Valentina & Ryan get their photos married: Showing together for the first time at the Orange Door Studios Open House

Listening to great stories. Photo by Valentina Vitols. Mexico 2009

Holding the Pulque. Photo by Ryan Bello. Mexico 2009

I am very excited to invite fellow Seattleites to come visit Ryan and I at my studio. Please join us in a wonderful afternoon of art at the Orange Door Studio Open House! The best part of this event is that we will be showing the work Ryan and I photographed in Mexico. This is my first show with my super talented husband, which has me jumping up and down.

Nothing can top sharing a passion with your significant other.

Dog. Photo by Ryan Bello. Mexico 2009

Bull horns. Photo by Valentina Vitols. Mexico 2009

Our show is called Mírame, Tócame (Look at me, Touch me), and it's a collection of Portraits and Texture images we made while in Puebla and Mexico City a few weeks ago. We will also share our experiences at Esperanza Viva, the house for homeless children in Puebla we visited for four days. Along with Aver Schools, we taught a photography class to children between the ages of 7-15. Both Ryan and I were humbled by the experience, and are very grateful to all the people we got to meet and work with during the duration of our trip.

Tree. Photo by Ryan Bello. Mexico 2009

We'll have nibbles, music specially picked for the occasion, and a small portrait studio set for those who want to bring their cameras and play with studio light. We also want to let everybody know that this a kid-friendly event (in my studio).

Doors. Photo by Valentina Vitols. Mexico 2009

Some of our neighbors will have their studios open. We encourage you to visit them as well.

Participating artists:

Christopher Balder - Scott Fife - Laura Haddad & Tom Drugan - Martino Hoss - Gene Gentry McMahon- Jen T. Mills - Joseph Pentheroudakis - Sally Schuh - Ellen Sollod - Valentina Vitols

Date: Saturday, October 17th, 2009
Time: 13:00 to 16:00
Place: Orange Door Studios
Address: 1941 1st Ave S, Seattle WA 98109

Email: studio at valenvitols dot com

We will love seeing you there. Feel free to RSVP here.

Photos from the Queen Anne Farmers Market

Northwest Gazpacho. Copyright © 2005-2009 Valentina Vitols. All rights reserved.

@chefreinvented, Seattle Chef Becky Selengut. Copyright © 2005-2009 Valentina Vitols. All rights reserved.

My darling husband and I visited the Queen Anne Farmers Market (in our neighborhood) last Thursday. Ryan is now the proud owner of a Nikon DSLR (his first one!) and has been snapping pictures around, happy as a kid! I'm helping him with some photo essentials, and the results have been wonderful. The best part, though, is to be able to share my passion with my love. Nothing compares!

I made some photos myself. Chef Becky Selengut was doing the weekly cooking demo and delighted us with Northwest Gazpacho. The photos on this post were later used in the Queen Anne Farmers Market Blog. Thanks to them for including my images in their lovely post (read the post by clicking here). If you want to see the rest of the photos, please click here to go to my Queen Anne Photos' Flickr page.

Stay tuned for information about a Food Photography Workshop I'll be teaching on September, 3rd at this fabulous neighborhood's Market.

Queen Anne Farmers Market: Thursdays 3-7 pm, June 18th to October 1st West Crockett & Queen Anne Ave.
Join them on Twitter: @qafarmersmarket

Enjoy!

Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon Memories and Photos

While strolling around this fabulous event (Sunday, July 12th, 2009 at Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle), I kept on remembering this dialogue from the movie Chocolat:

"Vianne Rocher: And these are for your husband. Unrefined cacao nibs from Guatemala, to awaken the passions.

Yvette Marceau: Psshh. You've obviously never met my husband.

Vianne Rocher: Well, you've obviously never tried these."

I believe in the power of chocolate as an aphrodisiac, a mood-enhancer, a spoiler and a sublime element that unites lives and souls. I am never ashamed to recognize my own, perfect addiction.

I bless the day Venezuela was chosen as the country where I was born and raised, a country that was gifted with one of the finest cocoas in the world. I grew up a bit unaware of this, but enjoying the struggle between the urgency to devour and the willingness to let chocolate melt between my teeth, and on top of my tongue.

It was exciting to hear "yes!" from most of the participants at my "do you use cocoa from Venezuela?" question. I am so proud of our cocoa. I told that to all the wonderful "artisans of the sugary" I met that afternoon.

My "Best in Show"? Claudio Corallo "Esferas de Massa de Cacau 100% con gengibre cristalizado". Flawless tiny chocolate balls filled with a mousse-like ginger paste. A caress for the tongue. Two of my three runner-ups were a big surprise for me, as I am not that into white chocolate. These were decadent and unforgettable: Suess Chocolate's "Citrus White Chocolate Truffle" and Divine Chocolate's "White Chocolate and Strawberry Bar" (found it to be very palate friendly, good for kids and adults).

My third favorite: Forté's Salted Caramels.

Please, take a minute or two to look at the photos I made from the event. Click here to access the online gallery where they are displayed at.

(All three photos in this entry are copyright © 2005-2009 Valentina Vitols. All rights reserved.)