The July 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living has a neat little burger feature in it: "Burgers & Sides." I hate to blow my own horn, but I will: I wrote the body copy for this story. What really makes this feature, though, are the photos, taken by James Wojcik. They're like exploded drawings, with the burgers' components floating in midair. I have no idea how Wojcik did it, but it looks beautiful. You really should pick up a copy of the magazine to appreciate those pix.
@the_o: No kidding? I'll have to look at BA July 08. I think it came in the mail and I threw it on the to-deal-with mail pile without looking. Strange. Martha's usually pretty careful about not using the same photographers as everyone else.
@the_o: The same guy did that in bon appetit july 08. Looks pretty cool.
Yes he did. But I didn't like then and I don't like it now. It's a another foo-foo take on the whole "decontructed" thing... I guess the purist in me just says" give me the real deal", don't "art" it all up!
@jonfoxx, if all you're interested in is "food porn" you'll never be able to appreciate artistic license in any kind of food photography. Allowing the artistic part of your brain to develop its emotional side regarding visuals of food isn't a bad thing whatsoever, particularly since it allows for appreciation of a Chef's presentation as well.
I like Wojick's photos for their practicality. The photos simply set-off each ingredient to emphasize exactly what's going on in each those burgers. And they function like a visual road map for the "Burgers & Sides" discussion. It totally makes sense here. They are not artsy "foo-foo" photos.
@Adam: Blow your horn. It's warranted. I'm a loyal Martha Stewart Living reader and I enjoyed the feature. Good stuff.
I didn't like how his work was in both Martha Stewart and Bon Appetit, in the same month too! I wonder if both magazines realized that this was going to happen...kind of unoriginal. But cool nonetheless. I wonder how he does it.
Total hotness! I love seeing layers "diagrammed." It is very similar to the exploded axonometric drawings used in architecture to convey how multiple layers interact with one another. Bummer if the photographer did it with both publications, but it's really beautiful work. Great copy, too!
At first it seemed odd to me that the photographer didn't mention to whoever signed him up last that he was already doing a similar project for another magazine, but after I thought about it, I figured that he was bound to a certain level of confidentiality and couldn't let the cat out of the bag to either editor.
At any rate, there's twice as much burger fantasticness to enjoy. I get Bon Appetit but not MSL, so thanks for the heads up. I will look for a copy of the July issue at my local newsstands. Hopefully the August issue hasn't bumped it off yet.
@Hamburger America: He'd need to get those shadows in somehow as well.
I like the photos. But honestly, those burgers don't look like anything I'd wanna eat. The patties (particularly the one I'm assuming is beef on the far left) look like they weren't seared properly. Kind of gray and steamed looking, no?
maybe he did the pictures by taking pictures of each ingredient in a light box, and then just photoshop. the main clue is that on the burger in the far right, the second layer of stuff (the green things) are so much wider than the pattie beneath it. And the bottom of the green things is almost completely flat. you can just add shadows in photoshop too i think. just a guess, could be wrong...
D magazine (city magazine of Dallas) did this same burger treatment (the accordion of ingredients) on the cover of its May 2006 issue for its Best Burger issue. Each ingredient is shot separately and then it is all digitally composited. I know. I was at the shoot. All night. It took 8 hours for 7 layers. We had to melt the cheese over a piece of styrofoam cut to the shape of the meat and used a hand steamer to melt it around the edges. Turned out great though.
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21 Comments:
Must ... not ... buy ... Martha ... Stewart ... anything ... no ... good ... reason ... arrrgh ...
LunaPierCook at 4:14PM on 07/19/08
The same guy did that in bon appetit july 08. Looks pretty cool
the_o at 5:55PM on 07/19/08
@the_o: No kidding? I'll have to look at BA July 08. I think it came in the mail and I threw it on the to-deal-with mail pile without looking. Strange. Martha's usually pretty careful about not using the same photographers as everyone else.
Adam Kuban at 6:07PM on 07/19/08
Yeah, when I saw the picture for this post, I thought it was related to the Bon Ap feature.
Eroca at 6:14PM on 07/19/08
@the_o: The same guy did that in bon appetit july 08. Looks pretty cool.
