In the reception area of the Mayor's office there is a big wall dedicated to newspaper editorial cartoons featuring Rob & Doug Ford. The ones from the tabloids are reverential while the ones from the left-learning papers poke fun at his weight and his policies. Good, I thought, the Mayor has a sense of humor.

And he did - the Mayor was quite relaxed considering there was an entire photo studio set up in his waiting room. We talked Etobicoke living and swapped business cards (sans the Brett Easton Ellis undertones) and I have kept that card in my wallet for the last few months. Not as a souvenir, but because Rob Ford is the kind of Mayor you could call up any day of the week and get some things sorted out in your neighbourhood. Potholes, garbage collection times, dangerous overhanging tree branches. I can see why he got elected. Populism one-on-one is a pretty remarkable thing.

Photo Editor: Daniel Neuhaus

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Things I learned while shooting some of this country's most successful investors, all first hand of course:

"A monkey throwing darts can pick stocks as good as anyone."

"If someone tells you they know how the market is going to trend, they are a liar."

"Investing has nothing to do with numbers, it's psychology."

I also learned that Hank Paulson is apparently an a-hole, and the head of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, almost single-handedly brought about the 2008 financial crisis and should be in jail. 

Thanks to Clare Jordan and Domenic Macri for the excellent assignment.

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Styling: Eshun Mott

Props: Martine Blackhurst

Art Direction, Beer and Pastries: Colleen Nicholson

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With the wonderfully talented Christopher St. Onge.

Martine Blackhurst props.

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Some days are far weirder than others. Shortly after our Canadian Thanksgiving celebration back in October, I came face to face with this ornery red head. Very few people like having their picture taken, and turkeys are no exception. Maybe it was the studio surroundings, or the long drive from the farm. Maybe he sensed that only a few short days before I had brined, stuffed and roasted to perfection one of his distant relatives.

Guessing the inner monologue of a turkey is a fool's task, but it is safe to say this 35-pound beast was not down with sitting still. No amount of being chased around the studio was going to tire him out.You can bribe kids with high-fructose promises. You can melt the vain by complementing their clothes. You can even bait and switch the tightest intellectual mind by talking about their collection of old German cars. But with turkeys, all you can do is wait, cross your fingers, and press the shutter.

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Part I: Chefs

I had the pleasure of photographing a few of Toronto's more intriguing chefs for this year's Eating & Drinking Guide. A very interesting group of people doing some great work in the kitchen. Some of these ran in the issue, and some are outtakes.

Hemant Bhagwani

Amaya

Devin Connell

Delica Kitchen

David Neinsten

Barque Smokehouse

Dustin Gallagher

Grace

Anthony Rose

The Drake

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Last June, I travelled to Jamaica to photograph a story for enRoute's annual food issue. I met writer Adam Gollner and his lovely girlfriend Natasha at the airport, and for the next six days we ate our way across the north coast of the island, looking for authentic Jamaican road food. And we found it, from jerk chicken push carts, to Mama's homemade fish tea to backyard patties cooked over the fire. Adam does a much better job describing the trip, you can read it here.

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I'm happy to announce that my film 75 Watts, about drummer Matt Giordano, is an official selection for this year's New Orleans Film Festival. After winning Best Documentary at Palm Springs and not being in attendance (which mortified both me and my Mom) I'm happy to say editor Paul Proulx and I will be going down for the screening. If you happen to be in town, come join us!

Friday October 15th, 4:00pm

Prytania Theatre

5339 Prytania Street

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A shoot from this past weekend's Globe and Mail style section. A modern take on Thanksgiving dinner.

Recipes: Heather Shaw

Props: Martine Blackhurst

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The latest issue marks the magazine's 15th anniversary, and I was happy to be a part of a few stories, including the cover, the cupcake special, a whole bunch of portraits and the Baby Guide. We got to light things on fire, hang out in various parks, eat an unhealthy amount of cupcakes, and have an impromptu studio breakdance party all over a few days in the summer.

Congrats to Jenn, Jeff, Colleen, Shannon and the rest of the Canadian Family crew!

Styling & Props: Shannon Phillips

Cupcakes:

Food Styling: Claire Stubbs

Props: Martine Blackhurst

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Some more fun conceptual work for the good people at Glow.

Art Direction: Jessica Hotson

Food Styling: Ashley Denton

Props: Martine Blackhurst

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The latest issue of Food & Wine has a recipe by Nikole Herriott, friend and driving force behind Herriott Grace. She had been asked by the magazine to provide them with a recipe, and we decided to make a nice image to accompany it. The magazine liked it so much they decided to run it. Here are some outtakes from the shoot as well.

The recipe is fantastic - Halibut and summer vegetables en papillote.

Styling: Nikole Herriott

Props: Martine Blackhurst

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During yesterday's shoot, we had to photograph a raw prime rib. Once that was done, Ashley Denton decided to throw it in the oven with a bit of salt, and this is what came out an hour later. Happy long weekend!

Food styling: Ashley Denton

Prop Styling: Martine Blackhurst

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Juicy homemade burgers. A personal favourite, and once the weather turns warm in these parts, a staple weekday dinner at the Cullen household. The latest issue of House & Home has a story we shot back in April highlighting a number of tasty recipes that take burgers to another level. Many thanks to Ashley, Amy and Stacey.

Food Editor: Amy Rosen

Food Styling: Ashley Denton

Prop Styling: Stacey Smithers

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The series of cake shots I did with Nikole Herriott was included in this year's Communication Arts Photo Annual.

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Great news on the motion front:  75 Watts won BEST DOCUMENTARY at the Palm Springs Short Film Fest! It was a very pleasant surprise

and many thanks to my partner in all this, Paul Proulx, the devastatingly supportive ladies at Stealing Time, our friends at Saatchi and of course, the TSFC. 

Checkout other films about Tourettes at the @random project.

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A recent shoot for Canadian Family. It was a three-day bonanza, filled with lots of kids, popsicles, mountains of clothing and props,and a specially-designed brick wall we had installed in the studio, and then painted blue. Many thanks to Arren Williams and the Canadian Family team for making our type of controlled chaos work as smoothly as possible.

Set design & Props: Arren Williams

Wardrobe: Shannon Phillips

Food styling: LeeAnne Wright

Art Director: Jeff Hannaford

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A few images from Glow's most recent issue. I made the ceviche a few days after the shoot, and it's a brilliantly simple recipe. 

Food Styling: Ashley Denton

Prop Styling: Martine Blackhurst

Art Direction: Jackie Shipley

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Some new work in the May issue of House and Home, all shot in studio with the multi-talented Joel Bray.

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