A west coast macchiato is a tweener drink. A true macchiato is a healthy shot of espresso with just a tiny kiss of steamed milk or foam. It’s a proper, European kiss. Light and respectful. Just a little friendly hello. My kiss is a little more than that. It’s a Haight-Ashbury free love kind of a kiss. It’s not the full on French kiss that you find in a cafe au lait. But it’s loose and friendly and just a bit on the indulgent side. It’s also a bit of a mystery because the steamed milk pour (always tapped flat) fills the cup regardless of the size of the pull… some mornings are more milky than others.

Which all is a long way to introduce you to a Bainbridge Island coffee roasting company called Storyville that I recently discovered. I received an email from Ryan several weeks ago asking me if I’d be interested in trying their beans and if I liked coffee. I giggled to myself a little, and responded that yes, I do indeed like coffee and that usually I even roast my own beans. A few mails went back and forth, and then he asked me if I had a French Press. Oh, I thought, he means coffee as in the drink and not the beans. As in not espresso. Hmm. I’d have to think about that. I have my drink, you see, and I’m quite attached to it.

But then, the next day, an enormous box showed up on my front porch that contained a bit more than the beans I was expecting.

Not only did Ryan send me a lovely bag of their Prologue blend, but he also sent along everything I could need to get started with the whole coffee-the-drink thing. Let me tell you, if you have a friend or colleague that is interested in coffee and you are looking for a gift, this will impress the heck out of them. I immediately grabbed my camera and put the kettle on.

Before I tell you how it tastes, I should tell you a bit about Storyville’s philosophy on roasting coffee. Or, maybe better, just go watch their mockumentary on the subject of “Big Coffee” and burning the beans. Storyville makes just one blend of coffee and you can get it with or without caffeine. And they don’t roast the beans to death. There is a fine line between lovely carmelization and char and a lot of coffee out there crosses that line. When I roast at home, I tend to stay on the light side, so these beans are right up my alley.

But the big thing about Storyville is that they are all about getting you the freshest beans possible, and recommend always brewing the beans between 3 & 12 days of roasting (again one of the reasons I homeroast… I can make very small batches frequently and always be drinking fresh beans. The other reason I home roast is that it makes it easier to get Fairtrade and organic beans). If you don’t have a local roasting company just up the hill from you (and in Seattle, you very well may), and don’t want to bother roasting your own, Storyville makes it pretty compelling to replace the beans you buy on the market shelf that have probably been sitting there a while with regularly delivered fresh beans. You can just sign up, and the beans are roasted to your schedule and shipped to you each week (or two weeks) fresh, right when you need them.

Anyway… how it tastes. If I say it tastes like really good coffee, that doesn’t sound like much does it? But, for me, that actually means a lot. 99% of the coffee-the-drink I try doesn’t, so my “good” bar is ridiculously high (just ask Cam on this one… he’ll confirm). But between the freshness of the beans and using a French Press instead of a coffee maker, this coffee has some legs to it. It has a mouth-feel that was just the right side of smooth and miles away from watery. This is coffee I really enjoyed. It is coffee I’d be happy to serve you if you were to come over between 9 and noon.

But, I’ll also let you in on a little secret… those Prologue beans? They make a heck of a good west coast macchiato too…

So, with that, here’s my virtual interview with Randy for you all to enjoy!

L: I love that you describe yourself on your about page as “a weird kid” who sculpted scrambled eggs and made dried fruit portraits. Thank goodness your had a friend who suggested you go into styling! Once you had that idea planted in your head, how did you make it happen, and get your first break into the industry? What was the project, and how did it go?

Randy: My friend’s exact words were, “there must be someone making that McDonald’s hamburger for the ads, and getting paid well to do it”. We were standing in a trailer park in Aspen, Colorado. A light went off, dark clouds of depression lifted, there may have even been an actual snap of the fingers. “That’s it; that’s what I really want to do,” I thought.

Despite this epiphany, I still floundered for a few more years. In fact, I suffered terrible career crisis blues throughout my 20′s even if I was preparing perfectly for my ultimate career, all along, without knowing it. After only a couple of years of college, I worked in a multitude of restaurants, upscale Chinese, Italian, Indian, a sushi bar, a famous New Your deli restaurant… you name it. I usually waited tables, but I was sincerely interested in the food, and I always could cook what I saw being made in the kitchens. I also did my own catering jobs, but I knew I didn’t want to be a waiter, “when I grew up”, and I knew I didn’t want to be a caterer.

I began taking snap shots of my own meals using a tripod and my first SLR, which was helpful, and eventually after returning from Manhattan to my native San Francisco, I contacted established food stylists and began assisting. Simultaneously, I was working with aspiring photographers on test shots for our mutual portfolios. Eventually I had a few decent images to show, some technique under my belt, and the confidence, to print a business card and promote myself.

My first paying job as a full-fledged food stylist was a shrimp tostada bowl, shot for a small local Mexican restaurant chain. Imagine my disappointment when the image appeared on the coupon flopped 180 degrees. Though I’m sure no one else could tell, the garnished plate just didn’t look right to me.

