No more photos! That's what I've decided about my blog. I'm utter crap at food photography, and mini instructionals like the recent one in F&W are fairly useless, despite their good intentions. My food apparently prefers celibacy to making love to the digital camera, so rather than continuing to publish my homegrown brand of photography (which makes a girl feel kinda like the last one asked to dance at the Blogland Ball) I'm scrapping 'em entirely. If I take a nice shot at a farm or something I might post that once in a while, but for the most part this blog is going all text, all da time. Can't imagine any of you are holding back a river of tears, but if you are check out these other blogs with consistently stunning shots instead.
And now for an ironic epigraph*: "Each man kills the thing he loves." -- Oscar Wilde
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(*Anybody know what an epigraph at the end of a piece of writing is called? Me neither.)
Well I, for one, am disappointed to see the pix go away. It's always nice to see what food is supposed to look like, especially a new recipe. It usually makes my mouth water! And no--I don't know what an epigraph at the end of a piece of writing is called.
Posted by: Mom | August 08, 2006 at 03:21 AM
This after your masterpiece blintz photo? I don't think your photography is crap. Ok you may not win any prizes, but it's not embarassing dinner plate pics. In general the closer up the photos are, the better they seem to look. But I'll keep reading either way.
Posted by: Amy | August 08, 2006 at 08:54 AM
Oh, I do like your photos. If you broke your camera, or if you had some other sort of philosophical disagreement with image vs. text....but to stop just 'cause you don't think they're stellar? Well, gosh. I like them and I think they add a lot. If you go to all text though, and I hope you don't, it would be great if the font was just a bit bigger? Regardless, I'll still keep reading.
Posted by: earnest and game | August 08, 2006 at 09:28 AM
Don't give up hope.
Upon looking at the sites you linked to, their photos had the distinct advantae of being taken with a very good camera.
Plus, two of the three used studio lighting for most of their indoor food shots.
One trick we just discovered is to use a mini mag light as a discreet lighting source.
It also is great for highlighting specific areas of the dish.
You were right, the F & W tips were totally useless unless you had never shot food before.
Remember, a picture says a thousand words or in the paper business it takes up the space of 250 words.
Posted by: bill | August 08, 2006 at 11:41 AM
I'd be very disappointed too. I read your blog because I like your style and when I'm looking at recipes, I very rarely make anything that doesnt have a picture next to it, the only exception being moosewood cookbooks. I dont care how rubbish the picture is, I just like to get a feel for the food. The pictures here are usually great anyways.
Posted by: jenny | August 08, 2006 at 01:09 PM
A bold move Catherine! I'll be the lone voice here and say yes, if you're not fond of taking photos then bag the pics for every post. (not bec I don't like them) I love your farm posts and pics for these are great. But if you're adding a pic for every post bec you feel you have to, then don't. Do it when the spirit moves you and you're incredibly inspired and you'll be happier with your pics.
I'd like to post more recipes but don't, bec my photographer is, um, off earning our daily bread and my digital pics suck. Maybe I should bag pics once in a while too, rather than holding back posts.
An aside for Bill - many of our photos are taken with a 25+ year-old Nikon, so expensive cameras aren't always the key! (Developing 36 slides to get 4 perfect photos often is, however.)
Posted by: Robyn | August 08, 2006 at 05:56 PM
Robyn, I'm sorry I just assumed everyone was using digital for their blogs.
I applaud you for staying true to film.
And a standing O for using slides.
That to me is the best way to to find the true color of anything.
Actually if you read my comment, I didn't say a more expensive camera, I said a better camera.
A $100 film camera still produces a better image than a $1,000 digital camera.
Posted by: bill | August 09, 2006 at 03:20 AM
Thanks to everyone for the supportive comments (sniff, sniff). I promise if I get any good shots to keep publishing them, but when it becomes a case of publishing a photo for the sake of just having any darn photo up there, I'm going to take the restrained route. At least until Mr. Food Musings takes up pro photography...
Posted by: Catherine | August 09, 2006 at 12:27 PM
Huh! I missed this whole conversation. I'm glad you've brought back the photos. (No, this is not your Mother.) If we only did the things we are REALLY good at, how would we ever move from beginners to accomplshed? I decided a long time ago that my food would be all about the food and that, as much as I admire those who can do both food and photography, I wasn't willing to 'compete' on that level and it wasn't something I was going to invest in ... much. And it's taken a year but I finally am not embarrassed by my photos. And there's something that's really important about the visuals (even if not beautifully lit and styled and balanced and photoshopped and whatever else people put into their glorious shots) especially when there are so many great food blogs to stay tuned to. So ... thanks for bringing them back!!
Posted by: Alanna | August 20, 2006 at 03:06 PM