Latest works: pointing the camera towards different subjects...not one step at a time, but many!

One of the loves of my life! Photo by Valentina Vitols
Copyright © 2005-2009

Dave Sheely Designs. Photo by Valentina Vitols
Copyright © 2005-2009

This has been one busy, wonderful Summer. I have been working and photographing my "favorite things" here and there. Seattle, children, wondrous food, and fantastic small businesses' pieces of art. It has been "a bit here, a bit there."

Macaron from Honoré Artisan Bakery in Ballard. Photo by Valentina Vitols
Copyright © 2005-2009

Did I say food?

Recently, I gave my husband Ryan my "old" Nikon. By old, I mean a two-and-a-half-year old, great DSLR that was replaced by a full-frame DSLR for my practice. He has always liked photography, but now, of course, he's hooked. It is divine. We have been going around clicking. He now plays a lot with his Zooomr account and has a Tumblr blog, Cuh-Click.

My good-looking husband and his new toy. Photo by Valentina Vitols
Copyright © 2005-2009

Like me, he has been taking a lot of food photographs. Maybe that is the reason he used it to explain what photography has become to him. He told me, "you want photographs to be like a delicious plate of food, an interesting one, too. You don't want to eat the same thing everyday. Photographs should be always new, exciting and mouthwatering. They should be food for your eyes."

Palatable, uh? What a great way to put it!

I found this to be true for me. I indulge in the visuals. Observation is my tray of hors d'oeuvres. Rule of thirds (as simple as it sounds), is the way I prepare my food. Getting close to fill the frame is me leaning over my plate and breathing the aromas in, deeply. Photos are bites. Every angle, every attempt to look at a subject from a different perspective is like slowly chewing and savoring pieces of an entree.

Unusually orange but delicious OJ & Carrot Juice at Oddfellows Cafe
Photo by Valentina Vitols. Copyright © 2005-2009

Editing gives that nervousness and anticipation one feels between a meal and dessert. And the sweet rewards comes in the form of final images...nothing feels like a scoop of condensed milk ice cream (thank you, Joule) or Sugar Dusties with a large French Press (thanks, Art of the Table). That same feeling I have when looking at my handsome, beautiful, wonderful subjects.

@ZoeZendog. Photo by Valentina Vitols
Copyright © 2005-2009

I am thankful for the opportunity to point my camera at such interesting people and happenings. Many of these opportunities are tied to Twitter. Being @valenvitols has brought me such joy, and new friendships that I cherish like my old ones.

Gorgeous Lorna Yee performing a Chef Demo at the Queen Anne Farmers Market.

Photo by Valentina Vitols. Copyright © 2005-2009

Top Chef Robin Leventhal performing a Chef Demo at Queen Anne Farmers Market.
Photo by Valentina Vitols. Copyright © 2005-2009

It doesn't matter if I just have to "walk up the hill" (pant, pant, it's Queen Anne) to visit my neighborhood's Farmers Market, or I take my "yes, a bit large" camera at a restaurant and keep my poor friends from eating (that's @bitterbiscuit, always!). I also flew to Florida, to see my family and meet some friends from high-school (Caraqueñas "exilees", just like yours truly). One of these gatherings ended up with an impromptu photo session of my friend María's daughter, at Vizcaya Palace in Miami.

Valeria at Vizcaya Palace, Miami, FL.
Photo by Valentina Vitols. Copyright © 2005-2009

Vizcaya Palace, Miami, FL.
Photo by Valentina Vitols. Copyright © 2005-2009

I will stop here. Have a wonderful weekend, Seattle (and everywhere else!)

¡Gracias!

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!

Food Photo Workshop at the Queen Anne Farmers Market

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

Update: We had to cancel the kids workshop. We apologize for this, kiddos! This means that adults will get an extra 30 minutes of instruction. We have only two spots left. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Do you love food? Do you love tweeting about what you eat? Do you blog and have an interest in food? Are you intrigued by those purple carrots Mom just brought home for dinner (at the Farmers Market)? Are you interested in making art?

If you said "yes!" at least once, this is a wonderful opportunity to learn some basic tips about photography and how to take pictures of food. Take advantage of the spectacular specimens sold by the colorful flower vendors, the beautiful produce items, and other products at the Market, to make your best photos in the last days of summer.

