Over the years, my work in F&B has afforded me the opportunity to photograph (and at times, enjoy) many delicious meals and beverages. Safe to say, Heirloom at the 1907 has always been on my bucket list but try as I might, I just couldn't ever seem to score the tickets. My bad luck finally switched to good fortune when…

In this edition of “busy season craziness but here’s a recent work update”, we’ve got everything from farms, to pool parties, to cocktails, high-powered spray washers, hotel grand openings, moody portraits and even a possible Alexander Calder sculpture (verification pending). I’m sure we’ll do all this again in September. In the meantime, stay healthy, stay cool and stay awesome.

Cheers.

It’s been a busy few months for the fine folks at Blake Street House. In recent weeks, they’ve managed to revamp, rework and launch three new internal food and beverage concepts for members and guests. And I can safely say that all three are delicious and exciting.

Happy April 1st.

PLEASE NOTE that the following collection of images represents REAL WORK with REAL CLIENTS and is meant to draw attention to some of our recent projects and not to confuse or mislead anyone. Included in this post are recent images for the following clients. Check them out as they’re really cool and really fun to work with.

Urban Land Institute
Buf Studio
Black Apple Hard Cider
University of Arkansas School of Art
Marsouls
Blake Street House
H Club
Arkansas Times
Crafton Tull
Ecological Design Group
Lighthouse Financial 

Enjoy!

Greetings and Happy Holidays from us here at Novo Studio. Now that the holiday season is upon us, we thought it would be a good idea to get around to updating our blog and social media with some recent work. Every year, it seems that the end of summer snowballs into fall. Work picks up, schedules become difficult and our capacity to continually update things stretches thin. But finally, here we are and my oh my, what year it has been.

For many of us, this year was largely defined by the severe weather of Memorial Day Weekend which resulted in multiple tornados and caused area-wide devastation. Many of our friends, clients and neighbors are STILL dealing with the impact from that weather and that is very sad and unfortunate. On a more positive note, we had a lot of fun with our work this year. In spite of some wild work scenarios and crazy deadlines, this year was so much fun and such a good learning experience.

Thank you to everyone for the support, the encouragement, and the opportunity to continue to do what we love.

See you all in the New Year.

Philip & Jared

Downtown Springdale Arkansas is on the upswing. There are a lot of new amenities, activities and establishments to explore. One such establishment that is definitely worth checking out is Medusa Bar & Grill. Think of it as an upscale Mexican Restaurant that serves elevated cuisines as well as honest takes on the classics. Traditional Mexican dishes sit alongside hamburgers and fried shrimp. Oysters (flown in from the coast) are served on ice with all the appropriate sauces you’d find at an establishment situated next to the ocean. The drink menu, like the food menu is diverse and unique, offering innovative Margaritas as well as a delicious smoked Old Fashioned. Come for Happy Hour and stay for dinner. Believe me, that would not be a bad decision at all.

This week on the blog: Recent Commercial Photo + Video work for Bentoville.

By now, many of you have probably heard about Bentoville, their world class cuisine and their equally accomplished chefs. Maybe you’ve experienced one of their amazing events in person. Or perhaps you’ve simply ordered one (or more) of their Bento Boxes for lunch or dinner. But if you HAVEN’T heard of Bentoville…

It’s always a joy to work with the fine folks at the University of Arkansas’s Center for Arkansas Farms and Food. (CAFF). The University’s continued support of educating both college aged students as well as interested adults on the fundamentals of farming, is noteworthy and commendable. A few times a year, we highlight certain students for their newsletter and blog. Here’s a few images from our recent visit.

Enjoy.

Say hello to Spring and to Fox Trail Distillery’s new Spring/Summer menu of delicious cocktails (non-alcoholic ones available as well.) (Yes, they’re delicious.) As usual, the staff have all contributed to the creation of these drinks and they have of course, exercised maximum creativity in their endeavors.

