Food Photography with Jennifer Olson at Euclid Hall

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Beth

I’ve been posting photographs of food on my blog for two years now, but I’ve noticed the results are hit-or-miss, to put it charitably. When I heard about a food photography class being taught by Jennifer Olson (author of Colorado Organic and a member of Boulder Media Women), I signed up.

The 14 members of the class met at Euclid Hall to try to capture the beauty of that new Denver restaurant’s food (but, sadly, not to eat it). We met Beth Gruitch, one of the owners of Euclid Hall, Rioja, and Bistro Vendôme. I learned that Olson helped Gruitch open Rioja but hadn’t thought of being a food photographer until she got out of the restaurant business. We also met Chris, the sous-chef at Euclid Hall, and Chris Caldes, a food stylist.

I’d say I was one of the least-experienced people in the class. For example, the woman on my left (also named Beth) was a product photographer. The man on my right had a cool gadget called an L bracket that allows you to move the camera from horizontal to vertical without changing your stance.

After a talk about the basics of photography, Olson got us up and moving around and messing with our food. Here’s a typical shot by me, respectful of the food. And, oooh, look at those beautiful patterns of light on the dish and on the chair!

Nice red and orange sprinkles, too. But what flavor is it, exactly?Oh, I see, it’s red velvet. (Too bad the only thing in this picture that’s sharp at all is the reflection on the fork.) I like both these photos for different reasons, but this class made me realize that paying too much attention to shape or pattern may obscure the best qualities of the dish. Also, Olson pointed out that a lens around 50 mm is best suited for food photography. But because I saw other students climbing up on chairs and shooting with long lenses, I used my 70-200 mm lens for this shot (1/200, f4.5).

I fell into this trap again with the bone marrow. I was thinking so hard about making it interesting that I forgot to highlight the food itself: the marrow. How did those onions get up there? Did they teleport? Look how they’re hanging there so casually, as if they belong. So I tried to fix it (keep in mind, I’m still using the long lens here, f4.5, but a slow shutter speed).That’s better, but the marrow isn’t really in focus; the onions are. And the pretty lemons in back also distract from the subject. Time to simplify.When I showed Jennifer Olson this photograph, she complimented me on the composition but said she wanted the foreground to be sharp. She also pointed out that she was seeing more bone than marrow. When I told her what lens I was using, she suggested I switch to my kit lens (18–55 mm).I tried to recapture the composition above (I love that gray background—maybe it’s another student’s jeans?), but I couldn’t. I think this one is nicely composed, but next time I’ll turn the bone so the marrow is more prominent and shoot at f8 so the marrow is in focus.

I took a couple of photographs in class I thought were successes. Here’s one of my favorites as far as sharpness goes, though the subject is relentlessly brown.Remember that pretty half-lemon from one of the bone marrow shots? I also took one with that, but then the photo was about the lemon, not the fish and chips. This next photo is brighter.Nice variety of colors; someone else moved the green bean to the front. I think next time I would put the fork somewhere else. In fact, I wonder if using silverware as a prop is a cliché.

At the end, Olson critiqued our photos. She was far more generous with praise of my photos than I am here, which made me happy. I’d like to take a private class with her sometime.

What I learned:

First of all, it’s OK to play with your food. It’s OK to stand up in the aisle to take a better photo, as long as you’re not blocking the servers or patrons.
Second, those glistening brown turkeys you see in magazines? Raw. Really, even when they look so crispy? So the photo designed to make you eat the food is of food you can’t eat.
Third, the trend right now in food photography is to focus on the foreground while leaving your aperture wide open. Only the front of the dish will be sharp. (Most of the time, I prefer more depth of field.)
Fourth, use natural light. If you must use flash, improvise a diffuser to avoid harsh shadows.
Fifth, consider buying an assistant on a stick (that is, a pole to which you can clip a diffuser or reflector).
Sixth, a good food styling kit includes tweezers (to move stuff around), scissors, sponges to wipe away messes and prop up food, syringes and spray bottles to apply water, a set of baking rounds to hold food, and perhaps some cheesecloth to cover the flash if you don’t have a diffuser.

Time to Rethink

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Beth

Eighteen months ago I started this blog with high hopes that I would make money off the Internet. Although I’ve made friends because of this blog and had a great time exploring Denver, I’ve spent at least $2,000 and have earned $11 (plus tax deductions). I want to use the time I spend exploring Denver and writing these posts to forward my ideas in other areas. So for now, this is the last post.

I’m debating whether to set up a city site about Denver as the first of many such sites about cities I visit. If I did, I would copy the review posts to that site and gussy them up a bit with SEO. I don’t see the point of taking everything off this site and breaking all the links I’ve spent 18 months getting, though, so the old reviews will stay here.

I’m also thinking of turning this site into a photography blog. That’s my passion now, and it’s been finding its way into posts here and there, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.

