Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Fall 2013 - (Page 34)

CONTRIBUTORS WALTER CHIN Photography is the natural medium of New York. From the stark photojournalism of Weegee to the ravishing architectural images of Berenice Abbott, the city’s history is a photomontage of Kodak moments. In more recent decades, it has been fashion photography that has most vividly documented the city’s changing faces, from glamorous uptown society to trendy downtown street life. For this issue (“Spin City,” page 118), the renowned fashion photographer Walter Chin seized on the city’s most recent visual addition: the smart blue bicycles that are now available to rent from stands all over town. Shooting inside The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park, and then on the streets and in the park, he was able to create a fresh new fairy tale of Manhattan glamour. Chin is no stranger to shooting on the fly. In a career that stretches 30 years, he has photographed fashion all over the world, for magazines such as Vogue, Allure, Glamour and GQ. “But there is nowhere quite like New York,” he says. “It’s the only city where the chic and the gritty live so closely and comfortably.” He recalls shooting his first story on the city’s streets 25 STREET-SHOOTING MAN Above: On location at Sixth Avenue and Central Park South, Chin creates a New York story amid midtown traffic. Right: An outtake from the final shot, in Central Park, of eveningwear on the go. Shopping outdoors CAKE-OFF! CR EATIN G A WOR LD -CH AMPION CH OCOLATE CAKE R EQU IR ES 20 CH EFS, A G R AN D JU RY AN D A STR OKE OF G EN IU S CHOCKABLOCK Opposite: Chef Frederic Barasse pours, then sculpts ganache, slices portions and offers a sneak preview to a taster. This page: The final contestants on the podium. PhotograPhs by rebecca greenfield New York CitY It’s hard not to be overwhelmed when shoppIng In manhattan, an Island teemIng wIth stores featurIng the best fashIon and desIgn on earth. JamIe rosen sImplIfIes the task BY LAUREN SANDLER 2 PHOTOGRAPHS BY DANIEL BEDELL Uncharted territory In s ear c h of u n Iqu e u n der water th rI lls , s eas on ed d Iver rob ert b aldwI n takes a plu n g e I n oman ’s ar ab Ian s eas Photogra P hs by robert baldwin SIGHTS TO BEHOLD From left: The critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle, spotted among soft coral at a dive site called Wall Street; two of the writer ’s fellow divers looking out onto the series of islands off Oman’s mainland known as Bandar Khayran. 98 WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS 34 WALTER CHIN years ago, having just arrived from Paris. “I was terrified. People had told me I had to be very careful, because I’d likely get all my cameras stolen,” he laughs. “But that turned out to be an exaggeration. New Yorkers love a photo shoot, and that always adds an energy to what Ancient PleAsures Chengdu is the rare Chinese City where everything moves a little slower and life’s age-old delights — inCluding good food, elegant arChiteCture and natural beauty — are always Close at hand M Much of my life has been spent underwater. As a writer and photographer of marine-life books, I’ve spent 25 years as a tourist of the ocean’s major metropolises: Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, remote parts of Papua New Guinea, the world’s largest lagoon in the Solomon Islands, the crystal clear waters of the Maldives, and Canada’s current-swept Gulf Islands, among others. I have seen my share of creatures so alien that scientists struggle to classify them. But today I have come to a location that, after all these years and all those dives, intrigues me more than most: the Sultanate of Oman. Only a handful of documented dive sites currently exist here, and the abundant marine life is still largely unstudied. It’s a part of the Indian Ocean still waiting to be discovered. Earlier this morning, after a traditional breakfast of ful medames (mashed fava beans), fresh Arabic bread, hummus and local fruit at our resort — Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel — my wife and regular dive buddy, Annabelle, and I set out for Bandar Khayran, a series of lagoons and sun-drenched sand islands framed by turquoise waters that are studded with vibrant coral reefs. It takes us a mere 20 minutes by boat from Marina Bandar Al Rowdha, in the heart of Oman’s capital city of Muscat, to get here. And yet, when I look around, I see that we are isolated; there is not another dive boat in sight. Nor can I spot any buildings or roads on the stark, mountainous shore — not a single sign of modern development. This alone is a shocking sight in today’s construction-happy Middle Eastern capitals. But it turns out to be the day’s least surprising