New Year, New...

... Well lets face it, most people don't keep their New Year's resolutions. Of course it doesn't hurt to make yourself publicly accountable for them, now does it? This year I've kept it reasonably simple.

2012 Resolutions:

1. Brew at least six different styles of beer before Dec. 31, 2012. (I've started my first on Jan 1 this year!)
2. Climb 5.10 in a gym and 5.9 on rock
3. Lose some weight so I can do #2
4. Buy a new-to-me car that won't break down on a nearly monthly basis
5. Get the ball rolling on finishing the script and pre-production for my feature film to be shot in 2013

That's it. Just five thing's I'd like to do this year to really make a change in my life. I've got lots of other big plans for 2012 as well: working on other projects, getting new gear, and driving to LA for a few weeks.

Thanks for a great 2011 and here's to an awesome 2012!

My Apple Pie Ale

Masterpiece Kitchen

As you may know, Last fall I started a project where I would cook new recipes and then photograph them, detailing all of my learning experiences on the this blog. Well wouldn't you know it, but life once again got in the way of my plans and I haven't been keeping very up-to-date.

This time around, I was all set to take a photograph when I got an email from the Vimeo Weekend Project group. As if a sign from above, it was a project based around creating a cooking show.

I put away my strobes and fished out my video lights (a-lá Home Depot) and my tripod to record the magic. With a little help from Abby, we made dinner and the video in a reasonable amount of time.

Chicken Bruschetta Pasta | Masterpiece Kitchen from Michael Carney Media on Vimeo.
Welcome to Masterpiece Kitchen, the most dramatic cooking show known to man. In this episode we examine how to create the classic entreé Chicken Bruschetta with Farfalle, or the more colloquial "Bowtie," Pasta.

Sit back, relax and enjoy your meal with Masterpiece Kitchen.

Photo/Video Info:
Photo: Canon 60D w/ 50mm f/1.4 @ f/3.5 1/125 ISO 1000
Video: Canon 60D w/ 24mm f/2.8, 50mm f/1.4, 135mm f/2 all @ f/4 1/50 ISO 1000
Lighting: 23w CFL in "HD" reflectors (Home Depot) x2 - one high left over cutting board/counter, one high right over stove acting as key and fill each for the different shots. Intro sequence 1x23w CFL in "HD" reflector high left, practical lighting

Wait, Today's Saturday?

I was, like, 9000% more productive today than any other Saturday in recent history. Winter self portrait with Abby, building a Snowoman with Abby, Cooking a nice dinner and photographing it with Abby. Maybe there's a pattern here ;)

[Mmmmm... Carbonara tortellini with Italian seasoned chicken

Nikon D300s, Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8;

1/160, f/8, iso 200;

SB600 1/4 power fired into a 32" reflector]

Back to the Food Project

I've got a bunch of confessions with this post.

1) Abby made the cake

2) I made the Chicken and Pesto yesterday

3) Its been waaaay to long since my last post on this topic. Graduation is just around the corner though...

Other things learned

- Home made pesto: good, slightly expensive, don't follow the recipe, add to taste.

- Let Abby do all the baking, that cake is delicious

- Don't wait so long between posts, I love cooking delicious food!

[Nikon D300s; 60mm f/2.8 Macro; f/20; iso 200;

Sb600, shoot through umbrella, 1/4 power, high back left;

Sb26, lumiquest softbox, 1/16, high side right;

small reflector low front left]

[Nikon D300s; 60mm f/2.8 macro; f/22; iso 200;

Sb26, lumiquest softbox, 1/4, overhead;

small reflector, low front]

Recipe 3: Beef with Béarnaise

A few nights ago I decided to make Peppered Beef with Béarnaise sauce. Long story short, it got made.

[Béarnaise = butter and egg = delicious]

Now for the long story...

I got home around 9pm from work and still wanted to make this dish. According to the recipe book, it should have taken about 35 minutes to make. Well I learned a few things that night.

1) Different cuts of meat take different amounts of time to cook. A fillet will cook faster than say the chuck roast I bought (cause I went el-cheap-0).

2) When using new appliances, always ask to make sure they work properly. Apparently the oven I was using is about 100°F colder than what it is set at.

Because of these two mistakes, the meat took about 45 minutes to cook and when I finally pulled it out, it had been over cooked. Still tasted good flavor wise, but definitely dry and chewy.

I also finally broke down and bought a food processor. At least I'll have it next time.

Picture Info: Nikon D300s with Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 @ f/10 ISO 200, SB600 @1/4 power in 8" cardboard snoot triggered with CLS

Day 2: Salmon with herb sauce

Photo info: Nikon D300s with nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ f/8 ISO 200; Sb26 in Shoot Thru Umbrella 1/2 power optical slave front left; Sb600 1/8 power triggered with CLS back right;

New Project for a New Me

I'm starting a new project based on two things:

1) cooking and eating healthier

2) getting better at photography

So I've decided to blog all of my new creations. My goal is 2-3 new (healthy) recipes per week and each time I make one, I photograph it using different lighting, lenses, etc.

Last night's recipe: Baked Eggplant

Photo info: Nikon D300s with Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ f/6.3 Sb26 ISO 200 optical slaved on 1/4 power high left with softbox, Sb600 triggered with CLS 1/8 power high right, on camera flash 1/32 power.