Double decker buses, big ben and black cabs – these are how I had imagined London looked before I came to live here and become a Londoner. Strange enough, I have never had images of London looking grey and rainy. Having lived in London for several years now, I have never really captured London like most tourists do. I have always wanted to spend a day, be like a tourist with a camera, walking to just every corner of London to take some shots.

Observing and capturing the actions and expressions of people on the street, some dressed up smartly, whereas some were really casual. I want to do more! I need to be more brave and stay close enough when I want to take portraits. I think to start off, I will probably ask permission before. However, I have read about street photography is to take photos that are candid, and without permission. Perhaps, a few more practices, then I will do it without. I was wondering, when you take photos of people on the street, have you ever asked for permission?

Here are some shots of London in black & white. Some of them were initially shot in colour but I have used different B&W filters in Lightroom to produce better effect to the photos. Hope you guys will like them! Have a wonderful weekend!

I don’t know if we have started to experience the effect of global warming. It seems to me that this year’s summer has been cut short or rather skipped. All I have experienced was a few days of sunshine in a week or not at all sometimes!

I was really hoping for that sort of heat wave that will made into news headline, saying something like “people flocking to the nearest beach due to the highest temperature seen for the past 20 years” or something like that. In fact, this year, we seem to experience more rain in the Summer than in Spring.

Anyway, I am not going to hold my breath, waiting for the weather to get warmer. I mean, let’s get real, it is almost end of August and the day will be shorter as we march into October. The thought of it is no fun at all as it means that soon I will have to wear thicker clothes.

As I was flicking through all my the photos on my iMac, I notice I have quite a lot of photos I haven’t had a chance to post on my blog. Since I didn’t do a lot this summer (apart from eating lots of strawberries, which I will be sharing a favourite recipe of mine soon!), I think it makes sense to share a memorable outing to Kew garden last year. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanic glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in the Southwest London, England. To know more about Kew Gardens, please click here. I thought I would share some of the photos that I took, hope you guys will enjoy them!

By the way, I haven’t forgotten on the giveaways. The winners for the cookbooks are - Jenny H and JiLin G! Congrats both!! Please email me with your mailing address, thank you!

A few years ago, I visited Barcelona in a rush. I couldn’t quite remember what I saw and I ate. There were a few days of public holidays at the end of April and beginning of May. One of the days was declared an off day to the public in the UK due to the Royal Wedding. A lot of people had taken the advantage to book 3 days off to get a total of 11 days of holidays! Well, I didn’t do that but just booked 1 of the days off for a super long weekend! Since long haul flight to elsewhere was out of question, we decided to fly to somewhere near. Initially, we were thinking of going to Marrakech. I really thank God that we didn’t go there as a bomb attack took place at a cafe, near to Djemma el Fna in Marrakech on the 28/04/2011!

We opted for Barcelona and spent fabulous time there! Our breakaway was with a theme of free & easy. We didn’t particular plan the activities for our trip, though, I did research for some restaurants that I wanted to visit. I think, this trip can be described as relaxing and food orientated. We appreciated the time we spent at the hotel, chilling and did almost nothing but enjoying the sun and music by the pool side. I felt refreshed and thought it was pretty different to other of our holidays, such as in Vietnam and Cambodia, where we spent most of time sightseeing.

We stayed at W Hotels Barcelona, which is in Barceloneta area. W Barcelona is pretty brand new as it has just been opened for 1.5 years. Getting to the hotel from the airport takes probably 20 minutes by taxi. There is a total of 473 guest rooms including 67 suites, which all have been beautifully decorated. Compared to the Westin, which is also part of Starwood Hotels. W Hotels is a more contemporary and design-led lifestyle brand. Our room has one of the nicest views of beach and the Mediterranean sea. Deco wise, it is very chic, trendy and minimalist. Bliss products of travel size are provided and I have fallen in love with the Lemon & Sage one! It smells really invigorating!

During our stay there, we spent most of our time at the Wet Deck, soaking up the sun by the pool, listening to lounge music and sipping cocktails. I particular love W Cosmo and Vanilla Mojito! If I had a chance to turn back the time, these are the drinks that I would have ordered a few more! Well, you would probably be very interested to know what I think overall of the W, right?

Thumbs up for: comfortable bed; friendly staff and great service overall.

To be improved: poor or no Wi-Fi signal at the pool area, occasionally in the ‘Living Room’; chargeable Wi-Fi in the room should be made free since a lot of hotels do this nowadays; lack of breakfast choices (maybe because I am comparing to the breakfast options available at Starwood Hotels in SE Asia!);  need more choices of food, perhaps held occasional buffet options.

