Dec 5, 2010

A little bit of magic behind blue doors

Yes, my birthday lunch at Per Se this past weekend was a beautiful treat. I could not have asked for anything more. Even though I felt like I waited for this meal forever, I really wasn't sure what to expect. The dining room is small, hushed, and elegant. There is a lovely view of Columbus Circle and Central Park. Everything just feels very personal, notably the menu which was printed with a "Happy Birthday Alice" note and the exceptional service. I decided to be a bit daring and seize this opportunity to shoot my meal in film (since the light was so great in that dining room), and I'm so glad I did. Because I was limited to the few rolls I brought with me, I pretty much had to get each shot just right, and because I couldn't preview my shots, I paid more attention to the meal and experience. (Ok, I will admit that I brought the 5Dmkii as a backup. :P) I thought the Fuji Pro 400H performed excellently for this and I want to shoot more film more than ever now. There really is an inimitable quality that I cannot achieve with my digital images.

I ordered the Tasting of Vegetables (my choices are on the right) but got to sample all of the regular Chef's Tasting Menu dishes anyway (on the left). I'm not going to go into laborious detail over each course (mostly because this post took me over six hours to complete from waiting for film developing to scanning negatives to fixing all the dust/scratches to finally putting together the collage - all worth it, I hope), but I may post a picture of the menus a bit later this week. This post is a bit overwhelming as it is anyway!

Cheese, desserts, coffee and mignardises below.

So...when can I go back?? :D

22 comments :

  1. A great success, it would seem. Nice work.

    And, Happy Birthday (to be?)!

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  2. This is so beautiful, Alice. And I love Fuji Color film though I have only shot with 1 and the rest were done with Kodak BW.

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  3. wow, these photos honestly give me chills! they are so gorgeous, lovely <3

    xoxo

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  4. This is such a gorgeous post! Film was a great bet; the results are awesome. Hope you had a happy birthday!

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  5. Happy belated, Alice!
    I just came back from lunch but I suddenly feel hungry again with those scrumptious pictures :(

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  6. Happy belated birthday! What beautiful photos. I'm so loving your film posts.

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  7. gorgeous, looks like an amazing meal.

    & Happy Birthday :)

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  8. Happy birthday Alice! These pictures are so gorgeous, how come my film photos aren't like yours?

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  9. I'm so jealous!!

    I mean, happy birthday!

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  10. Happy birthday! You're right, there is something magical about these images in film.

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  11. I say =) these pictures are gorgeous and deliciously interesting....now I am very hungry hehe thanks sniff sniff and now sad because I am not eating a lot this coming meal, I am on a diet!! hehe =) but oh well, I can eat these with my eyes rite? kinda...XD hehe maybe not!!!

    love,
    Aida Alvarez

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  12. Happy Be-lated! What a lovely setting for a birthday celebration.

    400H is perfect film, imho. :)

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  13. Awesome pics (esp. the b-day cake) and Happy Birthday!

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  14. looks fantastic! i hope you had a wonderful birthday. mine was saturday and i enjoyed it immensely. =)

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  15. oh yes, a very lovely birthday meal indeed! happy belated birthday alice! gorgeous set of images, although i feel that your digital images are usually processed beautifully and are just as deliciously good as your film images =)

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  16. Happy Birthday Alice, and this place looks amazing. I'll be surprised if they don't knock on your door to buy all these amazing photos!

    xx

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  17. Looks amazing! My wife and I went through a bunch of ny lunch tasting menus and posted about it a few months ago. It's a nice way of doing it without breaking the bank.

    Looking forward to looking through your site!

    Aron
    www.hitherandthither.net

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  18. This makes me want to shoot film! Those tones are gorgeous!! And that food...fohgetabouit! Glad you had a memorable birthday!!

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  19. such a lovely memory to have! love all the shots.

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  20. Fab fab fab fab fab. When I went to Per Se I wasnt really that into food photography and I regret that so much! Beautiful representation. :)

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