A couple of years ago, Lancaster based photographer Jordan Bush published an article that caught our attention. It was about cable management. Now to many of us cable management may be a necessary evil. Not to Jordan. He starts his article with the intriguing sentence “Cable management is one task that for me is bizarrely fun and rewarding.” We need to know more about that!

Jordan:

“Recently I added a Cambo Stand to my studio and wanted to organize all of the cables running around it. If you’ve never gotten to use a studio stand, they greatly accelerate workflow while adding incredible precision and ease. I wanted to add a ton of peripherals to the Cambo stand, from AC powering and USB 3 tethering a Nikon D800E, to powering a MacBook Pro, plus a controller for all of my monolights. I love having the flexibility that a studio stand offers. Yet with all of the peripherals attached to it, it quickly became apparent it needed to be better organized. Cable management would help to minimize reflections and distractions while keeping the movements of the stand free from obstruction.”

If you’d like to know how Jordan avoids the proverbial clutter of cables in his studio, read his article on F-Stoppers

Jordan Bush graduated in marketing and sociology and worked as a software trainer and hardware technician at Apple. That’s probably where his fascination with routing cables as cleanly and tidy as possible originates from. Out of college, Jordan worked with designers and photographers in pre-press and after that, alongside his Job at Apple, part-time assisting a commercial photographer. There he got bitten by the bug and decided to start a business as a photographer.

Jams & Jellies, from Mai 2019’s Foodographer

Jordan contributes the monthly Foodographer column – images and words – to Lancaster County Magazine. Here it comes all together, his passion for photography, writing and cooking. Together with his fiancé Jessica he signed up for a year of cooking classes. Halfway through the course, Jordan pitched the idea for a story to Sue, his editor. The first article ran as a feature and Sue asked for more. The magazine had just hired a new and talented creative director and was about to undertake a gradual rebrand. When the team met to discuss ideas the column “Foodographer” was born.

When Foodographer came along, the Cambo stand proved to be an absolute necessity. Working with edible food in the context of cooking, propping, styling, lighting, and photographing, consistency is critical. The freedom to place a camera wherever needed greatly contributes to the styling and lighting quality of the final image. For studio visuals, Jordan tethers to a MacBook Pro, using Capture One 12. The MacBook Pro is mounted onto the Cambo stand, so even when shooting off-hand, the computer and tools move with the set. Capture One’s Capture Pilot mobile app pairs brilliantly with tethered capture and a studio stand (here is an article Jordan wrote about it).

“My goal is to make people hungry, while using food as the excuse to a larger conversation, to elevate food culture, encourage folks to try something new and build community. Understanding specific foods, what makes it unique especially with cultural dishes (like pho), is critical to representing the story it tells. In making food look mouthwatering, my approach is similar to that in cooking: stay out of its way. The better the quality of ingredients, the better the taste. That happens to be true visually. Timing is a key consideration by setting up the most stable food elements first, as some dishes might be spent after one take that lasts an instant. Finding props and colors that supplement without distracting is another; I am always on the hunt for antique cooking tools.”

Jordan uses Nikon cameras and Nikkor PC lenses. The Cambo PCH geared head and Actus view camera are high on his wishlist. “The Nikkor 85 mm tilt shift is great, but I see the benefits of having flexibility.

Some mouthwatering articles by Jordan: Foodographer