On a roll

Ok. Not roll. Ha. Croissant?

I get laughs. I get laughed at. People make fun. Ok. I don’t care.

I get shots in a restaurant. I shoot food. And… I shoot us. Usually, I get a shot right after we sit and get a drink…

Vertical vs horizontal – the way the picture is oriented – we all shoot mostly horizonal? Do you? I see a lot of vertical iPhone shots. Maybe things are vertical? Does it matter? Things less common tend to stand out…? As I have said and say – don’t overthink it. But, I do… shoot mostly horizontal.

Ok, so not a restaurant.

Cheesecake

I’ve been scrolling by this cheesecake image all morning. But the scroll is too fast and my finger too slow to catch the image. There are simply too many images… and why don’t I cull my catalog? do I have to throw anything away? I can just rate the images – one star, two stars… it works. I have culled out more than half the images. Two star is simply a technically good shot. There is reasonably good focus and exposure with decent composition. After that, what is outstanding?

All I can say is that picture does not do the cheesecake justice. It tasted superb! I have been searching for a good slice of cheesecake since my time in Jeddah. They – the Saudis – simply cannot bake cheesecake. NY cheesecake? I don’t live in NY. I do not miss NY but would like a good slice. So?! I made one! Gee! It was good! I was impressed even by my standard. There are a lot of steps but this is a showstopper every time we serve it up. Who ever thought I would learn to bake?!

Food

It’s kind of like the chicken or the egg? Food? Wife? Is it about the food or the company? You can do both. Ha ha. I do. Most of my food photography is poor. I’m shy about shooting the food in a restaurant. I have never been stopped. And of course there is Instagram and all of its followers. I am not an influencer. It’s just fun. And another photo op. Where are we? Who knows? Some restaurant. Lunch, I guess, not too many people about. Chilly – the down jacket; Covid – the mask on the chair…

Details

Subtle but different…

It makes all the difference. I know. You are rolling your eyes right now. Lessons. Again. Boring.

See the room. ?? A little bit more wall makes it look a lot less crowded. Huh? Convincing? Can you see what I am getting at?

Sometimes it really it too subtle to care. And at other times, there is a big change in changing perspective. What does the image convey, or, the photographer wish to convey? … the difference between ooo… and ah…

Welcome back

Our first time back since the pandemic…

It’s nice to be back. It is a small joint. They survived the pandemic. We have not been here since 2019. Crazy. Yes, the food is as good as we remember.

I find it easier with a point and shoot camera, or any camera. iPhone is fine. But… I do not facebook, Instagram or tik tok. We all have our preferences. I prefer a camera.

The last shot…

Don’t overthink! This is the last shot in my catalog. … for right now. It won’t be the last for long. Things are an utter mess. Photos go missing in a heartbeat. I can’t find…. But then I do… find things. No matter how orderly I think I am, and, how careful, and how redundant, things go missing all the time. mistakes are made. Punctuation? Capital letters? Whatever? I lose stuff all the time. I try. Try?

Laugh and clap! I am old… older. Memory fades! I shall be at peace and worry less. By this very writing I am worrying. Oh gee! Darn! Etc etc.

Fun! Fun with food! It’s soft, not quite in focus. It’s fine. It will do. It is fit for my illustrative aim. It makes you giggle to see how puff pastry can look in an amateur baker’s hands. Mine! We ate it all up. The puffs were roundly admired. It’s easy to do. Maybe this might inspire you too? … to photograph, silly, not to bake. But if you like my recipe….

…Next shot please.

Happy eggs

Oh yeah! Inflation! The price of eggs topped $5. We – Colleen – buys organic free range yada yada…. Yes, double the price of regular eggs. It’s pretty entertaining too! Blue eggs! Yup! Technicolor. She lifted the lid and I was blown away. I will note an egg is an egg. The yolk is still yellow. You won’t see the shell when you eat the egg….

Grab shot in the supermarket. Yes, who takes pictures of a carton of eggs? Lighting can be tricky. Fluorescent lights have a green tint. Ha ha. The new modern camera compensates. I am saved! … except for the blue colored eggs…

Oh happy eggs!

Discontinued

I hate it! They discontinued Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits. My mother hit on the idea of making Chinese dumplings with them. I have been doing it for decades following her example. And now!???! They discontinued the product line. I found some at Walmart. So, this is the last batch. Somehow Walmart was carrying them as ‘store brand.’ I shall go to plan B. …except there is no plan B. Alas!

Food photography is tricky and easy. It’s all about lighting and focus. Of course we can’t taste with our eyes…

Dang!

Holiday baking comes without a plan. How about if we make….? And then it happens. French bread. Excellent! And it was even better French toast the next day. Mincemeat pie. Find mincemeat?! We did. … pie! Meringue cookies. They were the off shoot of my Atlantic pie. Leftover egg whites. Pretty simple. The secret was the cream of tartar. Dang! Those were good cookies.

Green

Green is a favorite color for Jules. Now, I know. But it seems I did not know when she had this green kale smoothie. I had not seen her since she moved to California. She’s more health conscious than I realized. When she ordered this drink it was not too appetizing to my eye. It looked more like medicine. Nope, not for me!

Shooting in a dim restaurant is a challenge. Hold still (camera). Don’t shake. Ha! Better lighting would have helped. Of course! But I was just grabbing a shot of the drink for posterity and this post.