Life Is Like a Bowl of Mussels



On Saturday, I attended a photography workshop led by acclaimed New York Times' food photographer, Andrew Scrivani. I thoroughly enjoyed the class, and left enthused to show off my new skills. That was until I remembered my next post was a mussels recipe.
So what? Well, during the class intro, Andrew did a slide show to illustrate various keys concepts and strategies, and the bowl of mussels you see below was used to demonstrate how a simple, eye-catching prop, like a vintage fork, could help draw the viewer’s attention away from less-than-attractive shellfish.
Andrew Scrivani/NYT
A brilliant ploy, and one I would have implemented, except that my silverware drawer contains exactly zero fancy shellfish forks. So, I decided instead to use the inside of a mussel shell, as an attempt at some nacreous misdirection. Did it work? You be the judge. 
Anyway, I’d like to extend a big thanks to Andrew and the other attendees for a very enjoyable afternoon. Also to Contigo, a wonderful Spanish joint here in San Francisco, for being such great hosts.