A Portrait With Your Favourite Food

I'm going to assume that since you read food blogs, you take pictures of food. Do you take pictures of yourself with food? Yes, all food lovers do, don't we? I certainly do!

These giant peaches were on the side of the road in Cromwall, New Zealand. We were travelling along the highway and I pulled over with a screech to take these pictures. My husband, Anthony, has learned to indulge these kinds of things!

Four Food People to Follow on Instagram

I love my Instagram feed because it's a mixture of photos from friends and photos from extremely talented photographers. Most of my feed is food-focused. Here are four of my favourite Instagram feeds. You should follow them too! (And please follow me as well, of course!)

Cheryl Sternman Rule: sternmanrule
Sternman Rule is the author of Ripe and the blogger at 5 Second Rule. Her photos are well composed and her captions are usually punny or ironic. She's down-to-earth and refreshing.

Going bowling.

Plate to Pixel by Helene Dujardin

I bought and read Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography and Styling a few years ago when it first came out. I had received a digital SLR (my "big camera") for Christmas a little before and food photography had fast become my second favourite part of blogging. (Nothing competes with cooking.) Plate to Pixel by Helene Dujardin is the just the kind of book a "big camera" beginner needs to get everything figured out.

Weekend Links #30

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--Liking healthy foods is a choice, argues Zen Habits.
--In defense of posting pictures of your food on social media (from Inside Scoop SF). We do it because it's fun and it's what we actually like.

recipe links:
--I've decided that Sunday should become my roast chicken day. I was inspired by Nourished Kitchen.
--Ginger cilantro slaw sounds like a perfect summer crunchy dish (from Cave Girl Eats).
--When I last made muhammara (a roasted red pepper dip) it included a ground up pita bread. Now that I don't eat (much) wheat, I want to try this version from Paleo Non Paleo.
--An iced coffee frappucino recipe (from Healthy Green Kitchen, pictured above).

Weekend Links #29

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--A review of an article from The New England Journal of Medicine about seven myths of weight loss (from Weighty Matters). Number one myth: "Small sustained changes in energy intake or expenditure will produce large, long-term weight changes." Big changes are needed to turn your health around.
--On the other hand, here's an article about how recognising and celebrating small food wins can lead you to bigger ones (from Mark's Daily Apple).
--A blogger talks about oil pulling as a technique for oral health and overall health (from Kitchen Stewardship).

snapshots around my kitchen

I will soon be leaving home to go on a four week trip. This will be a really long time away from my husband and my kitchen. I will be able to talk to my husband on the phone and Skype, but, sadly, you can't chat over Skype with your kitchen. I have realised that I will miss it--even though I frequently berate its tiny size and many limitations. Here are a few shots from around my kitchen.

weekend links #17

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--Does being a food blogger lead to a book deal? An article from The Guardian exploring the idea of bloggers versus "expert" book writers.

recipe links:
--Pizza dough made with white wine; what an interesting idea (from Suzie the Foodie)!
--Four new ways to drink gin and tonic (from The Kitchn). G&T is my favourite after-work drink. I think the lime and cilantro version might be enjoyable.
--This cottage cheese and mint flatbread sounds exceptionally easy to make (from Lite Bite).
--Chocolate chip cookies that are gluten- and sugar-free (except for the chocolate chips)--sweetened with bananas (from Gluten Free A-Z Blog).

off-topic links:
--I've been researching camera handbags. I really want a girly bag for my camera and laptop. VeraLana posted a great list of women's camera bag options. At the moment, I'm leaning towards an epiphanie bag called Clover.
--An article about the correctness (or lack thereof) of meta-anaylses of scientific studies. If you read only one article about scientific studies, this is my suggestion (today, anyway!).
--Why we find things annoying and how to cope (from Sarah Wilson). An insightful and funny article.

weekend links #14

food reading links:
--Bagel cutting for the mathematician (from George Hart).
--A review of the book Home Dairy, which I now want to buy (from Eat Make Read). I wish to make my own cheese. Mmm, cheese.
--Are plastic food containers too toxic to reuse? Mr Green replies (from Hey Mr Green).
--How many ways can you combine five ingredients into pairs? Indexed shows the diagram for cinnamon, sugar, salt, pepper, and mint (from Indexed).

recipe links:
--Limoncello is easy to make at home, with only two ingredients (from Sugarlaws).
--Cake baked inside (real) egg shells (from Delicious Days), reminds me of those chocolate-filled egg shells you can buy at Maison du Chocolat.
--A cake that may be the royal wedding cake (from Baking Banter at King Arthur Flour).

off-topic links:
--Making your own photo collage in Picasa (from petit elefant).
--A review of an Indonesian restaurant in Hong Kong that makes me want to visit (from Mochachocolata Rita).
--A place to get inspired--Pinterest. Here's the food and drink front page.

weekend links #13

food reading links:
--Useful things to freeze in ice cube trays (from The Kitchn). The great ideas just keep coming as you read down into the comments.
--The periodic table of desserts (from E-blong). I think there are several geeky bakers in my life who might like this poster as a present.
--A helpful article about food photography--tips that are simple to understand and actually very useful (from Food Blog Forum).

