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Author Archives: Chris Schmauch

Almaden Quicksilver County Park, A Photo Essay

My Wave Magazine coworker Mitchell Alan Parker and I took a half day break from cubicle-land to “research” one of the locations in our upcoming Sports & Adventure hiking story. If you drive south down Almaden Expressway, it turns into about three different versions of Almaden roads before you finally get to “New Almaden” – […]

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Fibbar & Molly Magee’s

Nice guy named Liam owns both these well-known local Irish bars. Molly Magee’s is in Mountain View, Fibbar Magee’s is in Sunnyvale. They are very similar in execution, here’s a few photos from the shoot. I did do some HDR processing on some of the shots as they are very dark inside, but the flip […]

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Review: ExpoImaging Ray Flash

When I found out the Ray Flash got a 33% reduction in price, I decided to pull the trigger and buy one. How could I resist – an untethered ring flash that uses TTL metering – I just had to try it. What seemed a ridiculously overpriced niche-y product at $300 became a “gotta have […]

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Grillin’ on the Alley – New Hamburgers

The Grill on the Alley in downtown San Jose is a well-known “Top Ten” restaurant in the Silicon Valley. What may come as a surprise, though, is the fact that Executive Chef Matthew Legentry produces a plethora of undeniably awesome hamburgers from his kitchen. Big thanks to Manager John Price for setting this up. Here’s […]

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Le Papillon Appetizers, Executive Chef Scott Cooper Portraits

I met up with Scott Cooper at Le Papillon in San Jose to get some fresh shots of some of their appetizers. I love shooting Scott’s food because you can pretty turn any photo into ten additional photos simply by creatively cropping portions out. I also had a great time maxing out my nikon 60mm’s […]

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Calafia – (Former Google Chef) Charlie Ayer’s New Restaurant

I had the opportunity to meet up with former head Google Chef Charlie Ayers and photograph some of his key menu items for his website/menu. Things appeared to be shaping up at the new restaurant opening any day now in the Town & Country shopping center in Palo Alto (near Embarcadero & El Camino). Charlie […]

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5 Minute Family Portraits

So what do you do when your desperate friend & coworker comes to you, saying he’s utterly failed to make a decent christmas card? You hook a brotha, up, that’s what! I dragged Bill, Rebecca and daughter Zoe down to the patio/waterfall area between our office buildings for an impromptu shoot. It was overcast, so […]

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Le Papillon – Up Close and Personal

It’s always a treat to explore the visual delights coming from Scott Cooper’s kitchen! See all photos here.

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San Jose from High

When location scouting for a place to shoot the cover of The Wave Magazine for the  “Downtown San Jose Issue,” it really came down to two options: helicopter, or the Capital Club at the top of the Knight Ridder building. The choice was obvious: helicopter. But alas, it was not to be. So I called the fine folks […]

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Marta & Riad (Wedding)

My goodness, this day started out with gorgeous weather on the coast of Pebble Beach, CA – then while the bridal party was getting ready, ominous clouds accumulated over the ocean. Marta, a real trooper, walked outside, staring at the intermittent lightning, holding her hands out expecting droplets to fall any second. Deep thunder warned […]

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La Fondue, Eclectic as Ever

La Fondue recently moved down the street from their previous Saratoga, CA location, and I had to wonder what the new decor would look like. At their previous location, walking in felt like you were going back to medieval times with knights in armor, colorful tapestries and other decorations hanging all around. The updated look […]

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Trevese, the Inside Story

Like that other restaurant, Trevese has whipped the old victorian-style mansion into an environmentally-friendly frenzy. I don’t know exactly what it means but The Wave can explain it better here. Something about ethics. Whatever. I’d been trying for over a year to find an excuse to get some interior photos of this fancy restaurant and […]

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Poolside Spa Party

The Four Seasons Palo Alto hosted another party to showcase their “Liquido Lounge” and new offerings from their Spa. Joanne, a Four Seasons hostess turned model seems to sum it up nicely, but for the cats and the curious, there’s plenty o pics over here.

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Yelp! The Elites Party.

The Four Seasons Hotel in Palo Alto hosted a recent party for Elite Yelpers, the pro-bono driving force behind the incredibly useful www.yelp.com website. Even though I was hired by 4s, I was “just another photographer” at this event where many techno-savvy attendees were sporting their digital rebels, etc. SLRs. Which was fine by me […]

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The $10,000 Pasta Machine

Why would anyone need a ten-thousand-dollar machine dedicated simply to kneading dough into varying strips and extrusions? Well apparently it makes the chef’s job way easier. And if you’re the Four Seasons, nothing is too good for Chef Alessandro. He’s a soft-spoken guy, but I’ve never seen him so excited as when he’s wielding the […]

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Cin-Cin, Chinny Chin Chin

The newest Wine Bar/Lounge/Restaurant in Los Gatos is also “Green” from head to toe by latest ecological standards. Check out The Wave article that says so. The interior really is amazing and I hope I did it justice in my photos. I incorporated my own finely-tuned High Dynamic Range photography workflow that I use for […]

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Menara More Rockin’ Food

I worked with Andy at Menara Moroccan in San Jose to get some updated menu photos for their website. We already did the interiors so it was time for food. It was a pretty quick shoot but we got the job done. The unique tables add a nice warm texture to the images without detracting […]

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Saratoga Shroomin’

Okay, so this title requires a little explanation. Todd Spanier, the locally famous “purveyor of fine mushrooms” and self-titled “King of Mushrooms” works with Sent Sovi’s Josiah Slone on an annual dinner/event centered around, well, mushrooms and fine dining. Josiah created a mouth-watering multi-course meal for all attending, and Todd got up to speak throughout […]

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Menara Moroccan Interiors

Menara Moroccan has graced Gish Ave. off 1st St. in San Jose for over 30 years. When you walk through the large double doors inside, you’re left blinking for a minute so your eyes can adjust to the relative darkness. This is one of those interiors where some special attention to the photography and post-processing […]

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Skewered in Palo Alto (Pampas)

Finally got a chance to get some food shots at Pampas – the meat is amazing and although the plated dishes aren’t the main feature they’re nothing to scoff at. Chef John Karbowski knows his stuff! It was a pleasure as always to work with the team there. More pics here.

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