Food Photography #1: Creating texture & depth 278

Hello all, my name is Lee and I am honored to guest-post tips on food photography for Renaissance Culinaire. We are going to try to make this a monthly feature, so send us feedback with questions or suggestions on what we should photograph next!

Avo-Tuna Cerviche ©2011 Spinwave Photo

Today's post focuses on the attention-sucking feature I like to call "black holes". While shadows are important to creating the illusion of depth, black spots with little-to-no detail will quickly suck a viewer's eye into its vortex of darkness (thus the nickname black hole). Here's how to identify and correct them:

Click to enlarge photo.

In addition to the black holes, the light flattened the texture of the tuna and avocado chunks. So we added a foam-core reflector close-in, camera-right:

Click to enlarge photo.

That filled in the large black hole in the center of the food, so you can see the green of the avocado and a bit of its texture. But I felt that we could get a little more texture in the food with another reflector positioned at the front of the lens and angled downward. The reflector was actually closer than illustrated below--it was actually resting on the lens hood. The result:

Click to enlarge photo.

The second reflector added some specular highlights (a.k.a. "shiny spots" or "shine"), which is the other component of creating the illusion of depth. The effect is less dramatic in the photo as the light was dissipating even faster now as we approached 5pm in the city. The waning light also left one black hole that we could not fill in without resorting to flash (a future post topic).

- Lee; Spinwave Photography

The Tools: 1. foam-core reflectors (available at Michael's craft stores in various sizes for around $5); 2. Canon 5D MkII used for the food photos, (but any camera with a Manual mode works great); 3. Canon G12 for set-up shots; final settings for food shots are f/2.8 @ 40, ISO 2000.

Special Thanks to: Heather of Heather Bayles Photography for assisting; Shigezo Portland for allowing us to photograph in their restaurant and for the wonderful Avo-Tuna Ceviche (Tuna, avocado, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, soy sauce & wasabi dressing).

Recipes for Vegetables 30

Here is a list of vegetable recipes featured on Renaissance Culinaire. This page will continue to be updated as more recipes are added.

Wasabi Asparagus Shitake Spring rolls

Curried Asparagus

Gruyere and Asparagus Souffle

Watermelon Gazpacho

Tomatillo - Avocado Salsa

Mango-Ginger Salsa

Tomatillo - Avocado Salsa

Recipes for Seafood 15

Here is a listing of recipes for seafood that have been featured on Renaissance Culinaire. This page will continue to be updated as new recipes are added.

Mango-Crab Spring rolls

Orange marinated Fish Fillets w/ Carrots

Recipes for Savory Salsas and Sauces 7

Here is a listing of all the savory salsas and sauces featured on Renaissance Culinaire. This page will continue to be updated as recipes are added.

Green Tea Sesame Sauce

Sweet & Sour Chili Sauce

Tomatillo - Avocado Salsa

Mango-Ginger Salsa

Lime-Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce

Review : Morimoto - The New Art of Japanese Cooking 4

For me this is an orgasmic book of unmeasured proportions. I have loved Iron Chef. I have loved Japanese cooking and finally the two have merged and come full circle. On viewing the book it's self - wow. A nice presentation. A heavy slightly over sized cookbook. 

Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking.

Morimoto

The editing of this book is very well done. Nice graceful modern designs. Page after page of glossy step by step images and techniques, and notations on traditional Asian ingredients and how that translates to using and accessing them (or a finding suitable substitutions) in the US . If I ever wanted to publish a cookbook, it would be in this style.

This book showcases why Chef Morimoto^w is at the axis of a foodie empire, in this creative and intuitive take on Japanese cuisine. When I read this cookbook, I felt like the foodie version of Being John Malkovich , as this book allows you to peer inside the thoughts and actions of this culinary genius.

In relation to skill level, I would recommend this book to people who have at least an intermediate knowledge of culinary techniques. The beginning home cook might not know how to utilize or apply the techniques Chef Morimoto has outlined in this book.

It would be wise to do some further research on Japanese Culinary techniques also, as this book can only highlight certain facets of the cuisine itself and not act as a reference manual or course book on Japanese Cuisine as a whole.

If you have ever had an inkling of adoration for Asian style cuisine, or are awestruck at the complexities of the full spectrum of Professional Japanese Culinary , as I am, you would enjoy this book.

Highlights of this book include:

• An in depth look at how the Japanese chef works his knife magic to create beautiful Sashimi ^w and Sushi ^w works of art out of various ingredients - parts of fish, Octopus , and Various Vegetables .
• Recipes that are full of depth and charisma.
• Master recipes of various sauces and marinades.
• Text about the origins and importance of ingredients utilized in Japanese cuisine.
• Beautiful photography displaying the frame by frame procedures for each culinary technique, and the eloquent plate presentation for each recipe.
• A glossary of Japanese terms , as well as a source guide for obtaining specialty ingredients.

Overall this book is a wonderful culinary journey that enables the reader to cultivate a better understanding of chef Morimoto, Japanese cuisine and the culinary revelations that Morimoto has contributed to todays culinary field. I loved this book!

