Tag Archives: john cullen

THE DEEPNESS OF OYSTERS

Posted on July 4, 2012 by popcornsnaps| 3 Comments

 

Have you ever had an oyster party? I totally recommend it. You can teach friends and family how to shuck oysters if they haven’t before (always use a towel!), and it becomes a really exciting group activity. Some people have a real knack for it — my friend Rebecca was a total workhorse, shucking a few oysters a minute and keeping the inside briny water full and clean of grit. Not always an easy task.

We always eat oysters as we go, with a little bit of lemon juice, tabasco, and mignonette. (It’s also nice to have lots of seeded crackers and butter on hand, too, just like Mermaid Inn does it). I’m so happy that John captured Camilla’s moment of oyster euphoria, because there are few things more profound than gulping down an ice cold oyster in the middle of the day. Complete life force moment.

[All photos by John Cullen]

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Posted in celebration, food, memory, outdoors

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SCENES FROM A KINFOLK STORY…

Posted on July 2, 2012 by popcornsnaps| Leave a comment

I’ve held on to these images by friend and photographer John Cullen for a long time — it’s time I shared his amazing work with everyone else, too. The images were outtakes from a photoshoot that we organized for Kinfolk Magazine last fall, for a story that appeared in their third issue. I’m thrilled to finally share these images now, in several parts.

This first set is from the pre-dinner prep — I enlisted pals to help get everything ready, like rinse pomegranate seeds, chop dill, cut bread, tear lettuce, pour drinks. Because John had to shoot early “to chase the sunlight,” as he called it, our “dinner party” was actually a luncheon. (We sat down to eat around 3pm — it felt weirdly glamorous to eat so early.) I think we cracked open our first bottle of wine around 11am, early even for my standards! It was chilly that afternoon, so I bribed people to stay out on the roof with bites of my homemade gravlax and special creme fraiche… so I don’t think anyone minded too much.

[All images by John Cullen]

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Posted in lunch, memory, party, people, photography

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KINFOLK DEBUT

Posted on April 23, 2012 by popcornsnaps| 8 Comments

I blame slow Canadian postal service, but I finally got my copy of Kinfolk Magazine the other week, and I’m so proud to be a part of such a beautiful publication! (And in such good company, too, like Ashley!)

My story, which details the difficult personal journey I took when I first moved to Montreal, was not an easy one to write. The article also represents a new shift in writing for me, one that is much more intimate and autobiographical. I’ve always been more comfortable focusing on other people — artists, musicians, chefs — so it was very hard to turn the writerly eye on myself, to somehow still produce something honest and sincere. I hope it reads alright. The photos, in any case, by our good friend John Cullen, are stunning. He captured the day so well. (And disguised, expertly, the reality that we were all pretty hungover!) I’ll post some outtakes soon…

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Posted in memory, party, people, photography, wine, work, writers

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