TOURISTIC STUFF TO DO:

1) La Rambla

A popular street in the centre of Barcelona that is very popular amongst the tourist. For me, one of the MUST visit is Boqueria Market. Here, you can see all the freshest seafood, vegetables and meat. You will also get the chance to buy some Charcuterie too. Arnaud and I love Iberian ham that we bought some back! Just super delicious. Do shop around to compare the prices and ask for tasting before you buy. Of course, there are some Tapas bars there. Please see ‘eating places’ section on this post.

2) Casa Mila – La Pedrera

Also known as La Pedrera, this is a must visit architecture building by the famous Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi. It is near to Passeig de Gracia, which is one of the main shopping places. Just take your time to appreciate the wonderful design by Gaudi, just amazing and breathtaking!

3) Sagrada Familia

This is another creation of Antoni Gaudi, which is probably the most amazing and beautiful Catholic churches that I have seen so far. Though the construction is incomplete and still being completed, this gigantic church is not to be missed. It is now one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

4) Poble Espanyol

If you have a bit more of time to spare, check out this place, also known as Spanish village. It is an outdoor open-air architectural museum where the architecture, style, and culture of various locations from around Spain were preserved in a single place. The aim was to produce an ‘ideal model’ Spanish village.

EATING PLACES:

1) Cal Pep, Placa de les Olles 8

You have perhaps seen the name of this Tapas bar online or in some guide books. It was pretty late when we got there and a long queue had already formed. The guy in the above photo acknowledged us and politely asked us to join the queue. We were later being asked what drinks we wanted while waiting. We both had Spanish red wine, Rioja, which I am normally not a fan but it turned out really good!

I have to say that Cal Pep is definitely a great Tapas place. This place now run by Pep’s son, who is friendly and looks after his customers really well. He doesn’t only serve the food himself but always make sure to have conversations with his patrons. He recommended all the dishes in the photos and all were super delicious! You can taste the real Mediterranean style cooking and there are lots of seafood choices. Very relaxing and great little Tapas place that makes you feel home. It is opened on Monday from 19:30 – 23:30, Tuesday to Friday from 13:00 – 15:45 & 19:30 – 23:30, Saturday 13:15 – 15:45 and closed on Sunday.

Clams with Pancetta in White Wine

Fried Calamari & Whitebait

Deep Fried Peppers

Cal Pep Special Omelette

Baby Squids with Chickpeas

2) El Qium de la Boqueria, La Rambla, 91

This is another Tapas bar, that at the Boqueria Market. Very different from Cal Pep, yet very delicious too. If you go there, please order and eat sardines on behalf of me, that I missed! And I forgot to take a photo of a mussels dish!

Fried Eggs with Ham

Omelette with Artichokes, Herbs & Onions

3) El Vasi De Oro

Don’t even go there! We went in and it was full. It is said to be famous for its beer. No one had taken any interests to welcome us. When Arnaud took one bottle of the beer arranged at the bar to check out the label, the bartender was staring at him. So, that sent us away within 5 minutes. I can’t comment on the food unfortunately but worst ever service to welcome customers!

4) Xurreria, Carrea Dels Banys Nous

A fan of Churros? This is definitely a place to get the most authentic and tasty churros. We walked pass this little shop by luck, I have to say. It was the first day when we arrived. We were wandering around the old town. Then, we saw this tiny shop that sells Churros. The shop definitely looks to have been there for a long time. We got a small packet and both thought it was really tasty! We went back on the last day before we left. Obviously, the first time when we stopped by, I didn’t take down the street name. So, we spent quite some time walking around old town, trying to find the shop. When, we were about to give up, I said if we were lucky, we would find it and we did! We even managed to catch a glimpse on the making of churros almost from scratch!

5) Euskal Etxea, Placeta Montcad, 1-3

This place has a new concept in serving Tapas food. All the choices are presented nicely on serving platters and each portion has a cocktail pick. All you need to do is to ask for a plate, then go around the bar area to check what you fancy. Choose and put on your plate, eat and keep all the cocktail picks. Each portion or rather each cocktail pick is €1.50. You will be charged according to the number of cocktail picks you have on your plate at the end of the meal. I find this a nice concept, except some people may ‘cheat’.

