Q & A with Photographer Todd Selby

 

Q. Tell us about your new book?

Q. How do you pick who you want to be your subjects?

A. I think they should be doing something interesting with their food, what they’re making, and what they’re doing professionally. But it’s also about their space, because I’m inspired by peoples’ spaces.

Q. When you say their space, do you mean their work space?

A. Both, work and home. A lot of them are home kitchens and a lot of them are their workspaces too. When I was doing the food book, I conscientiously avoided stainless steel kitchens and florescent lights and people just chopping vegetables.

Q. That’s pretty hard to do to avoid.

A. It is hard to do that. But it’s kind of cliché and I think it’s quite boring. It was also very stressful when I got the book deal and decided to do it and I had nightmares. Oh God, I’m going to suck doing that. I tried to find places that really felt handmade and crafted and with a lot of integrity, places people get inspired by.

Q. Was fame a part of it at all when you were picking people?

A. If anything, it’s kind of a turn off to me. There are some people that are really well known that I really want to represent in the book, if they’re doing something really special. But I definitely avoided doing things just because someone was famous or someone was on television. It’s kind of a bonus that people don’t know them.

A few subjects in the book:

Mallorca | Sa Foradada

He’s a paella master in Mallorca, Spain. You’ve got to either take a boat or hike for an hour and a half to get there. He’s like this old man by the sea kind of thing that the locals know about.

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Italy | L'Osteria Senz'Oste

In English, a rough translation is the inn without an innkeeper and that’s in Italy. It’s about an hour and a half outside of Venice in the hills where they grow prosecco. The idea of that place is that it’s kind of like this rustic farmhouse where you go and there’s literally no one there. You help yourself to prosecco and local cheeses, sausage and bread and eggs. You have kind of a picnic. There’s a price list and you just leave money in a piggy bank, so it’s an honor system.

[See details.]

Denmark | Noma

It was incredible! I had read so much about it that I wanted to do it. I also wanted to do it in a different way than other people have before. So I also shot the research institute that René Redzepi started called the Nordic Food Lab. That’s also a chapter in the book, so you can kind of see some of the research that they’re doing there and learn more about that because it’s really interesting stuff they’re doing. The meal there was incredible.

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Tips | Food Photography

Please don’t use a flash. That just makes everyone mad and makes all the chefs and everyone in the restaurant hate you. It’s not going to make it look any better. The cameras in the phones are getting better, so hopefully in year or two you won’t need your flash and it’ll look good. You just slap a filter on there, Instagram it and you’re set.

Eat | Restaurants

Brooklyn | Saltie

I love their sandwiches. It’s another kind of a hole in the wall spot that does amazing sandwiches. The ladies there are so funny. I love them. They’re cool. I go so often that I try to always get the specials. I love their lassis, they are amazing. I always get those.

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Eat | Airport Dining

Newark International Airport | Garden State Diner

I spend a lot of time in airports. When I’m at Newark Airport, I go to Garden State. I love getting an omelette here. I go to Newark and eat a giant omelette. No matter what time of day it is, I get on a plane and pass out. It’s kind of like my favorite thing.

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Tokyo | Tokyu Hands

My favorite shop in the world. It’s a department store in Shibuya and they sell everything that you could ever want. There’s stationery, painting stuff, bags, bikes, everything from Japan. So I just go there and I go crazy. That’s my stop. I bring back an extra bag full of stuff from there every time I go.

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Slowear

They’re from Italy and I’ve been really getting into their stuff. They do shirts and pants. It’s really soft and nice. You can wear it all the time and travel in it, but it also looks nice and it’s really well made.

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Find | Hotels

Tulum | Coqui Coqui

We go there all the time. It’s kind of our home away from home. There is great food around there and it’s just right on the beach. It is across the street from Hartwood Restaurant, which is on the cover of my book.

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Eat | Restaurants

London | Towpath Café

It’s open during the warmer months. It’s just so cute. It’s like a little hole in the wall right on the canal. The people there are great and they make amazing food. It’s just a really great atmosphere.

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Drink | Coffee

SFMoMa | Blue Bottle on the Roof

It’s a real find, a real gem. All the pastry there is inspired by the artwork in the permanent collection. They have a Mondrian Cake and they have Jeff Koon’s gold plated cappuccino. It’s really cool and a great spot. People know Blue Bottle, but a lot of people don’t know about this special place.

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Details

Details of photographer Too Selby’s recommendations for where to eat, drink and shop in Brooklyn, Newark, San Francisco, London, Tulum and Japan.

City Guides

- NYC | Manhattan: Download

- NYC | Brooklyn: Download

- San Francisco, CA: Download

- London, UK: Download

Photographer’s 6 Things | Around The World

Find | Food Shops

Brooklyn | Dépanneur

I like to get stuff from here and make my own food to go to the airport. I don’t like to eat airplane food so I bring my own. This is a great place to pick up things.

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