Happy Fourth of July!

photo by Chris and Jenni

Food Related HDR Photography

"051707_004 [HDR]" - photo by Ushlambad

High Dynamic Range Photography (HDR) is a technique that takes [usually] three what-would-be-identical images, but with three different exposures.  One is under-exposed, which brings out detail in the very lightest areas of the photo.  One is normally exposed; optimal for the lighting conditions.  The last image is over-exposed, which brings out detail in only the darkest areas.

HDR was developed in the first half of the 20th century but it didn't become mainstream until the digital age; where, now everyone and their Aunt Ruth has a digital camera, and software like Adobe Photoshop CS4 (CS2 or later make work?) and Photomatix can easily seam your images together.

I have dabbled around with HDR photography a little bit, and with either of the two above programs your results can be quite satisfying.  Although most HDR content are of landscapes, the broad range of lighting captures and immense amount of detail, here are some photos I found of food (because I can't even take a decent picture of the back of a lens-cap).

Which of these are your favorites?

"snow & HDR" - photo by Giuliagas

"Wine & Chocolate HDR 2" - photo by beatbull

"Subway HDR" - photo by *Melody*

"Late Lunch" - photo by neona

"duckunit" - photo by witpim

"'Know your onions'..." - photo by Compound Eye - 1st book at Blurb now!

"小龍包作っている" - photo by angrydicemoose

"Busy(HDR)-Taiwan" - photo by 中華民國台灣台� � Taipei, Taiwan

"The Secret Underground Restaurant...." - photo by wattsbw2004

"A Chinese Family at Dinner" - photo by Stuck in Customs

"Groceries" - photo by Mista Yuck


"The Secret Ukrainian Underground Restaurant" - photo by Stuck in Customs

Jello Cities

photo by otherthings

Artist Liz Hickok recreates accurate, scaled-down cities with Jello.  The photo above is San Francisco and they are pouring on the "fog" before they do the photo shoot.  She has done several neighborhoods of San Francisco as well as Wilmington, Delaware and Scottsdale, Arizona. 

Her installations and photography are surreal, you can check them out and purchase them from her website here. 

Liz begins by taking photos around the city, capturing the facades of landmark buildings.  Then she makes tiny models of the structures out of balsa wood and/or foam board.  She pours up silicone molds of the models to make her Jello molds.

The last step in the process is taking a large aerial or satellite photograph of the city and laying in onto a table, making a ton of Jello, and placing the buildings into place. 

Playing with your food?

She has also made videos:

• a tidal wave hitting San Francisco's Marina District
• Godzilla attacking Scottsdale
• the White House's First 100 days (literally)
• My favorite?  San Francisco's Telegraph Hill during an earthquake; complete with fog and the skyline shaking appropriately... like a bowl of Jello.

Here are some more photos of San Francisco...

photo by kwc

photo by jennY

photo by jennY

We are featured today on Foodieview!

I got this email a few hours ago:

"We are featuring one of your delicious photos on Foodie Views of the Day today. Congratulations! You can check it out by following this link:"

http://www.foodieview.com/

Classic French Doorstop

photo by Dave Koch

We had dinner over at a friends house the other day and I noticed they use an $80 magnum (1.5L) bottle of "J" Winery's Brut as their doorstop.  Granted, it was hot inside with all the cooking - but I thought this was so funny, I had to take a picture.

Mini Taco Duo: Chicken with Pineapple Mango Salsa and Spicy Chipotle Beef

photo by Loren Tama

8 large flour tortillas (corn would be nice, but hard to find in London)
Salt and pepper
Cut the tortillas into smaller rounds using a metal ring or a sturdy water glass.  

For the chicken
1 small roasted chicken 
1 cup (about 3/4 of a whole) ripe pineapple, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
1 cup (about 1 large fruit) ripe mango, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
1 yellow onion, diced
Cilantro, de-stemmed and coarsely chopped to yield about 1/4 cup loosely packed
Juice of 2 limes
1 jalapeno, cut into thin rounds

Remove the skin from the chicken and pull the meat off into bite-sized shreds.  Season liberally with salt and pepper and mix the meat with your hands to evenly distribute the seasoning and to mix the dark and white meat.  Set aside.  

Gently combine the pineapple, mango, onion, cilantro, and lime juice.  To assemble the tacos, place a small amount of chicken on each mini tortilla followed by a small spoonful of the salsa.  Set one slice of jalapeno on top of each.

For the beef
1/2 lb ground beef
Taco seasonings: chile powder, cumin, paprika, onion powder, oregano, bay, etc...use your imagination
5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 medium red onion, diced
2 8-oz cans chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

Sweat the onion in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the beef, stirring occasionally and breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula.  When the meat starts to brown, add garlic and seasonings, stirring to combine.  Add the chipotle peppers and adobo from the can, again stirring to combine. 

Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and drain the meat mixture.  Remove any chipotle peppers that have not broken up, and any bay leaves if used, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow to rest at room temperature until the mixture can be handled by hand.  

To assemble the tacos, place a small amount of the beef mixture in the middle of a mini tortilla and sprinkle with shredded cheese.  

Keep the assembled tacos in the fridge before serving.  You can make them up to 8 hours in advance, but longer storage may lead to sogginess.  Head the beef tacos in the microwave prior to serving; the chicken tacos are delicious cold. 

Yields about 50 miniature tacos.

Latte Art

photo by Dave Koch

Sorry to all those barista who procrastinated but registration for the Milrock Free Pour Latte Art Championship is closed.  Held at the trade show Coffee Fest, the event is considered the Super Bowl for over achieving barista everywhere.  This year Coffee Fest will be in Las Vegas and, appropriately enough, in Seattle. 

Seattle of course topping the 2008 Caffeinated Cities Survey for coffee consumption in the US, with 59% of respondent consuming it daily.

OK I was only trying to scare you, registration for Las Vegas is still open, but Seattle really is closed.  So start taking pictures of your latte art because you need to submit two photo examples with your entry form.  

There is a lot at stake here with the $5,000 grand prize, bragging rights, and glory.  You may even end up on the Food Network with Guy Fieri or on the cover of Barista Magazine.  So get practicing.

From Coffee Fest, the rules of engagement are as follows:

"Contestants will be given five minutes to prepare the work area, adjust grind etc. Following the five minute preperation [sic] time, contestants will be given five minutes to produce as many as three different free-pour lattes.

At the completion of the five minutes or three free pour lattes, the drinks will be judged based upon : esthetic beauty & balance > 1-25pts., color infusion > 1-25pts., definition > 1 25pts., and creativity > 1-15pts.

No additives other than the espresso and milk may be used in this competition. The drink receiving the highest score from the judges will be used as the contestants submission."

Here are some great examples of what these artists can do with steamed milk and espresso...

photo by jonas_l

photo by ~ggvic~

photo by thebrady

photo by strikeseason

photo by lorisrandom

photo by tavallai

photo by ChrisB_in_SEA

photo by tonx

photo by amanky

I think the one that says, "U Suc" is my favorite.

Which one is yours?