The iPhone 4 & Food Photography: How a Cellphone is Helping This Food Blogger Lighten Up...Literally.

8oz Burger Bar Chorizo Mac & Cheese

So I finally broke down and traded my stone-age "regular" cell phone for an iPhone 4 a couple of months ago. It was life-changing in that, amongst other things, I can get directions to practically anywhere without printing out directions beforehand, and I can show the world what I'm eating or doing with Twitter or Facebook instead of waiting until I get home to blog about it. You know cell phone cameras and blogging in general have come a long way when the photo quality of pictures taken with my phone kick the asses of those taken by my point & shoot when I first started blogging. My how things have changed in 5 years.

The phone's certainly no match for my D300 especially in low light conditions, but it's nice to know that I don't always have to lug a brick around to document my food-capades. Plus my shoulders and arms thank me whenever I leave the DSLR at home. IPhone 4 shooting my meal = no SalonPas later.

I think the iPhone4 takes pretty cool looking pics both au naturel and with apps that give a more vintage feel. All of the following photos were shot using the iPhone 4's 5 megapixel camera with any post-processing done on the phone itself. Not bad for a cell phone camera, right?

Pluots

Tasty Garden Hong Kong Style Waffle

Same Tasty Garden Hong Kong Style Waffle

Tasty Garden Vermicelli with Shredded Duck & Preserved Vegetable

"Santouka Number 1" shot with Hipstamatic

Heirloom LA Jidori Chicken Salad Sandwich and Green Bean Salad at Intelligentsia Pasadena

Intelligentsia iced latte shot with Hipstamatic

Mikawaya Suama shot in low lighting with TiltShift Generator

Mitsuwa West LA packaged bento section shot with TiltShift Generator

Mei Long Village Xiu Long Bao and Bean Curd Sheets w/ Preserved Vegetables edited with CrossProcess

The same Chorizo Mac & Cheese as above edited with CrossProcess

I can also use the nifty front camera to take artsy-fartsy photos of myself with a fork in my mouth. This is the photo that I lost Twitter followers over when I switched out my cupcake-atop-preggo-belly avatar with this for oh, 3 days or so. Like I said earlier, food blogging's certainly come a long way.

Me with fork in mouth shot with IncrediBooth

Phototasting at Cube Café & Marketplace: They Shot It, and Then They Ate It.

There are only two human pleasures I can think of that involve all five senses. One of them I won't mention in this post. The other one is eating.

We taste sweet, salty, bitter, sour and sometimes, umami.

We feel the shiny globules of fish roe burst on our tongues.

We hear the crunch of perfectly fried pork skin as it gets crushed between our teeth.

We smell a truffle's wonderful earthy aroma.

We see the complex marbling of fat on a slice of glowing pink toro.

Traditionally, recreating these gastronomical sensory experiences is not an easy task, lest you cook and/or eat that meal again. In our digital age, however, it's never been easier to stir up memories of all the pleasure we had at any given meal-- a simple photograph can help us bring it all back. This is why we continue to annoy our dining companions by whipping out our cameras and snapping away before anyone is allowed touch their food.

This is why Phototasting exists.

This is why several camera-wielding, food-obsessed strangers converged upon Cube Café and Marketplace on a Saturday afternoon, eager to learn about basic food photography techniques and even more eager to savor the four delicious seasonal Italian courses that they shot. After some brief presentations by Tony, Claire and myself, the room was abuzz with the sounds of shutters clicking, forks clinking and food lovers socializing and networking.





Their photos are what they--and we the readers--have left to stimulate our senses with.

I'll stop talking now. Let's just let their delicious photos describe what they ate, shall we?


First Course: Heirloom Tomato & Fresh Peach, Cube Imported Buffalo Mozzarella, 6 yr. Balsamic, Fruity Olive Oil

(Photo: Flickr member Forchetta 1)

(Photo: Meal Muse)

(Photo: Spoondles)

(Photo: Foodie Comes Clean)

(Photo: I Dine, I Whine)

(Photo: Rocket Lunch)

Second Course: Black Truffle Pizza with Mozzarella and Fried Egg

(Photo: Captured Worlds)

(Photo: Meal Muse)

(Photo: Jewels from the Roving Stove)

(Photo: Flickr member Forchetta 1)

(Photo: OakMonster)

Third Course: Pancetta Wrapped Porchetta, Creamy Polenta, Roasted Broccoli

(Photo: Rocket Lunch)

(Photo: OakMonster)

Fourth Course: White Nectarine Shortcake, Lemon Verbena, Fresh Cream

(Photo: Flickr member VenusPix)

(Photo: Jewels From The Roving Stove)

(Photo: Captured Worlds)

(Photo: Foodie Comes Clean)

Can you practically taste, smell, touch, hear and see what they ate?

I can.


Please check out what some of our participants had to say about Phototasting at Cube:
Foodie Comes Clean: Phototasting
Hmm...Food...Good: Tasty Food and Gorgeous Photos at Phototasting
Jewels From The Roving Stove: Developing a Taste For Photography
Meal Muse: Phototasting
Rocket Lunch: Phototasting at Cube
Spoondles: Taste My Photos


For more information on Phototasting or to be informed of future Phototasting events, email us at info@phototasting.com or follow Phototasting on Twitter!

