Chanticleer – the movie

Ok, it’s just a very short film but it did demand hours and hours.  Getting the footage was easy — editing was the big bad bugaboo as I struggled with Adobe Premiere Elements.   I did get some help with editing (thanks, Kim!) and debuted the final cut at the end of my Scott Arboretum talk this past Saturday night.  Also, huge thank you to all the staff at Scott for hosting such a wonderful event!

Cover Story

Much effort goes into typical cover shoots and this one was no exception.   Burpee managers provided rough ideas on how best to showcase this new collection.   The colored tomatoes were wrangled up by the talented farm staff at Fordhook and an antique-loving employee provided the perfect scale.  The background surface was built from old oak shelves we found in the Seed Barn —  they were covered with grime but came up beautifully after a thorough wash.  When all the elements were  gathered,  the AD and I roughed out  the composition to allow quiet space for the Burpee logo and sell lines.  To create a sense of depth while maintaining sharp focus on key aspects required a minimal lens aperture and a perspective controlled lens.  Finally, we finessed the fruit, shooed the flies off the cut tomatoes and softened the hard morning sun with a diffusion panel.  Click.