Jul
24
2010
This was an amazing evening last August in Silver Creek near Park City, Utah. Sadly, when I returned that evening, I just wasn’t excited about my photographs. In fact, I didn’t even process a single shot. I just stumbled across the photographs looking for another rainbow shot and had a different perspective. Turns out to be a pretty good shoot after all.
The scene is actually just a few hundred meters from our home, looking somewhat to the south just before sunset. The rainbow is splitting the dark sky from a blustery white cloud, with the sun painting the yellow of the wild sunflowers.
One of the challenges with the shot was the light was getting low and the wind was howling. This frame was f5.3 at 1/30th of a second. Somehow the flowers are reasonably sharp.
You can also visit this photograph’s home and leave a comment on Flickr.
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Jul
04
2010
The Fourth of July is perfect for a mid-summer cookout. The beauty for us is that if fireworks are important, we can watch them from the deck after dinner! This year’s cookout was another extravaganza, with more food than you can imagine as Chef Tom and Chef Richard combined for a fine BBQ. Checkout the lineup below. Sorry, too busy cookin’ and eatin’ to get any pix. Thanks to Carey for helping man the grill!
Starters
Dinner
Dessert
Carole put on an awesome display in the absence of Baker Liza, who had other plans.
- Key Lime Pie
- Chocolate Brownies with Creamy Chocolate Frosting
- Homemade Meringues with Strawberries, Raspberries and Blueberries
Wine and Beer
- Wine: Barefoot Zin (latest inexpensive Zin at Utah State Liquor Stores) – sorry, Gail, that Ravenswood Zin you dropped WOULD have been wonderful … next time
- Beer: Ayinger Altbarisch Dunkel
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Tags: bbq, food
Jul
04
2010
Everyone likes waffles, especially with exotic toppings. It was a perfect way to kickoff the Fourth of July on the deck – a beautiful holiday weekend in Park City. It was a day of food, wrapping up with a fantastic All American BBQ.
This recipe is a modification of many I’ve tried over the years, starting with a basic Strawberries Romanoff recipe that came with a waffle iron we bought nearly 25 years ago. It’s super simple and makes for an out-of-the-ordinary breakfast.
CHEF TOM’S WAFFLES WITH STRAWBERRIES ROMANOFF
Waffles
The waffle recipe can be your own favorite or simply the “side-of-the-box” recipe from a package of Bisquick. But … just before putting into the griddle, mix in a couple egg whites (whites only) that have been whipped. It will dramatically lighten the batter. Also, add in some almond or vanilla extract (capful or two) to the batter mix.
Whipped Cream
Use heavy whipping cream, blended with an electric mixer. For a pint-sized carton of cream, mix in about a half cup to full cup of powdered sugar. And a touch of extract can’t hurt.
Macerated Strawberries
This is where you can have some fun. You can easily vary this to your liking. You’ll be amazed at the bouquet of tastes you add to the strawberries.
- Pint of strawberries, sliced to your liking
- 1/4 cup liqueur (Grand Marnier, Couintreau, etc.)
- Peel and zest from one orange (tip, zest the orange first, then squeeze the juice)
- 1/4 cup juice from an orange
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Simply combine the sliced strawberries with all ingredients. Allow to stand up to a couple hours. You can also prepare it just before serving.
Cook the batter in a waffle iron. Put a dollop or two of whipped cream along with a spoonful or two of strawberries. For garnish, sprinkle orange zest on the top and maybe add a sprig of mint to the plate.
Enjoy!
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Tags: breakfast, food, strawberries, waffles
Jun
30
2010
Well, it isn’t the Kimball Art Center but it probably gets just as much traffic. I’m proud to have five photographs on display this summer at the Park City Starbucks (Park Avenue). Stop by and take a look.
Thursday (July 1) I’ll have an informal opening from 5:00-6:00 p.m. Stop by and buy a coffee from barista Carolyn and enjoy some time with friends. We should have a nice group. Checkout the invitation on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/event.php?eid=131525536879324&index=1
The photographs include a variety of Utah scenics. You can view the entire gallery at the link below.
http://www.tomkellyphoto.com/?page_id=390
Lavender Fields is a wonderful shot of brilliant purple lavender in Mona, Utah, just south of Provo. Check it out this July.
Albion Basin Wildflowers is a colorful photograph of brilliant yellow flowers last August at Alta.
Moon Over the Clouds is one of those really rare photographs of a stunning full moon rising over clouds bathed in sunset glow, taken here in Silver Creek near Park City on an August evening.
Sunset Over the Pond features a magnificent sky, taken on a springtime pond near Park City this past May.
And every Utah show needs some redrock. Window on Turret Arch is a quintessential Moab shot from Arches National Park.
Each of the 10×15 prints is mounted in an 18×22 black frame and are available for sale.
Thanks for stopping by to take a look. Whenever you do, please ask the barista for my business card! I’m proud to share them with my Park City friends this summer.
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Tags: gallery, Photography, starbucks
Jun
20
2010
After spending a few days trying to decide which of Park City’s fabulous restaurants would be the site of Father’s Day dinner, we came to our senses. Jean Louis, Adolphs, they all sounded great. But nothing beats dinner on our own deck overlooking the mountains.
Most of the dinner came direct from the Park Silly Sunday Market.. The new market area in the Post Office alley is fantastic.
Carole made a wonderful salad from our own garden, along with fresh strawberries and the creamiest Feta we’ve ever tasted from a new artisan cheese vendor from nearby Woodland. We also had a smoky white cheddar with bread from another new vendor, Red Bicycle.