Whatever I decide to do, I need a break from writing posts. I’ll be using the time to recharge and catch up on all your doings, which I’ve been neglecting.

Have a great weekend. Spring is on the way.

Denver Photos: Commons Park Bridge Railings

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Beth

I featured Commons Park Bridge in an earlier post. You can see the railings below in the bottom left corner of that picture.Commons Park, along Little Raven Street in Denver’s Central Platte Valley, offers wide lawns to walk your dog or play frisbee or sunbathe. Native plants fill the edges of the park down to the South Platte River trail.

Denver Photos: Commons Park Bridge Patterns

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Beth

I both love and hate to walk this bridge. It connects Commons Park, a park landscaped with native plants along Little Raven Street in Denver’s Central Platte Valley, with Commons Park West, a newish condo development on Platte Street. It provides great views of the South Platte River, but whenever I stand there while someone goes by on foot or on a bike, I shiver at the vibrations. Commons Park offers wide lawns to walk your dog or play frisbee or sunbathe. Native plants fill the edges of the park down to the South Platte River trail.

Denver Photos: 16th Street Bridge over I-25

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Beth

Denver bridges are the subjects of my photos posts this week, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. One of my favorite subjects is the span over I-25 that connects Lower Highlands to the Central Platte Valley. I took this photo from the courtyard at 16th and Platte Streets, with Colt and Gray restaurant on my left and Salvagetti Bicycle Workshop to the right. I had some fun playing with the black point in this picture, which produces results similar to increasing contrast.

Denver Photos: Globeville Elyria Swansea, pt. 3

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Beth

My first post about the Cross Community Coalition’s Environmental Justice Tour, on Monday, presented a poorly lit picture of the last farmhouse in Globeville. My second post, on Wednesday, offered several photos of the housing stock in Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea.

Today I want to show you some of the heavy industry that surrounds and permeates these neighborhoods. I’m sorry I haven’t provided a map for any of these posts: it took me a long time to figure out the route of most of the tour. I’ve included cross streets in the discussion below, so if you’re motivated, you can go to Google Maps, search for “Globeville, Denver,” and find the places I’m talking about.

I’ll begin with Valu Tires, at 40th and Steele, which turns into Vasquez north of I-70. Michael Maes, the tour guide, said that a number of junkyards have moved into these three neighborhoods but have avoided the ban on junkyards by calling themselves “recycling centers.” Now, there is a Discount Tire Company a few blocks from our house in Broomfield, but there isn’t a big pile of tires right next to it. Discount Tire either stores them inside the building or orders them as needed. The tour continued up Steele to Vasquez, where I snapped this long-distance picture of Xcel’s Cherokee Station (the red-and-white smokestack with the plume on the center-left) and the Suncor refinery to the right.We continued up Vasquez to 56th and down Brighton Boulevard to York, in the process going by this Suncor building, which is across the street (more or less) from Riverside Cemetery.As far as I can tell, we then took York to 58th and headed west to Franklin, where I took a picture of the last farmhouse in Globeville featured in Monday’s post. But from the map in Google, I get the impression that we drove up to 64th because we got so close to the red-and-white smokestack of Xcel’s Cherokee Station (part of the bus window is in this picture), and to the trains hauling coal.We went south, past the Purina Puppy Chow plant at York and I-70 (built in 1930, so I guess they routed I-70 around it when they built it in the 1960s),and then drove east and north to reach the northern part of Swansea, where I took the picture of the house without sewers featured in Wednesday’s post. Then we ended the tour back at the Cross Community Coalition offices,which are just across the railroad tracks from the Eaton Metals building (I’m not sure if that building is being used right now)and only a couple of blocks from the Growhaus at 48th and York.

Denver Photos: Globeville Elyria Swansea, pt. 2

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Beth

When I joined the Cross Community Coalition‘s Environmental Justice tour on February 17, one of the things tour guide Michael Maes stressed was the importance of preserving and increasing housing in these neighborhoods. He said if the brownfields were cleaned up and neighborhoods were properly laid out, Denver could add hundreds more houses without clearing land out on the edges of the city.

Some of the houses we saw on the tour date to the 1880s. Along with Highland(s) and Five Points, the neighborhoods of Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea (moving east from the intersection of I-25 and I-70) have some of the oldest housing stock in Denver. The latter three neighborhoods used to be home to 3 smelters; the only one that persisted long into the twentieth century was Asarco. In the 1990s, the Cross Community Coalition pursued a class action suit against Asarco for heavy metal pollution and won monetary damages and an agreement to replace the top 12 inches of soil in any house in Globeville. (I think it was any and all houses, but I may be using too broad a brush here; I know that Elyria and Swansea had some soil cleaned up around houses, but it wasn’t done as extensively in the latter 2 neighborhoods. Those 2 neighborhoods are a Superfund site, VB I-70. VB stands for “Vasquez Boulevard.”)

