The Blue Tomato – Finalist in Prestigious IACP Culinary Awards

February 17th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

Chef Alan Wong’s The Blue Tomato Announced as Finalist in Prestigious IACP Culinary Awards

For more photographs, visit our featured Blue Tomato portfolio. 

We’re pleased to announce that the The Blue Tomato: The Inspirations Behind the Cuisine of Alan Wong by Chef Alan Wong, photographed by Hawaii photographer David Murphey, is one of three finalists in the 26th Annual International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Cookbook Awards in the “Chefs & Restaurants” category.

The IACP awards program recognizes excellence and innovation in the culinary industry; its Cookbook Awards are among the most prestigious in the industry. Past honorees have included Rick Bayless, Mark Bittman, Dorie Greenspan, Thomas Keller and Julia Child. The 2012 Awards will be given in 18 categories. The Awards Ceremony will take place on Monday, April 2 in New York during a gala event as part of IACP’s annual conference.

The Blue Tomato previously received the Ka Palapala Po‘okela Award of Excellence in Cookbooks, the top award in the category, as well as an Honorable Mention for Design from the Hawai‘i Book Publishers Association, and was one of three nominees for the 2011 Samuel M. Kamakau Hawai‘i Book of the Year Award.

A founding chef and renowned master of Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine, Alan Wong is known the world over for his creative, cutting-edge cuisine. A 1996 winner of the James Beard Award, he is a tireless ambassador for Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine and a leader in America’s farm-to-table movement. Chef Alan worked previously at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Lutèce in New York City and The CanoeHouse on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. In 1995 he opened Alan Wong’s Restaurant—now Alan Wong’s Honolulu—and, in 1999, The Pineapple Room by Alan Wong, also in Honolulu. The Blue Tomato is his second cookbook.

The Blue Tomato is published by Watermark Publishing.

Steven Lam Working Class Tattoo

January 24th, 2012 § 1 comment § permalink

Steven Lam of Working Class Tattoo, photographed for Modern Luxury Hawaii. Steven has a killer tattoo shop downtown. He’s considered one of Hawaii’s hottest tattoo artists and it was a pleasure to work with him.

Acts of God While on Vacation

January 2nd, 2012 § 1 comment § permalink

Good news for the start of 2012!  Richard Tillotson’s novel ACTS OF GOD WHILE ON VACATION was named “Hawaii’s Best Fiction Book of 2011″ by the Honolulu Star Advertiser last week.  Many of you know Richard as a longtime advertising guy in Hawaii.  This is his first book, so congrats to you, Richard!  You can find it for sale on Amazon.

The cover photo shoot was one of the craziest I’ve been on.  We were out on the rocks at Magic Island and it was raining cats, dogs and cows.  All of us were soaked to the bone.  Luckily, the sky parted temporarily and we got this shot.  After about 5 minutes of shooting, the rain started again and chased us back to our cars.

Grand Canyon Time Lapse

November 14th, 2011 § 5 comments § permalink

The Grand Canyon is one of my favorite travel destinations.  On this trip, I spent my time shooting time-lapse photography of the canyon rim.  It took 2800 individual shots over 3 days to complete this video.  Two things I learned –  Bring a good book and dress warm!  After spending much of the time in 19 degrees weather, this Hawaii photographer was happy to go home.

Watch it on YouTube if you’d like to see it a little larger.

These sequences were photographed from east to west on the Hermits Rest Route, starting from the Bright Angel Trailhead at sunrise, and ending at Powell Point at sunset. Still photographs were taken on the 8 mile Rim Trail, up to Hermit’s Rest.

Aloha!

Burning Man ~ Rites of Passage

September 7th, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink

I’ve just returned from Burning Man, glad to be back in Hawaii.  I’m waaay, waaay too sunburnt, and the day/night temperature changes wrecked my immune system and I got a nasty cold.  Regardless, It was an amazing event and I’m happy with the photos and memories I brought home.

For those who haven’t heard of Burning Man, it’s a temporary city created in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada where over 50,000 people flock to over Labor Day weekend.  The metropolis is is dedicated to community, art, self-expression and self-reliance. The participants depart a week later, having left no trace whatsoever.

The Burning Man gallery is now online, and a slideshow of selected photographs are on YouTube.  Enjoy!

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