Jenna

During Family Vacay 2010, there was a lovely dock. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to photograph my newly-married sister Erica on that dock. At one point, both she and my cousins’ wives Steph and Kelsey were all hanging out thereabouts, so I cackled “this is my opportunity!” and grabbed my trusty Nikon D5000. “Pose! Pose now!” I commanded– “and I won’t take no for an answer! Get to work! Hop to it! No time to waste!” I’ve always been bossy–it’s an older sister thing. But hey, it works. So for today, I bring you the pictures of Erica. Tomorrow will be the pictures of the other ladies.

My sister is not just beautiful, but also a natural in front of the camera . . . a skill of which I am extremely jealous. More on that later. She knows what to do with her face, with her hair, and with her body, so it’s a pleasure to take pictures of her.

Me, on the other hand . . . when I know my picture is being taken, my face immediately configures itself into an awkward and tense expression. My nose starts to get red. My limbs start to look like they were sewn on by Dr. Frankenstein, at slightly odd angles. My back hunches, my eyes water, my mouth seizes up, and it’s just a visual nightmare. My problem isn’t my face or body in real life . . . just when it’s captured on film. I hope you understand.

Anyway, Erica doesn’t have that problem. No, not one bit.

Maybe I can convince her to write a guest post with some tips. There are plenty of Photoshop and photography tutorials out there, but I could definitely use a good tutorial telling me how to act when the camera is turned on me. Um, Erica? Whaddya say, huh, huh?

Some of these I messed with a good bit in Photoshop–Gaussian Blur, Selective Color to amp up the blues or yellows, increased exposure, etc.

Some I didn’t even touch, like this one below.

She makes it seem so effortless–not even this lovely splinter stopped her from being a relaxed model for me.

OK, I’m sorry!

No more pictures of splinters, I promise. At least for the next 24 hours.

Though you should know that when I get the urge, I can’t deny it.

As you look at these shots, are there any in particular that you like? Compositions that work, or don’t work? Photos that are too obviously processed? I’d love to hear your feedback.

My black and whites are looking a little odd . . . I haven’t discovered the trick of how to make them “pop,” and they end up looking more flat than I’d like. I want dimension! Any tips from you Photoshop users out there?

Could someone that knows them confirm that Erica looks a lot like her new sister-in-law Nicole in the picture above? I think it’s the hair.

No to influence anyone’s opinion here, but I think the one below is one of my absolute favorites. There’s just something about the composition, with her face in the upper part of the frame, the motion of the hair, the natural laugh, the color of the water . . . it just makes me feel good inside.

You can really see the processing differences between the picture above (bright yellow hair) and the picture below (more of a faded yellow.) I think they both have their merits . . . but they definitely create a different mood.

Her hair look almost white in this picture below–I can’t tell if I love the effect or hate it. Decisions, decisions. They’ve never been my strong point. That’s why I need you all, to tell me what’s what. To make up my mind for me.

Do any of you have a photographic muse? A person that makes you want to grab your camera and just shoot away till kingdom come? Or are you the muse who is perfectly comfortable in front of the photographer? (if you are, please send suggestions my way, and fast) I love hearing your comments and opinions!

Update: my cousin’s wife Kelsey recommended using the “channels” mixer for my color to black and white transformations in her comment below. A little later, I pulled up a favorite blog of mine to read, and what do you know! There on the front page was a tutorial on black and white processing with an explanation of how to do exactly what Kelsey was talking about. If you’d like to read the post (from Kayotic Kitchen), click here.

I’ve been making this recipe for 5 years, since I was first married. I absolutely adore mushrooms, and will be posting another mushroom-alicious recipe very, very soon. This dish is great for large groups of people. I made it for our Bloomington Bible study back in the day, for my in-laws, for my own birthday one year, and for Family Vacay 2009, along with a salad. When I made it for family vacation, the grocery store up North was plumb out of mascarpone, so I substituted cream cheese and it was still delicious. It’s easy and rich, creamy and delightful–a total comfort food.

When I made it a few weeks ago in preparation for this blog post, my husband said:

“You know what would make this perfect?”

“What?” I asked, nervously thinking I had overseasoned, underseasoned, or maybe could have used a little more chopped sage, or salted the mushrooms more when I first put them in . . .

“Bacon,” he said.

So take note–please add chopped fried bacon bits for maximum man-satisfaction.

Ingredients

(Serves 5)

1 1/2 c dry mushrooms (porcini or shiitake)

1 1/4 c warm water

2 TBS butter

1 TBS oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

16 oz sliced white mushrooms

2 TBS chopped sage leaves, plus more for garnish

1 c dry white wine

8 oz mascarpone

5 oz (1 cup) crumbled gorgonzola

2 tsp cornstarch + 1 TBS water

12 oz dried pasta

Optional: diced fried bacon

Soak dried mushrooms 20-30 minutes in the 1 1/4 cups of warm water. I used shiitake mushrooms that I buy in large, cheap bags at the Asian grocery store:

I’ve had this stash of mushrooms for years. In my opinion, they can only be gaining flavor with age. Right? Right.

Don’t fear the wrinkly little dry guys. After a good long soak, they become plump and moist:

At this point, grab the rest of the ingredients. Chop the onion, garlic, and sage. Everything must be ready.

The mascarpone and gorgonzola–I could eat them both by the spoonful, people.

Isn’t the sage be-yewtiful? It’s such a soft and yet vibrant color. I love taking a chomp out of a leaf or two–bitter, but somehow refreshing.

Remove the soaking mushrooms from the liquid and squeeze them out–but save the soaking liquid! It’s important because it will add incredible flavor to the pasta. Chop the soaked mushrooms up nice and fine.

They need a little more chopping . . .

Zer ve go.

Put the pasta water on to boil, and salt it liberally.

Heat the oil and butter together over medium-high until the butter is melted. Add the onion and diced (previously dried) mushrooms.

Cook for about 8 minutes. Lovely flavorful brown bits will start to form at the bottom of the pot.

Add the fresh mushrooms . . .

And the garlic! We can’t be forgetting that.

Add the sage, and then salt generously. Sprinkle in copious amounts of black pepper as well. It’s important to season well at this stage so that the button mushrooms absorb some flavor and release their liquid. Check out the grains of salt in motion:

Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

By now, your pasta water probably came to a boil, and your pasta should be cookin’ away.

Once those 5 minutes have passed, it will look something like this:

Pure heaven!!!

Add the white wine . . .

And now add the soaking liquid from the dried mushrooms. Yes, it looks like dirty water, but don’t let that deter you. It contains the magic of the forest.

Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Your pasta should be getting really close by now. Check in on it every now and then. If you’re adding in bacon, that should be cooking in a separate pan at this point as well.

Turn the heat on the mushrooms to low, and stir in both the cheeses, the mascarpone: