Dream Project - Alice Waters
I am the luckiest photographer on the planet! I spent four days doing portraits of Alice Waters on set of the upcoming MasterClass she is teaching. I have to say that even though she is the most influential person in food of our time it has not kept her from being the most kindhearted.
In the business of photography you have to be ready to shoot quick when someone like her comes in front of your camera. In our first one-on-one portrait session I planned to photograph Alice in her backyard, then go inside for a portrait with a gray seamless. I hadn't met her before so I didn't know what to expect and in situations like this I always assume my subject is going to be in a hurry. But, instead she sat down and had the most relaxed and polite demeanor to her. I think it epitomizes her values for everything she stands for: the best ingredients, the Slow Food movement, educating the world about food, organic, local, composting, etc.
I came away from the experience with so many lessons about food and I'm now even more steadfast about everything she has preached all of these years. There is no question the best ingredients are of extreme importance to her. Her eyes light up and her excitement level rises when she talks about her favorite vegetables and herbs and the fact she got them directly from a farmer, at Monterey Market or at the farmer's market. Take a look at some of my images below of her looking through all of the food she is cooking with.
I don't want to give away too much of what will be in her MasterClass and I highly encourage you to go buy her class and hear how passionate and excited she is about the food she makes in the course. It will make you want to go have fun at the farmer's market and most of all, cook delicious, nourishing, yet simple food.