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Sunday 1 April 2007

SLW Challenge: Who Inspires You?


Who inspires you? That's a question I seldom think about consciously. No matter that there are ever so many people to set an example or to turn to for advice in difficult situations. When Lara - the administrator of my food photography group on flickr - asked this very question as the monthly food photography challenge, it took me almost all of March to decide about it. In terms of food photography, I don't know anyone personally who is into that. Mostly all I can do is staring at other people's mouthwatering pictures and pondering what'dahell they did to make it look so good. Add to this a bit of reading around the internet and Lara's helpful hints on her food photography blog StillLifeWith and that's basically all I know about it.

Hence, it may not be unexpected that I frequently reach my limits. I had finally figured out whose pictures I admire the most but then, the trouble started. I absolutely adore the macro shots of Nicky from Delicious Days like this one - but I don't have a macro lens. Second, I absolutely adore the well-arranged shots of Bea from La Tartine Gourmande like that one - but I'm lacking all those nice little plates/bowls/cutlery/place mats you would need to recreate such a shot. Let me tell you my heart is aching whenever I come near any homewear store... Another one of my favourites is Melissa from Traveler's Lunchbox. Usually, she, too, does most of her shots with elaborate settings like that one. However, her picture of a flourless chocolate cake didn't use too many different things (except one very beautiful cake fork as you can see here) so I tried to reproduce it. And oh boy, did I fail... While managing to reproduce the cake (except that I didn't have ground almonds so I had to chop them myself which resulted in a less smooth batter and a less smoothly cut slice) - I wasn't able to reproduce the picture with the original soft lighting. Very disappointing! I also tried once to reproduce a very nice bread picture of MattBites but I couldn't figure out the proper lighting on that one either. It hadn't looked particularly difficult but it was particularly difficult. In the end, after many a trial and error, I managed to take a picture that I really liked but it didn't have much to do with the original. You see, I'm still wondering how on earth they do it...

9 comments:

Eva said...

I just realized that I actually didn't say anything about the cake itself: The recipe was really easy to follow and the cake turned out well. Just like Melissa suggested, I liked it best with some creamy Greek yogurt!

Anonymous said...

Hi Eva,
I think that your food photography skills are good from the start and you also seem to be getting better each day! Also the important thing is that you are having fun. Of course, I enjoy looking at your photos - food for the eyes!
I'm going to try this recipe and underbake it slightly as suggested by Melissa to see how it will taste. I have an on-going choc craving ..... - Nora

Eva said...

Thank you so much! Luckily, you don't know how many pictures I often have to take to get a good one...;-)
And for choc cravings, that's absolutely the right cake!
EVA

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the sweet note Eva! This chocolate cake looks heavenly!

Eva said...

Happy to hear that! Taste wise, the cake didn't leave anything to wish for!

Anna (Morsels and Musings) said...

hi evea,

i'm so glad you left a message on my blog so that i could follow the link back to find yours!!!

your photos are truly wonderful. the way i look at it, it doesn't matter how many photos it takes, if you can get one good one then you have talent.

some of us can't even get one good one!

Eva said...

I like that attitude! Will remind myself of it the next time I'm tempted to start swearing at some "unphotogenic" object...;-)

Elle said...

Your photos are beautiful. I take at least half a dozen to get one good one for my blog, but that is part of the fun for me...learning what works and doesn't. Your bread photos are particularly fine. One thing to remember is that everyone's eye is different and that art is unique. Your photos are indeed art.

Eva said...

Elle - thank you so much! That's one of the nicest comments I've ever got (and it truly made this day...)!