My Recipe : Curried Asparagus 8

This is a tasty side dish. It has gotten raves from my friends and family. It may seem a bit salty at first glance but take into consideration the liquid added washes the flavor out a bit , so there needs to be enough salt to bring out the curry flavors. Enjoy!

Green Asparagus by Gunnar Magnusson

You Will Need:

• a nice bunch of Asparagus (1-2 #s)
• 1/4 - 1/2 of a stick of butter
• a good curry powder (look for these ingredients : coriander seed, chili, cumin seed, fennel seeds, cinnamon, poppy seeds, star anise seeds, turmeric, mustard seeds, white pepper and peanut -- You can buy this mixture at an Asian market, regular grocers tend to have a diluted curry powder lacking depth)
• balsamic vinegar (a splash about 1-2 TB)
• porcini mushroom flavored oil (a bout 1/4 TB
• rubbed sage (about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp)
• onion salt (1/2 tsp)
• garlic salt (1/2 tsp)
• kosher salt (1 tbs)
• water (enough to cover asparagus)

Heat your pan on medium high and allow the butter to melt completely. After washing & breaking the fibrous bottoms off your asparagus stalks -- add them to the melted butter. Add 1 tablespoon of curry to the pan, mix into the butter to form a paste. Sprinkle balsamic vinegar over the whole pan. Drizzle your asparagus with the porccini oil. Dust with rubbed sage. Sprinkle salt , onion and garlic salt (a few shakes , as water will be added later). Stir briskly. Add 1 tsp more of the curry. Add enough water to barely cover the stalks. Cover and allow to simmer.

When done the asparagus will take on the yellow color of the curry, and they will appear slightly wrinkled/wilted.

Recipe : Gulab Jamun | Indian Sweets 2

Gulab Jamun. An Indian treat

gu·lab ja·mun (plural gu·lab ja·muns)

Indian dessert: Deep-fried dough served in a sugar syrup flavored with rose water.

[ Hindi translation = [gulāb] ="rose water" + [ jāmun]= "fruit"]

Indian sweets are generally based on thickened milk (khoya) and rice flour ---" Chaval ka atta" (in Hindi) or "arisi mavu" (in Tamilamil) . This combo has many uses : Crispness can be obtained if added to deep fried vegetables .

Used as a thickener in South Indian cuisine --- dishes such as kolambu, gotsu and rasa vangi which are then served with plain rice. IA thick batter can be made with urad dal for dosas and idlis. In Northern Indian cuisine it is used mainly in a pudding called phirni .

If your path takes you to East, Middle or West India --- it is the base of various pancakes, dumplings, fried snacks and sweets.


Rice flour is also used in painting 'kolam's' or alpanas, (mandalas) attractive designs fused with flowers on the thresh hold of traditional homes..

OR chickpea flour. --- a.k.a Gram flour, made from chickpeas (chana dal), is used as a binding agent for Koftas (meatballs or vegetable balls), or as a batter for fritters and as the base savory snacks like Dhokla (steamed dumplings), Bonda (spiced potato curry balls dipped in a batter of besan and deep fried), or Sev (fine, fried strands or sweets like ladoos.

Besan is used in many beauty related recipes : homemade masks , face scrub and toner,It is mainly mixed with malai (cream) and drops of rose water, or plain water.

Cardamom, almond, raisin, saffron, jaggery, rose-water and a hint of camphor are some of the commonly used flavorings used to scent Indian sweets. Bengali confections are favored all over India, especially sweets which use cottage cheese (paneer) or khoya as a base ingredient.

Popular sweets are Rasogullas and Gulab jamuns, these cottage cheese and khoya balls are soaked in scented sugar syrup. Favorite Indian delicacies include Jalebi (airy and light 'curlicues' of deep fried flour, soaked in syrup). Halwa (semolina pudding), Sohan halwa are very rich, chewy, nutty candies.
I discovered my love of all food Indian, through an old friend roommate. She had been heavily influenced by her father's stint in the South Pacific, adding his pastry chefs' flair and her mother's Asian roots , which acted as a gateway for the intermingling of Asian and Indian cuisines. She favored Vegetarian dishes best. So with the meeting of this friend and as our friendship flourished, I naturally developed a love affair with Dahl and curries .

This recipe was given to me from an an aging Indian woman who frequented our neighborhood. She was very happy to pass the legacy of her food filled past , however small , as she was saddened by the lack in interest from her grand-children.


Gulab Jamun
Ingredients:

• 4 oz. dried milk

• 2 level tablespoons plain flour
• pinch of bicarbonate of soda
• 4-5 tablespoons of milk
• 1 lb sugar
• 2 cardamoms
• rose water for flavoring
• 8 oz vegetable fat for frying

Mix the dried milk, flour and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl. Add fresh milk to make a soft dough; make thin 2 in long rolls.

Heat the fat, then cool and put over a slow fire. Put as many of the rolls as the pan will hold comfortably. Cook over a very slow fire till the jamuns are pale gold and have doubled in size.

While the jamuns are frying - add the sugar and 1/2 pint of water in a sauce pan and make a thick syrup. Add the cardamoms, either coarsely ground or whole, to the syrup.