Yes he did. But I didn't like then and I don't like it now. It's a another foo-foo take on the whole "decontructed" thing... I guess the purist in me just says" give me the real deal", don't "art" it all up!
jonfoxx at 7:08PM on 07/19/08
@jonfoxx, if all you're interested in is "food porn" you'll never be able to appreciate artistic license in any kind of food photography. Allowing the artistic part of your brain to develop its emotional side regarding visuals of food isn't a bad thing whatsoever, particularly since it allows for appreciation of a Chef's presentation as well.
LunaPierCook at 6:10AM on 07/20/08
I like Wojick's photos for their practicality. The photos simply set-off each ingredient to emphasize exactly what's going on in each those burgers. And they function like a visual road map for the "Burgers & Sides" discussion. It totally makes sense here. They are not artsy "foo-foo" photos.
@Adam: Blow your horn. It's warranted. I'm a loyal Martha Stewart Living reader and I enjoyed the feature. Good stuff.
Susquehanna at 8:52AM on 07/20/08
Correction: The photographer's name is Wojcik.
(I wonder if it's properly pronounced whoa-chick)
Susquehanna at 9:03AM on 07/20/08
I didn't like how his work was in both Martha Stewart and Bon Appetit, in the same month too! I wonder if both magazines realized that this was going to happen...kind of unoriginal. But cool nonetheless. I wonder how he does it.
Laryssa at 1:56PM on 07/20/08
Total hotness! I love seeing layers "diagrammed." It is very similar to the exploded axonometric drawings used in architecture to convey how multiple layers interact with one another. Bummer if the photographer did it with both publications, but it's really beautiful work. Great copy, too!
JustNancy at 3:59PM on 07/20/08
At first it seemed odd to me that the photographer didn't mention to whoever signed him up last that he was already doing a similar project for another magazine, but after I thought about it, I figured that he was bound to a certain level of confidentiality and couldn't let the cat out of the bag to either editor.
At any rate, there's twice as much burger fantasticness to enjoy. I get Bon Appetit but not MSL, so thanks for the heads up. I will look for a copy of the July issue at my local newsstands. Hopefully the August issue hasn't bumped it off yet.
holdthemayo at 7:37PM on 07/20/08
lunapiercook: Ditto, ditto, ditto.
yayajac at 7:57PM on 07/20/08
I'm pretty sure he shot each element on glass, took out the background, and repositioned the elements in Photoshop...
Hamburger America at 8:18AM on 07/21/08
@Hamburger America: He'd need to get those shadows in somehow as well.
I like the photos. But honestly, those burgers don't look like anything I'd wanna eat. The patties (particularly the one I'm assuming is beef on the far left) look like they weren't seared properly. Kind of gray and steamed looking, no?
kenjialtci at 9:20AM on 07/21/08
maybe he did the pictures by taking pictures of each ingredient in a light box, and then just photoshop. the main clue is that on the burger in the far right, the second layer of stuff (the green things) are so much wider than the pattie beneath it. And the bottom of the green things is almost completely flat. you can just add shadows in photoshop too i think. just a guess, could be wrong...
foodinmouth at 12:03PM on 07/21/08
Nice, Adam. I wonder if I can Martha Stewart Living in a plain brown wrapper? I'd never hear the end of it, if seen.
Barbara Hanson at 4:08PM on 07/21/08
check out www.verasburgershack.com, for a similar burger deconstruction
gerald tritt at 6:48PM on 07/21/08
@gerald: I don't see the deconstruction on that site. Are you sure it's there? What is the direct link to it?
Adam Kuban at 6:51PM on 07/21/08
right at the start, it should come crashing down on the screen
gerald tritt at 6:53PM on 07/21/08
have to say,I love your site, keeps me in the know on what is happening in the northeast burgerdom
gerald tritt at 6:54PM on 07/21/08
D magazine (city magazine of Dallas) did this same burger treatment (the accordion of ingredients) on the cover of its May 2006 issue for its Best Burger issue. Each ingredient is shot separately and then it is all digitally composited. I know. I was at the shoot. All night. It took 8 hours for 7 layers. We had to melt the cheese over a piece of styrofoam cut to the shape of the meat and used a hand steamer to melt it around the edges. Turned out great though.
toddj67 at 10:13PM on 07/21/08