Making ‘The Shot’

Jean-Georges Vongerichten, by Dan Hallman for Time Out New York

 

Time Out New York recently had photographer Dan Hallman shoot a series of pics of some of the magazine’s most respected chefs for their Eat Out Awards 2009 piece. The images featured world-renowned chefs (like Jean-Georges Vongerichten, for instance, donning his best waitstaff attire) moonlighting as street vendors, waiters and even ice cream slingers.

 

Of the idea, Hallman says, “The impetus to this was…bringing these high-end chefs into a real environment, given the economy and what’s going on; it’s a sort of tongue-in-cheek play on things.”

 

When it came time to choose a photographer, TONY photo editor Roberto De Luna knew Hallman would deliver “bright, colorful and ‘Pop-y’” images. “Everything that he’s got is so uplifting and it’s really energetic,” De Luna says of the photographer, whose work has also appeared in Glamour. “Dan is such a clown and such a hambone on set, which I think for something like this you really need,” he adds.

 

Each of the chef’s shoots lasted less than ten minutes, with Hallman using ring lighting and a Canon Mark II. Of the limited time frame, Hallman says, “You could shoot all day with these things, but why torture yourself and why torture the subject? In general, I shoot fast as it is.”

 

The standout shot (and almost cover) is of Jean-Georges pouring coffee in a diner environment. Hallman notes, “Jean-Georges was amazing. They were all in on the joke;  it was fun and different for all of them, instead of being shot in their kitchen or their restaurant.”

 

But another shot in the series almost made the cut. In it, the chef’s personal toaster (he has a collection of rare and antique ones) makes a cameo. “He brought about three or four of them to set,” says Hallman.

 

Ultimately, the coffee-pouring shot best evoked the desired feeling. Other shots featured Toronto favorite Susur Lee as a waiter taking an order, Paul Liebrandt squirting ketchup onto a hotdog, David Chang and Christina Tosi serving Momofuku fare from an ice cream truck, April Bloomfield posing with a fish and Cesare Casella carrying a tower of pizza boxes.