This is a piece for Jensen’s, a classic supper club in St. Paul, Minnesota.  I love this image because it captures the working kitchen, an aspect of the restaurant that most never see, and is a good example of how I integrate into the operations to execute the shoot.

Paul is the head chef and great guy.  But when I introduced myself and the concept for the shoot, he (and the leadership team) was a little hesitant–and rightly so!  Setting up lights in a working kitchen while not disturbing the kitchen process would be challenging.  But this is what I am proud of:  Building a rapport with the talent and integrating the shoot seamlessly into the normal operations so as to not throw  things off in the process.

Setting up lights in a working kitchen while not disturbing the kitchen process would be challenging.

While appearing simple, this was a three-light set up.  Four if you include the fire we set!  While I was setting up and adjusting the lights, I worked and joked with the other staff, keeping the atmosphere light.    And they were very accommodating!  This is importation because I want it to be a good experience for everyone and not another source of stress. (Dare I say we have fun!)

For the shoot itself, Paul and I did have fun–especially  lighting the vegetable mix on fire several times to get just the right look.  Maybe some sort of a caveman, fire thing?

And no, we didn’t serve the very over cooked, three-time Flambéd vegetable mix!  😉