Suzi Pratt is a Seattle event, food, and travel photographer available for hire. She is also a contributing writer at Digital Photography School and runs a blog teaching others how to start a photography business.
2012 was an amazing year full of travel and great events. Best of all was when these two things could combine, and luckily several of those moments were recognized in my various editorial contributions’ “Best of 2012” photo roundups.
First off, thanks to Paste Magazine for allowing me to photograph 2012’s Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park this past summer. It was an amazing lineup with the likes of Metallica, Neil Young, Skrillex, and Stevie Wonder performing, and my shot of the latter made Paste’s “10 Best Music Festival Moments of 2012.”
Secondly, thanks to Verbicide Magazine for their mention of several of my photos in their “Best of 2012” roundup including shots of Die Antwoord and Steve Aoki.
2012 Festivals
1. Bruise Cruise in Miami, FL – Feb 2012
2. Outside Lands 2012 in San Francisco
3. Bumbershoot 2012
4. City Arts Fest 2012
5. Capitol Hill Block Party 2012
2012 Concerts
1. Girl Talk @ Las Vegas
2. Sleigh Bells @ Showbox
3. Morgan Page @ Showbox
4. The Fray @ Paramount
5. Rye Rye @ Seattle Art Museum
6. Atlas Sound @ KEXP
7. Coasting @ The Rendevous
8. Andrew W.K. @ Showbox
9. Tribes @ Tractor Tavern
10. Steve Aoki @ Paramount
11. Lana Del Rey @ Easy Street Records
12. The Shins @ Moore Theater
13. Radiohead @ Key Arena
14. Chilly Gonzales @ The Triple Door
15. Justice @ The Paramount
16. The Naked and Famous @ Showbox
17. Sasquatch Music Festival 2012
18. Chickenfoot @ WaMu Theater
19. Millionyoung @ KEXP
20. The xx @ Showbox
21. Linda’s Fest with Reignwolf
22. The Hives @ Showbox
23. Trampled by Turtles @ Neptune
Other
1. Back to the Future’s Lea Thompson
2. Adrian Grenier @ Churchkey Can Co Launch Party
3. Symmetry Live @ W Seattle with LP and Photographer Mick Rock
Suzi Pratt is a Seattle event, food, and travel photographer available for hire. She is also a contributing writer at Digital Photography School and runs a blog teaching others how to start a photography business.
Winter in Seattle is often full of overcast skies and weather that hints that it just might snow, but typically all we get is a light dusting of cold matter that’s barely an excuse for snow. Upon returning home after celebrating an exotic Thanksgiving in Belize, we had no elaborate plans for Christmas, so in lieu of doing nothing in Seattle, we opted for heading east to the snowy land of Leavenworth. Having spent many summer days and nights in the faux-Bavarian mountain town, I’d never actually visited Leavenworth while it was snow-covered, so this was an experience I was highly anticipating. It was also my first experience taking the bus out to Leavenworth, and although we nearly got stranded in the mountains due to snow storms, it was quite a memorable experience. What follows are a stream of photos from our three nights in December 2012 in Leavenworth, Washington.
Suzi Pratt is a Seattle event, food, and travel photographer available for hire. She is also a contributing writer at Digital Photography School and runs a blog teaching others how to start a photography business.
Seattle chefs Brian McCracken and Dana Tough of Spur Gastropub, Tavern Law, and The Coterie Room chat with Eater Seattle about their “One Year In” success with The Coterie Room. This pair of chefs is extremely photogenic, and both win points for their warm smiles and friendly demeanor. See the full interview on Eater Seattle.
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]One Year In: McCracken and Tough on Seattle’ The Coterie Room[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
Suzi Pratt is a Seattle event, food, and travel photographer available for hire. She is also a contributing writer at Digital Photography School and runs a blog teaching others how to start a photography business.
Seattle Chef Maria Hines‘ Agrodolce Restaurant, a Southern Italian joint in Fremont, is set to open its doors on December 21, provided the world doesn’t end. Hines, of Tilth and Golden Beetle fame, will be trying her hand at pasta and Italian flair with the opening of Agrodolce. I had the pleasure of photographing the classy new space which sits in the area formerly inhabited by 35th Street Bistro, and it retains a lot of the last venue’s designs and charms. Check out the published photo gallery up on Eater Seattle.
Suzi Pratt is a Seattle event, food, and travel photographer available for hire. She is also a contributing writer at Digital Photography School and runs a blog teaching others how to start a photography business.
The Harvest Vine, a Basque restaurant in Seattle, is known not only for Carolin Messier’s delicious tapas, but also an extensive collection of Spanish wines. Enter general manager Jeff Watanabe, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of the 300+ Spanish wines that may be on hand any night at The Harvest Vine. Eater Seattle did a Q&A with Watanabe, and I was fortunate to do a portrait session with him to accompany the story. Check out his story with my photos on Eater Seattle.
Suzi Pratt is a Seattle event, food, and travel photographer available for hire. She is also a contributing writer at Digital Photography School and runs a blog teaching others how to start a photography business.