A special thank you to Cube Café and Marketplace for making Phototasting an amazing experience that was beautiful to both the eye and the palate. To those of you who've never been to Cube, go. Now.

Cube Café and Marketplace
615 N. La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 939-1148
www.cubemarketplace.com
Follow cube_LA on Twitter!

Phototasting at Cube Marketplace and Cafe 7/31/10

Taking pictures of what you ate is kind of becoming the norm these days. Look around any restaurant and you're bound to see diners snapping away with their cameras, whether they be ginormous DSLR's, standard point and shoot cameras, or smart phones.

Are you one of these people? Do you wish that your food photography looked a little better? Ever wondered how to get one of those cool looking photos where the food's in focus and the background's kinda blurry?

If so, you're in luck because I am excited to announce that Phototasting is coming back on Saturday, July 31st!

What is Phototasting, you ask?

Phototasting is a unique food sampling and restaurant photography workshop where participants are able to both shoot and savor a restaurant's cuisine. Local food blogger The Kitchy Kitchen and I will be introducing simple tips on basic nerdy photography lingo like white balance, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, exposure, and composition and guiding participants as they shoot some of the restaurant's dishes before getting a taste!

But wait, there's more! Are you ready for some really exciting news? This particular workshop will be held at Cube Café and Marketplace. Yes, that Cube...the cute little cafe and gourmet shop on La Brea with the delicious regional Italian cuisine focusing on seasonal ingredients.

Delicious Italian food, food photography tips and a chance to meet other food and photography enthusiasts like yourself? It's really a win-win. Reserve online for $50/pp at http://bit.ly/phototasting. Spaces are limited and the workshop did sell out last time, so be sure to reserve your space soon!

Check out the following write-ups about our first Phototasting workshop held at Checkers Downtown:

Rants and Craves: http://www.rantsandcraves.com/2010/02/they-shot-they-savored-phototasting.html
Pardon My Crumbs: http://pardonmycrumbs.blogspot.com/2010/02/review-phototastings-art-of-food-porn.html
Nad's Bakery: http://www.nadsbakery.com/2010/02/food-porn.html
Wan Life To Live: http://www.wanlifetolive.com/2010/02/learning-from-best.html
DJJewelz: http://www.djjewelz.com/2010/02/08/phototasting-lobster-bisque/

Thanks and hope to see you shooting and savoring at Phototasting!


Phototasting at Cube Marketplace and Café
Saturday, July 31 from 2-5pm, $50 per participant
Advance reservations required: http://bit.ly/phototasting
Email: info@phototasting.com
Follow @phototasting on Twitter!

They Shot, They Savored: Phototasting, Checkers Downtown, 02.06.2010

There were people there who actually have food blogs.

There were people there who blog mainly about non-food subjects with the occasional post about food.

There were people there who owned food businesses.

And there were people there who simply wanted to know how to use their cameras better.

But no matter what their backgrounds and interests are, all the participants and the first Phototasting workshop--held on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Checkers Downtown--had one thing in common:

They all know that food is art.

And they came to Phototasting to both shoot and savor it.

Our attendees were given an overview of cameras as well as photography and composition basics, but the real meat of the workshop was allowing participants to both sample and photograph eight courses prepared by Checkers' Executive Chef Todd Allison and Sous Chef David Baker.

(Chef Baker, L, and Chef Allison, R. Photo by WeezerMonkey)

(Clockwise from upper-left: Participants learning about their cameras, photo by WeezerMonkey. Sampling forks, photo by djjewelz. Participants trying to achieve great bokeh, photo by WeezerMonkey. Digging into the braised kurobuta pork course, photo by me!)

The beautiful, delicious star of the show was Chef Allison's market-influenced cuisine with our participants there to capture it in all its glory. And a lovely job they did, I must say. Take a look at some of the gorgeous photos they took that afternoon:

(Lobster Bisque with wild mushrooms and lobster medallions. Photo by djjewelz.)

(Ahi tuna salad with pomegranate, blood oranges, baby Lola Rosa lettuce. Photo by diglounge.)

(Grilled local calamari with kalamata olives, cippolini onions, haricot verts, roasted garlic aioli. Photo by Nad's Bakery)

(Alternate plating of the grilled local calamari. Photo by Glutton_In_LA.)

(Class participant capturing Braised Kurobuta pork belly with roasted shallots, brussels sprout gratin. Photo by Nad's Bakery)

(Another view of the Braised Kurobuta pork belly. Photo by diglounge)

(Myers Ranch Beef Tenderloin w/ Bloomsdale spinach, fingerling potatoes, bearnaise sauce. Photo by Wan Life To Live.)

(Grilled Alaskan salmon with asparagus quinoa, roasted tomatillo and chili relish. Photo by Thirsty Pig.)

(Shortcake with Farmers Market Berries with fresh mint and whipped cream. Photo by Pardon My Crumbs.)

Please also check out what Nad's Bakery, Wan Life To Live, Pardon My Crumbs, and djjewelz had to say about Phototasting!

To be notified of future Phototasting events, please email dailygluttony@yahoo.com.