I asked Michael if there was a scientific basis for replacing only 12 inches of soil, and he said that it was an economic decision. If you clean down to 2 feet, say, you can’t afford to clean up as many yards.

I saw this house early on; it reminded me of houses in Broomfield’s First Filing neighborhood. (Please note all photographs were taken through a bus window. Some are clearer than others.) At the other end of the spectrum are the Globeville Townhomes at 51st and Logan, which were built on remediated land. Most of the townhomes are Section 8 rentals, but 12 units are on sale for up to $193,000. These new townhouses are a few blocks east of I-25, a few blocks north of I-70, and have a rail line running along their eastern edge. Xcel Energy’s Cherokee Station, a coal-fired power plant with the red-and-white smokestack visible from I-25, is located west of York between 58th and 64th.

A woman who works for Habitat for Humanity was on the tour, and she said Habitat had done blower-door tests on a townhouse and found that it wasn’t very energy-efficient. So let’s see: we have townhomes that are built on a brownfield, priced beyond what people in the neighborhood can pay, and not that eco-friendly. It’s not surprising that only 1 unit has sold.

Across the street are the old headquarters for Asarco (the red buildings) and the rail line beyond the 2 fences.

We drove all over north Denver on this tour, and I couldn’t always keep track of where we were going, but this house is located at the corner of St. Paul and 52nd in north Swansea. I’m not sure if it’s a new house or has just been renovated, but it looks pretty nice. Take a look, though, at the bottom left corner: there are no sewers.

Michael Maes stressed that family life was important to people who lived in these neighborhoods and that the neighborhoods are important to the families who live there. Despite the enterprise zone, there’s still lots of housing, and Maes definitely thinks there could be a lot more. Certainly people in Elyria, who are fighting a proposed realignment of I-70 right by Elyria Park (on 48th, between High and Race Streets), would like their housing values to increase (they’ve declined since the plans to realign I-70 were announced).

Denver Restaurants: My Brother’s Bar

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Beth

I walked by My Brother’s Bar in Denver’s South Platte neighborhood many a time and could not fathom what might be happening behind the white half-curtains. This Denver landmark has a symbol outside but no sign. I was, I confess, a bit intimidated. Would it be one of those bars where a bunch of paunchy men turned around in unison and squinted at me?

Now I’ve been there twice, both times with company, and I can confidently say that I wouldn’t mind going there by myself and taking a seat at the bar. Though I’m not sure how long I would stay, because the round-back chairs are nowhere near as comfortable as the atmosphere.

My Brother’s Bar, at 15th and Platte Street, just northwest of the South Platte River, is known for being “Denver’s oldest saloon still serving booze on the original site,” according to Tom Noel. An establishment called “Highland House” opened there in 1873 and served Denver’s Italian immigrant community. In the late 1800s, the neighborhood sometimes called Lower Highlands and sometimes called the Central Platte Valley (even though the river is named the South Platte) was sparsely settled. Since then, several different bars have come and gone in that corner building, and the neighborhood is one of Denver’s trendiest.

The bar has a reputation for making good burgers, so when Todd and I went there one Saturday, that’s what we ordered. I chose the jalapeno cream cheese burger, and Todd negotiated with the waitress over a chili cheeseburger. She said she could bring him a cheeseburger and a cup of chili, but not the two together. When she brought our order, we understood why: the burgers are served wrapped in paper rather than on a plate. Saves washing dishes, I guess.

Todd and I liked our burgers well enough, but many of the ingredients seemed to have come out of a can or a box: definitely the chili, and possibly the jalapenos in this cream cheese.

Although the onion rings and fries looked good, the rings were too crispy.

I got a kick out of this condiments caddy, which has 2 sides so you can put it in the middle of a table and let people dress their burgers without fighting over the onions and relish.

If you want a great burger, I recommend Larkburger (there are locations in Boulder and Greenwood Village). If you want atmosphere, go to My Brother’s Bar, where the host says, “Have fun!” and the servers are mellow and Girl Scout Thin Mints are stacked along the front wall and up the stairs. The menu offers a variety of bar food, including vegetarian items. You can drink a glass from a small but quirky wine list or a craft beer such as Twisted Pine or Samurai or order from the full bar.

My Brother’s Bar is on the Beat Poetry Driving Tour of Denver.

Denver Photos: Globeville Elyria Swansea, pt. I

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Beth

On February 17 I took an Environmental Justice tour of the Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea neighborhoods sponsored by the Cross Community Coalition. I heard of it through Transition Denver and the Growhaus, located in the old Lehrer Flowers building on York between 47th and 48th.

