Henry Hargreaves has made a photography career out of playing with food

Henry Hargreaves is not a chef. He has, however, made an artistic career out of playing with food. Hargreaves’ work ranges from the whimsical to the provocatively morbid. In his portfolio, you’ll find a series that examines food inequality around the world; another series aptly titled Jello-O Presidents; recreations of Ted Bundy’s and Timothy McVeigh’s last meals; photographs of what James Bond ate according to Ian Fleming’s novels; a licorice Louvre; and disposable coffee cups deemed “high art.”

Hargreaves grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand, and initially took up photography as a hobby. He worked as a full-time fashion model for a stint, but found that he preferred life on the other side of the camera. While building his artistic reputation, Hargreaves also worked in restaurants behind the bar, and it was from that vantage point that he developed a fascination with the ways peoples’ food orders revealed deeper truths about them.

At Hargreaves’ recent shoot in Brooklyn, N.Y., he collaborated with Canon to capture the look on someone’s face at the precise moment when the perfect storm of chaos hit the kitchen. This interactive idea required pulling off the “perfectly timed photo” and allowing visitors to do the same. The whole event was a delicious brunch explosion, complete with breakfast sandwiches, of course.

To capture the perfectly timed moment, Hargreaves had to be ready at the right time with the right camera: his EOS Rebel T7i. Canon then invited brunch attendees to test out the camera themselves — either by shooting photos at the event, or by manning the camera on the brunch set. Watch the video to learn more about setting up the shot, and of course to see those surprised expressions after the brunch explosion.

Check out more behind-the-scenes from the Hargreaves installation with the EOS Rebel T7i.

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