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"The Photography of Modernist Cuisine"

Twyst

By Twyst
in Cookbooks & References

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Twyst

Twyst

Posted
Posted (edited)

Third book coming from NathanM in as many years, though this is the first one solely credited to him. This thing is going to be HUUUUUGE as its reported to be 60% larger than the original tomes.

http://modernistcuisine.com/2013/05/announcing-our-new-book-the-photography-of-modernist-cuisine/

The crazy kids over at Modernist Cuisine are up to their old tricks, announcing they'll release a third book in October: The Photography of Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold. The book will contain 399 photos from their previous project, 145 of which will be "full-bleed across one or two full pages." And those pages will be huge, 60% larger than the original Modernist Cuisine at 26 inches by 16.3 inches. It will be printed on LumiSilk 200 gsm art paper, and while it won't contain any recipes, it will have back stories to how the photographs were achieved.

http://eater.com/archives/2013/05/22/nathan-myhrvold-releasing-art-book-the-photography-of-modernist-cuisine-this-fall.php

Edited by Twyst (log)
Twyst

Twyst

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Sounds cool, but I want another cook book from them!

I would as well. I think Id really like one on baking and pastry this time around as I really don't know much about that stuff.

The photo album will definitely have a spot on my coffee table though.

Merkinz

Merkinz

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'll definitely pass. Not interested at all, wish he had a new cook book out.

I agree, I bought the MC and MCAH but this is where I bow out. If i want to look at pictures of food I'll just pick up one of the books I already have :)

Edited by Merkinz (log)
rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

Im hoping my local library system will get at least one copy of this book so I can take a peak at it.

they have 4 copies of the Tomes ( library reserve use ) and many individual libraries have the @ home, 25 to be exact, which is pretty good I think.

sigma

sigma

Posted
Posted

They are so much better with photographs than flavors that I see this as playing to their core competencies.

thayes1c

thayes1c

Posted
Posted

I'm going to put this one in the "utterly dispensible" column. I've got MC and jumped to get MCAH, but my enthusiasm has waned (along with my disposable income... Darn baby.)

Keith_W

Keith_W

Posted
Posted

I predict that this book will be the same as Modernist Cuisine. Just as many of the recipes in MC are inaccessible to the average cook because specialist equipment or ingredients are required (LN2, centrifuge, CVAP ovens, etc) ... this book will probably call for equipment that is not available to the average photographer.

There is no love more sincere than the love of food - George Bernard Shaw
rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted (edited)

but that's not cuisine. Its not on your plate.

but true enough: 1/10,000 of a second he said is all he needed for those cut off.

a video of one BBQ cut would be worth the price.

Edited by rotuts (log)
  • 2 weeks later...
Keith_W

Keith_W

Posted
Posted (edited)

But this isn't a textbook on photography!

Do you have an advance copy in your possession or have you heard something I haven't?

If I were to speculate, I would say it is a book about the techniques they used to take those photos.

Why? Why would someone want to buy a book of food photographs with no recipes?

Someone who is interested in food photography, perhaps? Edited by Keith_W (log)
There is no love more sincere than the love of food - George Bernard Shaw
PSmith

PSmith

Posted
Posted

But this isn't a textbook on photography!

Do you have an advance copy in your possession or have you heard something I haven't?

If I were to speculate, I would say it is a book about the techniques they used to take those photos.

Looks like it is just a book of photos

"We didn’t want to add captions on the images that would distract from their impact, so we have instead included a chapter in the back of the book that presents some short but interesting backstory for each photo."

http://www.thecriticalcouple.co.uk

Latest blog post - Oh my - someone needs a spell checker

rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

If like some details on how they cut things in 1/2 and got the stuff to stay in for 1 / 10,000 of a sec.

esp. the charcoal.

I sure hope one library in my lib.sys gets one.

  • 3 months later...
OliverB

OliverB

Posted
Posted

I'm a photographer (among other things) so I'm definitely gonna take a look at this. From what I read it's not just a photo album (would not buy that) but it shows how they took those stunning and way different photos, with setup, lights, etc. If that's true, it would be a well worth it's money addition for me, I love the photos in all the other books, best food porn ever created IMO.

If you're not into photography, it's probably pretty useless and way too expensive to have sitting on the coffee table, stick with the cook books then :-)

"And don't forget music - music in the kitchen is an essential ingredient!"

- Thomas Keller

Diablo Kitchen, my food blog

Todd in Chicago

Todd in Chicago

Posted
Posted

Well boom-chaka-laka....

My copy has landed!

Well it looks like perhaps the price went up. If I remember correctly, I put in my pre-order the day it was announced and available for pre-order at Amazon (US). I paid $89 from Amazon and now the price at Amazon is $103. Wow....

My opinion, this book probably has a limited market. Who would buy this book?

So depending on the price you got, it's roughly $90 - $104. The book really is a coffee table book of pictures with pretty much no text. Some double-page spreads. So who would buy this book? Would someone who likes food photography buy this book? Maybe.

Would someone who wants to learn how to take great food photography pictures buy this book? If they did, they would probably be disappointed for $90-$104 since it's really a picture book with a few pages at the end about high-level equipment and techniques. And remember what most of the pictures in modernist cuisine look like, they are not your typical plated dish pics, but rather extraordinary pictures of ingredients and equipment.

So who would buy this book?

Someone like me. :-) I guess I'm a collector. I have 1 of the first 500 copies of Modernist Cuisine shipped to the states, and probably the same for Modernist Cuisine at home. I'm guessing also probably of this photography book. Funny thing is, I put in my pre-order of Modernist Cuisine when I didn't even have a job, hoping that I would get one before it shipped, or I would have to cancel. I was a believer. Lucky for me it worked out.

I have no qualms about getting this book; because I really enjoyed what Nathan did with Modernist Cuisine and the follow-up of Modernist Cuisine at Home. I also enjoy photography, and in particular food photography, or probably more appropriately, pictures of food!

The book is full of really great pictures of the pictures you have seen and would expect to see in Modernist Cuisine, and I think two others (and iceberg and a modernist building). The last 15 or so pages is devoted to equipment and how they created some of these pictures. Granted, some of these techniques may be in some other food photography books, but remember when you are a millionaire or billionaire, you may be able to do things a wee bit differently.

One thing that really surprised me was the size of the actual book. This mutha is BIG and heavy! When I retrieved the package from our doorman, it was the size of a smaller carry on luggage! Granted of course the crazy amount of packing and materials. Seriously, if you are considering purchasing, review the dimensions, it is much larger than the other books. This is perhaps the biggest book I have ever seen and is absolutely the biggest book we own, regardless of content. It's silly large.

Overall, I'm glad to have it in my collection. If you love the photographs in the Modernist Cuisine books, well then you'll probably love this book. Food porn for a large coffee table. I give it two thumbs up, but as I mentioned I think this has a limited market, but I'm in that demographic.

I bought this book because I'm a believer.

YMMV....

Todd in Chicago

OliverB

OliverB

Posted
Posted

thanks for your review! I think I'll pass on it, if there's little about how they took the photos. Are there new photos, or is it mostly those I already have in the cook books? If there is a lot of new content I might reconsider. Even if the size is a bit large for me.

The pricing jumped around with MC at the beginning too, from discounted to list to something else. Not sure why that is. I won't order it at full price, that's for sure.

Their photos are really stunning in so many ways, I'm sure I'd enjoy having it, enjoy!

"And don't forget music - music in the kitchen is an essential ingredient!"

- Thomas Keller

Diablo Kitchen, my food blog

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