Romina's Blog

A place to speak of cheese and things

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Food photography

July 3rd, 2011

I have always admired food photographers. Food photography is something that I haven’t been able to master. I decided to make a goal sheet of things I would like to accomplish by the end of this year and on that list is to improve my ability to take pictures of food. Lucky for me… my mother has started her catering business (cateringbyeida.com) and because of this I have pretty food to photograph (:

My favorite thing to take pictures of has always been flowers. Anything that involves plants has always been natural for me to photograph. I don’t have to think twice or overanalyze the situation. I think that mainly I feel that they’re so beautiful already that they speak for themselves and all I have to do is take a picture to share it with the world. This is the opposite of how I feel about food photography. I always hesitate and I feel incompetent.

Portable Bruschetta
Portable Bruschetta. It’s portable because it’s on a cool-looking wooden spoon, ready for take off.

On Friday, my mother catered for a wrap party and I had the opportunity to take pictures of the food to put on her website. I was very nervous because there were time constraints (people would arrive soon and start consuming), limited lighting available, and there was a lot of food to photograph.

While taking pictures of the food, I was starting to build up anxiety from the stress. Nothing I was shooting came out how I wanted it to. Somehow during that chaos, it clicked in my brain. I don’t know what ‘it’ is, but it happened. I felt like I was taking pictures of flowers instead. I tried imagining that I was in a garden and if these plates of food were actually flowers, how would I photograph them?

I think that what is most important is remembering to give the food personality. Even though it’s an inanimate object (a yummy inanimate object), it deserves attention and should be photographed in that fashion. I’ve found that there is beauty in food and the way it is presented and it is a food photographer’s job to portray that. It’s difficult to make food look delicious through a picture. I hope to work on this over the course of the rest of the year and improve one step at a time.

Overall I am proud of the work that I did. I am going to be posting more pictures of food and the dishes from the wrap party as time progresses. Does anyone have any food photography tips? How do you feel about taking pictures of food?

^_~

Today is complicated

May 9th, 2011

I went to the mall today with my mother because she wanted to get some pants and I thought I’d accompany her. Little did I know I would find items that interested me as well (or maybe I did know…).

I found three pairs of shoes at Macy’s that I was willing and ready to buy. I asked the help for size 6. After about 10 minutes of waiting the nice man returns letting me know that they don’t have ANY of them in 6. Strike 1.

I also saw some Roxy flip flops that I wanted to buy for beachwear (also at Macy’s). I tried a 6. Too small. A 7. Too big. Strike 2.

I left Macy’s and passed by PacSun. Sweet. They always have flip-flops for me. I saw a pair that were even cooler than the ones I wanted from Macy’s. I asked the guy there for a size 6 and 7 to try. He goes to the back and returns 5 minutes later. They don’t have ANY size for that model in the back. Strike 3.

I saw a nice mannequin outside Hollister wearing a cute little skirt. I thought wow I want that. So I went inside and looked for it. Size L. I asked for help again. “XS please?” He searched to no avail. At this point I sighed in exasperation, but was interrupted by the sight of a blue tank with a bow on it. “Mine!” I thought. Only L and M. No XS in the store either. The store manager decided to call other stores to see if they had the skirt and tank. 15 minutes later. None of the stores he called had them. Strike 4.

I then walked into J. Crew, my new favorite store, to see if they had some brown shorts I saw earlier this weekend. They did, but no 00. Strike 5.

My mother decided to walk into Michael Kors to see some bags. At this point I thought “That’s it. I’m done with today,” when I saw a nice bag. 40% off. I bought it immediately to take advantage of my newfound luck. After I bought it I kept looking at other items. I then saw a pair of shoes I might like. I couldn’t get the right size. I walked out of the store quickly. My luck had reverted to its original state. Strike 6.

Finally I left this forsaken mall and went to another Macy’s in another mall to see if they had the shoes there. I found one of the three original shoes (not exactly that one but very similar). They didn’t have a 6. Strike 7.

So I have officially declared today over. I’m done with today. I quit. I’m going home to drink some tea and forget all about today.

Pork chops a la Romina!

September 17th, 2010

photo 3

I didn’t follow any recipe tonight. I just invented! So… without further ado… my pork chops.

Ingredients:
- Pork chops
- Red and green bell peppers (or whatever color you want!)
- Honey
- Brown sugar
- Lemon (or lemon juice)
- Bacon
- Jasmine rice (or whatever sides you prefer)

For the pork chops… I first put some black pepper on them. Then I put my super special secret sauce (don’t worry, it won’t be a secret in a minute). Then I wrapped it in bacon. I chopped up the bell peppers into little pieces and threw those into the mix and in the oven it went. I preheated the oven at 375 degrees. I left the pork chops in there until they were about light brownish on both sides.

In the photo, we had the pork chops with jasmine rice and a potato salad which was not made from scratch but actually bought at a store.

It all came out very delicious and I would recommend it, just be sure to give me some credit when you make it. (:

Secret sauce:
I mixed a table spoon of brown sugar with a tablespoon of honey. Then I squeeze some lemon juice… (about half a tablespoon, depending on your taste) into the mixture. I mixed it all together until it became a sauce. Trust me, you’ll know when that happens.

The Origin of Sloppy Joe

August 24th, 2010

The Sloppy Joe happens to be one of my favorite things to eat. Today, I had a sloppy joe for lunch… along with sweet potato fries and horseradish mayonnaise.

photo

There are a few variations for making the sloppy joe, but I cheat and use the quickest and simplest method there is.
1) Ground beef
2) Manwich Sloppy Joe Sauce (comes in a redish can)

So you mix the ground beef and the sauce in a saucepan, until it’s cooked and that’s it! You have sloppy joe. Just put it on the bun and eat it.

Normally I don’t like sweet potato anything… but since my father offered to make them with me I accepted. And they were yummy.

Now the horseradish mayonnaise.
1) Horseradish
2) Mayonnaise
3) Paprika

Mix these three ingredients together and you have a tasty sauce for your fries, but please be mindful of how much horseradish you put. The stronger the taste of the horseradish the less of it you put. Always be aware to put more mayo than you do horseradish. Horseradish tends to have a very strong taste and you want this to be almost sweet.

The history of the sloppy joe sandwich
This is the most interesting part. The true origin of the sloppy joe is unknown and probably impossible to track down, but there is a trace.

The origin of the true sloppy joe goes back to Habana, Cuba. This version is not like the “Manwich” ones, but nonetheless has the same consistency.

There was a bar called Sloppy Joe, owned by a Cuban, who would make these sandwiches. It’s traced back to New Jersey and Key West. The details as to which of the two places it took place in is murky, but I still think the story is interesting.

Do you like sloppy joe sandwiches? (:

Romina's Blog

A place to speak of cheese and things