use real butter

People often ask how I shoot things like lightning, meteor showers, the moon. To be honest, it took a lot of attempts and screw ups and reading for me to manage any level of competency and I’m *still* screwing up and I’m *still* learning. But after the recent supermoon event, I thought it might be helpful to document a little of my process. The moon, unlike lightning, is something you can plan for well in advance (thank you, SCIENCE!). And unlike meteor showers, you can know exactly where it is going to be. It’s also pretty big, which makes locating it less of a mystery.

ye olde supermoon rising

When I first took interest in photographing the moon, I would see it outside, grab my camera and take some photos. I usually got bupkis, or something close to it. My moon was a teeny white dot on a sea of black night sky, usually void of any details. The nice thing about the moon is that it makes a regular appearance in the sky and the great advantage of digital is that I could burn tons of crappy images and learn from my countless mistakes relatively quickly.

here is the setup i used on the supermoon

Right now, I’m gunning for a big moon, because I have never nailed that to my satisfaction. I don’t do enough serious telephoto photography to justify dropping $8,000+ on a single lens and I don’t know that I ever will. However, I do have the option to rent these very expensive, very wonderful, very powerful telephoto lenses from my friends at Pro Photo Rental in Boulder (they ship US and Canada). You can, of course, do remarkable work with landscape captures of the moon. My mentor and friend, Michael Frye, achieves this routinely (and beautifully). The lens I used was the AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f4G ED VR, slapped onto my Nikon D3X (full frame, 24.5 MP). I wanted as many pixels as I could get to resolve detail on the surface of the moon. As it was, capturing the supermoon with the 500mm on my D3X yielded a moon that was only 2.3% the area of the image. Small, huh? Crop city.

the lens weighs over 8 pounds

i always swap out the foot

It’s important to note that just because you get a hold of a lens, like let’s say, a 500mm lens for a day, don’t expect that you’re going to know how to use it the first time you try it out. There’s an adjustment going from your typical 50mm to a 500mm (or even to a 300mm). It’s a different beast altogether. Practice well before “go time”. Take a look at your images and figure out what you’re doing. Do your homework. How many people have purchased new gear right before going on a big trip? I’ve done that. Missing a great shot because you didn’t figure out the technical details when you should have is sad. Been there.

I currently use the Really Right Stuff (RRS) system of quick-release clamps, L-plates, and lens feet. So I invested in the RRS lens feet for the Nikkor 200mm-400mm telephoto zoom and the Nikkor 500mm pictured above for the couple times a year that I do use those lenses. This ensures that the lenses are mounted rock solid to my tripod and ballhead (Acratech) setup. Speaking of tripods…

gitzo gt3531 series 3 carbon 6x tripod

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: butterscotch and milk chocolate puddings

Were any of you able to catch the full moon this past weekend? Since the moon was at perigee (closest approach to Earth) for 2012, it appeared 14% larger and 30% brighter than typical full moons. Everyone was saying it would be a “supermoon”. For us, it certainly was if only for the fact that clouds were building all day, sitting like a giant cap on top of our region. Sheer luck and strategic planning gave us a tiny window from the horizon of the Great Plains to the base of the cloud deck. For all of ten minutes we were able to witness and capture something beautiful.

supermoonrise

As the moon disappeared into the clouds, I looked up from the camera and shouted, “I love it here!” We have good skies, clean air, quiet mountain roads, and a topography of mountains, foothills, and canyons that dramatically abuts a flat, expansive plain. The storm eventually committed itself on Sunday and brought a shower of wet, heavy snow upon us. Moisture is welcome now, in any form.

kaweah wanted to check out the snow

It was most definitely a super weekend – super moon, super snow, and I recreated a lovely treat I’ve enjoyed from Pizzeria Locale in Boulder (part of the grand Frasca dominion).

call it super pudding

Last month, I was on assignment to shoot a fun annual event in downtown Boulder – Taste of Pearl. Local restaurants, Colorado wineries, and shops on Pearl Street triple up to create 15 tasting stations for attendees to sample and peruse and mingle. It’s festive and lively. People get friendlier and friendlier as the afternoon progresses, I’m guessing because of the wine! As I was working, I didn’t eat or drink until the end. The fellas at Pizzeria Locale were handing out cute little cups of their butterscotch pudding. If you said “butterscotch pudding” to me in the past, I would have politely declined. After having sampled this butterscotch pudding twice (first time at the restaurant, second time at this shoot), I was SOLD. But you know me… something this good needs to be tested at Butter Headquarters.

