Quick Pickles Editorial Photography for Edible East Bay
Quick Pickles, Quick Deadline
Some of my favorite projects happen when there's no time to overthink them. A few years ago, Edible East Bay called with an emergency deadline. They wanted a feature on quick pickles, and there wasn't much time to make it happen. As both the recipe developer and photographer, I had a single day to create the recipes, test the flavor combinations, style every jar, photograph the finished collection, and deliver the images. These fast-paced creative sprints are some of my favorites because they combine everything I love: cooking, food styling, photography, and visual storytelling. The finished project became Pickle It Quick!, a free downloadable recipe booklet that inspires home cooks to preserve the beauty of seasonal produce with simple refrigerator pickles.
The recipe couldn't be easier. Combine 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in a saucepan and bring the brine to a boil. Pack fresh vegetables into clean jars and pour the hot brine over them. Tender vegetables like cucumbers are ready for the hot liquid immediately, while firmer vegetables such as carrots benefit from simmering in the brine for a few minutes before being transferred to the jars. Bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, mustard seeds, fresh herbs, coriander, dill, rosemary, thyme, and chili flakes all become opportunities to create unique flavor combinations. Before long, the studio counters were covered with colorful jars filled with carrots, asparagus, cucumbers, cabbage, onions, peppers, and herbs that looked as beautiful as they tasted. Photographing the collection was every bit as enjoyable as developing the recipes. I wanted each jar to celebrate the brilliant colors and textures of fresh produce. The glass caught the light while floating herbs and spices added movement and detail. Every composition highlighted the simple beauty of preserving seasonal vegetables with everyday ingredients. The result was a collection of images that felt fresh, approachable, and full of color—exactly the feeling we wanted readers to experience when they opened the booklet. Projects like this remind me why I love being both a chef and a photographer. There's something incredibly rewarding about taking an idea from recipe concept to finished publication in a single day. When creativity, cooking, and photography come together under a tight deadline, wonderful things can happen. You can download the Pickle It Quick! recipe booklet from Edible East Bay here:
Pickle It Quick! Recipe Booklet You can also read more about the creative process behind the project in A Photo Editor'sThe Art of the Personal Project series:
The Art of the Personal Project: Judy Doherty
