out myself – I had pretty high expectations, and each place I went to truly exceeded those expectations.  I can’t wait to go back and explore the farms in the area (think fresh blueberries, fresh butter, fresh cheese)…and eat more food

(I’ll share more photos from the road trip after they get published!)

I’ve got some exciting updates on projects from earlier in the year…

One of the cookbooks I shot back in February, Breast Cancer Smoothies, is finally out on shelves!  You can get it on Amazon right now, and the author Daniella Chace, who I’ve talked about before on my blog, has been getting excellent praise for the book.  The book was recommended by Publishers Weekly, see the blurb here, and Daniella was recently on New Day Northwest talking about her research and showing off one of the smoothies from the book.  Check out the clips:

Daniella Chace – Breast Cancer Smoothies

Daniella Chace – Wellness Panel

The other book Daniella and I worked on, Superfood Smoothie Bowls, is out in December but can be pre-ordered now on Amazon.  I love the colors of the cover shot

Lastly I’ve finally updated my website with some of my recent work!!  Better late than never

http://www.oliviabrentphotography.com

Enjoy!!

Due to a giant server malfunction/meltdown/collapse/etc., I’ve lost my last few blog posts that showed what I’ve been up to for the last couple years   So…I think it’s time for an update!  Here’s a bit of the work that I’ve been doing lately – some fun projects, challenging projects, delicious projects, and there’s more to come this summer.

First up, I had another cover with Seattle Met Magazine – there was a great concept for the cover and opening spread, and I enlisted the talents of the wonderful Julie Hopper to help me execute the magazine’s vision.  She did an amazing job tweaking and re-tweaking each little piece of food that made up these letters until we had it just right.

I also did another fun little shoot with MORA Ice Cream for a Martha Stewart Weddings article.  The piece talked about serving milkshakes as a unique refreshing treat for guests at summer weddings, and they featured artisanal ice cream shops from around the US, including MORA – yay for MORA!!  A nice surprise after seeing the photo on their website was that they chose our photo as the one to link to the article on their Instagram page, I thought that was pretty neat

An update on past work, the photos I did for Stopsky’s are now up on their website – they’ve just added preserves to their lineup of delicious products and we did some shots for those this past week, so hopefully you’ll be seeing those hit the website soon.

And last but not least, the smoothie book I shot last year is finally out!!

Enjoy!!

It’s November, which means it’s time for Best Restaurants again!  This year I got to go all around Seattle to a huge variety of places both new and old to capture some truly “Seattle” restaurants and dishes.  I had a lot of fun trying new foods, meeting new chefs, and finding new neighborhood spots to go back to (hello Delancey!).

Check out the issue, or click on the image below to see the web article (look for the extra slideshow too)…by the way, this burger from Brave Horse is sooooo gooooood.  You should try it.  Really.

I also had fun dip-dying new textile props a couple of weeks ago.  I got the idea from Sweet Paul Magazine…not to mention all the cool ombre things that are so popular right now…and wanted to take some photos with the final product.  I roasted up a little cauliflower and tried out the cheesecloth that I dip-dyed a navy blue.  The moody result is pretty cool I think.  I’ll have fun with this technique for awhile I’m pretty sure, now to do some bright colors!  

In other news, just wrapped up a shoot this week and have a big project in January that I’m excited about, so hopefully a lot more new work will be coming soon!  Enjoy!!

One of my other projects that got lost in the gap between blog posts was some work I did for Seattle Met Bride and Groom.  They don’t have online versions of the articles, so here are some photos to show what the final product was.  I got to work with a great Art Director who had awesome setups in mind for each cake, and we were able to capture a whole rainbow of wedding cake/dessert ideas.  This was probably the largest scale food shoot I’ve ever done, and it was a cool experience to try taking my normal tabletop techniques and expanding them to a different level…it was also fun to taste the cakes  My favorite of the day was the ombre cake from Cake Envy (they also do really delicious cupcakes, which I got to photograph for a different company a few months back), but the black sparkley cake was a close second!

Ok so I’ve been pretty bad about updating my blog over the last few months!  Life has been busy, but mostly good things, and now I have lots of new work to catch everyone up on…

A few magazine issues have come and gone featuring some really great restaurants, but thanks to the new website for Seattle Met, it’s easier than ever to see all my work at once, including things I’ve missed blogging about!  There are a few repeats to sort through, but it’s exciting to be able to see the body of work I’ve done for the magazine over the last year.  One of the highlights from the last few months was the restaurant Skelly and the Bean.  It’s a really unique and wonderful restaurant that was truly built by the community and is just an awesome place to eat and soak up the vibe.  You should really read the article on this one – I had a blast shooting there, and can’t wait to go back.