recipe links:
--An oatmeal brownie, expect is's not a brownie, it's a hot quadrilateral (from 5 Second Rule).
--Stunning and easy Hasselback sweet potatoes (from Roti n Rice). They are almost pretty enough to be a party centrepiece!

off-topic links:
--Which house plants will clean the air in my Hong Kong apartment? Here's a list (from re-nest). That assumes that I won't kill them, of course. Which might be hard for me.
--Can a fluorescent lightbulb be beautiful? Maybe so (from Remodelista).
--We like boundaries and deadlines: enforced freedom (from Sarah Wilson).

weekend links #12

food reading links:
--A post about asking to visit the restaurant's kitchen while you're dining there (from The Kitchn). I had no idea you could do this and I'd like to try. But I'm a bit shy. Have you ever done this?
--I am interested in reading the book Ideas in Food, after this review by David Lebovitz.
--A bacon infographic (from Seattle Weekly).

recipe links:
--I wonder what it tastes like if you put pumpkin, cranberry, and millet together in a muffin? Find out at Cheap Healthy Good.
--Milk infused vodka--it actually sounds charming (from The Kitchn).


off-topic links:
--Geometric food photos inspire me, like the one pictured above, by Andrew Scrivani, called Bok Around the Clock (from Making Sunday Sauce). Visit his blog for scores more inspiring photos and food photography ideas.
--Would you like to adopt a word? Nora Maynard did: prandicle (from Leite's Culinaria).

Light Box for Staging Food Photography: Step-by-Step

Photography runs in my family, and until recently I was lagging behind in a big way. My mother was an accomplished amateur photographer when I was younger. She got her first good camera as a hand-off from my Grandad. My two brothers are both skilled snappers--Micah is a symmetry-loving point & shoot man, while Paul is a professional in the film and photography business. He owns the fanciest camera I have had the pleasure of seeing. (When he first got it I told everyone about how it is calibrated to the shape of his eye, and anywhere he looks it automatically focuses!) He has had a big impact on me lately, and really encouraged me to learn to take pictures properly. So I asked for a proper (DSLR) camera for Christmas from Ant and my Mum and Dad, and I have been lucky enough to also receive a second lens for our anniversary.


Lighting has been my main problem. My kitchen and dining area are not the best for natural light, especially at night, when I am doing most of my cooking. (In fact, there is not any time during Monday to Friday when I am at home during daylight hours. Sad but true.) So Paul was telling me about how to rig up a desk lamp to give good light. Just a lamp on its own is too harsh, so he gave me some diffusion paper to soften it. And he sent me instructions to make a staging box. You can make one too; it's easy! All you need is some diffusion paper, an old cardboard box, some white paper (I used the back of plain wrapping paper), a ruler, some masking tape, scissors (or a craft knife), a ruler, and a set square or angle measure.


I used an old archive box, but any cardboard box could be used. Start by setting the box down with the front open. Then draw a straight line across the top of the box between 5cm and 10cm from the front. From here, draw a line at 45 degrees on each side, sloping away from the front, and then across the back of the box.


Cut along this line and remove the back corner of the box.


Cover the inside of the box with white paper.


Use an extra pice of white paper to create a rounded backdrop inside the box. This will avoid having a corner in the background of your photos. This paper is called a cove.


Cut a piece of diffusion paper to fit over the opening in the back of the box. Diffusion paper can be bought from photography shops, but it can be substituted with parchment paper or tissue paper. Since you are using masking tape, the diffusion paper can be changed for another material whenever you want a different look. You could even use a light, gauzy, fabric.


Tape the diffusion paper to the top of the opening. Leave the bottom unattached, so that you can drape a napkin or tablecloth from the front to the back over the cove if you choose.


Place the desk lamp behind the light box. Place it quite high and on a 45 degree angle so that the light is parallel with the diffusion paper. Use a tungsten or halogen light bulb. Don't use a compact fluorescent bulb (energy saving) since the colour cast is quite green (unless you want to correct all the pictures afterwards).


The photographs taken inside the box are well lit but not too harsh. The diffusion gives a soft look to the plate of food.


Making my own light box was easy and inexpensive--and it has made a huge difference to the lighting of my photos. Photography is just playing with light, as they say. So play on!

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Update: July 2010

Since I first wrote this post, we have moved to Hong Kong. When we packed up, I recycled the old cardboard box and just brought the diffusion paper with me. I made a second light box after we arrived using one of our packing boxes. This time I cut out the bottom of the box; now I can place the light box down on an interesting surface, such as a nice wood-grained table, a slate tile, or even outside.



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photo collages

I am trying out a photo collage. This was a brilliant idea of Sarah's.

Asian Coleslaw

At Food Blogger Connect a couple of weeks ago I learned so much from Meeta about taking better food photos. Well, even though I am still using my point-and-shoot camera, this is by far the best photo I have yet taken. Thanks, Meeta!

I used a stack of thick cookbooks as a tripod, draped a tablecloth over the microwave as a backdrop, and used a desk lamp and a bounce board for lighting. I took heed of the advice to use a smaller portion for photos. I used a (smaller) dessert fork in this picture. My brother helpfully pointed out that even a point-and-shoot camera has a white balance setting. This has made a huge difference to my pictures. I always set it to indoor light now and all the orangey colours are gone! What a relief.