Back in 2005, I was fortunate to be hired by edible Rhody magazine to do their first ever photoshoot at New Rivers restaurant here in Providence. Since then I’ve been fortunate – and extremely honored – to have photographs in every issue since. edible Rhody assignments have taken me into some of the best restaurant kitchens in Rhode Island, on to a commercial fishing boat (we left the dock at 3:30AM!), beekeeping (yes, I wore the full beekeeping outfit!), and regularly tasting cocktails at 10am as we photograph the craft beverages for the seasonal drink section (it’s a tough job but someone has to do it!).
Case in point, was our trip to the Cortland Club on the west side of Providence. Tucked away in a nondescript building a couple of blocks off of Broadway if you didn’t know it was there you’d go right past it – which I did when trying to find it! Inside is an intimate mix of patinated stone and brick (the space began life as a bakery in the 1920’s) and cozy nooks – the perfect spot for a quiet artisanal cocktail or bite.
The assignment spanned two partial days – one for the beverages and one for the food. Working with Genie Trevor, edible Rhody editor, and Willa Van Nostrand, edible Rhody’s consulting mixologist, we made photographs that sought to not only convey the subject but also a bit of the Club space and textures. This is often a goal of the photographs for edible Rhody: to not only show the subject (cocktail, dish, farmer or chef) but also allow the viewer to see how the subject sits within a space (bar, farm, kitchen, etc). It’s more like environmental portraiture than product photography and I love the challenge each of these shoots brings as we try to tell a multi-layer story.