Artichoke & Pepper Tarts

Tartine of Cheese & Compote

Artichoke, Mozzarella Cheese & Sun Dried Tomato

Cream Cheese Tarts

Pork Pate with Onion Chutney Tartine (right), Filet of Mackerel with Chilli Pickles (left)

Well, that was it – our trip in Barcelona. However, I still have one more that I will share, it’s food related but I will leave it for next post! Meanwhile, if you plan to go to Barcelona in the future, I hope this will give you some ideas of what to do and where to eat. There is this map here that was given to me at the W Hotels concierge. It is a great map to help to plan your activities for a day. If it is too small to read, please email me to get a scanned copy.

J’aime Paris, la ville de la gastronomie et de l’amour!  (A city of food and love!) It was autumn when I last set my foot in Paris. I don’t remember how many times I have been to Paris and I think I have seen this city in different seasons. Each season gives a different look and feel to it. The autumn foliage makes Paris very picturesque. It was slightly cold, a pleasant cold – not to the extend that makes you feel like snuggling under your duet.

Montmartre is a nice place to have a walk and to see Paris from high above. Basilique du Sacré-Coeur needs no introduction – it is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city.

My all time favourite is Notre Dame Cathedral, just love the architecture! When I first visited Paris and laid my eyes on Notre Dame Cathedral, I felt like as if I had achieved something in my life that I had always dreamed of – to see Paris and Notre Dame Cathedral. Every time I see it, it reminds me of my first visit to Paris.

Each time to Paris, even though it is short but always sweet! It’s a nation of food! On the TV, there are always food related programs if not lots of food related adverts. Restaurants, cafes and brasseries are just about everywhere. I always make a point to try out things that I haven’t and of course, keep on savouring those that have become my favourites. Some good addresses – food wise, in Paris are:

1. Gilles Verot Traditional Charcuterie

Charcuterie is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products such  as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork. Originally intended as a way to preserve meats before the advent of refrigeration, they are prepared today for their flavours derived from the preservation processes.

I love charcuterie, my all time favourites are pâté aux figues (fig pâté),  pâté de campagne (classic pâté), and jambonneau. If you want to try something different, I would recommend saucisson a l’ail, fromage de tete, and andouille de vire. Gille Verot offer a lot of good quality chacuterie. If you are a fan of cured meat, this is a must stop in Paris! There are 2 branches.

2. Chez L’ami Jean

Chez L’Ami Jean offer Basque cuisine set on the left bank of Paris. It is a must try! On the menu, there are mostly meat dishes. It was our first time to Chez L’Ami Jean. The most memorable dishes I had were roast pork with cannelinni beans and riz au lait (rice pudding) served with salted caramel and assorted candied nuts. Just amazing!

3. Chartier

Opened in 1896, Chartier is an unpretentious restaurant and very inexpensive! The menu follows brasserie-style traditions, including items you might not dare to eat – boiled veal’s head, tripe, tongue, sweetbreads, lamb’s brains, chitterling sausages.  The waiter will steer you through such dishes as boeuf bourguignon (braised beef in red-wine sauce), pot-au-feu (combining beef, turnips, cabbage, and carrots), pavé (a thick slice of rump steak), and at least five kinds of fish.

4. Patrick Roger

If you are a chocolate addict, please read on! Another must try French luxury chocolate – Patrick Roger! I didn’t know about Patrick Roger until I watched a documentary in France about chocolate a few years ago. He was named the best chocolatier of France (Meilleur Ouvrier) in 2000 at only 32 years old.

Patrick is definitely passionate about chocolate. He has created fantastic chocolate with very much palate-opening flavours like lime and lemongrass. I may not be a big chocolate fan but ever since I have tasted Patrick Roger’s chocolate, I really think I got to know chocolate at another level. It brings me to a different world!

If you ask me which ones of Patrick Roger I can’t live without, they have to be  ‘Amazon - The harmony of caramel with the sharpness of lime’, ‘Delhi – Essence of lemon and basil’, ‘ValparaisoThe energy of the Pacific lime’, ‘Cyclone - The sharp sensation of plum’ …..errr… actually I love all!! You just gotta try this! Check out Patrick Roger’s cuisine here. And be prepared to drool! Price wise – for the one above is €24.

5. Astier de Vilatte

OK… this is not food related but if you like ceramic tableware, you will like Astier de Vilatte. Each piece is unique and comes with quite a big price tag. I try to resist not to go in each time I am in Paris, but most times, I fail.

6. Ladurée

This is the classic of the classic! I wouldn’t be surprised that it is a must-stop in Paris. It is definitely the best macarons shops in the world. I have tried Pierre Herme, but I think I will still stick with Ladurée even though Pierre Herme offer more  funky, mind-boggling, and eye-catching flavours. I just think Macarons from Pierre Herme were a bit too sweet for my liking.