The tour guide, Michael Maes, said Globeville (located around the intersection of I-25 and I-70; Elyria and Swansea are to the east, with York as their dividing line), used to be the “garden” area of Denver, with lots of small gardens and truck farms. People could drive there and buy produce from the farmers’ trucks. But the last farm in the area sold out five years ago. It’s located on Franklin, but unfortunately I didn’t write down the cross-street (58th, perhaps?). It’s the dark house on the right in the photo. The beige building on Franklin was built in the past five years.Maes said there are 6 Superfund sites within a 2-mile radius of these neighborhoods (and that Swansea and Elyria are one of those Superfund sites). There is an oil refinery in this area, at least 1 coal-burning plant, and a water management plant.

Michael grew up in the area and has lived there all his life. He was there when Denver decided to approve an enterprise zone in the city, which allows business and industry to move in. On the tour, I saw streets where businesses had bought a couple of lots and torn down the houses and put some kind of business in its place. How would you feel if someone bought the 2 houses next to you and turned those lots into industry?

If you want more information about Growhaus, I suggest contacting Wild Green Yonder, a site focused on sustainability and the grow local movement.

The Denver Art Museum’s Embrace!

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Beth

I had the privilege last Wednesday of visiting the Embrace! exhibit at the DAM for the second time (yes, it’s that good) in the company of two children who made it come alive.

The DAM solicited a bunch of artists to create the Embrace! exhibits using the strange geometry of the Hamilton Building.

The first exhibit, on the ground floor, uses the walls but doesn’t take quite as much advantage of the corners as some of the others. Rupprecht Matthies asked immigrants to Denver to give him words (in any language) describing their initial experiences here and then carved the words in wood, plexiglass, and foam. The words were finished with help from volunteers, staff, and visitors. For example, the words on the walls themselves were supplied by visitors to the museum, who can add a favorite word to a card. The word is then cut out and put on the wall.

Kids can pick up the foam words and read them or, if they’re not familiar with the language or alphabet, read the translation.

My favorite exhibit was “Chamber” by Charles Sandison. Using projectors and computer-generated words, numbers, letters, and symbols, he created the effect of a room lit by firelight. We had fun playing with our shadows and trying not to let the lights “get us.” This man had the right idea: lie down and watch the patterns.

My friend’s children were fascinated by this exhibit, “Mirage,” by Zhong Biao, especially the funhouse mirrors. Here’s a small section in closeup.

Possibly the kids’ favorite exhibit was this one by Tobias Rehberger. Several of the Embrace! exhibits encourage visitors to touch, but Rehberger’s installation lets you walk (or, more accurately, struggle) through the bungee cords. If you look closely, you’ll see a child in the back. You’ll also see a window on the left with bright colors peeking through it. That installation takes up several floors.

I’ve shown you only 4 of the Embrace! exhibits, though we saw about twice that many, and there are at least 3 that I missed, even in 2 visits. As my friend’s daughter said late that afternoon, “But we haven’t seen all of it.”

We did, however, get some good cheese at Mad Greens and Wine.

Denver Photos: Museum of Nature and Science

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Beth

I’ll leave you with this moody photograph of the back entrance to the museum. There’s a woman standing in the top right; it’s easiest to locate her by her shadow.

***

Todd and I will be in Florida next week. I’ll be posting about that trip as well as a visit to the Denver Art Museum.

***

Oh, tragedy! Wen Chocolates is closing. I’d probably pine away and die, but I think it will still be possible to order William Poole’s chocolates online.

Denver Attractions: Genghis Khan

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Beth

I am forced to write a wordy post about the Genghis Khan exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, because no one was allowed to take photographs. Some materials in the exhibit were contributed by private individuals, including the body of a Mongolian woman. The emphasis on showing respect for the human remains struck me as unnecessary and odd. Perhaps there was a museum incident I missed?

My only photographs come from the approach to the exhibit, which was on the third floor. Going upstairs in the DMNS always activates my fear of heights; on Sunday I told Todd it felt as if my whole body was fizzing, starting in my belly and going out from there.

This fin whale hangs in the back of the museum: its head points toward the front of the museum, and its tail reaches out to Genghis Khan on his throne, right next to the group of red hat ladies who came to visit.

And here’s a closer view of the entrance to the Phipps Special Exhibits Gallery, which was rebuilt in 2009. Genghis Khan is the first exhibit in the remodeled gallery.

The Museum is seeking LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for the Phipps Gallery project. Construction crews used low-emitting materials in construction, and the gallery is designed to consume less power overall. In addition, 17,254 pounds of materials from the old gallery were reused in the new gallery, saving tons of trash from the landfill. The terrazzo floor covering outside the gallery includes 4,000 pounds of recycled crushed beer bottles.

Getting into the exhibit was a slow process. First we waited outside for the vestibule to clear, and then we waited inside the vestibule. Even so, there were people 2 and 3 deep around each exhibit.

In the vestibule, we received cards printed with a name: mine was Börte, the first wife of Genghis Khan (then called Temüjin). As the mother of his four heirs, she became a powerful woman in her own right, as did her daughters.

