Rough Day At The Office

Today was a rough one.

I was very fortunate to have spent the day styling a photo shoot for Hancock Gourmet Lobster Company in Cundy's Harbor, Maine. What a treat to spend time in a brand new, waterfront and oh so gorgeous house, equipped with the smartest kitchen I have ever been in, and in the company of great people. Oh yeah, and did I mention the water view?!?

Here is a behind the scenes look at the set up shots of the lobster mac & cheese-there is Amber, the operations manager at Hancock Gourmet Lobster, in the background, carefully choosing the glassware for our next series of shots...How official all of photographer Gil Talbot's equipment looks! For most of the morning, there was cooking, lobster preparation, primping, fluffing and checking Gil's test shots, re-styling and more pictures. We got some pictures of Cal, the delightful and savvy owner and founder of Hancock Gourmet Lobster Company too. Unfortunately, Cal had just broken her foot and was on crutches, so we assisted her in the kitchen for the prep of the food.

After shooting all of Amber's specified pictures for the closeups of a new Lobster sampler product the company is launching, we moved outside to set up the lobster gazpacho table.

These are just my snapshots, I will share some of Gil's real and professional photos when they become available. This table was my primary assignment. I sewed a nautical table runner and khaki linen napkins to complement the lantern, mussel shells, white dinner ware and the orange red of the gazpacho that was soon to fill the bowls.

I spray painted little galvanized buckets red to house wedges of crusty bread and accesorized with square votive holders, enamel handled silverware and a sprinkling of tiny yellow periwinkle shells that my daughter has been collecting over the summer.

This is the rough part. After shooting the gazpacho table, Amber and I collected "props" for a series of lifestyle pictures that was scheduled to take place on the dock. After consulting with Gil, we determined that the dock was not the ideal spot, which led us to curiously uncover the Zodiac that was being stored on the dock. Much to our delight, we learned that the boat was a delicious red color, so in Amber and I climbed, with our lobster rolls, old fashioned soda with turquoise straws and our fabulous Seabags. I enjoyed carrying the real Seabag around on my shoulder, have you heard of this Maine company? You should go visit their web site and learn about them-a great product, stylish and recycled to boot!

So my afternoon was spent on the water, in the sun and breeze, on a quintessential Maine summer day, tethered out from the dock, with an old friend, receiving hilarious direction from a helpful, friendly and professional photographer. Rough, I know. Just another day in paradise.