NY Cake Convention!

OK, so I read about the NY Cake Convention on Twitter and had this idea... In keeping up with my cake documentary... why not see if I can get access to photograph it. Now, this was a complete shot in the dark... but why not try, right?

So I looked on the "Contact us" page and emailed every single person on it! I explained the photo/cake work I have been doing and sent a link to my photography site as well as this blog. Someone had to be interested. And someone was!

Hello Lauren,

We would love to have you participate in the NY Cake Convention as one of the event photographers. Send me your mailing information and I will have a media kit sent out to you. Included in the kit is an event pass which would give you access to all areas of the convention.

I look forward to your response.

I can't even explain how excited I am! This is going to be HUGE! I can not wait to document "Cake Culture". I already bought my tickets to get in, as well as see the cake competition, but now maybe I can actually go up on stage and photograph the competitors!

Cakeumentary

Some of my recent photo work combined with sounds of the baking and decorating process.

This is a work in progress. The finished product will be on display I believe sometime in March or April. I will update as I know more.



So here's the story behind this...

As most of you know, I am also a photographer. I have always preferred to shoot food and that is what has motivated me to start my baking business.

I have always loved to bake and have been doing so since I was about 4 years old with my aunt. She always taught me that the prettier the dessert looks, the more people will want it. We used to have an "reject" pile of cookies around the holidays just for us and we always gave all the pretty ones away.

That school of thought has stayed with me all these years. When I have company I make sure everything is plated well. When I bake a cake, I make sure it is decorated well. I pay great attention to detail because sometimes it's the smallest details that matter the most.

So I took everything I know about baking, and everything I know about photography, and put the two together, added some sound... and POOF! Magic.

Ok, maybe not "Magic", but my goal is to shed some light on the whole cake decorating process. With so many shows out there, like Ace of Cakes, Cake Boss, and Amazing Wedding Cakes... a lot of viewers get to see how a cake is decorated. But what they often don't get to see, or see enough of anyway, is all the work that happens before the fondant can be applied. The hours in the kitchen to bake all the cakes and make the frosting. Especially home bakers like myself.

I feel like today, with so many cake shows out there, cake decorating is finally taking it's place in the art world. I am trying to give it a push by creating my own edible art and producing documentary photographic art combined with sounds to further enhance the viewers experience.

I am also trying to get the message out there that it is possible to create incredible cakes in your own home kitchen. I live in a small NY apartment. I only have one oven. I only have one 6 quart mixer. I only have one counter. If I can do it... anyone can.