I think that kind of sum up what I wanted to share with you all. Hope you will find the information useful! Below is a song about Paris, enjoy!

I stood up, lazily walking towards the sliding window in my bedroom. Without much energy and my eyes half closed, reluctantly I started to pull up the blind. To my surprise, the ground was blanketed with snow! And it was snowing slightly when I stood in front of the window, gazing at the snow flakes, felling down from the sky. I couldn’t be more excited when the flakes were getting bigger and bigger! I took out my camera and starting to take some shots. At one point, the snow was so heavy and a strong gust of wind transported some snow through the opened window into my room!

It may seem weird but I got extremely excited and suggested to Arnaud that we took a walk in the snow! I got myself wrapped up warm enough before I stepped out. It was cold and the snow was basically chucking down when we were out. Everything looked very surreal. It looked very pretty in white, especially the bald trees with black branches which were nicely decorated with snow.

I like snow, but I also hate it in the sense that it may affect the Eurostar service. Some services have been cancelled this afternoon and I am going to France on Wednesday! It’s reported that there will be further snow. So, I need to be prepared if our train on Wednesday will be affected. I just remember it took us a lot of trouble last year! Anyway, I have got all the presents ready, all nicely wrapped. Just hoping that the weather will be nice to us on Wednesday.

Well, regarding the previous giveaways of Total Greek Yoghurt goody bags, we finally have 2 winners!! First winner is Rebecca and the second winner is Momgateway! Congratulations both! Please drop me an email info{at}mycookinghut{dot}com with your mailing address!

We are only 5 days away from Christmas, I thought I would share a biscuit recipe with you all. I baked some Breton biscuits (also known as Sablés Bretons or Palets Bretons) a few days ago. Breton biscuits originates from Brittany. This crumbly biscuit  is traditionally a plain biscuit which is very rich in butter! Salted butter is used in this recipe and it’s really easy to make but delicious to eat. I found this recipe on Cakes in the City, a French food blog.

If you need a last minute homemade biscuits for this year’s Christmas, I think Breton biscuits will go down really well!

Let me take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy Christmas and I will catch up with you guys when I am back from my Christmas break!

Breton Biscuits (Sablés Bretons)

Yield: 40-50

Adapted from: Cakes in the City

Ingredients:

200g butter, softened
120g sugar
3 egg yolks + 1 egg wash
370g flour
a pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 160°C.

2. Use an electric mixer, mix butter, egg yolks and sugar until it becomes creamy. Add in a pinch of salt and flour and mix again until everything combines. You will obtain a soft pastry. Then, put in the fridge for 20 minutes.

3. Flatten the pastry into 4mm of thicken with a roll pin. Cut with a cookie cutter (plain or fluted) with about 4cm in diameter. Prick each cut pastry with a fork. Turn it upside down then transfer to a baking sheet.

4. Brush the surface (which is not pricked, as the pricked surface now should be on the other side of the biscuits) with egg wash. After 5 minutes, brush the second layer of egg wash.

5. To decorate the biscuit, use a fork to creates some lines on the biscuit. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes until it's golden brown.

I know, I have been missing in action! I didn’t realise that the last post on my blog was more than a month ago.

First of all, I want to say thank you to those who sent me emails to ask if everything was fine. I am doing fine, I haven’t quit blogging! Just that I didn’t mention that I was away for more than 3 weeks to SE Asia. I went to Malaysia to see my family since my last trip was more than 2 years ago! I was glad to be back and of course, I had lots of yummy food back home!  This time back to Malaysia, I just felt that it has become warmer than the last time I was there. Those of you that live in SE Asia, what do you guys think? Has it become hotter recently?

Anyway, an exciting news that I want to share with all of you is about my recent recipes contribution to Flavours Magazine. If you remember, I slightly mentioned about it on this post. For those of you who live in Malaysia or Singapore, you should be able to purchase this magazine at most major bookstores. Otherwise, for those that can’t get hold of the magazine, I have soft copies of all my recipes featured in the magazine, please click on the images below to enlarge. Let me know what you think and I do hope that you will try out of the recipes!

Well, apart from being really excited to see my family in Malaysia, I was happy to savour the food back home too! Mom asked the same question everyday, ‘What do you want to eat?’ Oh boy! She made so much food that we thought it was too much! One of the best things living so close to Kuala Perlis is the convenience to get the freshest seafood ever! One of the things that I told myself that I shouldn’t miss was to eat seafood! My brother suggested to us that to get the freshest seafood, we had to wake up early to go to the small fishing port in Kuala Perlis town.

