Editorial and Travel Photographer Susan Seubert shoots Toronto for National Geographic Traveler

Greetings!  The May 2013 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine features a story about Toronto which I had the privilege of being assigned to photograph. This was my second assignment in Toronto.   During the shoot, it was thrilling to discover such an incredible amount of diversity within the various neighborhoods.  National Geographic Traveler does not have a photo gallery of this story online, so I am posting the story here as it appears in the print edition of the magazine, but I encourage you to seek out the May issue either as an iPad edition, which features more images, as well as the print edition, which is packed full of interesting articles about travel throughout the world.

The best moments from this assignment were dreamy.  Discovering Little India was gorgeous with its saree shops and roasted corn on the street.  Queen West has a plethora of shops selling unique items from around the world along with very modern art galleries.  One lovely evening, I took the ferry to Center Island and witnessed a beautiful sunset and some great views of the classic Toronto skyline.  Canada is a great country and Toronto is one example of a fantastic urban area to explore.  Please enjoy and thank you for visiting.

The opening magazine spread from the Drake Hotel

The next page, featuring photos from Kensington Market and the Center Island Ferry

Coffee, shopping in Chinatown and the marvelous Brickworks

One of my favorites – a room at the artful Gladstone Hotel and the most adorable couple who own Chandon Fashion in Little India

A glorious day outside the Drake Hotel’s cafe and the neighborhood bar, the Communist’s Daughter, where you can catch some amazing jazz

The last spread in the print magazine: Guff, a vintage furniture store in Leslieville and the Royal Ontario Museum

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Oregon’s Bounty – Food Photographs by Susan Seubert

Yesterday I received a stock request for some local food. As I was digging around in my archives, I was reminded about yet another reason I love Oregon – the food. For restaurant variety, quality and price, Portland is hard to beat. Of course it’s upstaged by the major cities like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, but we still are regularly celebrated in the national press for some of the greatest restaurants in America. However, this may not be possible without the amazing behind-the-scene scene: the farmers and fishermen that harvest and grow the bounty of Oregon. The slow food movement abounds here, and sustainability is practiced like a religion. My favorite thing to do is to visit the farmers’ market in downtown Portland on a Saturday in the summer – to marvel at the outstanding quality and peruse the amazing variety of produce, meats, cheeses and treats, then stock up for meals for the week. Here are some images from the Portland Farmers’ Market to enjoy while we wait for summer to arrive.

Oregon Blackberries

Hood Strawberries – the sweetest!

Farmers’ Market display and sentiment

Dungeness Crab at the Portland Farmers’ Market

Wild harvested Chanterelle Mushrooms

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Justin Woodward named finalist for James Beard Award Rising Star Chef of the Year

Castagna Restaurant in Portland, Oregon not only happens to be in my hometown, it is also one of the finest restaurants at which I’ve had the pleasure of dining.  One of many things in life I’m grateful for is the fact that my husband loves to cook and has quite a talent for making everything – from dashi to demi-glace, simple pastas or seared duck breast with peppercorn infused, poached pears.  Because of this, it’s very difficult to find a restaurant that can out-do what my amazing partner in life creates in our humble home kitchen.  Castagna is the only restaurant we’ve been to together where when we sit down, we prepare for the question that always arises, “how did he do THAT?”  The food at Castagna is art and is often celebrated, (and criticized), for the same reasons.  However, there is one undeniable fact – you can’t eat like this anywhere else West of the Mississippi and most definitely nowhere else in Portland.  The food at Castagna has amazing attention given to not only the quality of the ingredients, but also the beauty of them.  The service is absolutely world class.  The desserts, like this chocolate dish, are some of the best I’ve ever encountered, thanks to the pastry chef,  Eve Kuttman. Although I love the food scene in Portland, I’ve always felt that Castagna is in a class of its own.  This year, the chef Justin Woodward is receiving the recognition from the James Beard Foundation in the form of a nomination for Rising Star Chef of the Year.  Congratulations Justin!  Thank you for all of your creativity, hard work and the delicious, incredible food.

