Browsing Tag

photography

Anthony Ricciardi On Immersive Art Exhibits

Anthony Ricciardi is a well-known artist who hosted an exhibit called Dream Space at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto. I had a chance to meet him at a charity dinner and hear his hot take on all the Instagram museums and immersive exhibits that have been popping up.

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Movie Review: Teenage Paparazzo

Adrian+Grenier+Austin+Visschedyk

Photo Source: Zimbio

After Entourage star Adrian Grenier met Austin Visschedyk, he convinced the teenage paparazzo to film a documentary with him about celebrity culture. Watching Teenage Paparazzo (2010) allows you to explore the parasocial relationships between celebrities and fans, which refers to fans’ disillusion that they know celebrities like they know their friends when really there is a one-way relationship. Without it, there would be less demand for celebrity gossip and photos.

The movie comprehensively captures the dynamic between celebrities and fans, as well as between celebrities and the paparazzi. To achieve this, Adrian interviewed academics and authors as well as well-established paparazzi and celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Eva Longoria. But most of the movie focuses on Austin, a self-assured teenager who invests in the best camera equipment to capture celebrities.

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Winery Caters To Food Photographers

Photo Source: Carmel Winery

Photo Source: Carmel Winery

There are many tutorials on the web to help you develop your food photography skills, but don’t you wish you could have one-on-one training? If you want to combine your Instagram obsession with a lust for travel, then you’re in luck! Now there’s a special restaurant in Israel where someone will teach you at your table.

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Behind The Brand: Jack Astor’s

Jack Astor's Jason Headshot

Name: Jason Cassidy

Position: Community Manager

Education: Political Science and Journalism, St. Thomas University; Professional Communication, Ryerson University

Professional role model: 

Amanda Nelson was my supervisor at Radian6. Similar to myself, she began as a journalist and turned those foundational skills of writing, editing and storytelling into an up-and-coming role based on content creation and management. I admire her because of what I learned under her guidance, but I also really aspire to work in a similar role.

Hot On The Street - Jack Astor's Cluckin' Fresh Chicken Fingers

In 140 characters or less, why should Canadians eat and drink at Jack Astor’s?

Jack Astor’s offers delicious food in a fun, unpretentious setting served by a team of infectiously energetic and pleasant people.

Which menu items do you recommend for first-time customers?

Without hesitation, the Holy Smoke BBQ Burger or The 10oz South American top sirloin steak. Insider tip: order the Jack’d n Stack’d garlic cheese fries on the side!

What do you love about Jack Astor’s food?

About 95% of the menu is made in-house. The Cluckin’ Fresh Chicken Fingers, for example, begin as a boneless, skinless chicken breast. They are then massaged for 2 minutes, chopped and breaded twice for extra crunch. Fresh is best and I don’t think we do a good enough job of communicating that—myself included!

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How Gastropost Unites Food Lovers

After hearing speakers from Mondelez and Starbucks at QMAC, I started thinking about how fun it would be to promote food and drinks as your day job. Chris Tindal, co-founder of Postmedia Labs, does the next best thing; he oversees the operations of Gastropost.

Since Gastropost’s Toronto launch in May 2012, it has expanded to Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary, and it now has over 10,000 members. Recognizing its success, I was excited to hear Tindal speak about the content strategy behind Gastropost’s growth. Tindal explained that his team’s goal is to inspire people to love their city by encouraging community members to share their expertise.

Gastropost

Gastropost offers anyone with an internet connection and camera the opportunity to share pictures of food with a large audience. The main incentive to participate in Gastropost’s weekly missions is the chance to see your name and photo in National Post. Each mission has a different theme, such as holiday treats or Father’s Day BBQs. Some themes are created based on brand partnerships between Gastropost and CPG brands, such as Kraft.

Anyone can become a self-proclaimed foodie. Gastropost, however, differentiates amateur food photographers by featuring a selection of food lovers online and in the newspaper every week. 50 likes on your Facebook photo of a fancy appetizer doesn’t qualify as a claim to fame in the same way that being in the National Post does.

Gastropost proves that print newspapers still have value, authority and credibility. There’s no doubt about how exciting it is for a photo of your dinner to be featured in one of Canada’s most popular newspapers. Even though Gastropost doesn’t offer any monetary compensation, the personal validation members receive is evidently sufficient motivation to keep the #gastropost hashtag and community alive. “Every week we send people an email to do something and they do it,” said Tindal. How many email marketers can say that?

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