Texas Y'All/ Studio MH on the road!

Left: Supersize me?, Right: Texas loves gas 

Left: Someone lost their bumper!, Right: Cacti at The Belmont

Left: Signage at Old Fort Worth, Right: Table found

Left: Barb Wire, Right: Detail of Design District, Dallas

Left; Dallas Diner, Right: Cowboy a go-go in Old Fort Worth

Left: New boots anyone, Right: Take me for a ride?

Left: Downtown Dallas skyline, Right: DMA sculpture garden, Granite Settee, 1982-83 by Scott Burton

Perot Museum Of Nature & Science, Built 2006, Dallas

Left: Dallas's latest park in Downtown, Klyde Warren Park, Right: Layers of Dumpsters, Industrial area, Dallas

Part of my stay was at The Belmont, great place to stay

Left: watch out for them dogs! Right: Taxidermy everywhere! Old Fort Worth

Left; She ain't Texan but could not resist, seen in a record store, Right: Detail of store in Old Fort Worth

Left: Cowboy car in Old Fort Worth, Right: Smoke, a great place to eat

Left: Industry Roadside, Right: Skyline of Dallas

Left: Store In Old Forth Worth, Right: Detail in White Elephant

Left: Barbra Hepworth Square with Two circles, 1963, Nasha Sculpture Center, Right: Detail on the street

Left: Klyde Warren Park detail in Downtown Dallas, Right: Calatrava's new bridge

Left: Bull Ring in Old Forth Worth, Right: Cows in the Paddock

Left: Saloon in Old Fort Worth, Right: Long Horn Cows walking the street

As most of you would know Texas is the biggest state in the U.S and so the saying goes "every thing's bigger in Texas" Retail giant JC Penney is based in Dallas Texas, where I spent the last few weeks working on a new line they are developing with Martha Stewart. JC Penney has been undergoing developing brand relationships with many other large U.S based and overseas companies such as Conran and Jonathan Adler.

As I mentioned Texas is a big place and Dallas is only one city. I have to say though it was a bit of a cultural whammy, like no other city (other than L.A and perhaps Minneapolis on a smaller scale) have I seen such a reliance on the car. The city is riddled with confusing highways that just keep getting built, A mass of roads that dictate the life of all that live there.

Dallas has many pockets of areas, many destinations if you can find them! You can't really get anywhere without a car, something I learnt the hard way when I decided to take a stroll one day. Dallas is not a strolling city.

The landscape of Downtown is a mass of angular hard lines, the freeways darting around it and intersecting it from all directions. The suburbs are spread out, Dallas is affluent but you also see the hard realities of homeless under the freeways and the often brutal examples of industry and commerce such as strip malls and chain restaurants.  

It's a different way of life, vastly different to NY, perhaps more like parts of NJ from what I have seen. The most refreshing area for me was The Bishops Arts District that has more of a village feel, an oasis in a huge city.

These are my views of Dallas and seen through my eyes, perhaps the next person might see it in a whole different light. 

Martha Stewart, Everyday Food, Jan/Feb Issue

Photography: Con Poulos

Photography: Con Poulos

Photography: Con Poulos

Photography: Con Poulos

When a gig comes around as a Freelancer that is nearly 3 weeks long, It is very hard to knock it back, especially when it's in the neighbourhood and I don't have to get on a plane to get to it like most long jobs! A couple of blocks with my latte and I am there! For my first Everyday Food issue, to style the whole issue was a great experience, Like working on a book, You are able to invest the head space into creating a whole booklet in one go with the same team. Everyday Food use a different team every month, Mine consisted of myself and Photographer Con Poulos www.conpoulos.com. Working with the ever talented Editor in Chief, Anna Last, Design Director, Chi Lam and Food Editor's Heather Meldrom and Lesley Stockton, It's a small team with big results. 

For me there is a lot of propping involved, with a whole issue with over 10 larger stories plus smaller ones too, You need to be able to get your head around how to approach so many stories but give them their own personality or flavor. We also got some surfaces made, but also sourced many as well. The props and surfaces for a whole issue really come from everywhere, My own storage and home, prop houses and the market place but also from the Martha Stewart and the Everyday Food prop cupboard combined. 

Included in this set is a story on Onions, In a section called "In Season" 

The interesting angle to this job was my first larger introduction to the I-Pad and how it effects most shoots now, Shooting video footage, We filmed many aspects of the stories so that they could relate back to an I-Pad format where you can view much more than just the printed page, It's very exciting to see the cross over, It's like having a little bite of the future.     

Martha Stewart, Everyday Food, Jan/Feb Issue/ Superbowl

Photography: Con Poulos

Photography: Con Poulos

Photography: Con Poulos

Photography: Con Poulos

For the same issue, Included was the much expected Superbowl party, not said with a jaded tone at all but January is always Superbowl and like Thanksgiving, Holidays, Easter, It comes around sooner than you think!. For me not really being an avid sports follower, This event intrigues me. For the last 5/6 years Superbowl comes around, We shoot way ahead of course and for me I have to delve into the mind of a Superbowl party host and look at how we can reinvent the wheel. Of course to a degree there is a formula to a party like this, Mainly it revolves around a TV, A remote control, fat fueled foods and of course beer! However this time, Everyday Food are doing the "light" version, no fatty foods here, except you would never know! 


It was important with this story to keep it tasteful but "Everyday" as well. I thought it would be nice to include an environment and even though most people may not own a Saarinen Womb Chair, I know from experience that it if there was any chair you wanted to watch TV in, It would be this one! So for the opener we created the scene and opposite it a play on a scoreboard with a schedule planned out for the host, The stories colors are fun and bright and even though I am yet to ever host or be invited to a Superbowl party, The spirit of the game was there, even if shot in October! : ) 

Martha Stewart, Everyday Food, Jan/Feb Issue/ Flavor without the Fat

Photography: Con Poulos

Photography: Con Poulos

Photography: Con Poulos

Photography: Con Poulos

This story was a story is called "Flavor without the Fat" Using Rubs, Sauces and Seasonings, The idea is you can bring flavor to your meals without the calories. Perfect as it is the "Light" issue. This story we wanted to do something super graphic. When shooting a whole issue it is important to vary the stories so that they look different and allow the pace of the magazine to vary. Using powdery painted Plexiglas surfaces with super shiny plates helps give that subtle but unexpected kick to the story. It was very simple but with such a beautiful palette, The food really shines. I love the reflections of the studio windows in the plates, so pretty!