Blog

 As a kid I wasn't into heavy metal, but I've evolved.

Chocolates that are so much fun they demand to be photographed outside the box.

http://www.bluetablechocolates.com/

Studio kitchen continues to expand at kc kratt phography.  As our food client list continues to grow, our kitchen has grown too.  These pots and pans are my latest set of studio toys--and I can't wait to share them.

Got to rock my inner musician...shooting Heil mics.  This chrome fin was a challenge but so much fun.  We photographed numerous views of the chrome mic as well as several matte black fin models.

Holiday newsletter assignment for an upscale grocer.  When the client asked if we could shoot a croquembouche, we replied in the affirmative--and then rushed to search the net for what the hell was it anyway.   The croquembouche was the final shot at the end of a very long day.  Folks were a bit giddy by then but everyone remained focused as Chef constructed the "tree",  wrapped it in finely spun sugar and gently placed it on set.    An assistant began singing O Croquembouche and everyone joined in as the final frame was shot.    
 

Mushrooms were on the menu for a recent advertising assignment at Tempo, Buffalo, NY.  Exotic and erotic mushrooms are food porn worthy -- forms and folds of flesh and blush. 

A world of wonders....Currently, I'm editing and  printing large images from an earlier trip to the Yukon in preparation for a small gallery showing in November. The Yukon is so vast, so different, so other that it strips away everyday conventions and framing.  It is tremendously freeing to have a camera there.   Unlike my work here as a commercial photographer, there I shot as I experienced--without deadlines or agendas.

Nothing says October like bread, beer and brats.  (All displayed on a cutting board made in my dad's woodshop when I was sixteen.)

Respect For The Aged Day.

Not a few folks have asked why the travel photography on the kc kratt photography website is titled “Silver Week”.   I’d never heard the phrase, and didn’t know the tradition until I visited Japan.  There, Respect for the Aged Day is an annual holiday celebrating the importance of the elderly in Japanese society.  It falls on the third Monday of September and, some years, begins a week of civic celebration that promotes tourism, travel and gift giving with a special focus on Japan’s revered senior citizens.  Hence the name “Silver Week.”

As I toured the island, I was fascinated by the constant presence of past and present, ancient and modern that characterizes contemporary Japanese life...gleaming temples...trendy hipsters on their mobiles...ancient pines...shimmering skyscrapers.  I came to think of my time in Japan as a “silver week”, and my images, as a reflection of all the intricate circles of past and present that intersect our lives every day. 

Met this couple on a magazine assignment.  Frank and Rachel recently bought an aging slaughterhouse/butcher shop out in farm country and are bringing the business into the 21st century. The best background that I found to shoot them against, the one that was most germane to their profession was, of course, inside the meat cooler.  

In a world of processed and fast food, where it's getting harder and harder to find the real thing, the Dispenza's are providing an important  service while preserving an age old trade. 

The beauty of the work ethic at a farmers market--cash without the middle man commerce is at the core of the notion of "buy local".   Every Saturday morning we head to the Elmwood Bidwell Farmers Marker to buy fresh produce and celebrate the bounty of Western New York summers. 

Environmental portrait of  community leader and local NAACP president, Frank Mesiah. In his 80's, Mr. Mesiah remains a thoughtful advocate for civil rights and the dignity of everyone.

This quick shot caught my eye because of the color, the textures and the juxtaposition of the spoons left right where the chef had placed them. Sometimes the ingredients are just as much fun to shoot as the actual menu item.

Editorial photography assignments sometimes take me to spectacular gardens.  But this image of a large leaved hosta was shot after a late afternoon rain just outside our front door.  Gail and I have been working on our garden for the past eighteen years.  The house came with three old trees and lots of lawn. We've added ten trees -- including three varieties of redbuds.  We have planted countless perennials (some were gifts, some were volunteers and many were purchased) including varieties that we just had to have.   Our beds are largely shaded and, being time-challenged gardeners, focus on leaf color, texture and shape.   The best part of our garden is that it is always there waiting to be discovered;  always there to inspire and renew...

Circus of Life is Kyla Kegler's annual gift to the Buffalo Festival scene.  Street musicians, paper maiche masks and colorful costumes made for a surreal Saturday afternoon on Grant Street.

When I first published this photograph, people asked if it was a computer generated image. In fact, I bought romanesco, a member of the cauliflower family, at a local grocery store--and ate it later that day for dinner.  Beautiful and delicious!

Post  Bastille day party shot of the Albright Knox Art Gallery just past dusk.

More kayak adventures....discovering the surreal beauty of a cement hauler abstracted by water into color and light.

Buffalo's waterfront archeology as seen from Bethlehem Steel's breakwall. More kayak  adventures documented on the iPhone.

I've been photographing the grain elevators along the Buffalo River since the mid 80's.  Seen from my kayak just before dusk, these architectural structures are haunting monuments to an economy, a technology and a way of life that is so distant from our modern virtual world.

Beautiful shot, but the stools didn't hold up.......