vanilla, bourbon, milk, eggs, brown sugar, butter, salt, cornstarch

mix melted butter with the brown sugar and salt

I don’t develop recipes. I just don’t. That kind of activity makes me crazy and cranky. I seek out good recipes from trusted sources and proceed to test them out. After searching my library and looking online, I settled on David Lebovitz’ butterscotch pudding, because he puts BOOZE in his pudding. Whiskey, to be specific. I went to my wine and booze adviser (Jason at Boulder Wine and Spirits – he is the best) and grilled him about whiskeys. What is whiskey? Can I use bourbon instead of whiskey? What the heck is scotch? Jason deserves a batch of cookies just for putting up with me. In the end, I decided to save myself $30 and use the bourbon I already had.

whisk milk and cornstarch

whisk in eggs

stir milk into the brown sugar mixture

**Jump for more butter**

For this week’s sandwich pick, I’m still hanging about on East Pearl Street (that is, east of the Pearl Street pedestrian mall). Walk a few blocks east from Cured and you’ll find Dish Gourmet on the south side of the street. It’s a cute little deli (and catering business), bright with natural light, tucked in among the leafy trees this time of year.

dish gourmet

Step inside and you’re greeted with a handful of high tables for patrons to enjoy their orders. There is also patio seating outside which people take advantage of during the glorious weather months in Boulder. A large menu board hangs up high above the counter where you order, listing all of the tempting sandwiches that Dish can handcraft for you. You also have the option for a half sandwich in case you want to have some soup or salad and don’t want to explode. They have breakfast options too, but I haven’t tried those. Gluten-free? You can request any sandwich on their house-baked gluten-free bread. Vegetarian? Plenty of vegetarian sandwiches on offer. And there are many enticing homemade salads and sides in the display case next to the order counter.

it can be difficult to choose

I worked my way around the menu a few times trying sandwiches like the Mapleton (roast beef, white cheddar, vegetables on ciabatta), the Boulder bbq brisket (beef brisket, caramelized onions, white cheddar, coleslaw on ciabatta), the Kenai (house-cured Norwegian salmon, dill cream cheese, vegetables on baguette). My buddy Jason tried the Cuban. In the end, I had to go with their Reuben. Classic, right? It also happens to be one of their most popular sandwiches.

the reuben

To the sandwich: While the other sandwiches I had tried were solid, the Reuben was a step above. The corned beef was meaty and fresh. You know how corned beef can look like it was pressed and sliced and sold in a grocery store deli? This was not that. A generous amount was topped with a slightly sweet coleslaw, French Emmental, and a little Russian dresing. All of this was crammed between two slices of their heavenly pumpernickel. I don’t always go for pumpernickel, but theirs had golden raisins dotting the bread which for some reason knocked my socks clear off when devoured with everything else. Fantastically juicy and substantial as sandwiches go.

All of their sandwiches come with potato chips and a pickle (upon request) or you can substitute the chips with potato salad, pasta salad, or a green salad for an additional $1.25. I’m not a fan of their pickles. I love pickles, but these were brined and not especially vinegary or spicy, and the vinegar is what I love most about any pickle. Despite the lackluster pickle, I think there is a sandwich for everyone here. And if you aren’t a sandwich person (I can’t even imagine) then consider their soups or salads and most definitely have a gander at the sides in the display case.

hours of operation

Where: You can find Dish Gourmet at 1918 Pearl Street (Boulder, Colorado 80302) a few blocks east of the Pearl Street pedestrian mall.

When: Dish is open 9am – 6pm Monday – Friday, 11am – 4pm Saturday. DISH IS CLOSED SUNDAYS.

Contact: Call Dish Gourmet at 720.565.5933. Visit their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter @dishgourmet.

Full Disclosure: My opinions. No comps for the chomps.

Previous sandwich research:

1) The Pinyon’s fried chicken sandwich (sadly, now closed)
2) Cafe Blue’s blackened tuna sandwich
3) Frasca Caffè’s Italiano panini caldi
4) Snarf’s pastrami and Swiss sandwich
5) Cured’s Spicy Frenchman sandwich