Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Meeting up and Networking

This morning I attended a fantastic networking event hosted by the South King County Event and Wedding Vendor Meetup Group. I'm always looking to promote my Seattle and Tacoma wedding photography opportunities and this meetup was not a let down! The event organizers, Janis Flagg and Nyla Rosen, arranged for a summer business showcase at the O'Dell Center in Kent. Many local wedding and event vendors braved the heat for a chance to promote their business and meet other professionals from the Seattle-Tacoma region.

The O'Dell Center was a lovely place to relax in the shade and network with other vendors. Nyla Rosen has a gem of a location! I'm looking forward to someday using the O'Dell Center as a spot for wedding or engagement photography. The heat was intense but thanks to several catering businesses -Down Home Catering, Maui Wowi Smoothies and Missole Catering- everyone was able to beat the weather. Staying hydrated was a pleasure thanks to the efforts of Frances Skeete from Missole Catering, Brandy and Frankie from Down Home Catering, shown below, and Mairim and Matt from Maui Wowi Smoothies, shown at far bottom. I look forward for chances to work with the other wedding and event vendors that I met this morning! Everyone was very engaging, friendly and supportive. I can't wait to work with them in the future.



Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Feast Your Eyes on This: Edible Art by Leonhardt -Garlic Chicken Hummus Wrap


Cooking is something of a hobby of mine. Usually I like to create something spontaneous from items at hand that I find in the kitchen. The results never disappoint. Though I consider it a hobby, friends have told me that I should abandon photography and pursue a career as a chef. Fortunately for Emeril and the Barefoot Contessa, I don't have plans to abandon my camera anytime soon.
One of the things that I would like to do though, is to incorporate my creativity in the kitchen with my blog. So this is going to be the first of many posts to come describing my adventures and successes in the kitchen. Prepare yourself for some tasty goodness of a different kind, and feast your eyes on this:

Garlic Chicken Hummus Wrap

Ingredients:
  • 3 strips of chicken tenders (pre-cooked)
  • 2 strips of bacon
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 1/3 of a white onion
  • 2 tbsp. of olive oil
  • 3 tbsp. of sliced black olives
  • 3 tbsp.of hummus
  • 1 tortilla wrap
  • pepperjack cheese (to spice things up)
  • cheese grater
  • cutting board
  • sharp knife
  • skillet
Instructions:
  1. On the cutting board, chop up the onion and the garlic; slice the bacon strips into quarter-inch pieces.
  2. Sauté the bacon, onion and garlic in the skillet over a medium heat. Add the olive oil.
  3. On the cutting board, cut the chicken strips into quarter-inch pieces, slice the strip lengthwise. Add the chicken to pan, along with the black olives.
  4. Cook ingredients for 10-12 minutes or until bacon is crisp and the onion and garlic are sautéed. Remove from heat.
  5. Heat the tortilla in a microwave for 25-30 seconds. Remove and cover the wrap's interior with the hummus.
  6. Add contents of the pan to the wrap. Cover with grated cheese to your satisfaction.
  7. Wrap things up and enjoy!
Not too bad for a meal made on the spot! I'll definitely be making more of these in the future. A quick and tasty recipe to feast your eyes -and stomach- on. And if that doesn't put a smile on your face, perhaps this will: a parting photo of my assistant in the kitchen, Miss Ophelia herself.
So treat your eyes -or stomach- on a tasty wrap and we'll see you for the next update of Edible Art by Leonhardt.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Be Careful What You Wish For...

Craigslist is often a source of jobs and gigs for any creative that knows to visit on a regular basis. At times, though, some of the gigs posted are too rich for words. Such as the following:

beautiful/hansome pool person (Burien)

I am having a party for my daughter and need someone to stay by the pool for 3 hours.There will be other adults with the kids (mostly 11 year olds)but last time I could not count on them to stay there or make sure another adult was supervising.You can wear your suit,lay in the sun,swim and eat.I would prefer someone very attractive as I feel it will help to keep some of the adults by the pool.I need you to be there on Friday July 24th from 3pm-6pm.Please reply with photo.
  • Location: Burien
  • it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
  • Compensation: $30 cash
For $30? That doesn't sound like too much pay. Seems like this woman is fishing among the dregs for this one. She's obviously not going for the refined, well mannered cabana boys with a payment like that. They say be careful what you wish for, but can you imagine this poor mother's reaction if she received a photo like this one attached to an email?
I don't know if it's only me, but that guy is exactly the type of person I see responding to the ad. Perhaps this woman should save herself the hassle and stay by the pool on this one. Me? I'm flagging the ad for Best of Craigslist. Consider this another cautionary tale from the guy bringing you the vitamins for your optic nerves.

