savory-bites » Photography

Published! in ‘Foodies of the World’

Jessie — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 12:52:19 +0000

Hey oh, don’t that picture look familiar?! Pre-race salad

Of all things that I have ever done, I think this is my most proud accomplishment. Sometime before college started, I made a bucket list. Smushed in the 60′s was to get published in a book.

Since I had been in PA for the passed few days, my mailbox was bursting with letters stuffed to the brim. Wedged in between it all was a padded package. When I saw the return address had been from Slattery Media Group, I dropped everything on the top of the mail box and tore apart the package. I started flipping through the pages one by one stopped on the 5th. They had used my photo for a single page spread before the recipes started. It was in one word, overwhelming, and at that point, all my emotions could no longer be contained. I did a little victory dance in the middle of the street.

So what exactly is this book? It’s a compilation of chosen recipes from some 59 global food bloggers. Familiar names such as Bea from La Tartine Gourmand, Meeta from Whats for Lunch, Honey?, and Jaden of Steamy Kitchen all make an appearance. To be among these bloggers in the same book is humbling and this is an opportunity I’ll never take for granted. There are a ton of recipes that I’ve already book-marked, such as Champagne Macarons from Melanger and Chocolate Pasta with Raspberry Coulis from Garrett’s Table. So as you can tell, all of the recipes in this book can be found online, but Slattery Media Group does a beautiful job of compiling them all together with mouth-watering, divine pictures. It’s also a great source for discovering great food blogs from other countries.

If you’re interested, here’s additional information and how you can get your own copy:

Date published: October 2010
Pages: 240 pages
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780980597318

Description
Foodies of the World is a collection of profiles and recipes from the best blogs around the world. The publication covers an international spread of cuisines, courses and recipe styles, as well as profiles of the bloggers themselves, who come from all corners of the globe. Containing stunning photography, styling and images, this is a high-quality cookbook with real food from real people.

To order a copy of the book click here

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Fauxlaroid Project: MoMA

Jessie — Mon, 31 May 2010 18:04:53 +0000

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Fauxlaroid: A photo framed to look like an old Polaroid.

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Inspired by Rick of a la mode journals*, I’m beginning a fauxlaroid project, since I have no idea what to do with all these nonfood snapshots and I don’t want to start a tumbler. Plus, there’s something about cropping photos to 300p x 300p and arranging them side by side that is just so much more appealing than your normal 4 x 6 prints.

And if you haven’t yet visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, it’s a must. Matthew Israel, if you’re out there, you were an awesome Modern Art professor and your class is one of the reasons why the MoMA is my favorite museum.

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Photographs from… 2 years ago?!

Jessie — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:27:46 +0000

Care for a cappuccino? Cafe Mogador

Remember those days when you had to wind that little wheel in the top corner of your nifty photo-taking box? Oh the pre-digital days. I think the excitement came from the moment you left the photolab, in a frenzy to rip apart the envelope.

These weren’t taken by just any phototaking paper box. No sir-ee. They were taken by my dad’s first camera in America, which ultimately led me to purchase a Canon EOS DSLR this past summer since he had compatible lenses. Isn’t that funny how your parents’ decision way back when can influence your own present day purchasing decisions?

Sure, I love the instant gratification of knowing how my photographs turn out- not to mention a seemingless endless space of memory. But there’s something in a developed print that a digital camera just can’t seem to capture.

Perhaps it’s that graininess that the photos all seem to have?

Or maybe, it’s how the photographs actually make you feel like they were taken in the past. Digital photography has gotten so close to perfect that sometimes, the results almost feel real. But I guess that’s what good photography should be (at least some sorts). Right?

And now for some non-food related photos. And some advice. Kind of.

Goodbye! I wish I took a picture ground up because I don’t remember what you look like pre-reconstruction!

My first roll of film sucked. I think I had two good prints. It’s a terrible crime to shoot so many, pay to have them printed, and end up with so few quality shots. My second roll was better. And the third even better. “What changed?” you ask?

No, we didn’t ask. The motorcycle lady volunteered.

My good buddy, Vince, who is heaps better at photography than me, told me that when he first started, he kept a handy little notebook. For each shot, he’d record the aperature, ISO, shutterspeed etc. Then, he’s compare his prints with the data in his notebook.

Union Square in the summer

Eventually, you see a trend in what you should do and what you shouldn’t. Like he said, it’s about experimenting and understanding that it’s okay to have a bad roll as long as you get one good shot and you know how you got it.

Filming by Grace Church of heck knows what.

