Sometimes I enjoy a really challenging assignment for the surprise of how beautiful the pictures can be. I recently shot a story for Edible Boston on the state of compost in Boston. Massachusetts recently passed the Commercial Food Waste Ban which is a "ban on the disposal of commercial organic wastes by businesses and institutions." It's a big step since the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that nearly 21% of waste in landfills is food waste. The new legislation is important and exciting but how do you make it look good? I took a trip out to a commercial compost operation on the north shore and snagged a few shots of the towering hills of compost in all its smelly glory, but it just didn't seem to be eye catching enough for the article. Luckily I came prepared with a few buckets from the hardware store, threw on my gloves, and started picking stuff out of the piles.

With a few treasures in hand I went back to the studio and worked with my good friend and very talented food stylist George Simons who had saved his unused leftovers from the week. Together we worked out a few arrangements of compost in its various stages that were fit to hang on a wall.