Drain the jamuns and add the syrup, let stand for 5 minutes over low heat, then take off of the fire - add 1 tablespoon of rosewater and cool.

This should make 2 dozen jamuns. Serve hot or cold.

Yummy!!

You can learn more about Indian Confections here. There is also a wikipedia entry on Gulab Jamun . It is a small paragraph --- if you have info on the history of Gulab Jamune You you might want to contribute to building of the wikipedia page.

Recipe: Green Tea Sesame Sauce 4

O.k I live for asian flavors. I love green tea , & I partake in the tea drinking ceremony atleast twice a day. Here is a recipe that combines some of my favorite ingredients - green tea, garlic, chives & chili pepper. This is not so much a fire in your belly, but a gentle warmth. Serve among good friends.


Green-tea Sesame Suace
This is great with chicken, seafood or tofu.

• 1/4 Cup tahini, well stirred
• 1 TB exstra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 Cup brewed green tea
• 2 TB fresh lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
• 2 TB chives, minced.
• 1 tsp fresh chilli pepper, minced
• salt & pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. For thinner sauce add more green tea.

The Wandering Spoon 1

Follow me as I taste my way from Southeast Asia to India.

This website is great. Thy Tran brings his culinary adventures to your doorstep. He revels in bringing to you the sites and smells and views from his stops in Asian/ Indian providence. Illustrated through pictures, recipes and antidotes - anyone with a thirst for travel or culinary delights will love the simplicity of his journal.

unfortunately there is no RSS feed for ... The Wandering Spoon.

People love a chick in uniform! 1

If someone asked me : Have checkered pants, a white bakers shirt/coat and white shoes changed my image to the world???

fulton street, 2004 by joe holmes

I might have to respond with a resounding yes! Everywhere I go now I am talked to or talked at. It has been 4 days of Seinfeld-esque banter. Normally when I am walking somewhere - nothing. I was the George Costanza of my world, wondering and stressing over too little interaction. Now I feel like Kramer - getting noticed. And I don't know how I feel about this.

Round-up: WTF Street Moments ,in Chef Whites, from the week
Here are some of the best excerpts that came up in conversation, from total strangers in various times during the week.


Conversation #1

"hey..I need to ask you something. IT isn't bad. Can you get pregnant after having your tubes tied??I have been eating like a horse. I have felt movement down in "that" area..." 

I was on the bus going downtown, this woman leans across the isle whispering. O.k what is she doing telling me about "that area" ?WTF I am a total stranger.

Conversation #2

"...I bet you even have white socks on under that white uniform huh!..I would never where so much white"

Oh, sorry I guess I look, hmm, like a baker or something? I guess having a career is not a person's knowledge but their clothing.

Conversation #3

"... after work I get wild and dance on tables"

Wow, that's great, I guess?

Conversation #4

"Oh what a stupid hat...No really I love it"

Very cute -- I hope all your little friends had a great laugh.

Conversation #5

street photography By Kreative Eye - Dean McCoy

"...damn car...I spent money on a new battery, sucked the juice right out of it..Spent $150 dollars on a brand new alternator, the damn car shorted it out. That's my Merry Christmas"

This guy was nice, but for some reason he told me his car saga for like 10-15 minutes. I couldn't leave because I waiting for the bus.

Conversation #6

"...Is your name Lisa? You look like someone I know"

I get mistaken for someone at least once a day. It must be the face.

Conversation #7

" I don't cook for a living anymore, from my experience it is one big assembly line - especially if you work for The Hilton...This pays better"

O.k well I am not going to cook, I am going to bake. I actually like what I am doing, it isn't for the money.

Conversation #8

"...god I have been craving a corn dog all day - your uniform makes me even hungrier...Mexicans and Russians make tons of kids and live in a 2 bedroom apt..Asians are made for breeding."

This is the most IGNORANT thing I have heard in a while. I am so tired of people with no tact, or compassion. Poor folks are poor folks. This is 2005 and there we go with perpetuating of stereo types. Maybe you should maybe, I don't know learn a different culture?

Conversation #9

Bus Stop By Maurizio Costanzo - mavik2007

" ..please say this [a Russian woman hands me a Russian to English electronic translator, I speak several words and simplify them]...say "Babooska" - you "young girl", I am old babooska. In Russian "heavy" is lighter...[she laughs a throaty laugh]"

This woman was very kind. She was trying to better her English, and since I helped her she wanted to share her Language with me. Very cool.

Conversation  #10 (I say this loosely as I wasn't a participant)

As angry as I get by Erika Hall

" I had Hep C and thyroid problems --- but JESUS healed them, he saved my LIFE!!!"

Holy S*** , I am walking a side street, and about to cross the street, when a women driving some big '80's boat, comes half way out the window - looking at me and yelling, while the car is still moving.

She kept screaming this over & over.

O.k Jesus is great --- but guess what, Jesus might not want you to run over someone, or get into a car accident. What Would Jesus do? Pull over and  STOP THE CAR! Before exclaiming divine measures have taken place.

(Image on right is not actual picture of person, used for demonstration purposes)