Tannins and terpenes, compounds that exist in wine and cannabis respectively, have been known to complement each other’s flavor profiles. For the September 2020 issue of Maryland Leaf, creative director Daniel Berman and editor Wyatt Early and myself got together to illustrate the issue. The only caveat is that Daniel lives in Seattle while Wyatt and myself call Maryland home. We needed to figure out an effective way for Daniel to be present to help direct the shoot. We decided to set up my iPhone on a tripod and create a Zoom link for him to view the set. We also tethered my camera to my laptop and, through screen-sharing, gave him access and control to the images as they were created on the fly. Not to jinx future shoots, but it worked flawlessly and gave Daniel the confidence to use the same technique to monitor a remote shoot two days later.

We spent the prior week shopping for props and backgrounds. I found a couple of fabulous books of scrapbook paper at Joann Fabric Store - thick heavy sheets with bold color and a woven texture to give the light something to bite into. Wyatt brought the samples from various vendors of wine, beer, cocktails and of course, cannabis products ranging from kief to cartridges.

The entire shoot took about five hours from set-up to breaking the set and all three of us were super-jazzed with the results. Check out the pages below and if you’re in Maryland, visit your favorite dispensary and pick up a free issue for yourself and enjoy!