Kiosks throughout the exhibit gave snippets of information about each character. Todd complained that his character was just some guy and that the same thing had happened at the Titanic exhibit as well: he was a third-class passenger who drowned, whereas I was rich enough to get a seat on one of the boats.

Whoever designed the exhibit had taken care to promote the contributions of women. Höelün, Temüjin’s mother, survived ejection from her husband’s clan after his murder and kept her 7 children alive on the steppes until Temüjin could begin his ascent.

And one of Genghis Khan’s daughters led an attack in Central Asia.

I had mixed feelings, however, about the note that women played an important role in battles: they killed the wounded and collected the arrows.

Hmm, killing the wounded. Now there’s a noble profession. Yanking arrows out of dead (or dying) bodies is right up there too.

This exhibit rekindled my ambivalence about force. I had a great time taking Krav Maga self-defense classes for 2 years. I still dream of being a modern-day freelance warrior, but then reality, in the form of my inability to do even 1 pull-up, does intrude.

The larger the scale of force, the more it bothers me.

I admire Temüjin for uniting clans who were continually attacking each other; they repaid the favor (which involved killing the clan leaders and promoting their subordinates) by declaring him Genghis Khan, or sovereign ruler. But why should I admire Kublai Khan, his grandson, for uniting China? Why does China need to be united? Why must empires expand? No matter how far we push out the borders, there will always be an enemy on them. Why not just live with it?

I also admire Genghis Khan for supporting all religions and encouraging the arts and sciences.

All that conquest, though, past the point of uniting the Mongols? Pure ego.

***

The exhibit ends by showing us modern-day Mongolians. The population in Denver, 2,500 to 3,000, is the largest in the United States; Mongolians like Denver’s climate. Denver has been Ulaanbator’s sister-city since 2002, and there is a City of Ulaanbaatar park near Lowry.

Denver Attractions: Konovalenko’s Gem Carvings

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Beth

On Sunday, approximately half the members of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science decided to show up when we did. Oh, well, at least we had biscuits in our bellies.

We had an hour to amuse ourselves before we could get into the Genghis Khan exhibit, so we wandered around until we found my favorite exhibit at the museum: Vasily Konovalenko’s gem carvings. As you may or may not be able to tell from this sign, the guy was self-taught. He became famous for his carvings in Russia, and then he emigrated to the United States in 1981. The DMNS has the largest collection of his carvings outside Moscow.

Almost everything about this servant is carved from gems, except the tray.

It was a bit of a challenge to photograph the figures, between the low light and the reflective cases. This detail from a strolling couple has eye-popping colors. The bodies are carved from quartz. My favorite carving is this one, of three singers, one with a balalaika (on the left) and one with a horn. DMNS uploaded a few pictures of other carvings to Flickr.

Denver Restaurants: Rise and Shine Biscuit Kitchen and Café

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Beth

Rise and Shine Biscuit Kitchen and Cafe, located at 330 Holly in the same space as Basil Docs, is not exactly in our neighborhood here in Broomfield. But once we decided to spend the day at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with Genghis Khan and other notables, a biscuit sounded like just the thing to power us through the museum.

Both the Boone biscuit (avocado, lettuce, tomato, mayo) and the Charlotte (bacon instead of avocado) tempted me, but I settled on a biscuit with jam. This biscuit was densely layered and crisp on top from all the butter in the recipe. It tasted the way a biscuit should.

Rise and Shine is a small place, with seating for 5 or 6 people. Therefore I was impressed that the staff brought our food and drinks (a mocha and a hot chocolate) to our seats, rather than handing them over the counter.

My second choice, the biscuit cinnamon roll, was a rather odd amalgam of the two: it had the cinnamon roll’s flavor and shape but the biscuit’s texture. The frosting was perfect—not too sweet.

I’m still partial to Lucille’s biscuits, which are, as Rise and Shine proprietor Seth Rubin told Denveater, cake-like and sheet-cut. I like the way they crumble, which I suppose no self-respecting biscuit should do.

Todd had an egg biscuit and then a cheese and sausage biscuit, which I enjoyed most for its flavorful sausage. I have to confess that when I eat a biscuit topped with eggs or cheese or sausage, I forget about the details of that particular biscuit and start thinking of fast food breakfast sandwiches. It seems hardly fair, so I’ll have to go back someday and try the Boone. Or the biscuit of the day, which on Sunday was dill and cheddar. Or the Pablo’s coffee.

Note: If you stop in at Rise and Shine before closing time at 2 and you’re craving pizza, you can get a slice or two from the pie Basil Docs left the day before. Or, you can wait until 4:30, when Basil Docs starts taking orders for whole pies.