Executive Chef Justin Woodward of Castagna Restaurant. Nominated for Rising Star Chef of the Year by the James Beard Foundation

The dining room of Castagna Restaurant in Portland, Oregon

cherries, almond ice cream and birch

Cucumbers, salmon cured in cypress and yogurt

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Bon Appétit Names Pok Pok and Swan’s Oyster Depot in their top 20 Most Important Restaurants in America

One of my favorite photographic subjects to cover is food.  I have found food to be one of the best ways to learn about a culture, explore a city, or use as an avenue to common ground with just about anyone.  Food unites us in so many ways, so I’m always interested in making sure that some aspect of food is included in most of the feature travel stories that I am assigned.  I’ve been extremely fortunate to have photographed two of the 20 Most Important Restaurants in America that appear in this month’s Bon Appetit Magazine.  You can read the story online here.  I like the way they laid out this story on their web site.  Most locations have a lead image, then there are details of the food or interiors in a smaller slideshow – images that give a sense of place – in a gallery under the main photograph.  For our home town pride of Portland, Andy Ricker represents, founder of Pok Pok, the Whiskey Soda Lounge and Ping, and is featured in the article.  When I was working on a story about San Francisco, I was excited to cover Swan’s Oyster Depot – a classic San Francisco eatery where locals dine on some of the freshest seafood available in the city.  Bon Appetit used my image to illustrate the restaurant in the story.

A nice summer’s evening at Pok Pok, Andy Ricker’s famous Thai restaurant in Southeast Portland, OR

Restauranteur, Andy Ricker with freshly pressed sugar cane juice at his Portland, Oregon restaurant, Pok Pok

Swan’s Oyster Depot in San Francisco has been open since 1912. Fresh oysters on the half shell.

The interior of Swan’s Oyster Depot in San Francisco, which often has a line out the door.

All images on this site are copyright © 2013 Susan Seubert and may not be used for any reason without express permission from Susan Seubert

Thank you!!!

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Portland Photographer Susan Seubert shoots 2013 Chicken Coop Calendar

Last year I worked on my first calendar project with Amber Lotus Publishing.  The topic was something I was vaguely familiar with: urban chickens and their coops.  I’ve done a fair amount of assignment work photographing various gardens and a few stories about people who have urban farms, but this was the first time I’ve worked on a project specifically for a calendar.  The 2013 version is now available either directly from the publisher or on Amazon.com.  I’m sure you might run across this in garden stores too!  It was great fun working with each coop owner as every chicken coop had wildly different personalities.  It was also wonderful meeting the ladies, who turn out to make not only great pets, but also great eggs.  I’ve posted a few photos from the shoot on my stock photography site and will add more in the near future.  This is the perfect gift for anyone who keeps chickens as the coop ideas featured in the calendar are all very original.  We photographed the 2014 calendar this past summer and it was neat to be able to show those coop owners the ideas that are featured in the 2013 calendar.

City Chickens and Their Coops 2013 Wall Calendar featuring photos by Susan Seubert

Lydia Hess, the art director, and yours truly working on the perfect light for those glorious eggs

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National Geographic’s Tweet of the Month for Susan Seubert’s Cover Image

I haven’t yet joined Twitter because I’m finding it difficult enough to keep up with all the other social networking demands of this one woman band so I was pleased when I opened up my latest issue of National Geographic Traveler (the Jan./Feb. 2012 issue) to find this:

National Geographic Traveler's Tweet of the Month

When I found out that this image had been selected for the cover of the October 2011 issue on Real Food Experiences I was, of course, thrilled, (and blogged about it earlier), but it’s nice to know that other people are willing to put their thoughts about the image on Twitter.  The tweet was from Jessica, WhyGo Italy @italylogue.  This image has always been one of my favorites not only because it celebrates one of the many things I love about Oregon, but it features one of my favorite wineries, the Brick House Vineyard in Dundee.  Our goal when we were producing this image was to make it inviting – as though one would want to walk into the picture, sit down, pour a nice glass of pinot noir then sit around and visit with friends in Oregon Wine Country.  Thank you Jessica for your nice comment, and thank you National Geographic Traveler for using the image to illustrate your issue about food.  Cheers!