You are what you eat! This idea has never felt as true as it does today, now that I am on a mission to (almost) completely naturalize my diet. What I mean by ‘naturalize’ is eat primarily foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. In essence, no processed foods, unnatural additives, or other junk. Call it the paleo diet, raw food diet, or what have you, but that is the basic premise of my new food regimen. Check out more Natural and Healthy Eating posts here, and click here for more food photography!
“Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare…saying to yourself the while: ‘Is this the condition that I feared?'” – Seneca
Winner winner chicken dinner! This chicken dinner is definitely a winner since I got two tasty meals out of it. It started out like this: my Couchsurfing host in Las Vegas greeted me with a delicious home cooked meal of a juicy, roasted whole chicken. The meet was very simply seasoned, but it had a faint flavor of coconut, which my tastebuds immediately took a liking to. I found out later that the chicken had been rubbed down with coconut oil prior to being roasted. Ever since then, I’ve been craving that coconut chicken flavor and finally made a similar dish last night.
Starting with organic, free range chicken breasts, I spooned heavy portions of Trader Joe’s coconut oil on top of them. Let me take a brief moment to rave about TJ’s coconut oil–this stuff smells and tastes just like natural, creamy coconut, and I could easily eat a spoonful of it for flavor. It’s a huge diference from the jar of refined coconut oil I got from Whole Foods, which has hardly any coconut taste or smell. More info on the various types of coconut oil here.
I added cloves of garlic and sliced vine-ripened tomatoes to my tray of chicken. While I’m still not a huge fan of raw tomatoes, it turns out I’m a sucker for oven roasted tomatoes. They add a bit of color as well as a slightly sweet and tangy flavor to your dish.
Now for the greens! Many people will probably balk at my veggies of choice for this meal: Brussels sprouts!
“Brussels sprouts have more vitamin C than an orange, even when weight is taken into account.” – Livestrong.com
I don’t recall eating sprouts as a kid, but I do remember the reason why I started eating them in the first place. When I was a poor college kid living primarily off of box rice and frozen veggies, I had it in my mind to try frozen Brussels sprouts. It turns out that eating them covered with olive oil and a touch of garlic salt was a taste explosion! This time around, I found a large stalk of Brussels sprouts at Trader Joe’s for less than $3, and set about roasting them.
Per my college days, these Brussels sprouts were very simply seasoned with a bunch of olive oil, garlic powder, and a touch of cayenne pepper.
To cook my feast, I placed two foil-wrapped baking trays into an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees.
Approximately 25-30 minutes later, my winning chicken dinner was ready!
On to why this dinner was a winner. Since I was cooking for one last night, I had at least a portion and a half of chicken and Brussels sprouts remaining. Unfortunately, my taste wasn’t gravitating toward that exact meal for lunch today, so I got creative. Lining a plate with mixed salad greens, I plopped my last roasted chicken breast in the center, and surrounded it with Brussels sprouts and tomatoes. I did pop the chicken and sprouts in the microwave for a quick zap (shush, anti-microwave folks, I know it was bad). To top off my salad, I drizzled some balsamic vinegar and olive oil on top, and threw on a handful of raw pecans. Two meals later, and still at good couple servings of roasted Brussels sprouts left. Guess I know what’s for dinner tonight!
Suzi Pratt is a Seattle event, food, and travel photographer available for hire. She is also a contributing writer at Digital Photography School and runs a blog teaching others how to start a photography business.
November 6, 2012 was an epic night in America’s history at President Barack Obama won re-election over Mitt Romney, and Washington state legalized two huge things: Referendum 74 which now allows for same-sex marriage, and Initiative 502 which legalizes the sale and consumption of limited amounts of cannabis/marijuana. As predicted, Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood was ablaze with local citizens who as a whole claimed a victory in the federal and local election outcomes. Check out detailed news descriptions and photography from the night’s events on Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, including a huge block party in the middle of the Pike/Pine neighborhood of Capitol Hill. Click here for a full photo gallery of election night 2012 in Seattle’s Capitol Hill.
Suzi Pratt is a Seattle event, food, and travel photographer available for hire. She is also a contributing writer at Digital Photography School and runs a blog teaching others how to start a photography business.
Looking for an urban nail salon in Seattle with a great promotional deal? Your search begins and ends with Julep Nail Parlor! Conveniently located in downtown Seattle, Julep’s warm and inviting interior will keep your drawn in and relaxed as you receive topnotch nail and skincare services from Julep’s professional staff. I was lucky enough to swing by Julep’s Seattle location and take some interior photos for Bloomspot.com. Click here to check out the daily deal offering for Bloomspot Seattle residents!
Interested in my interior and product photography services? Click here to get in touch!
Suzi Pratt is a Seattle event, food, and travel photographer available for hire. She is also a contributing writer at Digital Photography School and runs a blog teaching others how to start a photography business.
You are what you eat! This idea has never felt as true as it does today, now that I am on a mission to (almost) completely naturalize my diet. What I mean by ‘naturalize’ is eat primarily foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. In essence, no processed foods, unnatural additives, or other junk. Call it the paleo diet, raw food diet, or what have you, but that is the basic premise of my new food regimen. Check out more Natural and Healthy Eating posts here, and click here for more food photography!
