Mike Arce

Organic Brick Oven Pizza. Part of shoot for "Los Tamarindos" farm to table restaurant in San Jose del Cabo, MX. Rustic. That was the main intent behind this shoot. It had to reflect the relaxed, authentic, rustic look and feel of the restaurant. All ingredients come directly from their orchards, hence the ingredients speak for themselves.

Part of Photo Shoot for restaurant "La Esquina" in Cabo San Lucas, MX. Delicious berry waffles. This restaurant is mostly known for their evening ambiance and delicious dinner, however they wanted to let people know about their great breakfast options. The waffles were an obvious choice.

Part of a shoot for Fine Dining Restaurant "Sunset Da Mona Lisa" in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The idea was to focus entirely on the food and its presentation. I kept distractions to a minimum with a white plate, as well as a white tablecloth. Shadows were kept to an absolute minimum with soft even lighting. All this helps appreciate the work of Chef Paolo Della Corte. Composition and color are used to produce beautiful and delicious results.

Part of a shoot for Organic Farm to Table Restaurant "Los Tamarindos" in Los Cabos, Mexico. It was important to create an look that would reflect the rustic atmosphere of the restaurant. Their cuisine has strong Mexican elements with mediterranean influence; thus we used green, white and red to remind us of that. There's also the presence of tradition in adding elements such as: wooden spoons, clay plates and stone molcajetes. I truly enjoyed this shoot and Im very proud of the results.

Part of the photo shoot done for Italian restaurant "Sunset Da Mona Lisa" in Cabo San Lucas. They wanted to showcase new menu items. The idea was to let the food speak for itself and not distract with backgrounds, colored plates, shadows or patterns. We asked the chef to really let his creativity fly with the plating. The result was this presentation of their delicious octopus. One of my first professional shoots. Very happy with the results.

Vacío steak from the restaurant "La Ostería" in San Jose del Cabo. This was shot outdoors and the idea was very different than the last image. It was all about the pattern and color of the wood, the use of shadows and the simple ingredients to make it feel truly rustic and authentic. La Ostería has that attitude and we wanted to reflect that. Originally the steak was presented without cuts, after realizing it wasn't dramatic enough we simply slices it and left the utensils in place to give it a more spontaneous feel.

Cheese filled meatballs with a mushroom sauce from the Italian restaurant "Pan Di Bacco" in Cabo San Lucas. I'm convinced this is one of the best dishes served in any restaurant in Los Cabos. The presentation of the meatballs gave us the idea to go rustic with it. Similar to the last picture we made use of wood colors to compliment the meatballs, the difference is the addition of raw ingredients to cover the table. The basil was key in adding some color contrast. I'll just finish by saying that whenever I'm not eating this, I'm thinking about eating it. It's amazing.