Food is Love: Cameras, Creativity and Coming to an End

I feel like I’ve been deceiving you all the past few months because I keep forgetting to mention that I got a new camera! My previous blogs about photography talked about my old camera, the Canon PowerShot SD850 IS, which is still great to use because it’s so small and easy to slip into my purse and take with me. However, I got a “new” camera in May. I say “new” in quotes because it’s actually a hand-me-down. I’m lucky to benefit from my dad’s love for photography. He bought a new digital SLR camera and “sold” me his old camera. I say "sold” in quotes because he gave me an amazing deal, as only a father can do. So without further ado, here it is!

It’s a Canon SX10 IS. While I would still love to have a SLR, this one will do for now, at least until I win the lottery. It has terrific resolution and zoom. It’s faster so I don’t have to hold the camera so still and steady, which is a real bonus especially after having a gin and tonic. Another thing I like is that the screen on the back flips out and turns around, so I can take self portraits, like this one.

My dad and I were talking a while back about how far photography has come in the past 20 years. I’ll say! 20 years ago I was in a photography class in high school learning how to use a dark room. I really liked being in the dark room. It was really quiet and, well, dark. A great environment for an introvert like me. I even liked the smell of the developing liquids. You had to be really careful not to waste film or paper because it was expensive. Now if you take a bad picture, you know right away and can retake it and delete it. No harm done! We are so lucky to live in this age of digital photography.

The other photography topic I wanted to talk about is creativity. I’m a really creative person, which I love sometimes. Other times I don’t. I have this feeling like I need to create gifts for everyone, I need to make things from scratch all the time. Why buy jewelry as gifts, when I can make my own? Why buy a quilt for the bedroom, when I can make my own? It’s exhausting! And I can’t help myself. I just have this desire to create, create, create! Using this website is a great example. Sometimes I get really tired of taking photos of everything I cook and bake, but I honestly can’t stop. I get all of these great ideas on how to take a unique photo and then I HAVE to do it! I guess it’s how I express myself. I’m a very quiet person and I don’t talk much. Creating things is how it all gets out. Because of my health problems, I don’t have as much physical energy as a typical person, so my energy comes out in being creative.

Being creative just doesn’t come from nothing, though. I find inspiration everywhere. I admit, I’ve taken so many photos of food, it’s hard not to repeat myself. However, I still try to inject something new every once in while. I mostly get inspiration from magazines, nature, and the internet. One of my favorite magazines is Real Simple. It has an aesthetic that I totally love. Clean and simple. I’ve posted a couple of photos to show how I get my inspiration.

This photo by Stephen Lewis from the July 2010 Real Simple magazine cover,…..

……inspired this photo of lemon blueberry scones.

(There was another photo that I saved from an earlier month, but have since recycled, that depicted slices of citrus with facial products, which was further inspiration for this photo.)

It’s a lot of fun, but I am contemplating taking a break from photography for a while. At least food photography. At least from this site. At least cutting back a little. Oh, who am I kidding, I can’t stop! Seriously though, if you start seeing less and less photos from me, it means I am taking a break and taking care of myself. My time on this site is coming to an end. This site has taken over most my free time and I need to work on maintaining a better balance. I was taking a photo of chicken for the umpteenth time the other day and realized what a chore it felt like, so I’m redirecting my creative focus for now. I do have that quilt I want to make for our bedroom and some ideas for some more jewelry. Plus that pile of Cooks Illustrated recipes and other recipes clipped from the newspaper and magazines needs some attention. I still love taking photos of cookies and cupcakes and the like (I won’t be able to resist posting photos of those), but no more chicken! Anyways, I hope this blog was helpful and has inspired YOU to be more creative.

I’ll leave you with some of the photos I took on our latest trip to the lake up north, some of which I’ve entered into a contest where the winners’ photos will be displayed at the local hospital.