Up close and personal.

When I started the blog back in 2010, I started to remember not only how much I loved writing, but also how much I loved photography. As the blog progressed, I also noticed that my photography skills were improving, naturally. However, last year, I attended BlogHer Food in Seattle, and realized I had a ways to go as far as photography was concerned. The first thing being if I was going to take this food blogging thing seriously, I should invest in a DSLR camera. So I did a bunch of research, and went with the Nikon D3100, which I adore and would recommend to anyone.

When I got the camera, I didn’t bother to read the manual – I’m just not a “manual” person – I’m a hands-on learner – and I just started snapping photos. The first photo I took was this one, of my cat. Not too shabby for a first try.

my first muse.

As I continued snapping away, I noticed that this camera did produce significantly better photos that my old point-and-shoot, however there was so much more it could do that I had yet to understand. I enrolled in a two-hour seminar at a local photography studio, which was helpful and rather enjoyable, however it was not enough time to really learn what this baby was capable of. So, I decided to sign up for real photography class.

It’s only one class in, and I already know it was the best decision I could have made. Our first assignment was an extreme close-up. I decided, again, to use my cat as my model. I took this shot the other day.

you shall not pass.

So, the point I’m trying to make here is that a great camera does make a difference, but a little education really goes a long way. Rome wasn’t built in a day – and certainly not by someone who was just pushing buttons with no real clue what they were doing.

 

 

Just Peachy.

Today I was talking with a friend about what to bake next and what flavor combinations might work well together. She said that she was shopping the night before, and saw one of those plug-in air fresheners that was lavender and peach scented, and that she immediately thought of me, and how I should bake lavender peach cupcakes. I agreed that this was an excellent idea.

I did not bake them yet – I’ll be doing that sometime in the next few days. However, this conversation reminded me of how much I love peaches, and don’t eat them nearly as often as I’d like to. So, I picked up a few at the farmer’s market near my office today, and realized what a lovely looking fruit a peach actually is. So, before I slice up my peaches and bake them, I wanted the world to bask in the beauty of the peach, fuzz and all.

Still Life With Peach on Red Laptop.

Kinda reminds me of a painting from one of the Dutch masters I studied in college. I also suddenly have the desire to move to the country…and eat a lot of peaches. Go figure.

 

Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries.

Last night, I had dinner at my parents’ house. It was a delicious meat loaf, but that’s not what I’m here to discuss. No, my friends, tonight I’m paying homage to the fruit that’s always on top – cherries. I don’t know about you, but whenever I visit my parents, I go home with a random assortment of items, mostly edible, followed at a close second by cleaning products. I’m not sure why this is – I guess it will always be mom’s job to keep you well-fed and clean. Anyway, this time, one of the items in my grab bag of goodies was a large ziplock bag filled with cherries – really nice looking ones too. Now, I’m not normally a buyer of cherries, so when my mom offered them to me, I was hesitant at first, but then thought, “well if anything, I can make them into jam,” so into my bag they went.

Well, I got home tonight, and saw the bag of cherries in the fridge, and decided to eat one – and just as my mom had warned, it was not that sweet. But it looked so pretty…and then I knew what higher purpose these cherries were meant to fulfill in my life – a photo shoot, of course!

everything has a beautiful purpose.

It just goes to show you – what might not seem like anything special at first glance (or taste), can wind up being amazingly beautiful, if you look at it a little differently.

Everything in its place.