Beechwood Hotel

Recently I was hired to shoot the opening of Ceres Bistro at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester. Ceres Bistro describes themselves as "Serene and sophisticated, inspired by the Goddess of the Harvest, celebrates the seasons and delivers only the freshest ingredients to your table. The decor is warm and inviting with soft curving booths and beautiful views to our outdoor gardens." Well, during the opening, the gardens were not quite finished so at the time, all that was there were dirt piles and construction equipment. And despite what one might think, this didn't take away from the ambiance at all! The inside of Ceres is absolutely gorgeous. A lot of time and planning went into creating this restaurant before anyone got the "OK" to start construction...it's apparent. Take a little tour and you'll see what I mean. Right in the middle of the dining area is a beautiful dome that I was told was pulled from storage and reconstructed to specifically be a part of this restaurant. While there for the opening, I grabbed a shot of the owner below the dome for the Pulse Magazine.

With details like this, it makes it feel that you're dining in an upscale Boston restaurant, not in a hotel on the outskirts of Worcester. Ceres Bistro can definitely be added to the list of newer niche restaurants and bars that seem to be taking over Worcester.

Well...a month or so after the opening of the restaurant, I was contacted by Beechwood Hotel to come back and shoot some exterior images of the finished garden and patio area for their new brochure. I was very happy to hear back from them and agreed to scope out the new area. It was a world apart from what I had seen before. Where there used to be dirt, there are now shrubs and plants abundant, and a new putting green that offers guests a chance to work on their golf skills! It completely changes the feel of the restaurant patio area. Very serene and calming for anyone who wants to enjoy some food or a drink under the awning.

So after the meeting and nailing down some details I got to it. I shot what was needed from a bunch of different angles to give them some choices in how they wanted it portrayed in the brochure. Some that were heavy on the putting green angle and some that barely included it or not even at all. As I was shooting, I kept noticing the clouds and how fluffy they looked in the background. I really couldn't have asked for a better day to be shooting. Calm winds, bright blue skies, and fluffy clouds made it a fun shoot...not to mention the staff that I've gotten acquainted with over the past couple of shoots. It's always great to see familiar faces.

After I finished up taking some shots outside, I headed inside to grab a shot of one of their suites. Shooting interiors is not something I've done a lot of but was happy to give it a try for them. They asked that I just get an image that showed the king size bed and fireplace in the same room. The result is below. It was pretty much a one shot and done type of deal as there wasn't much room to get both the bed and fireplace in one frame from any other angle.
From there I had everything I needed so I started making my way out to the car but on the way I saw a guy practicing his putting, so for fun I decided to get a shot of him, showing the putting green and the hotel/restaurant in the background in a soft focus.
All in all, I thought it to be a successful day and was very fortunate for the opportunity. I really enjoy this type of shooting. It's a much different thing than live music but having the time to think through shots, set them up, and really focus on composition is a welcomed change.

Thanks for stopping by!