(click to read more)

This week on the blog: Recent Commercial Food and Beverage Photography for Theo’s in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

It’s not hard to fall in love with Theo’s. If the cozy and sophisticated atmosphere doesn’t win you over, the beautiful (and delicious) food that appears soon after undoubtedly will. My experience in working with Theo’s and similar establishments is (click to read more).

This week on the blog - The Polaroid: Photography as a hobby.

Back in the good old days, Photography was my hobby. A disgruntled graphic design professor once told me I’d never be a graphic designer because I couldn’t draw. His comment set me on a course to pickup a camera. And although his assessment of my future as a graphic designer was completely wrong and probably born more out of grumpiness or hangryness than lack of ability, I never put the camera down. In my late college years, I began experimenting with Polaroid cameras. And a whole new world of creative possibilities seemed to open up.

(Click to read more)

This week on the blog, we’re featuring some recent Commercial photography work for Ella’s Table, the delicious restaurant located on the University of Arkansas campus in the Inn at Carnall Hall. Over the years, we’ve had the pleasure of working with Charlestowne Hotels and Ella’s Table, to capture the new and exciting dishes and beverages they’ve come up with. This menu update includes items for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For more information or to make reservations, visit Ella’s Table online.

Today is the day! Blake Street’s new pop up bar opens to members and guests. Eldi, a Nordic themed outdoor bar features small plates and drinks heavily influenced by the region. On cold days and nights, guests can huddle around the open fire or underneath any of the outdoor heaters and enjoy the carefully curated menu items. And if you’re looking for a little excitement in your life, you can try your hand at knife or axe throwing.

As always, the fine people at Blake Street have worked hard to come up with a unique concept that allows members and guests to embrace the winter months while also providing an educational and inspiration food and beverage experience. And we certainly had a blast creating the images to introduce Eldi to the public.

For hours or for more information on membership at Blake Street, visit www.blakest.com

It is now November and the last time we updated the blog was after weeks and weeks of busyness and travel. It’s safe to say that aside from constant travel, things haven’t changed much. And for the most part, we’re not complaining. In fact recently, we had a first for the studio…live music. And that was so fun, we’ll be doing it again. But consistent photoshoots and video shoots followed by editing and managing those aforementioned shoots does create difficulties in keeping up with the normal, everyday tasks of managing and marketing a business. But today, we’re making time and space to share some images from the recent weeks. We sincerely hope that everyone is able to make some space to enjoy the cooler temperatures, the changing leaves, and life in general.

Happy Fall, Y’all.

From the same brilliant minds that brought you Bar Cleeta comes a new restaurant concept called The Big Lieutenant. While the two concepts are totally different, they are in fact somewhat alike. Bar Cleeta and The Big Lieutenant are both BEAUTIFUL spaces, well thought out, and tastefully decorated. And both Bar Cleeta and The Big Lieutenant have some of the most delicious food I’ve ever tasted. But the similarities end there. (Click to read more)

As a self-proclaimed “inexperienced” and “picky” seafood eater, I cannot and will not claim to have a vast knowledge of the world of sushi. My experience with fish and seafood is largely based on odors. These include both the odor of dead fish I recall from my childhood days at the lake and also, the trauma of riding homeward for 2+ days in the family van which was loaded with styrofoam coolers full of fresh seafood from the gulf coast. These were acquired in the dead heat of summer during our annual beach trip vacation. These two prominent experiences left me inevitably skeptical of seafood in general.

Years later, I ventured into the world of seafood…first, with…(click to read more)

There is no shortage of pizza establishments in Northwest Arkansas. And that’s a good thing, because while most people will argue all day about their preferred toppings for pizza, everyone I’ve ever met (and this is a true statement) likes pizza. Some people even love it. I know I fall into this particular camp. I have my favorite places too. And thanks to a recent editorial photography assignment for Arkansas Times, I can safely, confidently and wholeheartedly add Pizzeria Ruby to my list of favorite pizza joints. (click to read more)