Landing steady work at a large studio that shot Macy’s newspaper inserts on a daily basis also helped me transition from assistant to primary stylist. A steady diet of arranging and accenting kitchen appliances and cookware sets, though boring at times, taught me a lot about photo composition.

You’ve now been styling for quite a while… how has the industry changed? Is the work you are doing now much different than what you were doing 20 years ago?

Dramatically. When I started out, naturally it was pre-digital; food was shot on
4×5 or 8×10 film. Retouching was expensive, and almost never a part of the budget. We would save hero plates of food until the film came back from the lab, and quite frequently we would have to re-shoot something from earlier in the day, for crazy reasons. Maybe there was dust on a knife, or a Polaroid accidentally was left on the set within the frame.

Styles were also very different. Focus was invariably sharp throughout, and food was often shot in implausible settings, perhaps on a glossy black surface or plate; that was considered contemporary. Rusted metal surfaces though not the most appetizing setting for food, for a time, also seemed quite in vogue. Even for editorial shots, we prepared food in a stiffer less natural manner, usually cooking each ingredient separately and then reassembling the various components on the plate.

I also had to endure the extremely popular, but often distasteful, Hosemaster craze. For those of you who don’t know, Hosemaster, was/is an expensive fiber optic light painting tool, that, for a time, every photographer and their mother felt compelled to own and operate. It made food glow. Each exposure could take as much as a minute or two, and required photo assistants to often act as recording secretaries, jotting down each step of the procedure. Imagine all of the perfect cilantro garnishes I had to replace, once they died, for ones that were maybe not as good.

The current trend of natural light, selective focus and plausible environments, is having a good run, and I couldn’t be happier or more comfortable. It’s hard to imagine what the next phase might be.

What are your 5 best tips for making a successful shot?

Have an assignment.
When working on a self-promotional shot, I find it’s easier to have some parameters, perhaps a recipe to start with. It can be very hard to do “whatever you want to do, as long as it’s the most beautiful shot in the world”.
It is this pressure, which often prevents a test shot from being portfolio material.

It’s easy to have your head turned by every pretty vegetable at the market.
The tendency may also be to try to cram in to the shot every trick in the book (the textured crusty bread, with grill marks, the oozing cheese, the crumbs on the plate, the piece of parchment paper…). It doesn’t necessarily all add up to be an effective shot.

Keep it simple.

Don’t try too hard (easier said than done).
Often it’s best to plate food, throw down the napkin, or arrange the props the way you normally might, if you were serving your family, without thinking too, much, and then, make adjustments or do some problem solving from there.

If you find you’re efforting too much or really stuck, it may be useful to disrupt the pattern, by taking a walk around the block, turning up the music, screaming with all you might into a roll of paper towels… whatever will change the dynamic.

Collaborate.
The most exhilarating, and fruitful days come from those where a rich exchange occurs between the photographer and stylist. I invite comments and suggestions on the food, and appreciate the invitation to have some input on the light, focus and camera angle. When the light or focus looks really good, I make a point to complement the photographer, knowing I certainly appreciate encouraging words.

Now how many was that?

What is your most coveted tool on set? How about at home (and do you cook at home?)?

Chopsticks. I rely on them heavily for maneuvering both large pieces and flecks of food. Unlike with tweezers, I can even move a chunk of avacado without leaving an impression.

Even after a long day at a studio, I often surprise myself by cooking up some of the shoot leftovers, when I get home. Fortunately, there are also days when I return to my wife’s fine Japanese home cooking. Having a propane grill close to the kitchen is great, and saves having to clean a broiler pan.

What’s the most challenging thing you’ve had to style, and how did you do it?

Not too long ago, I did a Schlitz t.v. commercial that can be seen on my website, requiring the perfect beer pour. The huge motion camera, mounted on a dolly, and I guess using a very short lens, was right up against the table, and the beer bottle and glass were surrounded entirely by a fixed corral of plexi, making the set impossible to reach. With help from the crew, I screwed a plastic pitcher to a wooden pole, and was able to pour accurately with it using a stand and knuckle, acting as a bridge.

Some of my own self-inflicted projects also come to mind. There was the chocolate-dipped telephone, and the fully dressed and bronzed Thanksgiving turkey, cut open to reveal a profusion of metal gears, lights and stuff. I hollowed out one of the breasts of the raw bird, and spray painted the inside of the cavity with flat black paint to make the hollow appear more cave like, before adding the bells and whistles.

Do you ever get the urge to get behind the camera yourself?

I do still love taking food photographs for myself, and I’ve learned a lot from all of the brilliant people I’ve worked with over the years, but professional food photography jobs usually require a team, and I know where my strengths lie.

Do you read any food blogs? If so, what are some of your favorites?
I sincerely love yours, Lara, for it’s interesting and beautiful content, handsome design, and fun, light voice.

mattbites.com is another one, I recently discovered, that has all that going for it, too.

And finally, stolen from James Lipton: What is your favorite word in the English Language?

“What’s your availability” always has a nice ring to it.

Thank you Randy for sharing a little of yourself with us! (and no, I didn’t pay him to say he liked my blog<g>)

I am so tempted to subscribe…

(Image from Pentagram)

[via How About Orange]