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Portland Editorial Photographer Susan Seubert lands another National Geographic Traveler Cover

When I returned home from assignment last night, I was thrilled to find my October 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler Magazine with an image of mine on the cover.   Two months in a row!  I really need to go and get a lottery ticket   This image was made at the Brick House Winery in Dundee, Oregon for a story about Oregon Wine Country.  The creative director from National Geographic Traveler found the image on my website and thought it would illustrate the issue about Real Food Experiences and I couldn’t agree more.  I have always found this image to be one of my favorites, as it is romantic, but not in a saccharin sort of way.  When I look at this photo I can remember all the aspects of the shoot – particularly thinking about how nice it would have been to be in the photo drinking wine on that lovely evening in the vineyard.  It was a wonderful night and now the memory has been brought back to life thanks to the staff of National Geographic Traveler Magazine.  Cheers!

October 2011 Cover of National Geographic Traveler Magazine, photographed at the Brick House Winery in Dundee, Oregon

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Portland Editorial Photographer Susan Seubert on the cover of YES! Magazine

Greetings!  It is with great pleasure to announce that I’ve landed another cover this month for YES! Magazine‘s Fall 2011 issue.  The article is about people who said no to corporate jobs and features SoupCycle’s Jed Lazar on the cover of the book.  His business it delivering healthy, handmade soups, salads and breads via bicycle throughout the city of Portland.  It’s a brilliant plan for those busy people and/or families who want to have a simple, organic meal delivered fresh to their door without having to think about making dinner.  Plus, the bicycle delivery makes the dinner that much more guilt-free because it’s delivered without the help of fossil fuels – just Jed and his team on bikes!  Super yum.  If you live in Portland, sign up for a SoupScription.

Jed Lazar of Soupcycle on the cover of YES! Magazine

This photo was made with a 5D Mark II and processed in Adobe’s Lightroom software.  You can browse an online database of images from this shoot here.

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Editorial Photographer Susan Seubert shoots for Travel Oregon Magazine

One of my first online only magazine clients is Travel Oregon and because it’s my home state, I’m very proud to have a feature story published in their Summer 2011 issue about the Ninkasi Brewing Company.  If you haven’t tried this fabulous beer, head out and pick up a bottle and enjoy a refreshing drink of this homegrown brew.  The story is for Travel Oregon’s, “Oregon Dreamers” segment which features people who have followed their path to success through something they love to do.  Last issue was Steve McCarthy, owner of Clear Creek Brandy, which paved the way for a community of local distilleries.  Although I didn’t shoot that story for Travel Oregon, I did cover it for Saveur magazine many moons ago.  You can read the story online here.  Cheers!

Click here to read the story of Ninkasi Brewery

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Editorial photographer Susan Seubert shoots for San Francisco Magazine

Yet more foodie love for Portland!  This author tells San Francisco to step aside, food wise.  For the May 2011 issue of San Francisco Magazine, I had the great pleasure of shooting a feature about some of the food scene happening here in my hometown of Portland, Oregon.  I love the color and size of the spread – San Francisco Magazine is a larger than normal book, so the images get great play.  The story features the barrel aged cocktails at Clyde Common, the yummy food of Gruner, the sour beers at Cascade Brewing Barrel House and the delightfully crisp shakerato at Spella Caffe.  If you haven’t already, check the story out by scrolling down online here.

Double truck about Portland, Oregon restaurants

All of these images were shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and processed in Adobe’s Lightroom Software.

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