The prettiest detritus

One of my favorite images lately...a common tabletop scene for the farmer-apprentices at UC Santa Cruz's farm school (aka "The Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems" or CASFS). Normally, I do quite a bit of "styling" but I barely touched a thing to make this image. Maybe I pushed an apple over a centimeter or so, but that's it. This is just what the communal table looked like post-lunch.

Shot with my iPhone 5 and edited with VSCO cam.

© 2013 Christine Han Photography

Gamma Folk for Madesmith

I had the pleasure of photographing designer Lily Piyathaiserie of Gamma Folk for Madesmith. Her studio (like Marble + Milkweed's) is right up my aesthetic alley: light-filled, neat, and colorful! I loved encountering all the thoughtfully-organized mini still-lifes in her studio.

Lily is a color and texture genius. I absolutely love her fiber jewelry. It's fun and sophisticated, playful and edgy all at the same time. I hope you enjoy viewing her studio and work as much as I did!

All images © 2013 Christine Han Photography

Be sure to read Lily's thoughtful interview and check out her work over on Madesmith! Any of her pieces would make a great gift for a stylish friend.

Old things and beautiful women

Old things and beautiful women never fail to inspire me. Our latest post for Pantry Confidential has plenty of both, which means that I had a really hard time putting my camera down at the shoot.

This is Julia V. Bainbridge, an editor at bonappetit.com.

She has incredible style, a mash-up of drool-worthy vintage and innovative boldness. Old and new, if you will.

A giant portrait of her grandmother stands watch over her Brooklyn apartment, and her family's everyday china anchors any dish she cooks up for friends, including this delicious clam and chorizo number she whipped up for us.

All images © Christine Han Photography

There is plenty more JVB style and the recipe for this dish over at Pantry Confidential. You don't want to miss it.

Marble + Milkweed for Madesmith

This is Briar Winters of Marble & Milkweed, in her Tribeca studio. I photographed her for Madesmith, whose mission is to "buy less, buy well." It's exciting to work with people whose work you can really stand behind! I'm honored to join Madesmith in telling these artisans' stories and connecting them to the community at large. 

To be honest with you, I am neither a tea-drinker nor a beauty product consumer.  I'm sure my skin is crying for all the anti-oxidants and such that I am not getting...but I think Marble & Milkweed could change my behavior. When I first encountered Briar Winters' concoctions, I nearly fell over because they smelled so good. I was unprepared, as I tend to think skincare products are boring (don't hate me!). I was there to photograph her and her studio for Madesmith and had just asked her to demonstrate her process of creating one of her products so that I could shoot it. Without much thought, I smelled it, and WHAM! My senses stopped in their tracks and transported me to some enchanted forest full of nostalgia and calm...

The particular concoction I got to smell had been a year in the works, and she was still perfecting it, as if it wasn't magical enough. But that's the kind of meticulous thought and care that Briar puts into every single thing she makes.

And her tea. Oh my. You will not encounter a more visually-pleasing mixture. As pretty as it is, its looks are second to its aroma. Too bad #smellovision isn't real or you could put your nose right in there...it's enough to make this hardcore coffee drinker reconsider...

Head on over to Madesmith to read Briar's interview and buy one of her elixirs. They make great gifts (hint hint). Who wouldn't want to feel like they've fallen into a soft bed of flowers in the middle of a cool and quiet forest?

All images © 2013 Christine Han Photography for Madesmith

Sarah of Seoul in the City + Kyotofu

Sarah is the blogger behind Seoul in the City, a website chronicling her adventures in the world of food, travel, and design--with an emphasis on her three-year stint in Seoul, Korea, of course!  Before I met her, I visited her site often in preparation for my trip to Korea this past January. I took her recommendation for the best pork belly (sam gyub sal) in town, and boy, it did not disappoint.  I only wish I had had more time to visit all the other places Sarah wrote about!  If you are planning a trip to Korea and good food is important to you, do not miss her blog.

Incidentally, she made a big move to NYC from Seoul, and I got to meet her in person to do her headshots. Thanks, Hana, for the introduction to a new friend! I absolutely love meeting and working with people who are passionate about food.

Sarah is also the Director of Sales, Catering, and Events at Kyotofu, a modern Japanese dessert bar in Hell's Kitchen, a place that deserves a write-up of its own. After taking her portraits there, she treated me to some seriously good desserts. That chocolate chip cookie you see is one of THE best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had. And guess what? It's gluten-free (using Thomas Keller's Cup4Cup gluten-free flour). That other beautiful concoction you see is a black sesame sweet tofu panna cotta, also gluten-free, and for the lactose-sensitive out there (ahem), dairy-free as well. They make their own tofu, and it is superb. Thanks to Sarah, I also got to sample the green tea creme brulee, miso brownies, green tea muffin, and white sesame soft-serve...you will not believe any of it is gluten-free or non-dairy. I don't have celiac disease, but I know quite a few people who do, and this place is just amazing for gluten-free folks. Even if you're not gluten-free, Kyotofu's concoctions are stand-alone awesome...so good that I went back a few days later for more goodies ;)

Sarah pours hoji-cha syrup over the kuro goma sweet tofu (black sesame tofu panna cotta), which adds just the right balance of sweetness atop the nutty panna cotta...I really liked this dish.

All images © 2013 Christine Han Photography