“Stop playing with your food!”
It’s a command most of us can recall being told at least once in our young lives.
For London-based photographer Carl Warner, however, ignoring such reprimands has actually earned him a very cool career.
Warner’s amazing “Foodscapes” have received global attention since he first started creating the stunningly realistic scenes more than a decade ago.
A former advertising photographer, he says he first gained inspiration when he was walking around a market and found some portobello mushrooms he thought looked like some trees from an alien world.
He took them back to his studio and mixed in a few other ingredients like rice seeds and beans to create a miniature scene on a table top.
Voila! The “Mushroom Savanna” was born (see the pic in the above gallery).
He soon returned to the advertising industry, which began commissioning him for campaigns for various food based products and brands.
When planning a shoot, Warner says he decides which ingredients will be used for a scene, then a food stylist and model maker help build it.
The whole process can take several days and the scenes are sometimes shot in layers in order to work quickly with fresh produce, he says.
Warner’s Foodscapes are often displays in exhibitions, as he continues to work in advertising.
He tells CNN he’s now in pre-production for a campaign for a U.S. restaurant chain. Meanwhile, his work is also set to expand its global reach.
“My children’s book is being translated into Japanese with a book launch and exhibition there next spring.”
To see a selection of Warner’s work, check out the above gallery.
To view more of his amazing Foodscapes or buy prints of his work check out his website, www.carlwarner.com.