Marshmallows.

————————————

We all made marshmallows the other night. Quite simple and really awesome.

We put them in white hot chocolate with a bit of cinnamon and cayenne pepper and dusted the top with dark cocoa powder and confection sugar.

They’d be just as good in a cup of coffee.

Try it.

It was good.

-t

Breakfast.

_________________________________________

Breakfast recently.

This morning: Fried egg on toasted baguette with avocado, pickled jalapeños, tomato jam, jack cheese, cumin, cilantro and a dash of hot sauce.

Coffee on the side, of course.

What did you have?

Lately…

————————————————————

(all photos were taken on my phone)

Lately.
Colder.
Jackets and scarves.
Lots of coffee, pressed.
A trip to Portland, Maine.
Some early October snow.
Massachusetts and back.
Long drives into the setting sun.
Food and drinks in Nashville, TN.
Friends back in the mountains.
Collecting rocks on the shore.
Reflections.
Fall fading to winter.
Coastal dining–lobstahhh and the best scallops Ive ever had.
Gelato–goat cheese with cherries and salted caramel pecan. I died.
Sharp autumn light. Different every day.
Baking.
The last of the apples.
Traveling.
Packing.
Moving soon.

More later.

-t

MM

—————————-

Dropping in today to do a little blog swap and share some good-eats photos from my pal, Michael Muller.

Michael Muller is a freelance photographer and musician who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. His band, Balmorhea, is top notch, (seriously, have a listen) and his photography is spot on. (see his portfolio, here)
Michael is a writer and photographer for The Scout and also a fellow contributor for Kinfolk Magazine.

He blogs at Threading In The Choirs.

His Twitter and Pinterest.

Check him out.

Thanks, MM!

(you can see my photos here)

Apples.

——————

Every year about this time, we head out to our favorite apple orchard.
We pick just before the sun goes down.
Weaving in and out between the trees.
Tasting as we go.

——————-

( Please excuse the changes and lack of activity around here. The blog and portfolio are under construction.)

Breakfast Lately…

……….

Yes, I know. Im really late to the Nutella party. I don’t care. Im gonna pretend it just hit the shelves.
Im gonna eat it on any piece of toasted bread I can get my hands on. Any piece of fruit I can slice up.
Im gonna eat it on raisin bread with toasted almonds and a sprinkle of sea salt. Hell, Im gonna eat it straight out of the jar on a spoon.

Its like chocolate frosting, but better. I keep telling myself its gotta be healthy. Could you not frost a cake with this stuff? I wouldn’t know the difference if ya did.

I owe this new addiction to my good friend, Suzanne. She has sketched/blogged about this stuff for years, but I’ve never tried it. The other night she gave me a fresh jar of the stuff and since then I’ve smeared it on whatever I’ve eaten for breakfast.

Im hooked eating it on toast with a bit of salt, but would love to know other ways to enjoy the hazelnut-chocolate spread. So, how do you eat your Nutella?

-t

Pizza.

We made pizza the other night.

Fresh dough.
Eggplant.
Bacon.
Caramelized onions.
Feta cheese.
Fresh mozzarella.
Basil.

It was damn good.
Ill be making this again.

-t

Friday.

———

Not much time for blogging, folks. Sorry. Im busy with lots of projects, some old, some new. Getting ready for full time work again, students come back in a little over a week. (I work for a University, so I dont work during the summer. When the students are gone, Im gone.) I hope to share a lot of new work soon, including my new website, shop and blog.

I would have had some recent film to share, but the lab ruined 2 rolls of film. For now, Ill share a little bit of a new photo project Ive been working on. (Pictured above.) More on that later.

Im off to Massachusetts for a week to move my sister and her husband into their new home. A 13hr drive, 4 cars, lots of lifting, and a good amount of beer and pizza eaten on the floor of an empty new apartment. Should be good times.

By the way, Kinfolk launched a few weeks back. Im so glad to be a part of such an awesome and unique magazine surround by such talented individuals. Go check it out.

-t

Summer so far…

——————
Summer has been good so far. Really good. Full of great food, drinks, family and friends. Lots of summer fruits and veggies. Eating outside and ice-cold beers. Its hard to believe we are almost half way through July.

But I want to talk about the drink pictured in the top image. I am all about a good cocktail. Especially a cold one during these hot summer months. This one does the trick.

On a recent trip to the mountains, my brother-in-laws family gave me a huge bucket of fresh picked blackberries. (pictured above) I graciously accepted and spent the whole weekend using them in different ways. We made a cobbler, we made jam, we cooked them to a syrup and poured it over pecan pancakes. But, I had recently read somewhere about summer cocktails using all sorts of berries, mint and rosemary, (yes, rosemary) so I wanted to give some a try.

