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Marty and I have always said that our two best accomplishments are Mara and Dov. This weekend we were puffing with pride as Mara graduated a civil engineer from The University of Delaware. There were thousands of people at that ceremony—and, all I could see was Mara. Our advice to her is the same as it has always been:

Think far ahead; look ahead—not behind.
Aim very very high.
Make mistakes and learn from them.
Be generous.
Remember to have fun!

Mara is amazing, and we can’t wait to see what is next.

The weekend was filled with family and fun. Dov, Mara, Marty and I were happy to be joined by my mother, Jeanne (center), and my father, Melvin (right). And, of course, we had a feast—Marty made his awesome chicken on the big green egg.

Grilling season is here! We love cooking out at our house. We just had a new stone patio laid down, so we are ready—really looking forward to enjoying our outdoor space this year. I got in the mood a little early, shooting this cover feature on summer grilling for USA Weekend Magazine: “Cookout 2.0: Refresh Summer Favorites.”

Mmm…Horseradish, Cheddar, and Caramelized Onion-Stuffed Burgers, Creamy Potato Salad with Egg, Peas, and Chives, Grilled Fruit Sundaes with Strawberry Sauce. These dishes are all wonderful, rich summer classics—and these recipes by Contributing Editor and Registered Dietician, Ellie Krieger give them her usual smart, healthy updates.

Lisa Cherkasky styled all of the shots in the feature. A talented food writer, as well, Lisa also wrote a special feature on “Summer Grilling Food Tips” for a USA Weekend slideshow, also featuring my photographs and her styling.

What a great way to welcome summer—Marty will be firing up that big green egg soon… Happy grilling!

Here is a very sweet note I recently got from my mother, who is new to email…

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

Eat, Write, Retreat, a conference for food bloggers, was held in Washington, DC last weekend. This was my second year of teaching their Food Styling and Photography workshop with my longtime creative partner, stylist Lisa Cherkasky. This intensive full-weekend event draws attendees, speakers and sponsors from all over the US and Canada. In addition to our class, they featured workshops on creativity, business and culinary skills taught by experts such as author Monica Bhide and chef/author/entreprenuer Andy Schloss. It is organized by entrepreneur and “food blogger resource” Casey Benedict and author/nutritionist Robyn Webb. Having worked with Robyn on several satisfying projects, we were happy to be asked to present at her conference again—and we were proud to see one our collaborations, her Comfort Food Cookbook being gifted to conference attendees.

Our hands-on workshop this year had groups of students working together to compose one shot per group, made with ingredients supplied by a bevy of photogenic sponsors. There was an atmosphere of infectious excitement, creative curiousity, energy, and collegiality. Students’ instincts proved to be very good as they tackled their hands-on compositions. Each group’s project featured a single ingredient, such as the sponsor, Jarlsberg USA, the cheese pictured above. In their case, it gave us an opportunity for feedback from their publicist, Ronnie Campbell, of The Burrell Group, Ltd., who was in the class. She offered her insight into how they prefer to show off their product: Being able to highlight the distinctive patterning of Jarlsberg’s holes is important, as is showing the cheese grated.

Students had a chance to select from a variety of props to complement them, some supplied by generous sponsors, the fabulous kitchen equipment companies, OXO and Calphalon. Similar to our set-up last year, I supplied my own basic lighting, as well as my laptop and camera, which were tethered to a projector. That way, we were able to show the shots as they were captured (via Adobe Photoshop Lightroom) on a large screen. Making their choices for food items and props, groups brought them to the stage and assembled them on the set we created on location in the event-hotel ballroom. As the groups gathered around the set (and shot many of their own photos), we discussed their work, offered suggestions and tips, and answered questions. I shot the students’ initial compositions and showed them on the screen; then, Lisa and I critiqued and adjusted them to demonstrate why and how they could improve. Then, we were able to view final shots on the screen, as well as to compare side-by-side, before-and-after shots.

It was a fast-moving, intense class of 2.5 hours. I wish it had been longer so we could have covered more! Here are some of the other final shots.

Mushrooms courtesy of The Mushroom Council. Pans courtesy of Calphalon.

Watermelon courtesy of the National Watermelon Promotion Board. Cutting board courtesy of OXO.

Olives courtesy of Lindsay Olives.

Iced tea courtesy of Honest Tea.

Cutting board courtesy of OXO.

Thanks to all of our generous sponsors for supplying the heroes for our photos. I also appreciate receiving the gifts they gave all attendees in our amazing swag bags!

