Oh. Oh. The Making of the first completely digital James Bond Movie.

I know not everyone will care about movie making here at the VSL blog but I am a big Ian Fleming & James Bond fan. If you like the movies you may find this great article about making the latest "Bond" film with all digital movie cameras very interesting:

http://www.hdvideopro.com/display/features/secret-agent-man.html

Definitely not shot with consumer DSLRs but a really engaging look at how the movie industry works.

The movies generally are campy, action-y and over-produced (but incredibly fun) but the books, mostly written in the 1950's, are a whole other story. They are written with ample visual description and are now like a time machine allowing readers to see a world before our time through the eyes of a brilliant and cynical observer. Go grab an old Ian Fleming novel and lose yourself for an afternoon. Guilty pleasure but pleasure indeed.

Yes, it's true. I shoot my lamb chops on the floor.

Several years ago I was commissioned to write an article for Tribeza Magazine about four different Mexican restaurants in Austin with four vastly different approaches to that cuisine. The grande dame of both fine Mexican dining and just flat out "fine dining" is without a doubt Fonda San Miguel.  A superb restaurant with a world class art collection on display, a dining room that is world class art, and food that crosses over genres effortlessly.

While the other restaurants presented me with their variations of enchiladas and chile relleños the chef at Fonda San Miguel led with this plato of wonderful, delicate, moist lamb chops accompanied by a side of savory scalloped sweet potatoes. We were working in a sun drenched atrium and the floor was a perfect color complement to the food.

I like setting up lights and making a spectacle when I'm shooting.....sometimes. But there's also a time to just calm down, use what is at hand and let the subject do the talking.

Nikon D2X. 16-85mm.