Archive for the ‘Other Bloggers’ Category
the Foodie Buddha, Exposed! (kinda)
As of late, I have been desiring some new directions and challanges with Spoonfed (Atlanta) and have been thrashing around some ideas as to how I can improve upon it and retain interest for myself and anyone else who decides to spend time viewing. Last year I had toyed with the idea of photographing ‘other’ Atlanta based food bloggers and had started with one showcasing Dave Jones of Eat Buford Highway. Shortly after, having been in contact with some other bloggers the project took a back burner due in part to other paid jobs and the usual Spoonfed ‘restaurant’ show case. Another factor of this being that some of those whom agreed to be photographed, stated conditions upon keeping their anonymity. This quickly threw me for a loop as to how I was going to photograph my counterparts in such a way.
So as this new year turned, I found myself again asking the questions and decided to retreat to my favorite spot to meditate upon the dilemma. It was there, after some deep breathing exercises and a quick out of body trip to the lower bardos, that upon my return, a vision appeared to me from through the sage brush (or whatever them-there plants are). The vision quite clear and somehow I felt as if he seemed oddly familiar….
I sat for a moment as the figure paused, looked my direction and waved for me to follow. At the blink of an eye I found myself in an Atlanta landmark. Sights and sounds began to fade-in and the hustle and bustle became all too real. I was suddenly taken aback with life’s greatest question…What will I have?
I followed this calling and the vision and clarity began to fill my senses. It was at that moment, as the air was thick with grease…when I realized…could it be…was he real…yes, yes, I think it is…
I have seen…
the Foodie Buddha!
The Foodie Buddha. A most excellent, notorious, infamous, loved by some, admittedly ‘not’ by others, Zen-tastic of all bloggers in the Atlanta area.
I followed the Foodie Buddha to his mountain top perch, overlooking the city, his domain…where all one needs is a laptop, some disposable income and an appetite, to reach Nirvana. We sip martinis and talk of deep spiritual issues such as TV, other food blogs, movies, current letters from food critics to chefs and vice versa. We chat-chit into the evening and as the aura of this great, wise, experienced guru envelopes me I come to the realization…
Maybe photographing other bloggers and keeping their identity hidden isn’t all that difficult.
Many thanks to Foodie Buddha for the insight, inspiration, wisdom and shameless ability to roll around on the floor, in public, to wear a sumo suit to help me to attain my moment of clarity.
Next trip to Atlanta, dinner is on me…sans sumo suit.
Dave Jones | Eat Buford Highway
All content ©Mark Petko Photography (click here for permission)
So I have decided to expand the parameters of the Spoonfed blog project and this post is the first of a series that will occasionally appear. As is the ultimate goal…this blog keeps me shooting. It forces a camera into my hands and shoves me out the door among the feared universe to explore and discover, capture and reflect upon. I revel in the idea of challenging myself by immersion but as of late I have noticed that the pursuit, although it has led to some visually appealing food-smut, runs the danger of becoming stagnant (to me at least and as of now this blog is mostly a self-serving entity, until google decides to buy it…hello…anyone from google…are you there…oh well, I can wait).
This new facet of Spoonfed will explore people with a similar interest in food blogging. I have recently linked to Urbanspoon and noticed a list of 82 other food bloggers just in the Atlanta area, and these are only the ones linked with Urbanspoon. So in keeping with ‘photographing anything culinary’, I will attempt to meet and shoot portraits of some of these other bloggers. Shooting portraits is a totally different beast than shooting food and I feel the practice would do me good. Luckily, with one stone and two birds, it was a goal of mine for my ‘monthly self-assignment’ for February to shoot some environmental portraiture. Some more of which can be seen here on my photo blog, Blown Out! (blog).
Instead of diving head first into unknown waters I opted to dip my toe just a bit to test it out. I asked a fellow blogger, whom I had actually met before if he would help me on starting this endeavor and lucky for me, he obliged.
This is Dave Jones….(spare the ‘locker’ jokes, I’m sure he’s heard’em)…
©Mark Petko Photography (click here for permission)
Dave pens the blog Eat Buford Highway. It consist of occasional jaunts exploring the ethnic treasures found in Atlanta with an emphasis towards the Buford Highway region, Atlanta’s own ‘little HispanAsianic’ territory laced with a barrage of wonderful treats. Alongside some restaurant trips Dave also posts some home cooking experiments with some product pointers on ingredients that most Food Network viewers still may not have heard of. Dave says, “It started mostly out of frustration. I was looking for information on places I had never tried on Buford Highway and was having a hard time finding it. I kept finding dated articles on the same old places. My first thought was to do a comprehensive compendium of Buford Highway dining, but that became daunting really quickly. The blog is really a loose compilation of some of my explorations of food and cooking, and while I’ve tried to stick with the “Buford Highway” theme – focusing on ethnic food, primarily, I admittedly drift around. I’m currently working on prepping another blog with a friend that will have a broader approach to food. Hopefully that will let me keep EBH a bit more focused.”
We met at the Food Court at 5385 New Peachtree Road housing the Hong Kong BBQ, and Chong Qing Hot Pot among others. It was a place we had met before for an impromptu ‘food bloggers’ eat up organized by Dave and shared by yours truly, Octosquid, Live to Feast, and Food Near Snellville.(beware fellow bloggers…I want to shoot you).
Dave is a pleasant fella that became involved in food at an early age since his grandfather owned Jones’ Open Pit Barbecue just a stone’s toss from Daytona Speedway in Florida. He may try to fool you into believing that he is floundering with his blog and that he may not know much about food but don’t be duped by his nonchalant demeanor of smoke and mirrors. He knows what he talks of and he writes it well.
When asked if he has any ‘must read’ blogs that he visits regularly he replys, “Sadly, I don’t have as much time to catch up on blogs as I’d like. In my reader, I’ve got a folder of Atlanta food blogs that I try to skim over once a week, and I’ve got another folder of “other” food blogs.
- I do like TheKitchn (http://www.thekitchn.com/) – it’s more of a general food mag site.
- Rasa Malaysia (http://rasamalaysia.com/) is a favorite – simple recipes, good photography.
- No Recipes (http://www.norecipes.com/) kind of blew me away. This guy is nuts and his approach really speaks to me.
- Liete’s Culinaria (http://leitesculinaria.com/) I’ve been going to this site for years.
When asked about ‘must visit’ restaurants…
Wow, that’s hard – there are so many, and I change my mind constantly.
Manchunhong – Chinese/Korean
Pho Dai Loi #2 – Vietnamese
El Pastor – Mexican
Cho Sun Ok – Korean Barbecue
Quoc Huong – Vietnamese – best banh mi
El Pollo del Rey – Peruvian chicken
La Casona – Colombian
Wareong Corner – Indonesian
Chinatown Food Court
Mings, Mings, Mings
Pay him a visit and comment on his blog. Eat Buford Highway or follow him on twitter @EatBuHi
I realize this is a long shot but if any other Atlanta based food bloggers are not camera shy and wouldn’t mind sitting for a portrait please contact me.
Stay tuned for upcoming posts from Raging Burrito (Decatur), RA sushi (midtown), and the Brickstore (Decatur)
