With a camera, that is. This isn't a Mafioso style shooting but a photo which portrays the life of a chef. I have my wishlist for who I would like to photograph. One prominent Wollongong chef has already been contacted and I have some creative ideas starting to flow, backdrop and lighting plans  already forming.

Whilst I wait with baited breath for their decision, I have decided to do some research and look through some of the past finalists and winners.  Wow. What amazing artists. It is going to be so difficult to create a unique image when there has been such creativity and innovation in previous years.  I had thought about using the clone technique where you photograph the one person in the same scene multiple times. Set the camera on a tripod and take a sequence of photographs of the person with the background the same for each shot, then merge the images into one seamless image. Unfortunately for me, there are a few such images in the galleries of Shoot the Chef finalists, including the one below by Sydney College of the Arts, Master of Documentary Photography candidate Niobe Syme with her picture Eight Yings Make Light Work.

 winner of the Sydney Morning Herald 2008 Shoot the Chef student prize (trip for two to Europe)

"Symes says, "Ying Tam and I shared a few hours one August day, in between guests and staff shift changes, creating the Shoot the Chef image 'Eight Yings Make Light Work'. We had taken quite different pictures at the front of the restaurant earlier on (with amused diners observing), but it was the nuances of available and reflected light in the kitchen, our growing rapport and Ying's playful mood by the end of the lunch period that seemed to best capture his passion for fresh, sublime and dimensional food, as well as the overarching responsibility in running a kitchen and restaurant.""

Image: Niobe Syme, Eight Yings Make Light Work, Image of Ying Tam, Restauranteur/Chef of Ying's Seafood Restaurant, Pacific Highway, Crows Nest.

(Source: University of Sydney, Collage of the Arts, url: http://www.usyd.edu.au/sca/about/news_events/2008/shoot_the_chef.shtml)

Another powerful image which drew me in was Pour Some Sugar on Me by Will Petersen, Student winner in 2004. Incorporating food into the photo is another common theme but this one is done in such a quirky way and looks almost painful.

I loved the description of the process for making this amazing photograph:

The chef and I were talking about different ways to present food and came up with the spun sugar idea together. I told him "I'm ready whenever you are", so he started heating up the pot with the sugar in it and got a wooden spoon and a fork. He'd pull out the melted sugar and whisk it around the wooden spoon, pull the sugar straight off the spoon and put it on his head. I think he got a bit sick of it after an hour. 

(Source: SMH.com.au url: http://www.smh.com.au/ftimages/2004/10/04/1096871806678.html )

"The Last Resort". Again this year we entered the SMH's 2005 Shoot the Chef competition.

The photo was a bit of fun, and thankfully Chef David Allison skills in the kitchen are superior to those portrayed in this photo.

And a very inspiring image Cupcake couture by Anton Perry, professional winner in 2005

"There are 478 cupcakes in the dress. Simmone [Logue, the subject] made them all, of course. The flowers - roses and gerberas, mainly - were all fresh. We bought them from the markets at 5am, so we had to move quickly to take the shot so they wouldn't look too frowzy.

We started off with a Barbie theme, but ended up with a more elegant look. The top's from Opera Australia - it's a costume top. I sourced the jewellery from a wedding boutique. The "skirt" took about three hours to build. It was an exercise in putting a lot of beautiful elements together to explore the idea of femininity."

(Source: SMH.com.au http://www.smh.com.au/news/good-living/shoot-the-chef/2005/10/03/1128191632261.html )

What an amazing image!