Catching up with Chris Ryan Photography

Feeling terribly guilty for not having made a blog post in ages, I pulled a bunch of cool images from shoots that took place in the last few weeks of 2010. Enjoy, and look for regular posts to pick up again in 2011.

Crowd shot at the Arcade Fire show at Memorial Coliseum.

Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains during their show at Memorial Coliseum.

Fitness model, and all-around cool chick, Ami Sabri.

A "light painting" portrait I did at an event for Bacardi.

My kid, Katie, in her Halloween costume; Wonder Woman.

Product shot for Zing Toys.

I did this shot as part of a challenge by another fine food photographer for his ongoing project, Catching the Ox.

Photo for a review of Soi 9.

Photo for a review of Soi 9.

This was shot for the cover of Willamette Week's issue that contained their 2010 restaurant guide. Restaurant of the Year went to John Gorham's Tasty & Son's.

Tasty & Son's

John Gorham, of Toro Bravo, has a new spin on brunch. It's called Tasty & Son's, and it's good. I recently dropped in to do photos for a review in Willamette Week. I've photographed John before for an article in Portland Monthly, and he's also the father of one of my kid's classmates, so working with him was more of a pleasure than business. The space on N. Williams is open and bright, with a large window up front that floods the dining room and open kitchen with natural light. Parked next that window is a large farm table, perfect for big groups or the solo bruncher that enjoys a communal dining experience. It was also ideal for shooting food. After I was done with my shots of diners, and portraits of John, I asked him to send out a couple specific plates, and said that it would be fine if he wanted to include a couple choices of his own as well. Out came five plates of various colors and textures, and since the light was so nice, I was pleased to shoot them all.

The lighting setup for the plates was Large Window to camera left, 1 Speedlite backlighting the subjects, and a Gold Reflector directly to camera right and slightly above.

Shakshuka; Red Pepper & Tomato Stew with Baked Eggs.

The Breakfast Board; a Hard-boiled Egg, Viridian Farms Strawberries, Carlton Farms Double Applewood Smoked Bacon, Pickled Beets, Chicken Liver Mousse, and Lebna.

The Bambino; Fluffy Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Biscuit, and Heather's Honey Butter. Pictured in back are Chocolate Potato Doughnuts with Créme Anglaise.

Chocolate Potato Doughnuts with Créme Anglaise.