Thanks also to all Eat, Write, Retreat blogger/students who worked hard in class and have given us your helpful feedback. So glad I had more time this year to socialize, which gave us the chance for some good one-on-one conversations, so I could learn more about what you all do and address some of your individual questions in the moment. It was a pleasure working with everyone. We hope you enjoyed class, learned new tips and techniques, and will be inspired to use the new insights in your own work!

(EWR attendees: If you would like to use any of these final images for your own post-EWR blog posts, please credit “Renee Comet Photography,” and please link any of my photos to my website, www.cometphoto.com. Thanks!)

“A whimsical, quirky flavor,” is how art agency, GlowArtworks describes my work, which they represent. Their monthly newsletter (above) recently featured me and some of my personal work, in which I assemble sculptures of kitchen implements and other found objects. The sculptures become characters to me—and I take their portraits. GlowArtworks includes these works in their exclusive collection, which they describe as “…a complete source of setting-specific art that engages the eye, imagination and spirit…healing art that encourages the well being of patients, visitors and workers in healthcare and other spaces.”

For this newsletter, GlowArtworks Founder, Thomas Lee interviewed me about my creative process. While they included a short excerpt in their newsletter, I want to share the full interview here, as it gave me a good opportunity to reflect on why and how I do what I love to do…

First, would you please give me a short bio? Where are you from, how did you become a food photographer, what else are you into, what are your passions, etc.?

I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, which can be a really quirky place with a unique cast of characters. I became a food photographer by accident. My first job was shooting a cookbook series for Time Life Books. That was when I realized that shooting food really fits my personality. It is a nice mixture of working alone and working collaboratively with a food stylist, a prop stylist, an art director, etc. Working alone is Zen-like when trying to solve a problem visually. It is a luxury I love. I am interested in food and what it means culturally, how it brings people together. I like being around people who enjoy food and cooking so I can eat well. My favorite pastime is hanging around the table eating and talking. I have a lot of interests, but my passion is my family.

Then take us through your thought process when you are composing a picture. Your pictures in our collection have a unique sense of whimsy that make them extremely fun to look at. How did you come up with some of these concepts? Do you see the image in your mind and then go prepare the ingredients? Do you just start playing around with things and notice a picture forming?

Recently I heard a Maurice Sendak interview by Terry Gross, where he described the creative process so eloquently: “When I thought of it, I was so happy I thought of it. It came to me, which is what the creative act is all about. Things come to you without you necessarily knowing what they mean.” Ideas do just come to me… they might start with a seed, like a newly found wire whisk. Then, a character starts forming in my mind’s eye—a personality, an attitude, a funny look and poof—she is “Bad-Hair-Day Girl.” I add out-of-control thyme from my garden, red habanero for the ruby lips, a pair of earrings and a party dress, and she is ready to go. It is ridiculous, but really, what could be more fun than making photos like this.

This sense of whimsy adds a dimension to your photography that brings it beyond food. It gives the viewer a chance to interpret your work on a personal level that may be different from one individual to the next. Do you think about the viewer when you make these pictures? What do envision them feeling when they see your work?

I am always hoping that the viewer laughs when they see this work. I am using food to create personality and humor. But, no, I am not really thinking of the viewer, it is just a free fall of whatever pops into my mind. I think about the audience all the time for my commercial work, but it never crossed my mind for these pieces.

Many of us have a philosophical outlook on the world at large: things we feel are special, things we feel need to be changed. If you have such views, would you please share them with us? How does your work tie into these ideas?

I do, but I don’t really feel like sharing them—haven’t I blathered on enough?

There’s an obvious mastery of technique evident in your work, yet the pictures are so fun and playful that it’s easy to overlook how difficult they may have been to make. Can you talk about some of the trials and tribulations of some of these compositions?

I think this is true of so many successful photographs—they look as if they just happened. I like to work by building a shot layer by layer with all the parts coming together easily. I am not a big fan of over-thinking a shot. If something is not working, I usually scrap it and start over. The worst thing that has happened is having the whole sculpture collapse before getting the shot. There is a lot of teetering going on.

How do you define art? How does your work fit in with this definition?

I have a pretty broad definition of art—anything that is creative, imaginative or makes you think differently. I guess these pieces fit the definition, although I have been wrestling with the idea of taking them one more step…something…just not sure where that will take me.

Thanks to GlowArtworks for interviewing me and featuring me in the newsletter (excerpt below). I feel like I am in excellent company there with their other distinctive artists, including my old friend, photographer Cameron Davidson, who introduced me to this group. His lyric and technically dazzling aerial photography is a real contrast to my pieces and shows the range of work represented at GlowArtworks. Thanks to you, too, Cameron!