I took the photo above on Sunday evening as I was cleaning and prepping the room. Michael had done a site visit a week ago so he could view the space and give me his assessment of the shots to be taken and so we could brainstorm about the styling. I had ideas, Michael had better ones. He's not only a fantastic photographer, but with his design background, he has a keen sense of style and we had a lot of fun pulling it together. I'm a big believer in keeping things real in a photo shoot; the room should look largely as it always does or hopes to, just spit shined. And, the photos need to tell a story about the owner or about the project being documented. Since this was my design in my own kitchen done with my own hands (and those of my friend Rob!), I wanted to be sure that the photos ultimately read "Linda". Maybe it's "Dream Linda", but Linda, all the same.
Here is Michael working at my dining room table, camera set up to shoot from dining room into the kitchen. My kitchen is north facing with only one small window, but the south facing dining room is flooded with natural sunlight in the morning, which is nice.
Previously, I had an old dry sink that I used as a bar when entertaining. Below is a "before" shot of my kitchen. You can see how narrow the passageway is into the kitchen proper. On the left is the laundry behind the louvered doors.
Here is a little reminder of the new skirted counter that I have installed (my photo). The purpose of the counter was to add storage and surface space to my small kitchen. This piece has wire shelving below to keep things out of site and has literally doubled my available counter top space. As you can see, a significant improvement in terms of looks and functionality over the before.
And below is a shot I took yesterday of the lighting and camera setup to get a straight-on shot of the new counter top. As you can see, the camera is practically inside my laundry closet. I was willing to move all the stuff on top of the washer so Michael could sit in there, but he didn't take me up on that offer.
And now, your official sneak peak of one of the final images taken by Michael Lee.
Doesn't he take a beautiful photograph - even in a very tight space? I am so looking forward to using this new counter as a bar and serving area for when I entertain. And this is what I mean about feeling that photo styling should indicate how a space is really lived in by the people who live there. I have always used this are of the kitchen as a bar, it's just now, I have a nicer one with more service area. While we certainly spent a lot of time putting all the elements into place just so for the photo, there's nothing here that's foreign to how I live. And, I just love the simplicity of the image and the play of light on the wall.
As I said, more photos are to come, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, will you have a gin and tonic, or a martini?
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