Denver Attractions: Genghis Khan at the DMNS

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Beth

On Sunday Todd and I visited the Genghis Khan exhibition at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in City Park. Unfortunately, photography was expressly forbidden in the exhibit. If I’d had a supercool stealthy Leica, or some such camera, I might have snuck some photos. But I didn’t, and nobody else was sneaking any, so I didn’t have any cover.

I was able to take pictures of other parts of the museum, however. Here is the first, and probably the plainest, of my photographs: a side gallery at the DMNS. It’s probably used for parties. My favorite part is the palm trees.

Denver Photos: Commons Park Bridge

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Beth

Looks like it will be a good weekend to be out and about. Unless, of course, you’re at home watching the X Games. Here’s a picture of one end of the Commons Park bridge over the South Platte River.

Do you like the extra saturation, or not?

Here’s a bit of news from 5280 magazine that I find disturbing. William Dean Singleton, chairman and publisher of the Denver Post, will be making more than $1 million after the restructuring of Affiliated Media of Denver, which owns the Post and more than 50 other newspapers. Apparently, the restructuring was done in such a way as to give Bank of America an 88% share in Affiliated Media. That doesn’t give me confidence in the news. What do you think?

Here’s the 5280 blog post.

Also this weekend: my husband is showing Birthday Girl, the test shoot for his film Kung Fu Sushi Chefs, at the Bug Theater at 37th and Navajo. Here is the trailer on YouTube.

The Denver Jewish Film Festival has a launch party February 2. The festival opens February 11.

Denver Shops: Sanctuary on Platte Street

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Beth

It’s a cold, gray day in Denver, and I’m feeling in need of comfort as I write this.

Luckily, there is a shop in Denver called Sanctuary, on Platte Street near 16th Street. It’s next door to Salvagetti Bike Workshop and half a block down Platte from Colt and Gray.

Sanctuary is the jumping-off point for Wade Richards’s interior design business. One thing he likes to do is to take old furniture and make it lovely and new again. When I visited Sanctuary last Sunday, I saw, kittycorner to the greeting cards, half a wall of fabric swatches and a table holding design books.

I couldn’t help but notice this chair, reupholstered with Argentinian cowhides that have been stenciled to look like wild animal skins. It sits in front of a display of framed sayings and another of barware. To the right, on the shelves on the wall, you’ll find some R&Y Augousti accessories and a small card that reads: “It is a privilege for us to carry this unique French line of handmade accessories.”

Everything about the store, including the clerk, was gracious like that.

(Though I’m not sure I approve entirely of R&Y Augousti, since they use materials like python and stingray skin and exotic shells. I would need to learn more about where they get their materials. Also, their website requested my address before it would allow me to look at their collections. I guess the website wasn’t kidding when it called the husband-and-wife team “self-confessed control freaks.”)

Sanctuary also carries Zents body care products, made in Denver of natural ingredients and, apparently, beloved of celebrities.

It was the little touches that I liked most about Sanctuary: the frogs everywhere, black glass skull candleholders by Two’s Company, these candelabra, wire bowls, fair trade scarves in bright patterns, Vita Moda Italian purses, and Table Topics games, which pose questions to start conversations to relieve that awkward silence at your very first dinner party. And this piggy bank.

My favorite item was the book 365 Ways to Save the Earth by Philippe Bourseiller, an outsize coffee table book with stunning photographs. At $30, it’s cheaper than most of the items at the store, but if you check the website, you’ll notice tabs for “under $30” and “under $70.”

Sanctuary reminded me of Bouquets on 15th Street in LoDo, but I think I am more likely to buy something at Sanctuary. Not because one store is better than the other; it’s just a matter of personal taste.

Denver Restaurants: Paris on the Platte, Again

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Beth

On my way to Sanctuary on Sunday, I stopped in at Paris on the Platte for lunch and decided to try something new: cambric, or Earl Gray tea with steamed milk and cinnamon on top.

I was a little startled when this pitcher appeared, but the waitress assured me it was the smallest size (16 ounces). I drank all 3 or 4 cups, loving the taste of tea plus steamed milk plus cinnamon, even though I knew the entire time that I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep that night. Why is it that tea keeps me up but coffee doesn’t?

For lunch I ordered Zorba the Greek, which was better than the house salad I had on my last visit. To be honest, the two salads are built on the same foundation of romaine lettuce; in this case, cucumbers, feta, olives, red onions and a balsamic vinaigrette made it “Greek.” The salad wasn’t gasping for air under gobs of feta, and the dressing was just a little sweet.

I find lately that I like eating olives a lot more than I did in the past. Must be the change of life.

There was a suspicious incident at the end, when the bill came with a charge for a small pitcher. The waitress corrected the amount, and I paid.

Now I’m curious to see what the small pitcher looks like. It would probably keep me up for a week.

Denver Photos: The Road Home

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Beth

Coming around the corner from Colt & Gray on Sunday, I was stopped by this sign.