A Place in the Clouds

I can't stop looking at the spread Ken Hayden has in this month's Architectural Digest. Ken shot the principal photography for the article back in March, and I cranked out the photoshop editing within that week. It was a great shoot to work on and Ken's images make the apartment look amazing -and I was there. I remember how stunning the apartment is!

Jennifer Post also did some fantastic work with the Miami Beach high-rise apartment featured in the article and Ken's images show it. The photos make me want to take a looong vacation back to Miami. If they don't do the same for you then we need to talk, mon ami.
Now if there was only an easy way to continue working for Ken all the way out here in Seattle... I'm open to ideas and suggestions!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Because a Diamond is Forever

Call this a cautionary tale. Going through some old text messages the other day, I found this gem (I guess the pun was intended) of a picture message I sent out back in March. While assisting Ken Hayden on an architectural shoot, I found the following picture in an old magazine jewelry ad:
Now, just because a diamond is forever doesn't mean you throw in a poorly placed lens flare. This isn't a JJ Abrams movie. Why, oh why, did they place a lens flare on her right hand? It looks very.... suggestive. To say the least. I do think that this is my favorite jewelry ad in the world. I wish I could say who the ad was for. Perhaps De Beers? I don't know. But this goes to show that adding unnecessary special effects just for the sake of doing so doesn't always produce the desired result. Chalk up another cautionary tale for the blog. :D

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Patriotism Starts Best Young

I couldn't resist the opportunity today for another photo shoot with Ophelia. She is the cutest, calmest and most photogenic baby. If I had time to post all the pictures we've taken of her... I doubt there's space on the internet for all of them! The other day our neighbors stopped to visit and gave us a wonderful present -a patriotic outfit that our Baby Spoon happens to be wearing today. Today being the Fourth of July, I threw another quick little setup together to make the most of my free time before going out to celebrate the holiday with relatives. When you toss a happy baby, an oversized American flag, and a patient father together into a photo shoot... this is what you get. Enjoy! And have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

To Sarah and Jeremy: Happy Anniversary!

This time last year I was experiencing Seattle for the first time thanks to my friends Sarah and Jeremy Vanderpool. They were married on July 4th last year at Shilshole Bay Beach Club. Whew. That place was a mouthful to pronounce then, and is still a mouthful now. Happily enough, Sarah and Jeremy are already proud parents! Their son Keegan was born on May 23rd. He's been keeping his Mommy and Daddy occupied and busy since then. Maybe someday he and Ophelia can have a play date together.

In honor of the Vanderpool's first anniversary, I'm posting some of the highlights from their wedding last year. Sarah and Jeremy, happy anniversary! I hope you two pass the holiday in more style this year than you did last year. Here's some nuptial vitamins for those firework-strained optic nerves. Enjoy!
Sarah and Jeremy had their "First Look" at Golden Gardens park. The entire day was coordinated by Merry Beth Turpin, from Aisle of View wedding consulting, and went very smoothly!
The weather was beautiful that day -a Seattle rarity- and we were able to get some great photos!
Sarah's bouquet was stunning and she looked amazing in her wedding dress.
The ceremony was held on the outside patio at Shilshole BBC and went very smoothly, thanks in part to the good weather and more importantly from the great planning by Merry Beth Turpin!
I was able to steal Sarah and Jeremy for a romantic shoot in the bay during the dinner hour, but we had to hurry to make the most of the fading light!
Here we all are at the end of the night! It was a fabulous wedding, definitely one to remember!

Friday, July 3, 2009

'Chiki Chaka' Video Stills

I almost forgot about this post.. but it's a good one. Earlier this week, I was contacted by musician and tv personality Jose Iorio regarding production stills that I shot during the filming for his music video "Chiki Chaka." We worked on the project back in February. Produced by Gloria Lemmey, of G! Productions, the music video features Jose's hit single "Chiki Chaka." The music video is great and I had a fantastic time shooting production stills on the set. Have a look at the video and the stills from the shoot, and vamos a bailar... enjoy!