I am very excited to announce that I'll be teaching a couple of Food Photo Workshops at the Queen Anne Farmers Market (located in my beloved neighborhood). I'll be there on Thursday, September 3rd, on the "Beautiful Food Day".

The first workshop is for kids, ages 6 to 12, (5pm-6pm) and the second one is for adults (6pm-7pm). Whether you have only a toy camera, a point and shoot, or a "prosumer" camera, this workshop is designed for all photography enthusiasts.

Join us for this fun activity while shopping at our fabulous neighborhood Farmers Market! Queen Anne Farmers Market: Thursdays 3-7 pm, June 18th to October 1st West Crockett & Queen Anne Ave.

Please register here:

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.)

Come see Valentina Vitols Studio at the 38th Fremont Fair!

We are excited to announce that Valentina Vitols Studio is having a booth with I Heart Rummage, the fabulous and famous Seattle's indie showcase. Come see us at the underground garage in the Fremont Fair!

We will have Fine Art prints for sale, and will be doing studio portraits for just $20. A percentage of the profits for the portraits will benefit the programs at Solid Ground.

I'll be sharing the booth with the beautiful selections of handmade jewelry and original illustrations by LaRu.

This is one of the most wonderful festivals our darling city offers. Come on and stop by! You'll enjoy it very much!

ABOUT THE FREMONT FAIR:

Fremont Fair is located in the funky and friendly Fremont neighborhood—Seattle, Washington's own "Center of the Universe."

Now in its 38th year, Fremont Fair returns to celebrate the Summer Solstice and the best of our community: art, spirit, sharing, celebration and working together to help each other. During Fair weekend, people from all walks of life come together to shop, eat, drink, perform, smile, dance, run, converse, debate, groove and parade.

And while Fremont Fair continues to emphasize good times, don't forget about the good work it does by raising awareness and understanding of the needs of low-income people in our community.

Produced by The Workshop, benefiting the programs of Solid Ground, all donations received during this FREE event go directly to fund their programs that provide shelter, food, advocacy and care for low-income families and individuals throughout Seattle and King County. YOU CAN HELP! Bring a buck or two to drop in the orange donation boxes at the festival entrances. It only takes $1 to make a difference!

Please join us in VAGABUNDA POR EL MUNDO closing reception

I would love to see all my great Seattle friends this Friday at Neptune Coffee in Greenwood! It's the closing reception for my exhibit VAGABUNDA POR EL MUNDO, where you will be able to see some of the images I made during several photographic trips.

The joy of working as a photographer is not only about the photographic process, it is also getting to know the subjects. Conversations are as important as composition and execution. At the end of the day, when showing these images, people stand in awe not only with the phenomenal expressions of my fellow citizens but also with the little and big stories behind them. I am very fortunate to be able to show AND tell.

I would also love to invite you to check out my dear friend Lauri's blog, where she made a very nice mention about the show.
http://noesmuytipico.blogspot.com/2009/01/friday-pm-at-neptune-coffee-in.html

Hope to see you all there!

Artesanos, vendedores y perros

All photos and texts by Valentina Vitols. Copyright, 2007. Peru.

Carne / Peru

All photos and texts by Valentina Vitols. Copyright, 2007. Peru.

Current work: Miss Quince

Currently, I am working on a visual exploration of the Quinceaños parties in the United States. Here are some of the latest images.



All photos and texts by Valentina Vitols. Copyright, 2008. Atlanta, Georgia.

¡Bienvenida a Buenos Aires!

¡Hola, Buenos Aires!
Cabildo.
Encontré tus rasgos, (I found your features,)
tu sonrisa, (your smile,)
tus brazaletes, (your bracelets,)
tus planos (your blueprints)
y tus herramientas (and your tools)
en las abarrotadas calles bonaerenses. (In the jam-packed Bonaerense streets.)
¡Hola, Buenos Aires!

Simpáticas. (Nice)
Musas. (Muses)
Lunáticas. (Lunatics)
Alborazadas. (Lively)
Irreflexivas. (Light)
Ennumeradas. (Numbered)
Ubicuas. (Ubiquitous)

All Photos and Texts (and sudden translations) by Valentina Vitols. Copyright, 2007. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Buenos Aires

Florida street.
She embraces him.
“Ché, there is sun underneath your eyelids”.
She whispers, whispers two three four
ten words.
He is silent, he hugs,
rests his cheek
and shows.