I muddled about 5 large blackberries and a couple sprigs of mint with about a teaspoon of sugar in the bottom of a small glass. I added about a shot of gin, (you could use vodka) a wedge of lime, ( throw the lime in the glass after squeezing) and topped it off with lots of ice and some club soda. Now take a short sprig of rosemary and a few more sprigs of mint and just give the herbs a crush with your fingers. (Just enough to release the oils. Your nose will tell you.) Place the sprigs in the drink but dont submerge them. You want to smell the rosemary and mint as you drink the cocktail. The piney sent of the rosemary subtly infuses throughout the drink, without being too overpowering. It surprisingly adds a great freshness to the cocktail and seems to enhance the flavor of the mint.

Try it out.

-t

The 4th…

——————–
When I was growing up in hot, humid Florida, we would vacation up in the Mountains of North Carolina. We would rent these one bedroom cabins near a small lake. No air conditioning. No phones. No TV. No connection to the outside world.
We rarely ventured away from the little cabins. We were content with nothing. My parents would sit lake-side and read or play card games. I was young, so I ran around catching tadpoles, fishing, and exploring. Yet one thing we always did during the trip was go on a picnic.

Just inside the Pisgah National Forest are some tables and grills that sit river-side. We would pack up a bunch of snacks, food and drinks. Grab our swim trunks and water sheos. We would set up at the same spot with same table every time. We would tube and swim in the ice-cold water while we waited for the food. I would collect rocks and name them.( I still have some of those rocks) We would pick raspberries and run from yellow jackets. Dad would grill. My grandfather would nap. It was a blast.

Many years later we moved up to North Carolina and could picnic whenever we wanted. The excitement of a picnic started to fade.

However, every so often we still go. The same people. The same spot. The same exact basket. We use the same flat rocks we collected many years ago for the hot beans. We drink from the same plastic cups and eat at the same exact table.

This fourth of July we all piled in the cars, drove down to the river and did just that.

It was a blast.

How was your weekend?

-tim

g&t’s

———-
Im all about a gin and tonic lately.
It helps cut the summer heat.

Extra lime. (about a half of one for me.)
Good gin. (shot…or two.)
Fresh tonic. (Sometimes I use ginger ale for a twist.)
Lots of ice.

Whats your summer drink?

———-

Hope your summer is going well.

-t

Lauren Mack–Bridal Shoot.

click each image to  view larger!

———————

Excited to share some of my favorite photos from a bridal shoot I did a few months back. (You might recognize her from her engagement photos I posted back in December. See those here.) I loved how they turned out.  (Especially the first and last photo).  The light, the field, the big red barn—awesome.

I just shot her wedding this past weekend. A beautiful wedding in a fantastic barn.   Ill share some of those photos soon.

Congrats Will and Lauren!

———————-

In other news, I have a big project in the works.  Something that has nothing to do with photography.  Im really excited and hope to share a preview with you soon.

-tim

The Burning House.

List:
My grandfathers camera.
My favorite shoes. So comfortable.
Some of my favorite bowls.
My Moleskine notebook. Full of many sketches, ideas, and dates.
My favorite shirt.
A piece of driftwood I found and love.
My laptop. My iMac would be too hard to carry.
Two full hard drives with years worth of work and photos.
My most used kitchen pans. Al Clad Ltd2 fry pan. Le Creuset dutch oven
My keys. They open and start a lot of things
My pencil bag. Full of my best pens and pencils.
My Iphone.

My friend Foster asked me a few weeks back to contribute a photo to a new site called The Burning House. I think it is a pretty cool concept and I am happy to be a part of it. Head over to see more photos and the reason behind these items.

The Burning House

-tim

Bits From the Weekend…

Just a few shots from the weekend.

It is so green right now. Feels like spring. Looks like summer.
Lots of flat light that comes with an afternoon thunderstorm.
Grey-blue.
Fresh herbs in the window.
Tomatoes.
We made cream biscuits and ate breakfast outside. I cant tell you how good they were.
It might be the best biscuit I have ever had.
Make them.
I ate one with Jelly.
One with sausage gravy.
A little wine and some peanuts at 5pm.

How was your weekend?

-t

The Milkshake.

I love milkshakes.
Like, really, really love milkshakes.
A good milkshake sits high up on the list of desserts for me.
Also on the list: cheesecake, anything with caramel, and oreos.
Yes, the cookie.
What?
Not fancy enough?
Oreos are super delicious.
You know you love them, too.

Anyway…

I dont mess around with my milkshakes.
Many places claim they sell “real” milkshakes.
Lies.

