Sharpen for New Years

Marty CohenFood Photography, Japanese New Year Celebration 20138 Comments

Sharpen

Before every New Years celebration with Japanese food, the knives need to be sharpened.

(To see the most detail in this image, click on it to enlarge it!)

We start every year as a family, preparing delicious traditional Japanese food for family and friends in Los Angeles. This New Year was no exception. For the past two years, I’ve posted some of our food photographs from the 2011 and 2012 celebrations. It’s a really fun time and the 100 or so people who come, enjoy the food and friendship. The family members and friends also have fun shopping for and preparing the many Japanese delicacies. Personally, I am always amazed by the beautiful presentation of the dishes.

The first, and one of the most important steps is to start with sharp knives. The fish, vegetables and sushi rolls require a sharp knife so they are not crushed while being cut. Jon, a close family friend, has been coming over for years, several days before New Years day, and he sharpens all of the knives. He’s a real pro at this and I wanted to photograph him in the process. He taught me a lot about knife sharpening while I was shooting the photographs. I chose to show this one because  it demonstrates his steady hands, skill and confidence in what he was doing.

My main job the last few years has been to photograph the food prep and display. We hope to create a book with recipes and photographs over this coming year.

The photo was taken with a Canon EOS 40D, EF17-40mm f/4L lens, 1/100 sec at f/4, ISO 640.

The Birds

Marty CohenB+W, Birds, Carmel Valley Ranch10 Comments

The Birds

The Birds sit in the trees outside our house.

(To see the most detail in this image, click on it to enlarge it!)

If you ever saw the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film, The Birds, you have to remember how incredibly scary it was to have hundreds of birds flying around the people in that movie. Well, it would be a bit of an exaggeration to say that’s what were having outside our house every afternoon about 3 pm, but it’s pretty close to that. Fortunately, unlike in the movie, they’re not attacking the humans (so far). They fly outside from rooftop to trees to rooftop, and swoop down in front of our house. It is kind of creepy, especially if we’re out walking the dog and if we think about that movie.

I got my camera out and put the “Big Lens” (200-500 mm) on and stood in our doorway looking out over the trees above our neighbors’ homes. I experimented with a number of Photoshop techniques after I got the images into my computer. But what I liked best was this stark contrast black and white look. Click on the image to enlarge it on your computer’s screen.

The Honor of Having 9 Photos Chosen

Marty CohenPhotography, San Francisco29 Comments

I’m very happy to share with you the honor I received of having nine of my photographs chosen to decorate the walls of San Francisco General Hospital’s (SFGH) brand new Pediatric Opthalmology Clinic. Much of the funding for this new clinic was raised by That Man May See, a non-profit organization that supports, by raising funds, the goals of UCSF Ophthalmology (including SFGH): to save and restore sight for present and future generations. There are two photo galleries below, and beneath them is the story of how this all came about.

Click on the first thumbnail image to enlarge it and see the whole image. You can then click the forward arrow to scroll through all of this first set. When you finish, click on the last image to return to the article.

This first set is from the Clinic’s opening celebration:

The opening celebration photos were taken by photographer Trish Tunney.

The second set below is of my actual chosen photographs.

Click on the first thumbnail image to enlarge it and see the whole image.

How my photographs were chosen was interesting. We met the organization’s President, Kathleen Rydar after my wife Cathleen and I made a donation to That Man May See in the memory of a longtime friend of Cathleen’s family, Pearl Kimura. Pearl was the wife of Samuel Kimura, MD, also deceased. He was the person who taught me Opthalmology in medical school at UCSF. So we had a number of different ways in which we were all connected.

In speaking with Kathleen Rydar, we mentioned our various connections and that I was now retired and pursuing photography. Now that she knew of my connections to pediatrics, UCSF and SFGH (where I had done part of my residency) she told us about the clinic which would be opening in a few months and she asked to see my photography website. I offered to donate some photographs for the new clinic if she and the lead Pediatric Ophthalmologist were interested. They were very excited about it and chose nine images to be displayed on the clinic’s walls.

They’ve described the clinic as a “cheery space, with its colorful nature photos, …designed to reduce stress for overwhelmed families. Children play and learn in the pediatric waiting room.”

You can read more about the clinic in the organization’s Fall 2012 newsletter, Visions. Click or right-click here to see or download the PDF file.

Approach to the Monterey Airport

Marty CohenB+W, Monterey5 Comments

Landing at Monterey Airport

A commercial airliner on appoach to land at Monterey Regional Airport

(To enlarge this image, click on it to enlarge it!)

I was standing in a parking lot at Ryan Ranch in Monterey directly below the flight path for the landing approach to the Monterey Regional Airport. I had been there many times before and  knew it was below the flight path. But this time, I finally brought my camera with me to wait for approaching planes. Several jets landed before this commercial 2-engine prop passenger plane. Even though there were wispy clouds and it was mid-afternoon, the moon was out and I got the shot capturing both the plane and the moon.

The photo was taken with a Canon EOS 40D, EF17-40mm f/4L lens, 1/1000 sec at f/4, ISO 100 and then post-processed using Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro 2 and Color Efex Pro 4 filters.

Fall Colors

Marty CohenCarmel Valley, Carmel Valley Ranch, Trees1 Comment

Fall Colors

Japanese Maple Leaves in Fall after a rain

(To see the most detail in this image, click on it to enlarge it!)

This is the last photo in my series of Fall Colors for this year. It was taken at the same time as the others I’ve posted, and it shows the beautiful colors of the leaves still hanging from the tree.

My Holiday Gift to you is that I have created a higher resolution version of this photo that you can download and use as the desktop wallpaper on your computer, or have it printed for your use. Click on the link at the bottom of this post get your copy of the image.

Please Help Support My Continued Sharing of Photographs–

I’d like to ask for your support in helping me defray some of my web hosting and photography supplies expenses. It’s very simple and there’s no extra cost to you. If you shop at Amazon Click Here To Go To Amazon, and I will receive a small referral fee when you make a purchase. Or, look at the right column of my Blog’s web page and there is always an Amazon Search box there. If you click on the Amazon logo at the bottom of the box (or use the search box to find something specific), it will take you to Amazon. Your prices will be the same as if you had gone to Amazon directly and your purchases are not disclosed to me.

I greatly appreciate your support. Thank you–

To get the image file, Click Here and the image will open in a new page, then Right-Click on the image  (or Control-Click on it on a Mac) and save the file to your computer.

Marty