For me, it couldn’t have been better than buying seafood straight from the fishing port just as soon as the catches of day were unloaded! Although pretty small, a lot of activity goes on in this slightly fish-smelly port. The ferry from Langkawi sees a lot of daily passengers pass through, together with ships and fishing boats constantly docking and embarking near customs. My brother knew exactly what he was doing. But, first, he had to convince us to wake up at 7am so that we were in good time to get the best of the best!

Apart from fish, prawns and crabs are my next favourites. So, I made sure that my favourite blue swimmer crab was on the shopping list! When you look at how fresh you can get these crabs in Malaysia, I just wish that I could get the same in London. Well, I probably could get them at the wholesale fish market. But, that would mean to wake up at 5am! My mom made my all time favourite with these blue swimmers, which I really hope I could share with you all if I could get hold of these crabs in London!

I was told that all the catches are mostly to be sold in bulk to retailers in Kuala Lumpur. End consumers like us are able to buy them at wholesales price. Looking at those big buckets of fish makes me think how many tones of seafood we, human beings, consume on a yearly basis and how long more will our mother ocean be able to keep on supplying this amount of seafood for our consumption?

Not all catches are from the sea at least. Some groupers that I saw were farmed. I think grouper has almost come to extinction. Very few were caught from the sea, unless they are line-caught. Grouper is a fish with really firm white flesh. It is great to eat steamed and deep-fried whole. I also like to do a stir-fry with its firm fillets. My brother couldn’t resist but decided to buy one huge line-caught grouper!

One thing that I really have to talk about is the price for prawns. 1kg of the following is only RM 25-30!! And they are not farmed and super fresh! The price for frozen prawns here? £12 a kg, which is RM60! Argghh!! I am feeling homesick already!

It was Sunday and I spent most of my time cooking and relaxing at home. It was broadcasted that snowstorms from Russia were expected to hit the eastern part of England on Sunday night. Oh well, it was probably not true and would just tiny bit snow that would melt after a few hours!

To my surprise, it snowed quite heavily at 5pm-ish. It was the coldest year in 13 years! Within minutes, the ground was covered with snow. Everywhere looked so white! At one point, the visibility was so bad that we couldn’t see Canary Wharf (during good day, it’s visible from our balcony). Then, there were snow storms! I saw this for the first time of my life! Ever since I have been in London, I haven’t experienced any like this before! The snow flakes were getting bigger and bigger every time when I checked!

I was tempted to go out. We went out finally and checked out our area. It was like a ghost town with no habitants, just so not like usual! I played in the snow for a bit and I was reluctant to go home. I wanted to take some pictures! Finally, I decided to leave that for the next day, hoping that the snow would stay when I woke up.

It snowed and it stopped. Then, it started to snow again. That was just great news for me. I love it! It looked just so pretty from any angles! It was so surreal! I think I was just like a kid, got so excited and couldn’t help to look out from the window to see if it was still snowing. I prayed so hard that it would continue to snow. I woke up in the middle of the night – not on purpose but I had to go to the loo. I couldn’t resist but looked out from the window.. So, it had snowed again when I was in my dreamland…I couldn’t sleep! I didn’t know why I got so excited with the snow!

My alarm went off. Darn! I had to get up. I wanted to snuggle under the duvet and wished that it was Sunday! I took me 10 minutes to be officially out of the bed. First thing I did was to pull up the blind and checked the situation outside! Wow, it was more than enough to build snowmen!!

Without wasting much time, I took my camera and started to shoot the beautiful scenes from the balcony. It was cold but that didn’t deter me from taking photos! Ok, I had to make sure that I was wrapped up warmly. I didn’t have a pair of proper footwear that I could put on. So, I had to bring an extra pair to change at work.

The roads were completely covered with snow. I had never seen our area like this before. I started to take photos as we walked to work. City of London in white? How nice! I just couldn’t resist and kept snapping away. I was very happy. The snow turned me insane!

I don’t want to see the snow starts melting. I want it to snow throughout the week. When I was typing this, it was still snowing. Russia, please bring more snow!

After all the excitement, I thought I want to share with you guys a winter drink. (Wikipedia) Mulled wine, variations of which are popular around the world, is wine, usually red, combined with spices and typically served warm. In the old times, wine often went bad. By adding spices and honey, it could be made drinkable again. Glögg is the Nordic form of mulled wine, similar to Glühwein in German-speaking countries or Vin Chaud in French.

