Every time we do a double issue we feel like we need a break. But with the July issue, one of our biggest of the year, we feel like we need a week off. (Some of us are actually taking it.) For our cover story, The Life of Ryan – a profile on local forager Ryan Maher – I wanted him to be photographed outdoors. The story was shot over several months in order for photographer Greg Rannells to get a chance to shoot him in several different situations – after all, on any given day Maher can be found trolling through the forests, sloshing through a local river or on the line in any of a slew of area restaurant kitchens – which meant we had a ton of great outdoor cover options to choose from. This being the July issue, however, we needed the cover to feel like summertime, which took many beautiful options out of the running because they were shot in early spring. So, we decided on something that was bright and summery that we hoped would catch the reader’s eye.
For the Readers’ Choice insert cover, I wanted to shoot Farmhaus’ Kevin Willmann (He won big in this year’s poll, most notably being named Chef of the Year.). A while back, I went to Farmhaus for lunch and got the chance to go to the backyard to meet his dogs who have the fortunate day jobs of hanging out back there in the shade all day while Willmann and the Farmhaus crew slave away in the kitchen. I told myself then that if we ever need to shoot Willmann in the future, he should be out here with these two big, shaggy, four-legged members of his family (Zoe at left, and Buckley, right.) having a bite to eat. And that’s exactly what we got. It was perfect.
– Photo by Greg Rannells
This article appears in Jul 1-31, 2011.
