I h
ad one of those flying dreams, the kind that we all have at one point or another. This one though, felt particularly special, and I felt the need to record it somehow. Words would have failed to capture how I felt, so I decided to illustrate it in a photo.
Barnyard animals have been my latest and greatest obsession. So it was only a matter of time before we headed over to Ardenwood,
a fully working, historical farm with a ranchhouse, garden, blacksmith shop, and animals – in Fremont (Yes, Fremont. There is apparently more than just Fry’s and Chinese strip malls.)
By the time I left, I made friends with all of the sheep, pigs, turkeys, chickens, rabbits, and goats there, and promised them I’d move in with them someday. Well ok, maybe not. But for now, I’ll pack a sandwich, smuggle in some yummy treats for my furry friends, and pay the small $5 entrance fee to have lunch with them.
It’s official. I got bitten by the contest bug. This time I’m entering SAVEUR’s Cover Contest. SAVEUR is a gourmet, food, wine, and travel magazine that specializes in essays about various world cuisines, and they’re asking readers to submit their best food photo for their next issue. Oh did I forget to mention – the photo will be the cover photo.
I have to give props to SAVEUR. This is not the first time they’ve published user-sbumitted content. Their last issue was 100% written by the users. The food world is moving online – there are millions of food blogs and websites packed with valuable information, and thousands of home cooks that would absolutely die for the chance to be published. They couldn’t have honored their readers in a bigger way. It really shows that SAVEUR isn’t your mother’s stogy, chef-written food publication.
We’re proud of SAVEUR’s distinctive photography—but we know we’re not the only talented photographers out there. So, for the first time in our history, we’re inviting readers to sift through their work and send us their best images—photography that would look right at home on SAVEUR’s cover. What’s it worth to you? How does a six-piece set of Le Creuset cookware (worth $550) sound?
Uhhh…yeah…that sounds REALLY good. I can’t imagine how much it costs to ship out $550 worth of cast iron.
Here’s what they’re looking for:
1. Photographic quality
2. Creativity
3. Relevance to the SAVEUR brand
4. Quality of the accompanying caption
Again, I did my homework, and looked at previous SAVEUR magazines to get an idea of their style. Their cover photography style is very much like my own – casual, a strong focus
on contrasting textures and colors, and an appreciation for imperfection.
The deadline is tomorrow. There are 717 entries so far. Some of them are really good! I have some tough competition in front of me. Now here’s the problem – I can only enter one photo. One. I did a quick mock-up of how my photos would look as a SAVEUR cover, can you guys help me figure out which one to submit?
To my surprise, I was included in an article for “50+ Mouth Watering Websites” – what an honor it is to be up there with some of the greats of the food blogosphere, such as Smitten Kitchen, Food Gawker, and Bakerella. Check out the article here – I’m in the section under “Foodie Sites and Blogs”! It’s linked to my post on Jap Chae (Korean Glass Noodles), which I think has some of my better food photos. I know, I know, I haven’t been posting anything food related here due to my OXO adventures, but there will be one coming up soon, I promise.
There’s some good inspiration in the article if you’re designing a food-related website. I have to add, too, that some of these websites function really well – I know, because I’m on a few of them on a daily basis! And finally, I’m so glad most of these aren’t cheapest viagra in Flash.
A big thanks to the author, Sarah Lynn, who included me in
her piece.
Boris the Bus + Momo the Bunny + Mike = Just a few of my favorite things. I did this photo shoot a few weeks ago, when it really started to feel like summer.
(Banner image from 47st Photo)
The problem with being a photo enthusiast is that it’s hard to get the equipment you need. There aren’t that many large camera stores, and if there are, they usually don’t carry a wide selection, or they markup the prices significantly (and photo equipment is in my opinion, already unaffordable). So that leaves just one option – online shopping.
And with online stores carrying identical products at competitive prices, it’s hard to know who to purchase from, so the easiest thing to turn to for reference are unbiased, user reviews and ratings.
Well, never trust user ratings. Here’s why.