I was so busy taking a picture, I didn’t think to feed the meter. I hope to do better next time, and if any of you see one of these meters, I hope you’ll completely outclass me.

Denver Photos: Cold Chairs

Posted on January 20, 2010 by Beth

I’ve walked by Colt & Gray many times. I did so on Sunday, looked to my left, and saw a cadre of servers wearing black and white. The front page of the restaurant’s website indicates happy hour begins at 4:30 on Sunday, but things didn’t look promising. (And the happy hour page has happy hour on Monday through Thursday only. A little more consistency, please.)

According to one conversation I overheard, Colt & Gray has the best burgers in Denver. Not to mention pig’s feet. And now I notice they have a twist on the “Vesper” cocktail—and here I am watching Casino Royale: The Remake—and the Riviera is just one of their original cocktails.

Perhaps I should assemble a group, so I won’t feel so intimidated by gangs of servers.

Here is what I saw when I looked to my right.

***

The Colorado Indian Market and Southwest Showcase is happening this weekend at the Merchandise Mart.

Denver Shops: Savory Spice Shop in South Platte

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Beth

Savory Spice Shop in Denver’s South Platte River Valley neighborhood is the kind of place where I could spend hours and lots of money, if I allowed myself. It’s the kind of place that tells me, Yes, Beth, you can be a great cook. You can arrange dinner parties for 10 people and make the main course for the first time that night, and it will be perfect. And to do so, you need to buy this salt,

and these two (comparison and contrast-ion are necessary to achieve perfection)

and some of these chiles.

And you might want to read all these books first (except the one on Colorado place-names). And after that, try the salad dressing mixes and the stocks and the lobster mushrooms and the curries and the BBQ powders. And the “Italian herbs” containing French thyme, Greek oregano, and California basil. (I got a kick out of that.)

What usually happens in stores like these is that I buy far too many herbs and spices (this picture was taken from the cash register), and they sit in my spice drawer and lose flavor. For example, the main reason I went to the Savory Spice Store in the first place was that I checked the date on my dried onions, and it was 2006. The date on the mustard was 1991.

On Sunday, however, I restrained myself for once. I bought the “Toasted Onion, Sliced,” because the clerk said it would add brightness to chicken stock (and I actually have a chicken in my fridge waiting to be cooked in the crock-pot and then turned into stock), and the Summer Savory (also called “Bohnenkraut, or the “bean herb”) because I have never used it before.

Check out the recipes on the Savory Spice Shop website. The sweet potato bisque sounds decadent.

Speaking of decadent, one of the best things about this store is the fact it wraps around the back of Wen Chocolates, which you peek into through that window.

In this picture you can see Wen’s taupe awnings just next door. Of course, I couldn’t resist Wen, but more about that on Thursday.

Denver Photos: The Confluence in January

Posted on January 18, 2010 by Beth

On Sunday, it was in the fifties, warm enough to stroll without a coat. Or sit by the river, as these girls did.

For those of you unfamiliar with Denver, Cherry Creek is on the left, and the South Platte River is on the right.

A Tale of Two Trees

Posted on January 15, 2010 by Beth

I love details. I photograph signs, shadows, all the little things. If I ever end up doing landscape photography, I’ll be shocked.

Last Saturday I found beauty in 2 trees, 1 in Lower Highlands and 1 in South Platte.

Across the street from the Smithson Clinic, on Vallejo between 28th and 29th Avenues, I turned to see this gnarly old cottonwood. You don’t see too many of these big cottonwoods in cities anymore. Their spreading roots wreak havoc on plumbing systems and crack driveways and patios. Their branches are weak and often break in storms.Nevertheless I love them and hope more of them grow in the Denver Metro area. Last year Boulder cut down the huge cottonwoods at 75th and Arapahoe so as to add a lane. It would have taken at least 2 people to circle one of those cottonwood trunks; their branches extended out over Arapahoe. I still get mad when I drive by that intersection.

But this post was supposed to be about trees making me happy. Let me try again.

At the end of last Saturday’s walkabout, I took 29th Avenue to 16th Street to the bridge over I-25 that ends at this example of Denver public art.I wrote about it last fall; that post begins and ends with a picture of the bridge. In the courtyard surrounding National Velvet, someone pasted a beautifully detailed paper tree. If you zoom in close enough on the left side of the tree’s canopy, you can almost read the signature: Barney, perhaps.Last Saturday, I visited the tree again. It’s had a difficult winter.There’s more snow now than tree.

