I've been a bit absent here lately. You may have noticed. My excuse is called photography. I've been trying really hard to improve my food photography skills so I can bring you more quality pictures of my cooking and baking experiments. Actually, I think I haven't told you about my food photography passion yet.
Everything started so unexpectedly and surprisingly. It was actually this blog that made me so curious and gradually absolutely enthusiastic about food photography. I always loved food and baking but I was never a very good cook. To be hones, I wasn't really interested in cooking. I was always lucky enough to have very good cooks around. Hence it was a huge surprise, not only for me, but for everyone who knows me, when I started cooking like a maniac! ;-) It still makes me smile when people ask me "Do you really cook?". I do and I love it! And I can't believe it myself!
This blog.
I know it may sound a bit weird that I'm telling you why I started this blog now, after I published a few blog posts already but still... I started cooking! :) I was so excited about my cooking experiments that I felt I had to share this new passion of mine with the world. It was such a great feeling after I had published my first post (even though apparently nobody read it). Since then, I've been milling around shelves in supermarkets and local markets looking for new scrumptious and interesting products and ingredients as well as searching an internet and cookbooks for hours looking for new recipes. Surprisingly my boyfriend is very happy about my new obsession :-)
My second new obsession is food photography and food styling. Those came hand in hand with cooking. I love (and always did) beautiful food photos. It is said that we eat with our eyes first, and I can only agree. I love the feeling when gorgeously styled food lands in front of me on the table. I might only eat with my eyes sometimes (eh not really!). That's why I like cookbooks full of beautiful pictures which help me to get an idea of what would be cooking. Food must look appetising to draw my attention.
But let's get back to the point. As I started my blog, I wanted to show you what I cooked or baked, so I asked my boyfriend to take photos for me because photography had been his hobby since I've known him. Well, it has worked, though, not for a long time. I had to start trying myself. It may sound like a cliche, but I woke up one morning and I was hooked! I wanted to know everything about photography and how to take a beautiful food photo. To be honest, until then I hadn't showed much interest in my boyfriend's DSLR, despite his many attempts to teach me how to use it. Instead, I got my own "point and shoot" tiny compact camera, which now "rests in piece" in a drawer.
I get lots of inspiration on Flickr where so many talented people publish their pictures. Their comments on my photos are real help and a support, and I would like extend my thanks to all of them! Another great source of inspiration are food blogs. You can see some of my favourite in a right sidebar - "My favourite sites&blogs".