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Fun Pictures with Nikon

R

Ranger 9

Guest
Those are really impressive food shots, especially for an "ad hoc" shooting situation.

A time ago i learned, that most food and/or food arrangements for potography are made NOT by nature but by food stylists and they will make them from wood, silikone, wax or other non-tasty stuff
In the US, at least, if the photo is for advertising or packaging of a USDA-regulated product, it has to be the real product, and the amount of each ingredient has to be realistic.

Of course, it may be doctored up with Kitchen Bouquet, corn syrup, floral clay, spit, etc., etc., but it IS real food.

Editorial food photography -- i.e. what you see in the food magazines -- is a different matter. That stuff could be anything.

Another special case is ice cream. It's not USDA-regulated, and it's really hard to shoot the real thing (the top guy in the field, before he retired, used a big walk-in freezer as his studio; once he set up the shot, he would blow on the ice cream through a soda straw to make it look just creamy enough.) Most people use fake ice cream, which is made out of cornstarch, shortening, powdered sugar, and various other ingredients, and then dyed with food coloring. Food stylists learn how to make it as part of their training.

It looks amazingly realistic, and isn't toxic, but it's just barely edible. An ice cream marketing guy I used to work with had a constant problem with people sneaking into his office and stealing product-sample ice cream bars out of his freezer, so he had one of the stylists make up some fake bars and put them in there. ONE of them got snitched... and after that, nothing was ever taken out of his freezer again.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Interesting information about food shots, Ranger. I have a lot to learn, and some challenges that are way beyond my competence will come up before I've completed this. Partly as a result of the shots I did last Sunday, I've been asked to come to another restaurant next week, to do some shots for them as well.

Life is full of interesting challenges, isn't it :)
 

etrigan63

Active member
Could have used him today to get my mom's cat out from under the pool deck. The opening she (the cat) scampered through was about that high.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
It's a widespread misunderstanding that long, fast, expensive lenses are needed for taking photographs of birds in flight. I can't understand why, when a slow, old 85mm does the job just fine ;)

Wildlife in peaceful Bangkok.

D80 with 85mm f/1.8 @ f/4.0

 
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Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Since I'm on the waterway, here's another one: one of Bangkok's idyllic waterfalls, a part of a giant multi, multistorey shopping mall built on the land that used to be the location of the beautiful, little Siam Intercontinental Hotel, a jewel of Thai architecture, with it's own little park leading down towards the canal.

Fortunately, it was torn down, and replaced by this windowless concrete structure, protecting us all from the dangers of natural nature. The hotel didn't even have a waterfall...

D80 with 85mm f/1.8 @ f/2.2

 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Red is the political street fashion in Bangkok at the moment, but among all the graveness, slogans and fighting, there are glimpses of light. Young people who couldn't care less about who is in charge of this country, but who think the new colour is a cool toy. The future is in the smile :)

D80 with 70-300mm ED @ 165mm and f/5.0

 

Lloyd

Active member
Since I'm on the waterway, here's another one: one of Bangkok's idyllic waterfalls, a part of a giant multi, multistorey shopping mall built on the land that used to be the location of the beautiful, little Siam Intercontinental Hotel, a jewel of Thai architecture, with it's own little park leading down towards the canal.

Fortunately, it was torn down, and replaced by this windowless concrete structure, protecting us all from the dangers of natural nature. The hotel didn't even have a waterfall...

D80 with 85mm f/1.8 @ f/2.2
"The paved paradise and put in a parking lot..."
 

Lloyd

Active member
Red is the political street fashion in Bangkok at the moment, but among all the graveness, slogans and fighting, there are glimpses of light. Young people who couldn't care less about who is in charge of this country, but who think the new colour is a cool toy. The future is in the smile :)

D80 with 70-300mm ED @ 165mm and f/5.0

Nice!! The color here is stunning too.
 
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