food photography — Words

Posts tagged food photography

As with the Washing Line Series, some of the Kitchen Scales images work better than others. Raw Sausages might be great as an advertisement in a butchers but not so desirable on a kitchen calendar perhaps. One comment I have received is that, while technically good, the Scales series does not demonstrate the same level of quirkiness as seen in my other still life work.

As with all sets of photographs they develop and mature with each addition and adapt to criticism and feedback. Some work, others don’t. I’m hoping this ice-cream image brings back a little of the quirkiness; it’s the latest addition to the series.

It took a few attempts to get it right. Initially, I was after an ice-cream cone that you get from the vans at the seaside. A highly whipped soft ice cream which, obviously, has to have a flake in it. I don’t live near the sea and I haven’t seen a van in town like, ever. So an attempt was made using whipped double cream piped into place as an attempt to replicate the soft waves seen in the originals.

I wasn’t sure it worked. A talented photography friend agreed and put their finger right on it; the cream doesn’t look wet enough. Looking at it today it just resembles shaving foam rather than ice cream! I resorted to ‘normal’ ice cream, the actual stuff, a soft scoop from the local supermarket. ‘Wetness’ was there, important as it needed to look slightly melted, for drips.

The next issue my friend pointed out in the second image was the size/scale of the flake. It’s huge and looks like it is just there propping up the cone. In a real ‘99’ the flake is half-sized. At this point, the cone and its contents had been consumed and the set-up cleaned. Really liked the arrangement of the ice cream and its drip though and lacking time to restyle the whole still life I resorted to a little play in photoshop.

Another flake was chopped in half and photographed on the scales at pretty much the same angle as the original. Photoshop was then used to mask out the old one. I don’t think you can tell.

Some good comments received over this image. It is available as a print on Etsy.

Now I just have to ensure the level of ‘quirkiness’ is maintained.

In the StudioAndrew Barrow28 June 2021still life setup, food photography, kitchen scales, ice creamComment

Hot Cross Buns on Vintage Kitchen Scales

I was reading a little inspirational book the other day, one targeted at photographers and artists. One passage jumped out at me “There’s an intuition that you only gain through the repetition of practice”. It struck home as I struggled to use that large red kitchen scales in an image.

It just was not working. I couldn’t get the angle right, the tray positioned so the 16 (!) hot crossed buns inside displayed as I wanted. Intuition told me it just was not going to work.

I had to prop the tray up at the back so the rull array of buns was fully visible. But in doing that the tray became detached from the scales supports. To hide this I slide the camera along seeing that the little and would fix the issue in photoshop. But no, intuition kicked in and I abandoned the idea.

Actually I abandoned the scales rather than the idea by replacing them with a different set. A few test shots later - trying to get balance with buns outside the weighing tray - and I was happy. The final image is now up on Etsy. Hot Cross Buns on Vintage Kitchen Scales by AndrewBarrowPhotos https://etsy.me/2Qto8iv

In the StudioAndrew Barrow21 March 2021kitchenalia, kitchen scales, food photographyComment

Kitchenalia

Enjoyed a little eBay indulgence last week. Seemed to have ended up with five different kitchen scales. All are old and battered as I was after a certain vintage kitchenalia vibe. If I am honest I only wanted one or two of these sales; NO IDEA how I ended up with five… I’ve just checked eBay to ensure I haven’t bid on any more!

Now they are all here I have enjoyed a few hours of using them combined with various food items. Some didn’t work - spinach for example looked like wilted weeds pulled from a central reservation. But the ones below I am happy with.

Production is similar to my other studio work, but I’m using a flash rather than natural light. Small flash and a huge softbox. The ability to move the light so it wraps around the subject is vital here when compared with the natural light of, say, the Washing Line images.

One thing I did learn from submitting the Washing Line images to the RPS for the Fellowship is that the subject must be instantly recognisable. Spinach didn’t. Doughnuts, flour, lemons and the rest do.

I have also dipped my toe into the world of Etsy selling and have added these to my new store. Would be lovely if someone made a purchase! Food Related Fine Art Photography Prints by AndrewBarrowPhotos (etsy.com)

In the StudioAndrew Barrow3 March 2021kitchenalia, kitchen scales, food photography, prints for sale, etsyComment

Washingline Project

The Washingline Project Gallery has just been updated with three more images. I’m rather amazed at the positive reactions to these; “innovative and unusual” was one comment. Such comments spur one on to continue. The actual aim is to put these forward as a distinctions panel for the RPS; although this means I am only halfway through producing the required number of images with a few spares.

I rather enjoy the whimsey in producing these - the butterfly on the pastry, the lighter than light macarons requiring the line to be propped up by a stick, and the pappardelle pasta blowing in the wind. Both the stick and a butterfly will be used in future images I think.

But it’s not just an alternative way to display and photograph food. The Fish Fingers and Chip is a take on the isolation we are currently enduring for example. (Although, if I am honest, this is the only one with an intentional ‘message’, whatever people read into the others).

The three latest additions are Prawn Toasts, Pork and Lemon Pelpettine with Pappardelle Pasta and Macarons.

In the StudioAndrew Barrow11 May 2020washingline_project, food photography, still lifeComment