Two birds, heat
four wings
feathers entwined
hints on the skin
spring bursts in Buenos Aires.
dermatologic
Romeo and Julieta.

All photos and texts by Valentina Vitols. Copyright, 2007. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Buenos Aires II

Florida,
a sensitive, allusive and evocative way
random
ephemeral elemental manifest
of the commercial music
the leather and the wool
the meats and the Malbec
of Argentines of peregrines
of idylls and love.

One day you will walk
into the roundness that precedes you
you’ll be a mother
maybe an Argentine wife.
Today you are distracted.
Today you’re the palm of a hand
a nose that breathes
earlobes that welcome sounds
the cacophony of Avenida Corrientes
one pair of eyelashes with makeup on
observing
sublime.

All photos and texts by Valentina Vitols. Copyright, 2007. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

En Argentino

Nos vimos
en la boca del argentino
dijo tu nombre
dijo el mío
acentos pausas inflexiones
como las voces de los nuestros
jamás nos han pronunciado
pasan de largo los bonaerenses
nos imagino tomados de la mano
discutiendo
lo romántico lo empírico lo malcriado
somos seremos distintos
en los bordes de Puerto Madero
los semáforos a nuestras espaldas
verano en enero
la palabra claxon
quizás
podríamos descansar
observarnos, inquirirnos
en lo que no es cotidiano
lejos de lo que enamoró a otros
en nuestras mínimas coincidencias
garabatos de lápiz que se consumen
imágenes
que tiemblan en los dorsos y reveses
promesas en mano
a full house doliente
en este altibajo que somos
tú y yo.


Photo and Poetry by Valentina Vitols. Copyright, 2007. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Buenos Aires

All photos by Valentina Vitols. Copyright, 2007. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

En Pisaq te espero...

Alborea fresco claro
una luz que galvaniza imperceptible
aviva minúscula lo que yace, dormita
el observa como lo despierta
como lo hace bullicio y mercado
o silencio y misa quechua.
Las montañas peruanas crujen se abren
el clava sus ojos en mi.

Rodeos, ambigüedades, sutilezas
en formas figuras familiares
las chismosas oran sobre la carne
en monosílabos.

All photos and texts by Valentina Vitols. Copyright, 2007. Pisaq, Peru.

Machu Picchu

One
Machu
(viejo)
Picchu
(cima)
una vista
sin palabras sin sílabas
perplejos
muy cerca
del Templo del Sol.

All photos and texts by Valentina Vitols. Copyright, 2007. Machu Picchu, Peru.

Camino a Machu Picchu

Estás tan cerca
el aire
circula por tus hojas
porque eres vegetal
sinónimo de tantas bondades
el deseo de las plantas
de mis pies
de los movimientos
de mi estómago
eres responsable
de la ensoñación del día
de hoy.

Cuando vuelva
en algunos meses
en pocos años
pensaré
“¿seguirá tan triste cómo la recuerdo?
estaré en el tren
deseando otras expresiones para su rostro.
Pasaré por el mismo lugar
veré las mismas escaleras
y recordaré a la niña triste.

All photos and texts by Valentina Vitols. Copyright, 2007. On the way to Machu Picchu, Peru.

Diptych

Her figure
of immovable eyes
of constant age
a singular expression, still
an evocation, an allusion, an expose
revealing latitudes
discrepant, enraptured.
Uncovering a figure
on paper.

Her hands
the light on her nails
on the seams and stitches of the fabric
on the needle that goes, laboriously,
down and up, down and up.
She works in the market
a seamstress
right next to the beauty salon,
to the lady that sells fish,
and the couple that waits
around their display of sandals.
She smells like rambutan and mangoes
like leeks and hairspray
there is a little of all
in her.

All photos and texts by Valentina Vitols. Copyright, 2007. Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Lacquer and sandals

All photos by Valentina Vitols, 2007. Myanmar (Burma).

Young Cambodia

All photos by Valentina Vitols. Copyright, 2007. Angkor Wat, Cambodia.