20 Years
Canon 1D Mark III, 24-70mm F/2.8L, f/3.5, 1/30, iso 1000
So a 20th anniversary is definitely cause to celebrate, right? We are really fortunate to have many fine dining establishments locally. One of the best is Hawk's Restaurant. Molly Hawks and her husband Mike were schooled in the rarefied culinary air of San Francisco, but found there way back to the suburbs to be with family and start one of their own.
While I'm never one to miss a photo op, I didn't want to make the photography a big thing last night. But I did manage to sneak in a few shots (!), so click the continue link if you want to see some of the restaurant's amazing creations.
Canon 1D Mark III, 24-70mm F/2.8L, f/3.5, 1/10, iso 1000
San Francisco is very famous for sourdough bread of course, and I'm happy they brought this tradition with them. This was every bit as good as any you would find in SF. Check out that shutter speed. This place was dark. So I used high ISO's, and also the multi-frame technique. Nice presentation eh?
Canon 1D Mark III, 24-70mm F/2.8L, f/3.5, 1/50th, iso 800
I had Molly set us up with an eight course "Chef's Tasting Menu." I didn't take a picture of every course, and due to the lighting conditions and me not being there on a photo shoot, some of the courses I did shoot didn't result in a blog-worthy image. From a foodie-foto point of view, this is probably my best shot of the night.
This course was called local heirloom tomatoes, hand pulled mozzarella. I can still taste the fresh basil and the truffle oil.
Canon 1D Mark III, 24-70mm F/2.8L, f/2.8, 1/8th, iso 1600
We had both Halibut and Filet Mignon as small main courses. Both were amazing. So here we are hand held at 1/8th of a second. A big heavy camera helps with stability, but I also used the multi-frame technique as mentioned above. What's that you ask? You put your camera into rapid shoot mode (10 fps on my camera) and hold down the shutter for 5 or 6 frames. What you'll find is that one of these will generally be pretty sharp.
Roasted Alaskan Halibut, saffron potatoes and caramelized fennel. Outstanding!
Canon 1D Mark III, 80mm F/1.2L, f/2.8, 1/125, iso 800
A while back my good buddy Steve Savage treated me to a case of insanely good wines. I believe some of my shots for him had resulted in some nice contracts (see www.savagecabinets.com). These bottles are so good that I have only opened one until now. I suppose I'm saving them for a special occasion, right?
So I got into this case, and pulled out what I think is the best one. 2002 Opus One. I like to drink wine but I am not motivated to become an afficianado. My brother is an expert. Sometimes I hear him talking with friends and they are describing the taste of a wine they had years ago. Hmmm. I might be able to remember the one I had a night before, but not a year before.
But anyway I told Debbie that I thought I could remember this one. It really was fantastic. The "smoky oak" flavor was really there, but not overpowering. The bouquet felt luscious to my palate .. forget all that crap, I'm faking it. Let's just say: damned good. Thanks Steve!
Canon 1D Mark III, 24-70mm F/2.8L, f/2.8, 1/15, iso 1600
For our three (yes 3!) dessert courses, we moved outside to the patio and their great "fire place." (A work of art in itself). Now at this point I had some room to work, and I should have mounted the 85mm again, but it looks like I didn't have my pro-photographer hat on at this time. I really was just soaking in the moment, savoring each minute and morsel.
I don't have the official description of this one, but you can imagine the taste. Their pastry chef combines a lot of different taste elements - sweet, salty, rich, plain, it is a real explosion of flavor.
Canon 1D Mark III, 24-70mm F/2.8L, f/3.5, 1/20, iso 1600
Chocolate and beet mousse, raspberry gelee, candied beets.
Sadly, we came to the end of our meal, and I come to the end of the picture show. The "happy face" placement of the plate was no accident. It summed up just how we felt. It was about 10pm, not that I was watching the clock. A great night, with good people all around. The restaurant was very busy and I was happy to see that. Hopefully all small businesses will be getting more and more business.
Well, which one is your favorite?