The main course was grilled halibut with herbs from Flying Fish, along with yellow rice and carrots.
It was a perfect match for a nice chardonnay. Having recently seen a news program about unoaked chards, we decided to try a Travis from Monterey (about $12). It was a nice wine – very fruity. It had a special freshness. However, I’m a big fan of oak. And while we wanted to give an unoaked chard a chance, I think we’ll opt for traditional oak barrels in the future (Kendall-Jackson, Deloach, etc.).
The dinner was capped off with a ginger and vanilla bean creme brulee, a totally simple dessert that is sensational.
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Jun
19
2010
Carole and her friends decided to do the monthly Salt Lake City Gallery Stroll and I volunteered as chauffeur. If you actually get out onto the streets of downtown Salt Lake, it’s actually a pretty interesting place. The girls had a great plan, including Blazing Needles (a bit east of downtown), UTah Hands and more.
The monthly stroll links dozens of downtown galleries. But as I dropped the ladies by the Convention Center, I saw a Facebook post from a friend about a Holga exhibit at a nearby photo gallery.
In today’s digital world, the unassuming Holga is the epitome of a simpler, analog world. It has only a few simple settings, a fixed focal length lens and, yes, it takes film – old fashioned 120 film.
But while today’s digital photographer fine tunes intricate computerized settings, the creative Holga photographer experiments with the simplistic settings to create amazing works on art onto small, square photographic prints.
The exhibit at the Saans Photography on Broadway amazing. And it was clearly the hit of the opening Friday night Broadway Stroll as hundreds and hundreds of Utahns took advantage of a warm summer night (rare) and the Chowtruck around the corner. Third South and Second East was abuzz with activity.
If you get a chance, check out the Friday night Broadway Stroll the third Friday of the month this summer.
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Tags: food, Photography, salt lake city
Jun
13
2010
One of our favorite Jeep trails crisscrosses a creek up South Fork Canyon in the Weber Canyon. With flooding this week in nearby Oakley, we thought it would be good to checkout the flow. While we knew we couldn’t get far, it was still an opportunity to catch some of the magic of Mother Nature in the spring runoff.
The creek in South Fork Canyon collects significant runoff every spring from the south side of the Weber Canyon stretching from Oakley up to the High Uintahs. It’s generally not passable until at least mid-July.
In June, the water is raging as it courses its way down the mountainside to the Weber River a few more miles downstream.
What’s especially fascinating this time of year is watching for sign of where the creek has been the last few days. Carole was quick to spot the telltale signs of where the runoff had gone the last few days when it was especially high.
We’ll now look forward to coming back a few months from now to enjoy a bit more of the canyon.
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Jun
08
2010
Standing in the midst of an ancient amphitheater takes your breath away thinking back to days of gladiators and lions, with thousands gathered in witness. The landscape along the Turkish coast is littered with huge outdoor theaters, many maintaining the same integrity they did thousands of years ago.
Today was a special treat, visiting arenas at Xanthus, a bit inland from the coast, and then Patara just off the beach west of Kalkan. Patara was a massive site with over 30 rows of seats. Alongside was a similar, yet small structure, in the midst of reconstruction. It was a amazing to watch the crews at work, sifting sand off one part of the ruins and using a crane to lift old blocks into place in the other.
The adjoining facility wasn’t another theater, but a government council gathering building for the region. Crews were working painstakingly to put it back together.
The bigggest challenge in Patara is the sand. The very reason the ancients opted to build at the inlet of a river into the Mediterranean was the nemesis that would wreak havoc over the centuries. Sand and silt created a swampy backwater, with groundwater continuing to rise in the area. And wind swept wind has covered just about everything, resulting in the tedious work of uncovering it all.
The beach at Patara is magnificent – over 15km of absolutely perfect, pristine sand. Along the entire beach, there’s not a twig, seaweed, anything – just fine sand. It’s also a nesting area for sea turtles, so access is limited to daytime only. All up and down the Patara coast, waves come crashing in to bring more sand.
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Tags: mediterranean, ruins, turkey
Jun
07
2010
As you tour ruins along the southwestern Turkish coast, you get a clear sense of how thousands of years ago this part of the world was one. But Greece, today, is a world away – or, in this case, not more than a couple miles off the Turkish coast near our home base of Kas. So today we hopped a 20-minute ferry – the Meis Express – to spend the day in Greece.
Meis, also known as Kastellorizo, is a tiny village on one of Greece’s smallest islands. It’s somewhat standalone, with not much else nearby except Rhodes some distance to the northwest. But it’s a direct harbor-to-harbor shot from Kas, where we can see the lights at night and white houses glowing by day.
Over the years, the tiny island has had many rulers from Rhodes, Egypt, the Venetian Doge and the Ottoman Turks. In the 20th Century, it went through the hands of the French, Italians and British – and was reportedly bombed in World War II.
As tiny as it is, it comes alive each day as the ferry boats arrive from Kas and other Turkish ports, plus the huge Aegean ferries of Greece. Watching them turn the 300-foot long Proteus around in the tiny harbor after its five-hour cruise from Rhodes was a real treat!
It was a lazy day of walking the harbor, relaxing on the sun deck of the Megisti Hotel, swimming and snorkeling, enjoying a wonderful Greek lunch and a slice of locally made baklava before catching the ferry home.
Yet another stamp in the passport!
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Tags: greece, mediterranean