The spirit cannot endure the body when overfed, but, if underfed, the body cannot endure the spirit. ~St Frances de Sales
Yellowfin tuna, also known as ahi tuna, is a species of large and delicious fish most commonly served raw as sashimi or seared in Asian restaurants. Ahi is one of my absolute favorite proteins; if I could have one meal before I died, it would have to be fresh Hawaiian style ahi tuna poke on a bed of steaming hot white rice. Given my love for ahi, I absolutely could not pass up the opportunity to buy two thick, juicy ahi tuna steaks on sale at the Metropolitan Market. Since they weren’t sashimi-grade, however, I had to think of a tasty way to prepare them.
Roasting my meats in the oven has become a quick and easy alternative in my quest to cook more. Seriously, what is harder than pre-heating an oven, covering a baking sheet with tin foil, and throwing in a marinated piece of meat? While it might be a bit of a time-suck, cleanup is incredibly easy, and the tasty product is usually to die for. In this case, I prepared my ahi steaks very simply: I drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled garlic powder and fresh lemon juice on them, with a touch of ground black pepper.
Obviously the protein needed some greens to go with it, so I steamed a whole bunch of kale in olive oil and lemon pepper. It took about 10 minutes for the whole head of kale to wilt, and I used the whole of it as a bed of greens for my tuna steak. I then took a few spoonfuls of sauerkraut (purchased packaged from the Metropolitan Market) and placed in the middle of the kale, and set my giant ahi tuna steak on top of it all. A few golden cherry tomatoes circled the dish to add some color and tang, and the meal was set!
Suzi Pratt is a Seattle event, food, and travel photographer available for hire. She is also a contributing writer at Digital Photography School and runs a blog teaching others how to start a photography business.
You are what you eat! This idea has never felt as true as it does today, now that I am on a mission to (almost) completely naturalize my diet. What I mean by ‘naturalize’ is eat primarily foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. In essence, no processed foods, unnatural additives, or other junk. Call it the paleo diet, raw food diet, or what have you, but that is the basic premise of my new food regimen. Check out more Natural and Healthy Eating posts here, and click here for more food photography!
The reason is partially for weight loss, but mainly for overall health improvement, making sure my body is only intaking nutrients that will help it not only in the short-term, but the long-term as well. This post is the first of many in my “Natural and Healthy Eating” series that will highlight in photos, words, and facts how I am keeping my diet clean and simple, and using positive mantras to aid with digestion. This last idea will eventually merit a whole post to itself, but in summary, think of it this way: if positive mental attitudes as a whole can affect your overall well-being, think about how it could affect absorption of food as you are consuming it. More on that later, but hopefully that got you thinking.
The goal is to inspire you to consider adding more natural, healthy food into your life by showing you how simple it is, and also to motivate me to stick to it on a regular basis.
Without further ado, here is the first Natural and Healthy Eating post!
“There is no sincerer love than the love of food.” George Bernard Shaw
My first home-cooked healthy meal went pretty all out. As a regular shopper at the local farmer’s markets in Seattle, I’ve over the years developed a huge taste for the Patty Pan stand at the Broadway Farmer’s Market. Their quesadillas have blown me away from the first time I ever tried them, and I’m one of many addicted to the heap of grilled vegetables that are smushed between a thin tortilla and topped with cheese and salsa. Delicious, healthy, pretty affordable, and only available once a week. That last bit was a major dilemma. My somewhat half-assed effort to replicate the famous Patty Pan quesadilla is what prompted my first home cooking experiment.
The Patty Pan Grilled Veggie Quesadilla — $6/whole, $4/half: A mix of seasonal veggies, many local and organic, folded into a tomato tortilla with melted cheese.
We begin with beets. I absolutely love beets, and admittedly had no idea how to cook them. I went to the store and gathered a bag of loose beets of various sizes, and Googled the best way to cook them. For me, this method was boiling on the stove for at least an hour, which is when I discovered that choosing beets of the same size is a wiser idea. Oops, but still, a good chunk of edible, boiled beets ensued.
Next was a lamb roast, stuffed with cloves of garlic, surrounded by heads of raw cauliflower, all covered with spoonfuls of coconut oil, and roasted in the oven for approximately 20 minutes at 350 degrees. The lamb was sizzling and smelling absolutely delicious by that time. Drool.
To complete the meal, I needed some greens to add, so I learned the quickest and (in my opinion) most tasty way to cook greens: steam them. I chopped up an entire bunch of kale and rainbow chard and steamed them on the stove with a handful of spinach and spoonful of coconut oil. In less than 10 minutes, I had a heaping pile of greens, roughly half the size I’d started with after the water disappeared. Still, tasty nonetheless.
To plate the meal, I made a bed of steamed greens (kale, chard, and spinach), placed my prized lamb roast in the center, and placed the cauliflower heads and slices of beats in a circular fashion around the plate. A few golden cherry tomatoes were added for color and flavor.
Suzi Pratt is a Seattle event, food, and travel photographer available for hire. She is also a contributing writer at Digital Photography School and runs a blog teaching others how to start a photography business.