Mulled wine or Vin Chaud is usually prepared from red wine, heated and spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves, citrus and sugar.

While  the weather yet again reminded me we are still in winter, after a day of chaos all over South of England, Vin Chaud or Mulled Wine would be a perfect drink to have! It makes me feels that I am on winter holiday, with my ski wears!

Mulled Wine/ Vin Chaud

Ingredients:

1/2 lemon
2 clementines
1l red wine (Bourgogne, Côtes du Rhône)
190g fine sugar
2 cinnamon
2 star anise
2 cloves
100ml water

Directions:

Cut lemon and clementines and put in a saucepan. Pour in the wine, water sugar and the spices. Then, boil for 4 minutes on low to medium heat. Strain and serve in glasses.

Have you ever wondered what role a food stylist plays behind the scene of those wonderful food shots? I have been very interested to know what and how? It was probably a month or so ago, I stumbled upon Paul’s blog, the owner of Sweet Paul. Paul is a food and interior stylist who hails from Oslo but currently living in New York. His work is truly amazing, soothing, and elegant and that has got me hooked on his blog!

One day, I wrote to Paul, asking if he would be interested to share with me what exactly he does and what are the things involved in his job. He has kindly taken some of his time off to answer some of the questions that I have been asking myself for some time! I am glad to have Paul featured on My Cooking Hut today. Below is my email interview with Paul and some photos that illustrate his role as a food stylist.

Yes! Tips on Food Photography! I have been following her blog for quite a while and I am always very very impressed by all her dessert shots! They look so yummy that I wish I could take them off the screen and have a bite!

You probably would have guessed who I’m referring to. I am very honoured and happy that Helen, the blog owner of Tartelette has put together a very good piece of information with photo illustrations, sharing with us her views and tips in food photography. Or, to be precise, desserts photography. Her photography is amazingly beautiful and elegant; not to mentioned about her baking skills! Please welcome Helen today to share with us her tips in photography desserts!

Leemei asked me to come talk about my food photography at the same time as I was about to do a FAQs for my blog so I took it as a sign I had to sit down and put my answers in writing.

I am not here to tell you what you should do and to only do what I do but rather to tell you what works for me and the things I have learned and integrated in my own photography these past few years. When it comes to food photography work flow is very personal and I only shoot desserts, which is a different beast than shooting savory items but I hope that you will find some useful tips in my experiences.

Remember that nothing is set in stone and all rules can be bent to achieve the result you desire and that what works for me may not work for you. Practice, practice, practice!

Whether you have a Point and Shoot or a DSLR, know that the equipment does not make the photo or the photographer. The reason why I upgraded to a DSLR is primarily because I wanted more mega pixels and higher resolution pictures for prints but also because I felt I had exhausted the use of my point and shoot and was ready to graduate.

I have been food blogging for a little less than 3 years and started with a Canon A610. Last February, I upgraded to a DSLR, a Canon Rebel XTi. I got the body only, forgoing the kit lens that would usually come with it, and bought a couple of prime lenses.

The first one was a Canon 50mm f/1.8 which I absolutely love and is a great investment at around $80. The second one was a Canon 100mm macro f/2.8 which was more expensive but if you keep an eye on photo equipment brokers like KEH and B&H, you can get great deals at great quality. Having a couple of prime lenses is a great investment: quality is high and they often have a wider aperture range and you can treat them as zoom lenses by just moving back and forth close and away from the food as you wish.

Even if I solely shoot with a DSLR now, there are still basics that apply to all cameras whether you shoot film or digital, point and shoot or SLR.

1) Light and Lighting

I shoot solely in natural light. I have nothing against using flashes when it comes to photographing food but it does require a new learning curve and equipment that I do no budget in right now. I also do not use artifical lights like light boxes, nothing against those either but I am very lucky to live in the South where there is a lot of sunshine and the room where I shoot is very well lit.

When I first started shooting, I used the coffee table next to the kitchen, with two large windows to my left. But I like to collect props, backgrounds and combined with the minimum photo equipment that I use, all this was becoming a sore sight for my husband, too tempting for the dogs to chew on and a pain to move when we had visitors. I moved everything to a different room, bought a large piece of plywood that I stained and set it up on 2 saw horses as my photography studio. I use some space in the closets for props and such and I can actually sit down and plan things better.

2) Light-Tools

I do use a couple of tools to enhance the natural light which in returns reduces the amount of editing I do to the pictures before blogging them and can take a plate from flat to “Yum”! piece of thick white cardboard to bounce the light back on the right side.

