Behind The Scenes

My food photography has come a long way from the early days with my point and shoot camera in the kitchen snapping quick pictures of my dinner.  Now, more often than not, when I am photographing food you will find me in front of those sliding doors behind me with the sun shining in from the left.  But on cloudy rainy days and for night shots I have to get out my silver dome light diffusers and a white core board sheet to bounce back the light.  It has gotten complicated, but I am having fun with it.

Last week I received an invaluable book as a gift from my niece Jennie.  Thank you Jennie.  Helene Dujardin of the much admired blog Tartlette has written a book to help her fellow foodies take better pictures.

  
I recently upgraded my point and shoot camera to a Canon EOS Rebel T2i with an added 50 mm 1.8 lens.  I have been lax about learning my camera.  I have relied on the automatic settings like "close-up".  Helene's book has gotten me excited about taking control of my shots.  Here are some shots taken in low light with the diffuser in the AV (Aperture Priority) mode.

Composition is not good in this picture.  Clarity on the meatballs suffers also.

I like the way the meatballs look in this shot, but the plate is overexposed and again, composition could be better.

I like the composition in this picture.  The leafy maidenhair fern adds a softness to the shot.  I'm still not where I want to be.  Lighting is still my enemy, but I am learning to make friends with it.  And I am having fun doing it.

I am also having fun with blogger's new designs.  This is a temporary look.  My Son ( in his spare time) is working on switching me over to Word Press and my new blog look will be totally different.


SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS (Everyone has a version of this recipe)

1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
1/2 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion chopped
1/2 to 3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 12 ounce bottle chili sauce
6 ounces red currant jelly
Zest and juice of one lemon

Combine meats.  Cook onion in oil until soft.  Add to meat mixture along with breadcrumbs, eggs and seasonings.  Form into 1 inch balls and place on a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes.  In the meantime, combine the chili sauce, red currant jelly and zest and juice of one lemon in a large skillet.  Heat and stir to combine.  Remove meatballs from oven and add them to the sauce.  Roll to coat.  Cover skillet and cook until flavors are combined, about 15 minutes.


Printable recipe