Paso Robles, California | September 1, 2008
For Immediate Release

Syl Arena, a commercial photographer and blogger, officially pulled the covers off his newest project - a workshop program that will offer courses in and around Paso Robles on photography, food and wine. “Thanks to the national attention that our wineries have earned, Paso Robles has become a popular destination for wine enthusiasts. Likewise, we have so many amazing restaurants and charming places to stay.” Syl said. “It’s only natural that there’s a growing interest in educational-tourism on the central coast.”

Click here to read the entire announcement.

There’s now another great reason to head down to Main Street in Templeton. Griff’s Pizzeria & Bistro is serving up hand-crafted pizzas seven nights a week. You’ll find an amazing selection of toppings, including: Black Forest ham, roasted chicken, artichoke hearts, blue cheese crumbles, dried cranberries…

My long-time friend, Jim Griffin opened Griff’s in July. Prior to that, he served as Director of Hospitality at Edna Valley Vineyard. So, you can rest assured that you’ll also find a great list of wines and beers from around the world.

Beyond pizza, Griff’s serves up garden-fresh salads (literally… the herbs come from Jim’s garden), pastas and more. If you’re an early-bird, you’ll find Jim cruising the Templeton Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings looking for farm-fresh ingredients that he can use in daily specials. I taste-tested several entrees recently and can vouch that beautiful and tasty new dinner items are headed for the menu soon.

You’ll find Griff’s at 105 S. Main Street on the same side of the road as Templeton Feed, about two blocks north of McPhee’s Grill. Griff’s is open for dinner seven nights a week and lunch on weekdays. Give them a call on 434-1760.

My involvement (beyond loving great pizza) was to design the Griff’s menu, website, business cards, table markers…

This afternoon, while working on an article about food photography for my main blog, PixSylated, I came upon an interesting web video. Cottage Living magazine came to Paso to do a vineyard food and wine shoot with Ed. Although I had nothing to do with the shoot, it’s too good not to share.

Click on the photo above to watch the video. Click here to learn more about Ed’s great wines.

Those who are familiar with my work know that I have photographed a number of homes for members of the Paso Robles Vacation Rental group. For Paradise Ranch, the commission was to create a series of magazine-quality images that capture the beautiful spaces that Nancy has created in The Cottage. The shoot took place over three days with the exterior and pool shots happening at dusk.

Above: The living area features suede-covered armchairs, a nap-worthy couch, large-screen TV and a gas fireplace.
Below: The gourmet-quality kitchen is the perfect place to prepare your own wine-country meals.

The master bedroom, above, is decorated in a tropical theme and features a king-size bed.
The master bath, below, offers a romantic Jacuzzi tub for two and a separate, dual-headed shower.

The guest bedroom, below, has a queen-sized bed with an adjoining tub-shower combo.

Nearby, guests will find the swimming pool and large spa.

Click here to go to the the Paradise Ranch website. If you are interested in learning how my photography can help you market your property, give me a call on 226-2794.

Officially, the Business Expo is an opportunity for the public to meet the many members of our local Chamber of Commerce. Unofficially, the Expo is a chance for a couple thousand people to cut out of work early so they can walk and talk while sipping great local wine and chowing tasty hors d’oeuvres. I was delighted to catch up with a whole bunch of old friends and to make many new friends.

Rather than talk about my photography, I set up my booth as a mini-studio and shot impromptu portraits. To show the power and speed of digital photography, I tethered my camera into my laptop with a long cable. After just a couple of seconds, the pix would come up on my studio monitor for all to see. And thus was the humble beginnings of my virtual photo booth. Click here to see the online gallery.

It was a hoot both behind the camera and in front of the lens. Unlike the cramped photo booths of yesteryear, my setup had no curtain – and thus was open to the cat calls of all passersby. So, if you’re hosting an event and would like to have me run my virtual photo booth for your guests, give me a call. It’s half entertainment and half souvenir.

Note to the brave and adventurous at the Expo: if you see your photo in the gallery and have not yet received a copy by email, send me a message via the email link to the left. Just tell me the gray frame number from the gallery and I’ll send it out.

These days, I mostly create images for people who have things to sell — food, flowers, wine, a unique place to stay and so on. Every once in a while, I come upon an inspiring scene that just catches my eye — like the juice-stained hands of my youngest son Tony holding fresh-picked strawberries. Making images like this takes me back to the magic I experienced nearly 40 years ago up in that orange tree.

It’s a privilege to work as a photographer. Contrary to the expectations of many, there is no glamor (at least not in my end of the biz). My reality is loads of hard work, many long days, lots of heavy gear, technology that keeps changing, legions of neophyte shooters entering the industry and… the opportunity to be a communicator of behalf of others. It’s the satisfaction of doing meaningful work as a communicator (assisted periodically by a couple of Advil) that keeps me moving forward.

Several months earlier, to convince Amy that Paso was really where we should move our young family, I took her to McPhee’s Grill in Templeton. The next day we toured Eberle Winery. Inspired by the grass-covered hills, the great food, the refreshing wine, the total lack of all things metropolitan and (perhaps) a few days away from our two young boys, Amy quickly shared my enthusiasm for the area.

Paso Robles is a great little hometown — even today when it’s harder to find a parking space downtown after 8:00pm than it is to find a place to get dinner.