visual. w w w. r i t z c a r lt o n . c o m ROBERT BALDWIN (“Uncharted Territory,” page 98) is a British-born marine research scientist who spent most of his childhood in landlocked Johannesburg, South Africa. His passion for ocean life developed when he first encountered wild dolphins off the coast of Oman. He has written several books and his environmental work has been featured on BBC and in National Geographic. W W W. R I T Z C A R LT O N . C O M B y M at t G r o s s P h o t o G r a P h s B y a n d r e w r o w at 1 1. m e at pa C k i N g / w e s t v i l l a g e This hyperdeveloped pocket of downtown New York still attracts the fashionable masses with its cobblestone streets and destination boutiques. i was told there’d be cake. But I’m not sure I understood quite how much cake I was in for, for just how significant the cake would be, when I was invited to a tasting to determine what confection would represent The Ritz-Carlton as the signature dessert. I arrive in the pastry kitchen of the The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner near Washington, D.C., which is helmed by the incontestably handsome and fearless French pâtissier Frederic Barasse. He had to be fearless with the task ahead of him (good looks weren’t going to help). Barasse had been given 128 20 recipes from chefs around the world. His mission: to take a few common ingredients and execute each chef’s vision to the letter as an entry in a competition to determine the signature cake. A cake worthy of presentation at every birthday or anniversary. A cake that could travel home as a delightful and still-fresh boxed gift. And a cake that carries the history of The Ritz-Carlton itself on its sugared shoulders. Let me tell you a story: In 1880, a Frenchman invented a new liqueur, flavored boldly with orange. Parisian fashion at the time favored the W W W. R I T Z C A R LT O N . C O M DANIEL BEDELL (“CakeOff!” page 128) had the pleasure of photographing The Ritz-Carlton’s cake testing process to find its new signature dessert. Originally from Florida, educated in Michigan and now based in Washington, D.C., Bedell works for a diverse group of editorial and commercial clients, including DuPont, ESPN, Exxon, Washingtonian and Capitol File. 2 2. C a stor & Pollux 2 3 8 W. 1 0 t h S t. 212- 6 45 - 6572 c a S tor andpollux S tore. com This store epitomizes daily downtown dressing for girls: slouchy sweaters, artfully voluminous black dresses and simple gold jewelry from lesser-known labels that are always in style and never overexposed. It’s worth a visit just to pet owner Kerrilynn Pamer ’s precious pups, Otto and Beba, who can be found lounging under the racks. 54 M arC JaCobs 3 8 2 , 3 8 5 , 4 0 0, 4 0 3 B l e e c k e r S t. & 2 9 8 & 3 0 1 W. F o u r t h S t. m a rcjacoBS.com The king of Bleecker Street, Marc Jacobs, was a pioneer on this once-quiet block, which is now teeming with tourists lining up outside Magnolia Bakery and crowding the designer ’s six boutiques. There’s the two Marc by Marc Jacobs shops, plus Bookmarc, for the trendiest coffee table tomes; Little Marc, for offbeat children’s wear; a men’s shop and an accessories shop. w w w. r i t z c a r lt o n . c o m Brooklyn-based photographer REBECCA GREENFIELD (“New York Shopping,” page 54) grew up in Virginia and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design. She has photographed for such clients as Bloomberg Business Week, Details, Elle, Elle Decor, Fast Company, GQ and W. Her work has been included in the American Photography collections of best photography for 2008, 2010 and 2011. 104 w w w. r i t z c a r lt o n . c o m EVERY T HING IS ILLUMINAT ED the lang Qiao, known as the Passageway bridge in english, spans the city’s Qingyi river and casts a romantic light on nearby teahouses at night. A devotee of extraordinarily spicy food, MATT GROSS (“Ancient Pleasures,” page 104) spent many happy days eating his way through Chengdu. Now the editor of BonAppetit.com, he was for several years The New York Times’ “Frugal Traveler” columnist; his travel memoir, “The Turk Who Loved Apples: And Other Tales of Losing My Way Around the World,” was published in May. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two daughters. http://www.BonAppetit.com http://WWW.RITZCARLTON.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Fall 2013

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Fall 2013
Contents
Contributors
Editor’s Letter
President’s Letter
Falling in Love With ... Barcelona
Design
Shopping
Beauty
Gifts
Jewelry
Watches
Behind the Scenes
Family
Local Knowledge
Outdoors
As It Was
Culinary
Let Us Stay With You
Heritage

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Fall 2013

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