It brings light all around a dessert and on the side that is not exposed to the light. (See picture below)

I also have a couple of reflectors ($25) that I hold with one hand while pressing the shutter button with the other.

In the diptych picture of the cupcakes, one is shot without the silver reflector which is good but a bit flat. The other one is shot with the reflector positioned to the right and it helps bring more definition and clarity to the item.

Even a subtle enhancement can make a huge difference when you start picking pictures apart. For the pumpkin meringue tartelettes that I shot recently, I only used the foam board as I found the silver reflector was giving the meringue a metallic hue that I did not like. The best time to shoot in winter for me is 8am-2pm, after that it is pushing it a bit. Around 11am though, there is a bright glare coming through so I use a thin white sheet of fabric to diffuse the light.

It helps when there is too much brightness or too much yellow entering the room. During summer, the sun is positioned at a different angle so I don’t use it that much and I can shoot until 4pm and still get good light. There is indeed such a thing as too much brightness sometimes, so, a diffuser (like a simple white bed sheet) helps take away the glare in a room while keeping the light coming through.

3) Set ups- Consistency

After I moved to a different room for my photo shooting, I set up my work table the same way with the light coming from the left. Not that I am too stubborn to learn new things but I “knew” that light, I had been growing with it for over a year with my point and shoot and I was comfortable with it.

Try to find consistency for where you shoot, you will think less about what to do around the food and you will be able to focus more on the food. If you know your photography surrounding, you can actually take time to set up a shoot even if you wish to keep things simple. It is easier if you plan your shot by keeping your photo area clean, clutter-free and ready to be used.

4) Planning

“Planning helps the unexpected happen”. My set ups are not complicated although I take the time to think them through but however you plan it, keep it simple so that the food you made really comes through. What sometimes I think will work when planned in my head, does not once on the table. Take the extra minute if you can to rearrage elements around the dish you are shooting. I am the worst at shooting step by step pictures but I do like to shoot different stages of a dessert making.

For the grouping of tartelettes (picture below) from the just-made stage to the meringue stage, I planned things in my head and took the time to shoot the various stages to illustrate the final image. You can do the same if you like to shoot your mise en place, intermediate step of a recipe, etc, and you can make as little or a lot stylized as you want, it’s up to your own style. Plan your surroundings before you start so you can focus on the dish and not fiddling around the kitchen trying to find a corner to set a cutting board full of veggies, a saucepan with a bubbling sauce, etc…

A tripod is very helpful in that regard. I love my tripod for the obvious reason that I have shaky hands but also because I can set up the camera settings for a tricky shoot, walk away, plate everything up and just set it down and press the shutter button and hop! It’s in the box.

I also need it since one hand is on the camera button and the other is holding and moving either the reflector or foam board. I can also set up a frame, look through the view finder and literally reach the table to position plates and props without losing and angle I like.

Never think of a tripod as a clunky non-moving piece of equipment. Mine travels around the table, gets close or far, head goes up or head goes down….never a dull moment! It is especially helpful when shooting liquids in motion like here when I was pouring hot chocolate in a cup and shooting at the same time or when photographing ice cream.

For the ice cream lollipops below, I had to move quickly because it was very hot that day and I knew the ice cream would be melting in a few minutes, not leaving me much time to play with the camera set ups and shooting angles. I set up the plate with empty cups according to where I wanted the final lollipops to be, set up the tripod and camera settings and when I was ready to shoot, I replaced the empty cups with the real ice cream and shot. Stress free!

5) Props

I have white and dark backgrounds, I have some colored ones too and I start by thinking which ones will put the dish forward, which ones will make it jump to the eye. I usually lay a piece of fabric flat on the table since it is fairly long but I sometimes prop it up to use as a backdrop. The cupcakes for example were shot without a backdrop, just on a piece of cloth whereas the tartelettes here were shot with the sheet propped up by a box behind.

I try not to use too many different fabrics because I tend to forget easily what I have. When I started I went to fabric stores and purchased one yard each of different fabrics I thought would be good as backgrounds. Different whites, different textures, some pinks and red, blues and dark. I also found out that the more prints were on the fabric the more confused and distracted my eye would be when looking at a picture. White is almost foolproof and easy to play up or down with the addition of a colorful plate, napkin or utensil. I like dark backgrounds when I have some desserts that are very vibrant with pinks, fuschias, orange and red.

