Andrea Johnson Photography

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October 24, 2018

Wine harvest romance vs reality – could you keep up?

An update from Salud 2018 auction – it was record a breaking auction and season raising $1,055,000 to provide healthcare and outreach services to the hardworking men and women of Oregon’s vineyards!  Here’s a copy of the edited video played during the auction

 

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I’ve spent more time in the vineyards with the hard working Hispanic crews for the past 15 year than capturing any other aspect of winemaking. And I’m constantly humbled, amazed, and inspired by the skill, speed, pride and dedication in their work which is both physically and mentally challenging, especially during the long days of harvest. Winemakers and aficionados know that great wine is made in the vineyard, and without great fruit and workers we wouldn’t have high quality wine that is an unique expression of the land – especially important for terroir driven pinot noir.

In the toughest of conditions the crews have welcomed me to document their work in close proximity with warm smiles, laughter and admirable hospitality. This year I decided to add an extra challenge by running alongside them with a small image stabilized camera. Only for short bursts of time could I attempt to keep up – they are paid by the bucket and really hustle running with five gallon buckets of grapes each weighing 18-22 pounds, up and down steep vineyard slopes!

This is my tribute to the crews that work tirelessly in the vineyards during harvest.

I hope you’ll join me in supporting ¡Salud! | The Oregon Pinot Noir Auction, whose proceeds provide preventative, clinical, dental healthcare to seasonal workers who may not otherwise have access…. although the auction is sold out this year you can still donate here: https://saludauction.org/contribute/

A special thanks to the crews at Patricia Green Cellars (featured workers JC Chencho Juarez, Miguel Alva & José Pacheco), the Results Partners teams (overseen by Daniel Fey and Rob Schultz) at Résonance and Fairsing vineyards (featured workers at the bins Joel Elias Flores and his father Don Isidro, 76 years old), and the countless workers whose names I couldn’t capture, and to Robert Holmes working in collaboration capturing these slow motion clips, finessing the edit, and in joining me each dawn to capture this footage. #wvharvest2018

Pinot Noir harvest at Fairsing Vineyard, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Harvest at Fairsing Vineyard, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Willamette Valley Vineyard pinot noir harvest, Oregon

JC – Chencho Juarez with bin of pinot noir at Patricia Green Cellars Oregon

Don Isidro, 76 years old, managing fruit bin quality control at Fairsing Vineyard, Oregon

Filed Under: Aerial Photography, Agriculture & Food, Video & Multimedia, Wine, Writing samples

December 10, 2017

Vietnam – food & photography as the ultimate connectors into intimate cultural experiences

Every time I share this story of Sa Mei and myself meeting in 2007, and coincidentally reuniting in 2017 I’m amazed and inspired by the power of photography to connect.  Sa Mei is a member of the Red Dao hill tribe and lives in a small village about a days walk outside of Sapa, Northern Vietnam.  We had met her in 2007 on the trail, and I was taken by her warm smile and welcoming face, asking her to pose for a photograph. We only had about 30 minutes to connect, and limited English to communicate initially but she made an impact on me and I saved her photo on my phone.

Photo of myself with Sa Mei in 2017, holding photo I took in 2007 saved on my iPhone

In 2017, we were back in the same area leading a small group of photographers on a tour when we happened to run into Sa Mae on the trail.  As you can see from the two photographs, she looks nearly identical, but I wasn’t sure it was her until I pulled up her portrait on my phone to compare.  When I approached her and shared this portrait she was of course surprised and I’m sure uncertain of who I was, then nearly began to cry as she examined the photograph and we began to share memories of this encounter.

Portrait of Sa Mei in 2007 & 2017, a Red Dao hill tribe women near Sapa, Vietnam

Sa Mei and I shared stories of our lives the past decade (she has become more fluent in English with the influx of tourism & in fact speaks 4 languages), and we discovered that we were the same age though have led very different lives.  As she walked along the trail with our group I learned she is a grandmother and has a small farm where she lives with her husband and her son and daughter in law and grandchildren.  When she invited our group to join her family for lunch we happily changed our schedule and met her the next day at the trailhead.

Sa Mei walking on trial to her village Giang ta chai of the Red Dao hill tribe people outside of Sapa, Northern hill tribe areas, Vietnam

Sa Mei and her daughter in law guided us along the paths to her village, about an hour walk outside the main tourism trekking areas to a delightful village we would have never discovered on our own.

Sa Mei holding my hand as she leads me on trail to her village Giang ta chai of the Red Dao hill tribe people

When we arrived we were greeted with a bountiful welcome – the family had gathered the equivalent of a thanksgiving feast including fresh vegetables and poultry from their farm and a freshly slaughtered pig all being cooked by the family on open fire in the middle of their house.