Denver Photos: Lower Highlands Walkabout, Pt. 3

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Beth

Despite spending so much time yesterday on the educational complex along 29th, I’m still not done. I returned to Zuni and walked past the Residence Inn Marriott to Speer. (It’s actually a three-street intersection, with 29th, 27th, and Speer meeting on a hill from which you can view downtown Denver. Speer heads toward downtown, and Zuni cuts across from left to right.) There are very similar convenience stores (1 a Conoco, 1 a Philips 66) on either side of Speer, as well as a Hampton Inn and Suites and a Budget Host Inn on the north side. Although I regularly drive through this intersection, I never really paid attention to the hotels before. Moving right across downtown (more or less south) and closing in, we see the exit for I-25.And moving even farther right, we find the tower at Elitch Gardens and the Pepsi Center (“the can”).I followed Zuni south to 26th Avenue and turned west, passing more hotels (Ramada Inn, Knights Inn), the Diamond Hill Office Complex, Denver Elks Lodge 17, and La Loma Mexican Restaurant. Then, at 26th Avenue and Eliot, I came to this.(I really must stop photographing from this angle. Notice the satellite dish in the top left-hand corner? Wouldn’t be there if I’d shot it straight on or paid attention to my corners.) As far as I can tell, this display is part of the Fred N. Thomas Career Education Center, also known as CEC Middle College of Denver. The application for the 2010-2011 Middle College High School Program for Full-Time Students spells it out.

How do the CEC/North Middle Colleges work? Enrollment in CEC/North Middle College of Denver creates a smooth transition from high school to college. Freshmen and sophomores spend half a day in academics and half a day in career class. As juniors and seniors, students take their academic classes on the CCD campus. If they qualify, they can take up to four college classes per year, allowing them the opportunity to earn up to a year’s worth of college credit toward their college degree by the end of senior year.

Sounds like a much, much better version of the Vo-Tech stuff we had in high school in the 1970s. In fact, the CEC was founded in 1976 and has been educating students ever since.

Hanging a right at Federal, I noticed Denver Fire Station 12 on the corner. I turned right again at 29th Avenue and was rewarded with a honk. Some man was waving at me, though I’m certain I’ve never seen him before. Going east, I passed José Valdez one more time and Three Tomatoes on my right. Three Tomatoes used to cater restaurants at the Botanic Gardens. I interviewed Three Tomatoes as a possible caterer for my wedding and was impressed, though I finally chose Spice of Life in Boulder.

As I stopped at the corner of 29th Avenue and Zuni to take a picture of a Coke sign, a dark-haired man in a truck shouted, “Take a picture of this ugly mug!”

And that, my friends, was the walkabout. I hope you enjoyed it.

Denver Photos: Lower Highlands Walkabout, Pt. 2

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Beth

Yesterday I left you bewildered between Wyandot and Zuni on 29th Avenue, pondering the pineapple decorations at Joie de Vivre in Denver’s Lower Highlands neighborhood. Let’s continue on.

I cut around the corner at Zuni and realized the area looked familiar. Two years ago I participated in a walking tour of the Highlands neighborhood with Phil Goodstein, a local historian and author. On my left between 29th Avenue and Dunkeld stood Emerson Street School, which I assumed was an elementary school. On my right, Ashland Recreation Center. Remember that crazy intersection I talked about yesterday, where 15th meets 29th and there may or may not be a vortex? Well, it’s just 4 or 5 blocks from a rec center.

According to the Denver Recreation Center Task Force report of April 2009, Ashland is designated as a neighborhood center and also as a local center (1 step up) because of its indoor pool. In the winter it offers swimming classes, basketball, volleyball, football, and oil painting, among other things.

Ashland is not open on Sundays (I wonder if that’s a budget-cutting measure?), so I was left to photograph the entrance, which impressed me. Here is the right-hand building of the rec center complex.

Obviously, swimming is important to the people who designed this entrance. I moved the camera to my left to get the main entranceand kept going to find the male swimmer backlit against the afternoon sky.And now I’ve come full circle, back to her.I crossed West Dunkeld Place to inspect this mural painted on the fence that bordered the elementary school. I saturated the colors a bit, but what you see is pretty true to the section closest to Zuni.

Here’s another section of the mural. I’m doing a liquid diet today, so Loncheria La Mexicana (in the center-bottom) sounds pretty good.

I walked around to 29th Avenue and discovered the school is called José Valdez Elementary School. As of this year, it’s an early childhood education (ECE) 7 school, teaching children from preschoolers (Montessori, ages 3 to 5) to seventh graders. According to the Principal’s Message on the website, however, in 2010-2011, Jose Valdez will become an ECE5 school until it figures out how to better serve middle school students. Its main goal is to graduate students who are fluent in English and Spanish and comfortable in a multicultural setting. Here’s a final section of the mural.

Emerson Street School nearby is very small, with about 40 students and 10 teachers; it educates students who have been expelled or are on parole.

North High School is located northwest of José Valdez. Does it strike anyone else as funny that North High School (located at 29th and Speer) is west of West High School (located on Speer between 9th and 11th)?

Beth at Home and Abroad

Make anything an adventure

Tag Archives: Denver photos