We live in a time where cameras are with us just about every minute in every day and because of the ease and convenience of digital cameras and the rise of Social Media we capture everyday events like never before and share them. Ask a group of people if they have ever taken a picture of a meal they were served in a restaurant and most hands will go up! Ask the same group if they have posted pictures of this type on Social Media or just shared with friends or family and the hands will go back up, perhaps a few less but still a majority will say yes. Yet most pictures of this type are static and often rather boring, the entree is served and the cameras goes up above the plate and does a documentary style picture with little feeling, often a poor exposure or using the dreaded on camera flash. The image captured might document what was on the plate but does not draw the viewer in to get a feel for the ambiance and setting or even the artful presentation that the kitchen staff put into how the food was served.
Capturing food in an artistic way has been around for centuries. Many a great master painter made studies of food as still life artistic renderings. But now anyone can pick up their phone or camera and capture an image. The goal of this presentation is to inspire the audience to make art out of their food photography, take images that could easily appear in a cook book or food magazine or even hang as a print on wall in your home.
Our speaker, Chris Summers, a member of Kingwood Photo Club, became interested in photography as a teenager in the early 1970’s and began using his dad’s old Argus 35mm camera and soon started a photography club at his high school. After graduation Chris attended Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California and received a Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Photography. At that time Brooks was the leading private college specializing in the educational field of photography.
After getting married in Santa Barbara in 1979, he & his new bride moved to Houston for his first job working in a large studio and lab and within a few years left to open Chris Summers Photography. The studio was a one man shop and over a 30 year period produced a variety of work for many local and national clients including, fashion, real estate, corporate advertising, catalogs, brochures and food photography.
Chris retired in 2010, putting his time and attention on caring for his aging parents. After they were gone, he decided to just focus on what he wanted to take pictures of and do photography of an artistic nature instead of a commercial one. Since then he has been able to travel extensively with his wife, Sarah, who’s job includes working with clients in many different parts of the world.
Sarah and Chris have been married since 1998, have 8 children, 20 grandchildren and have lived in Kingwood for 22 years.
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