So I’ve upgraded to a digital SLR. God sure knows I have a plenty long way to go in terms of learning and experimenting, but pulling out prints like this make me want to go back to the good ol’ days when I could hear the film reeling back into its case at the end of a roll.

These kids actually chased after me asking me to take their picture. I don’t think they realized that I get to keep the print…

Union Square at night near Whole Foods

Near Central Park

Sorry Sabrina, but no matter how hard I tried, it just doesn’t look like that opening scene from Gossip Girl. Fail.

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Don’t eat that yet! is back up

Jessie — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:25:16 +0000

www.donteatthatyet.com

This summer, I started another website with the intention that it would be powered by a community of people who love to eat and take pictures of food. I’ve always loved browsing through Tastespotting and Foodgawker but felt that both sites tended to discriminate against people with food blogs who dine out. After all, it’s difficult to shoot that perfect shot under dim lighting.

Hence, Don’t eat that yet! came about. The layout originally looked very similar to Tastespotting but at the end of the summer, the server crashed and the template was lost. Having finally had time to fix the site, I wanted to differentiate the site from others. And no, I did not code from scratch, nor do I ever really expect myself to be able to. But that’s what graphpaperpress.com is for and Don’t eat that yet! uses the amazing theme F8 Static. This new layout now has a dynamic “features” section, which showcases 10 high resolution photos in the heading area. Features will be updated weekly (or daily if the traffic is sufficient), highlighting beautiful photography and food.

The bottom half portion of the website is what we’re more familiar with, but instead of the 250 x 250 photos that Tastespotting and Foodgawker use, I decided to go with a 310 x 150x photo. More often than not, great dishes cannot be captured in a square box and I feel it is more appealing to give a glimpse of the overall horizontal shot.

Since all submitted photos are taken at restaurants, the category breakdown is quite simplistic. For the time being, it will be arranged by city or state/town. They are then broken down into category by the region.

To submit, all you have to do is click on the register/login link in the top left corner. Since the blog is run by WordPress, you can change your personal information by logging into WordPress with your username and password. Unfortunately, all passwords are generated by computer, so if you want a more memorable password, you’ll have to log in to change it. It’s fairly simple though.

Last but not least, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!

Any suggestions are definitely welcome and please, start submitting!

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Shoot Macro Shots Without the Expensive Macro Lens

Jessie — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:31:41 +0000

(This photo would have been much more crisp had I used that macro attachment that you’re looking at)

Let’s face it. Good mouthwatering food photography is generally shot close-up with DSLRs and usually with a macro lens that’s worth more than the body of the camera itself. Sure, some people can take great macro shots with point and shoots, but you have to admit that the majority of successful food bloggers with stunning portfolios use the DLSR set up. But I’m going to tell you how to take those stunning macro shots for under $50 (assuming that you have a DSLR, that is).

A few weeks ago, I got my hands on a Canon Rebel XT and boy was I excited. Imagine my disappointment when I wasn’t able to get the detailed close ups that I wanted in my shots. I didn’t want to spend another $400+ on a macro lens and so I was stuck. That is, until an old friend suggested that I buy a threaded lens.

Threaded lenses are additional lenses that allow for greater magnification for macro shots. In the past with SLRs, you could actually reverse your standard lens, attach it to the camera body with a reversal ring, and shoot macro. Today, they don’t make reversal rings with DSLRs, but they do make these threaded lens. When you buy them, they usually come with a wide angle lens that attaches itself onto the macro lens.

So compare these two photos.

The first is taken with the standard lens, a 18-55mm. It was the closest shot I could take of the quarter without it getting blury. The second is taken with the macro lens that comes with the 0.43x wide angle lens. See the clear difference?

That, my friend, is all you need, although the wide angle lens does make for great shots outside food photography. For example…

(A standard lens would never have given me this wide of a range!)

This is what the whole thing looks like- the wide angle and macro lens in all. You can get it on Amazon (click on the picture) for under $50. I got mine at a corner camera shop in NYC. It’s a Digital Concepts 0.43x professional wide angle lens with macro high definition, but there are tons of other companies that make these lenses too. Just make sure that the filter size is correct and that it’s specified for your camera brand. The filter size is located on the back of your lens cap and on the lens itself. The number will range anywhere from 50 to 80mm depending on what lens you have.

Now, of course, a real macro lens will ultimately take better pictures. But, hey, if don’t want to spend the money, this alternative does offer quite decent macro shots! Here are some other macro shots that I’ve taken with the attachment.

(You didn’t think that this would be a food free post now, did you?)

I’m an amateur photographer so if I’ve gotten anything incorrect (or if you have anything to add), please let me know!

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