Crockery: Well, it all depends on your taste. But again, less is more when it comes to props. Let the item speak for itself and enhance the set up with just a few pieces like a fork, a square plate instead of a round, a pretty bowl, a colorful napkin. I like to take one picture of the item by itself and then a few with a couple of props trying to fill the frame or not. Again, let your instinct speak to you. Areas left blank can sometimes bring the eye straight to your point of interest. Sometimes, a well placed spoon or napkin can make your dish stand out. Use your own judgment and remember to have fun.

6) Camera Settings

ISO: No matter the light I shoot at ISO 100, even when it is cloudy. There are far more less digital noises at lower ISO and that allows you to retain a higher quality of your pictures. Granted that higher ISO allow you to retain a fast shutter speed and decrease blurry images. But, since I shoot with a tripod and my food is not moving, I move around it and set the tripod to where I want to shoot from, I can keep a lower ISO and keep on shooting.

If you have a point and shoot camera, you can set up the ISO to a lower setting but you won’t have the possibility to use the light as well as with a DSLR. When I had my point and shoot, I would always make sure I had plenty of light in the room and I would shoot with the aperture program and the macro setting on (the little flower icon).

White balance: I believe that it really matters where you live as I most often shoot with the “daylight” setting on instead of the “automatic white balance” one. But nothing is set in stone so I will try both on one item before I start shooting and decide which one works better for the type of lighting (winter versus summer) that specific day. Again, the best thing to do is to play with all the different setting in you camera to find out the one you like best. The beauty of digital is that you can always erase!

Settings: I shoot with the Aperture setting of my camera. I am really comfortable with it but when I first got the XTi, I put a couple of cupcakes on the table, set up my tripod and shot the same item with 3 different f/stops (open-medium-closed to see the difference) and with all the different program (manual, aperture, shutter speed) to see which one I liked best.

F/stops: The next step is to learn your f stops! When I first started taking pictures for the blog I was captivated with shots of perfect focused plate and blurry background. How did they get such great depth of field? With the 50mm lens I have the widest f stop (=aperture) is 1.8 and with the macro it is 2.8.

The aperture is what lets the light through your lens when you shoot. An open aperture refers to low numbers like f/1.4 or f/1.8 for example and a closed aperture can be f/22 for example and you can set it either way with your camera settings.

If it is confusing to you just remember it like this: an open aperture will let more light go through the lens but will focus on a smaller point in your picture frame, leaving a lot of object in the foreground background blurry creating a shallow depth of field. A closed aperture will bring less light through the less, and more will be in focus in your frame, (less blurry) and with a deep depth of field.

I like to play with both depending on what is in the background. For example in the tartelette picture below, in the picture on the left with the wide aperture it is hard to tell what is in the background? Spoon, plate, napkin? By bringing the aperture to a closer setting, the background becomes more in focus and it is easier to suggest an item.

Having a wide aperture helps bring one specific thing in focus in a grouping. For example, the picture of shot glasses below. Your eye identifies a group but focuses on only one item drawing your attention in at the same time. I stay within the 2.8-5.6 f/stop range which gives me good amount of focus on the food forward and good depth of field in the rest of the frame.

Exposure Compensation: It is my “easy” way to fix light issues. On my Canon it looks like a little button with AV+/- and it allows you to increase the light in the picture even at high aperture. It is my little lifesaver when the skies are cloudy and I “must” shoot something and I don’t have time to play with the shutter speeds and apertures. See pictures below:

7) Picture Editing

I shoot in large format in both RAW and jpeg. Think about raw pictures as negatives: they are not readily usable as pictures but contain all the data you need to create a picture. I do not use Photoshop but I combine use GIMP (GNU Manipulation Program) which is similar to Photoshop (I sometimes use Picasa from Google) to look at the jpeg files and the program that came with my XTi to edit the RAW files and convert them to jpeg to be uploaded on the blog. There is a lot less “lost” in quality (digital noise and pixels) when working from RAW files and it is worth to take the extra time when I see the results in printed materials for example.

My picture editing is pretty minimal: contrast, maybe some boost of light or some shadow, and sometimes a little boost of colors with a little saturation. I like to shoot the same frame at least 3 times, with different f/stops, exposure compensation and/or different white balances to see which one will require the less editing before being blogged.

I hope you were able to gather some tips and info from this and remember that there is no other way to improve than to take the time to practice and read more about photography and that in the end: do what makes you most happy!

I love cherries!  When I saw them, I couldn’t help to buy some. I thought that would stop my craving for one of the classic French desserts before these lovely cherries are all gone. My recipe and what I made with these juicy cherries will follow in the next post!

Have a good Bank Holiday weekend!