Bonnie Plants

A Taste of the Garden: Thanksgiving Food Photo Shoot | Little Rock Arkansas Commercial and Advertising Photographer

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Did you give Thanks(giving)?

Back in October, I teamed up with the fabulous team at P. Allen Smith, partnering with Bonnie Plants for the last photo shoot of 2015: A Taste of the Garden: Thanksgiving.

I was on vacation for nearly a month when this issue published in mid-November so I'm just now able to get this wonderful publication and photos to you.

As you know, this issue was themed all around Thanksgiving. For most of each, Thanksgiving means something different. But we all have one thing in common when it comes to how we celebrate: FOOD! And lots of it.

I myself was thrilled to see a salad recipe among the mix because I am a big salad fan. And I always work a salad into my Thanksgiving plate at some point. I encourage you all to try to recipe of the salad above. It's fresh, clean and absolutely wonderful. The tartness of the apples paired with the sweetness of the dried cranberries plus the tang of the goat cheese is a lovely combination.

You don't need Cream of Mushroom soup to slather all over fresh green beans to make a green bean casserole. There are much better, and healthier ways, do make this Thanksgiving favorite.

These two sweet potato recipes are nothing short of amazing. And you can make these for any Sunday dinner, or even a weeknight dinner. The recipe at left, the Sweet Potato Gratin is nothing short of decadent. Try it and you'll taste why.

If you don't have time to make with your sweet potatoes, why not offer a sweet potato bar? Just bake them, offer a variety of sides and let your family create their own combinations.

And peas....and bacon....Mmmmmmm. A perfect combination (for me at least).

Desert is just about everyone's favorite of Thanksgiving dinner...or any dinner. Try this pie above for your next gathering. Or you can make Pumpkin Ice Cream and Gingersnap Cookies. This one was my personal favorite. And that of the cutie pie at right eating the ice cream sandwich.

Here are some of my favorites from the photo shoot. In some of the photos below, the Thanksgiving table setting, designed and styled by Laura Grimes and Mandy Shoptaw, featured warm and inviting fall colors in hues of purple, green and orange. I also have to give a shout-out to Victoria Gross and her fabulous cooking skills.

Food photography is easily one of my favorite things to photograph. I just love the challenges it brings. I am overwhelmingly pleased with the photos and based on the feedback I've heard, so are my clients.

I want to thank P. Allen Smith partnering with Bonnie Plants for a wonderful 2015 of fun and creative year of food photography. I can't wait to see what 2016 brings!

And now for some of my BTS photos



Preserving your Harvest | Arkansas Advertising Photographer

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By now, most of you who follow my work and my blog know that I just love LOVE working with wonderful staff at P. Allen Smith.

In July, I teamed up once again with the creative team at P. Allen Smith, partnering with Bonnie Plants, to work on their latest issue of Preserving Your Harvest: the third e-Book of the season.

If you're like me, you've got a backyard garden. My garden consists of a variety of herbs, tomatoes, peppers, sweet potatoes and green onions. Oh and a few Citronella plants to help ward off the mosquitoes. All of my plants are Bonnie Plants.

As our summer draws to a close and our garden has yielded as much as you can possibly eat, you may be asking yourself, "How do I preserve all of this?"

Photographed over two days at Moss Mountain Farms, this latest e-Book has all the answers you need on preserving. P. Allen Smith along with Bonnie Plants can show you the way. And it's not complicated or confusing. There are so many good things here with lots of easy instructions.

Plus, it includes a few savory dishes you can cook later in the year with what you’ve preserved.

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This issue has detailed step-by-step instructions on how to: dry (both oven and naturally) freezing, pickling and fermenting all the tasty fruits, vegetables and herbs you've grown all year long.

You can see the other two e-books photographed in partnership with P. Allen Smith and Boonie Plants. You can see Drink Your Garden and enjoy A Taste of Brunch.

 

Drink Your Garden | Arkansas Advertising Photographer

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Are you thirsty yet?

If you're like me and live in Arkansas, or just about anywhere in the deep south, you're in the midst of an awfully hot and humid summer. High temperatures here in Arkansas have hovered in the upper 90s with a few locations topping out over 100 degrees just about every day for the last month.

Sadly, no relief from the sweltering temperatures is in sight.

But there is relief as close as your kitchen with cool, savory drinks you can easily make at home.

In early June, I teamed up once again with the creative team at P. Allen Smith, partnering with Bonnie Plants, to work on their latest issue of A Taste of the Garden.

We photographed this issue over two days at a private home in Little Rock featuring all things drinks. I photographed a variety of items ranging from Southern iced tea to infused waters and a killer good Lemon Basil Martini. That recipe came courtesy of our very own Capital Hotel.

And oh my was it great. It was the PERFECT way to wrap our two day photo shoot.

The idea is pretty simple and quite tasty; instead of resorting to sodas to wet your palate, try using some of the wonderful things you've grown in your garden with Bonnie Plants and create fresh and new drink ideas. For their series on infused waters (above photo at left) you can use items such as: mint, stevia and even cucumber to add flavor to water. All of these plants are available from Bonnie Plants.

To involve the kiddos, try making a watermelon slushie (above). And you don't have to actually be a kid to enjoy this. It's a perfect drink for any summer's day...for kids of all ages.

For the adults, the tangy and tomato juice (below at right) is perfect accompaniment for lunch!

The muddled mint and strawberry orange juice (below) is simply delicious. It's perfect by itself or add a splash, or a generous amount of champagne, for your next Sunday brunch.

And if you're looking for great ideas for something fresh and new for your next brunch, P. Allen Smith and Bonnie Plants shares a lot of great recipes in their A Taste of Brunch which I photographed in May. You can see the photos and recipes by going here.

Here are a few fun Behind the Scenes iPhone snaps from the photo shoot.