Man May Lo cooking lunch for our group inside her home

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Agriculture & Food, Inspiration, Photography Tours, Travel Tagged With: photography tours, Red Dao tribe, Sapa, Vietnam

August 7, 2017

Wild about Game fowl dishes for Oregon Wine Press

While I typically focus more on capturing the process of growing and sourcing food on farms, I do love the energy and imagination of working with chefs.  This assignment was especially rewarding, collaborating with three of Oregon’s top chefs to capture three brand new dishes of wild fowl paired with Oregon wine.  A few sneak peak photos, stay tuned for the full story in Oregon Wine Press Sept 2017 cover and feature story….

 

Pheasant dish by chef Sunny Jim, Jory Restaurant, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Chef Sunny Jin preparing pheasant dish, Jory Restaurant

Chef Sunny Jin’s pheasant dish, Jory Restaurant

Sunny Jin searing Involtini (small bites of food consisting of some sort of outer layer wrapped around a filling) in a cast iron pan

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Agriculture & Food, Published work, Wine

February 12, 2016

Cuba – Photography tour through Havana, Trinidad, and Viñales

Cuba, the energy of this place captivated me. The openness of the people, the rhythm of the music and dance, the layers of art, history, and culture. I’ll return, and write more impressions in the future – in the meantime here’s a few photo highlights of my visit in Jan 2016 in Havana, Trinidad, and Viñales leading a photo tour for http://lumariaworkshops.com

A beautifully restored red cadillac with driver wearing Cuban hat, Havana.

A beautifully restored red cadillac with driver wearing Cuban hat, Havana.

It's not just tourists in the classic cars.  According to Chris Baker's "Cuba Classics' book, "About 60,000 cars - one in every eight cars in contemporary Cuba (compared to one in every 400 cars in the USA) - is a pre 1960's American model."

It’s not just tourists in the classic cars. According to Chris Baker’s “Cuba Classics’ book, “About 60,000 cars – one in every eight cars in contemporary Cuba (compared to one in every 400 cars in the USA) – is a pre 1960’s American model.”

Washing the car in a backstreet of old Havana

Washing the car in a backstreet of old Havana

Boxers train at Rafael Trejo Boxing Gym (Rafael Trejo Gimnasio al Aire Libre), an open air ring with stadium seating in old Havana, lead by Cuban Olympic coach Nardo Mestre Florez.  Boxing is perhaps the second most popular sport in Cuba, behind baseball.

Boxers train at Rafael Trejo Boxing Gym (Rafael Trejo Gimnasio al Aire Libre), an open air ring with stadium seating in old Havana, lead by Cuban Olympic coach Nardo Mestre Florez. Boxing is perhaps the second most popular sport in Cuba, behind baseball.

Cuba_Havana_20160111_030

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Agriculture & Food, Photography Tours, Travel Tagged With: art, Caribbean, classic american cars, Cuba, Cuban cigars, culture, dance, unesco world heritage site

August 10, 2015

New Zealand Sustainable Wine

Are you curious why 95% of New Zealand’s wineries are certified sustainable?  We asked a selection of sustainable, organic and biodynamic winegrowers to share their personal inspirations.   This short video is the beginning of our work creating a documentary film about the impact of sustainable practices in the world’s best winemaking regions.

Stay tuned for additional stories and photos from those interviewed.   Here’s a few of my favorite quotes that we didn’t have space for in the shorter teaser video.

James Milton spreading biodynamic preparation 501 on vines, Gisborne, New Zealand

James Milton spreading biodynamic preparation 501 on vines, Gisborne, New Zealand

“It’s about intuition, imagination, and inspiration…” – James Milton

Groundcover between vines still vibrant with flowers in the fall, Ata Rangi, New Zealand

Groundcover between vines still vibrant with flowers in the fall, Ata Rangi, New Zealand

“Sustainability to me means approaching everything on a long term basis, looking into the future… the agriculture side, the winemaking side, the family side, the economic side” – Clive Patton, Ata Rangi

Clive Paton, founder, Ata Rangi, Martinborough, New Zealand

Clive Paton, founder, Ata Rangi, Martinborough, New Zealand

The bush block is very important, I know this because I can be overseas, in some of my favorite cities, and every day I’m thinking about the bush block, how many days will it be before I’m able to get back to the bush block, to be able to look after my trees and connect with the land……I need to be back in my own space looking after the things that might take 200 years to grow, … just to have this place that grounds you, keeps me sane. – Clive Patton, Ata Rangi

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Aerial Photography, Agriculture & Food, Documentary Film, Travel, Video & Multimedia, Wine Tagged With: biodynamic, goats, highland cattle, landscapes, New Zealand, organic, sheep, sustainability, sustainable viticulture, vineyard, winemakers

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