Chef/Owner Zephyr Paquette – click to see article

Another delicious find was Cha:n, a Korean restaurant in Pike Place that gave me a new appreciation for kimchi, and a new favorite place to eat downtown.  I’ve been slow to warm to Korean food (despite being half-Korean, I know, I’m a shame!), but this place has really changed my mind.  Because they don’t overload on the heat I was able to try things I’ve always avoided in the past thinking that they would burn the heck out of my mouth (ok I’m also a kind of a wimp when it comes to spicy food).  Their kimchi is fresh, balanced, and delicate…and really refreshing, I could eat it all day – and the sliders, both pork and bulgogi are soooo good.  I’ve already been back, and there will be many more visits to come.

Another fun shoot for the magazine was all about ice cream – yay!  Even though it was a huge challenge getting all the ice creams back to my place to shoot without melting…and then trying to shoot them quickly without making too big of a mess, I think the photo turned out pretty well.  Shooting something new and different is always scary but fun, and now I have a few tricks up my sleeve if I ever need to shoot ice cream again!  Some of my favorite flavors to taste (I couldn’t resist!), were the Snickerdoodle from Bluebird, Vietnamese Cinnamon from Full Tilt, and Red Velvet from Cupcake Royale (which didn’t make it into the final photo).

There’s even more new work on the way, some I can share (see the next blog post), some which will have to wait until the photos get released  All in all it’s been a great summer so far, and I hope I have even more to share soon!

Enjoy!

Spring is finally here!  Well mostly anyway  I’ve been inspired by the changing seasons in recent shooting, it’s been all eggs, asparagus, flowers…and a few other tasty treats…for weeks, and I’m excited to finally share some of the images!  Since our winter lasted so long a lot of the spring produce I was looking for was still unavailable, or not at its peak, but I had fun with what I found.  I wanted to keep the shoot full of blues, egg-yolk yellows, and greens, and gathered props and food that fit into that color-scheme.  Now of course all sorts of yummy spring foods are making their way to the markets, and I can’t wait to try out some new recipes.

I hope you like the images – enjoy!

Behind the scenes on the set

I’ve been looking around for new inspiration lately and came across a few cool things that I thought I would share!  As I gear up to send out another round of promos I’ve been trying to get ideas for Spring-themed foods/props/shoot ideas/recipes/anything.  One of my go-to online magazines is Sweet Paul, and the new edition just came out today (Paul does seasonal releases, so it’s always agony waiting the few months for the next issue!).  If you like things that are crafty, bright, fresh, or just plain pretty, you should definitely check it out…

Another great new blog that I learned about last night at an ASPP event is from an Australian photographer named Katie Quinn Davies.  Her blog “What Katie Ate” is filled with brilliant, moody, mouth-watering food photography along with links to books, recipes, and other fun things.

What Katie Ate…

And my last new find for the night – which isn’t really new new, but recently remembered – is the cool cookbook-only bookstore in Fremont called Book Larder.  They host a lot of wonderful events with chefs, authors, bloggers, and other food enthusiasts, and even have a kitchen area to host cooking demonstrations and tastings.  I am so excited that I found this place again!  I can’t wait to attend one of the upcoming events…probably this one…

I’ve been waiting until everything was up online to post about this one – and I think it’s finally all there and ready for viewing!

I’m so excited about this issue, it was probably one of the more fun assignments I’ve done since starting with the magazine…and also one of the busiest.  I spent a week going to some of Seattle’s most delicious breakfast spots and shooting their standout dishes.  A few are Seattle classics, like Volunteer Park Cafe, and others are new spots, like the just recently opened Cafe Cesura in Bellevue (they have amazing breakfast sandwiches! worth the trip across 520).  At each place, everyone I met and worked with was excited to shoot and really friendly and genuine…I think it’s the breakfast spirit, it’s hard not to be happy when the smell of bacon is in the air :).  Getting to try out most of this food was a nice bonus too – it made for one tasty and very filling week!  Click on the photos below to see the different articles online. (and check out the issue in stores to see my cover photo in person!)

I also got to spend a day at Melrose Market shooting photos for the Dining Out section.  I love this market.  There are so many great places to eat, little retailers, and lots of pretty architectural details to ooh and aahh over.  The highlight of the day was getting to shoot at Lil’ Woody’s, my favorite burger place in Seattle!!  If you haven’t been there yet, you should go.  Enjoy!!

New food on Capitol Hill, a truly GIANT burger, yummy Mexican food on QA hill, and a unique craft distillery – check out this month’s articles by clicking on the images below!

A few months back I had the wonderful experience of shooting at this cozy little Italian restaurant in Tacoma, right next to the PLU campus.  I spent the day at the restaurant shooting all sorts of delicious dishes off their new menu, and the evening photographing the restaurant itself and its many many happy patrons. The shoot was part of a website overhaul that they were working on and everything is finally up and live! Check out my photos nice and big as the backgrounds on each page, courtesy of fellow SCCC grads, designers Andrew and Barry at Camp Doug.

Marzano Italian Restaurant – or click the image below…