Food, Food, Food

I was invited by Jaen, an ex-colleague, for dinner at her house on Boxing Day. Lots of good food, but just could not remember the names of these starters, main courses, and desserts.

Anyway, having these pictures on this blog just to touch on the subject of food photography.

As these unedited images taken by a point-and-shoot Panasonic Lumix LX3 shows, they still looks pretty good. So, why bother with professional work taken with professional DSLR's?

Too bad I did not bring the big camera to take shots for comparison. But I will somehow highlight where it would be better to have 2nd and 3rd sources of light so as to paint a better picture of the great dishes.

This looks plain 2 dimensional. Better to have some light at the side and the distracting over-exposed part removed with controlled lighting.

With the other camera, I will probably open up the lens so that those rolls at the rear are 'blurred' more.

If I had taken care to remove the dish in the backgroud, then this would be alright.

Again, could be improved with better lighting

better lighting?

Oops, just off target. My fault.

Should we chase technology?

Read and re-read this posting by a friend of mine, Albert, in a photography forum, in response to some comments by a newbie. I hope he does not mind my sharing his gems of knowledge.

He said, "Please don't blame your camera if your pictures are not nice. The camera is just a tool and it's up to you to use your tool to get a job well done. Please remember it is the photographer who shoots a picture and not the camera. ...  Eye contact is also very important (this is in relation to portraiture) ..."
I cannot agree more, although I am still searching.

As an illustration, these two photographs were taken at about the same time, using different cameras. With the Nikon, I could not get the composition I want. The P&S, slightly better, but the two flowers in the distance could not be 'blurred'.

Nikon D300, 80-200mm F2.8/D lens

Lumix LX3

Which Camera Should I buy?

I was asked that question yesterday – what camera should I buy?

Well, easy question, but with the many different brands and models that one can find in the market, the answer will have to come from the questioner him/herself.

I am partial to Nikon, and had been using that brand for years. But should I encourage people to buy Nikon? Maybe not. Talking to photographers in Malaysia who share the same experience with me, customer service level in Nikon Malaysia is bad, some say atrocious. Well, I have digressed. Will touch on this subject later.

Back to the question on the camera to buy. I guess the buyer will need to be guided by what he wants to shoot. In the case of the person who asked yesterday, he said ‘Macro’ and ‘Scenery’.

Guess what – I recommended a Lumix LX3 (Point & Shoot). What do you think. Agree with my recommendation?



Sample photo taken with a Lumix, unedited. Quality's really good