I have four rules when it comes to milkshakes.
They are…

1. It cant come out of a machine. If the only step in making my milkshake is watching a frozen mixture fall into a paper cup, I dont want it. Ok, Ill take it, but dont expect me to smile while eating it.

2. Dont put stuff in it. You know what Im talking about. I dont want you ‘blasting’ cookies in my shake, or ‘flurrying’ in some candy. I might allow some fruit from time to time. But it better be fresh fruit, ok?

3. This rule is big. Huge. If I order a chocolate milkshake, dont use vanilla ice cream and then add chocolate syrup. I want my chocolate shake made with two ingredients. Chocolate ice cream you have to dig out of a carton, and a splash of cold milk.

4. Dont give me straw. I repeat. NO STRAW. I mean, come on. What kinda shake can you suck through a straw? Ill take a spoon. Preferably plastic. Thanks.

Is that too much to ask?

Since the weather turned warm, Ive been having a chocolate milkshake everyday at 5′o clock.
Its the highlight of my day.
Seriously.
I make it myself.
With a fork and a thick glass.
Lately its been just a plain chocolate shake.
But Im sure Ill switch it up soon and go with a vanilla-peanut butter one.
Peanut butter…
I know, right?
Yum.
A super cold, creamy, peanut butter milkshake.
You want a milkshake now, dont you?
Go get one.
Better yet, go make one.
Stop what youre doing.
Now.
Go.

Youre welcome.

-t

Note: This is how I like my milkshake. Please enjoy your shake however you like.

April.

Spring so far….

Cool nights.
Lots of blue.
Green.
Everywhere.
Jam from a friend. Lemon and grapefruit.
Bitter and sweet.
Afternoon showers. Thunder. The light that comes with it.
Dogwoods. The tree of my neighborhood.
Everything bagels. Everything on bagels.
My house plants realize it is spring, too. They look alive.
Hummus and cream cheese. On a bagel.
Cukes and tomatoes. Like water.
Late night chinese take-out.
Flatbread pizzas. Garlic butter, spinach, mozzarella, walnuts. My favorite.
Good butter. Even better chocolate banana bread.
Tuna salad. Chicken salad. Extra celery a must.
Omelets.
New plants.
Hot coffee mornings. Iced afternoons.

How is your spring so far?

The Weekend…

I had a pretty calm weekend. It was rainy, cold, it snowed.(wtf?) Saturday I went and met up with some friends for a “Boozy Birthday Bash” which included very strong bloody mary’s, a wide variety of food, from quiche, soup, a farm-to-table salmon&lemon frittata, and liver cheese sandwiches, all followed by some ping pong and an intense game of Jenga. (Yes, Jenga) Sadly, none of that awesomeness is pictured here.

The rest of the weekend was spent mainly inside, eating, watching basketball, and taking pictures.

I had an itch to shoot film, so I spent a lot of Sunday doing just that.

I really like the first two pictures here.

Hope your week is off to a good start.
Back here soon with more film.

-tim

The Last of Winter…

A few of the photos taken on a recent retreat to Boone, NC. A group of us lock ourselves in a cabin for a weekend every year. We eat, drink, play games, watch movies. There is always a hot tub, plenty of beer and great views.

I didnt take very many pictures. Cameras and hot tubs don’t mix.

I have a spring post in the works. Its been warm the past few weeks.

-t

Friday.

//////////////

Colors of blue, red, yellow and a lot of green. Ivy covered windows, sharp light, flat ponds, coffee with peanuts, a few pocket watches and some light leaks.

All film from the mountains recently.

I have some friends in town. We are planning on some serious slow cooked barbecue, some games, and more than a few beers.

Have a good weekend.

-t

///////////

Over the past couple weeks I have found myself shooting less. Maybe 2-3 pictures a day, if that.  Im spending more time looking for that extra good light or the special moment. Im not forcing it.  I guess its  me being patient, but its frustrating.  My surroundings seem to be stale. Photos repetitious. I don’t know. Individually my pictures are not speaking to me like they use to.

But I hang on to the few collected images, maybe posting a few here and there on flickr, but I basically just wait and push them all in a file on the desktop.  I let them marinate together, if you will, working up a relationship.   I check back on them later and somehow, together, they sing.  I guess it takes time.  And while it may not be one great image by itself, its still something to me, something I want to share with you, something I like. I think thats why I blog.

So here are a few of my collected images over the past couple weeks.  These seemed to cling to each other the most.  Hope you like them.  I do.

I spent last weekend in the mountains shooting some film.  Hopefully Ill have something to share soon.

Hope your week is off to a great start.

-tim