Another (maybe final) attempt to post an image to Camel

[Gremlin]

Kat and Athena have the patience of saints and have tried to help me multiple times. But enough is enough.

[zemlin]

You had an extra "http://" in your image link. Probably just an errant mouse click when adding the link.

[Gremlin]

Originally Posted by zemlin

You had an extra "http://" in your image link. Probably just an errant mouse click when adding the link.

Hey Man Thanks!

[Songman45]

Yum! Three things I like in my cooking: onion, peppers and a sharp kinfe. I hope your frustration is in the posting and not in the creation. I'm not a still life photographer but the addition of the forum and the contributions have me interested in learning more about the craft and perhaps trying it. I'd like to continue to see contributions.

Steve

[Gremlin]

Originally Posted by zemlin

You had an extra "http://" in your image link. Probably just an errant mouse click when adding the link.

Many thanks from Gremlin to Zemlin. Until I started shooting digital a while back my Internet savvy was limited to emails and MSN/Yahoo news. I don't have a hell of a lot of hair, which is good because I'd be walking around with patches missing after this evening. Good catch Zemlin - I really appreciate you checking out my problem & figuring it out... and of course massive gratitude to Kat and Athena for their help as well. Now that I think I'm smart enough to post these images perhaps I'll get a little more ambitious. These here were actually just quick throw togethers - I was in the office of a famous chef with a restaurant at Mandalay Bay in Vegas and saw some of the images his staff had laying around. Don't know who shot them but it was quite apparent that whoever did wasn't paying any attention to his white balance at all. So I did a couple of before and after (these are the after's), and made prints so he could see what a good food photo SHOULD look like. Would be a crying shame if a celebrity chef (can't name names) had substandard images on his website or in his books.... Thanks Zemlin, - I'll keep an eye out for that extra "https//" in the future. Your help brought me back from the brink of despair buddy!

[Gremlin]

Cross Vegas Bike Event 09.23.09 - Mad Cat Photography - Digital Imaging Solutions Thanks for your comments - in addition to peppers and onions, we are really big on cumin and cilantro as well.
I checked out your equine images - moving targets rather than still life stuff that holds still for ya.... Nice work. Looks to me like they were shot later in the after noon when the light was warm, with a long/fast lens?
Not too long ago I had the opportunity to assist at a completely insane bicycle race here in las vegas.... above is a link to the whole gallery (I think). I'm not into bike racing, and you may or may not be into horses - but hey every chance you get to go out and shoot, if you're like me you're gonna grab & eat it up huh? Saw your avatar photo as well - is that a D80 with the battery pack attached Again, thanks to all for their help and comments. w/g

[Songman45]

Cumin, yes - Cilantro, not so much. Texans tend to add too much cilantro, the resulting taste is similar to liquid dishwashing detergent. Thank you for the nice words about the equine stuff. Some of the work was shot under a covered arena with flash. Yes, a long fast lens. I feel very fortunate to have a 70-200 2.8 VR. Nice guess on the avitar, its actually a D200 with a grip and the long fast lens. I'm fairly mercinary about what I photograph, I do what pays the bills. However, I do enjoy horses most especially English events. I take some motocross pictures but I'm not into exhaust fumes, flying dirt and the noise. And like you, I'll jump and run for the chance to photograph some things. A flat track owner has invited me to check out his place not only do they race motorcycles but go-carts and (this has to be redneck) lawn mowers. I'm going just to see the souped up mowers.

Thanks for the link to the bicycle pictures. Yes, I'd eat that kind of shoot up.

Regards,
Steve

[KatMitchell]

I am glad you figured it out, Gremlin. Thank you Zemlin for helping out...

Gremlin, Nice photos, I really favor the bright colors on the peppers. I like the second one best, but the lean to the facing left is a bit distracting, just a bit.

Thanks for sharing and hopefully you will continue to share any food shots you have taken.

~ Kat

[KatMitchell]

Originally Posted by Songman45

Yum! Three things I like in my cooking: onion, peppers and a sharp kinfe. I hope your frustration is in the posting and not in the creation. I'm not a still life photographer but the addition of the forum and the contributions have me interested in learning more about the craft and perhaps trying it. I'd like to continue to see contributions.

Steve

Hey Steve,

Nice to see you pay us a visit.

Hmmm.... remind me to keep bugging you via PM until you give in and shoot some still life work...

[Gremlin]

Thanks so much to all you guys for your help and feed back. Still life shooting is something I've always been interested in - but really haven't done a lot of it. The technical help figuring out why I couldn't post was greatly appreciated, and since I can tell right now I'm in the prescence of some really high powered shooters any feed back is greatly appreciated. w/g

[KatMitchell]

Well by all means, feel free to learn more and keep shooting with us. Be sure to post and share, looking forward to it... Are you still getting access to the kitchen over at Mandalay ? It would be nice to see more of those. Will they allow you to take some small off camera flash heads and a small light stand or two in there, per regulation ?

~ Kat

P.S. Be sure to get around to surfing other people's threads on there too. You can learn a great deal from the lessons that we are learning too from all the great cc...

[Gremlin]

Originally Posted by KatMitchell

Well by all means, feel free to learn more and keep shooting with us. Be sure to post and share, looking forward to it... Are you still getting access to the kitchen over at Mandalay ? It would be nice to see more of those. Will they allow you to take some small off camera flash heads and a small light stand or two in there, per regulation ?

~ Kat

P.S. Be sure to get around to surfing other people's threads on there too. You can learn a great deal from the lessons that we are learning too from all the great cc...

Thanks Kat you're right I need to get back up in there and get back to work. I also need to hit the Pastry Chef Kitchen - that's where they make the 6 foot tall chocolate statues. Incredible works or art.
It isn't so much a matter of what they will let me do - I have pretty full run of the entire property. It's a matter of making the time and squeezing it in. A couple of weeks ago the banquet kitchens fed, literally, 60,000 people... they ran out of food. At the same time my whole operation imploded around me as well. So while I should have been documenting one of the largest events in Las Vegas, instead I was running around frantically fixing various copy machines.

[KatMitchell]

Perhaps a weekend ? It sure sounds worth it... I mean it is like having a food stylist on tap and some of the best too. They make it pretty and you shoot it.. what a perfect combo!!!

Looking forward to some of your work...we are always happy to see new people jump on board and contribute..

We are "all different skill levels" here and everyone has a voice. Feel free to offer up your best cc on others' work too, we try to all help each other and grow together...

Still life is a rewarding art. I am very new to food photography myself, but I am having fun learning. I do find it challenging that is for sure..

Nice to have you on board

~ Kat

[Athena]

Well done - you got it!

Nice peppers - my suggestion would be to turn the knife blade inwards.

[Rain Lily]

Originally Posted by Songman45

Cumin, yes - Cilantro, not so much. Texans tend to add too much cilantro, the resulting taste is similar to liquid dishwashing detergent.

Steve, I read somewhere that cilantro is one of those things people either are crazy about, or think it smells and tastes like soap. I am one of the crazy ones. LOL. When I make salsa, I use an entire bunch of cilantro and then I just breathe it in for the next 5 minutes after chopping. ROFL! Bell peppers, believe it or not, are the thing I can do without. I usually substitute jalapeno peppers in most recipes.

Gremlin, congratulations! And I love the brightness of your food!

[lputman]

I love the colors and echo what Athena said on turning the knife inward.

[Gremlin]

Originally Posted by lputman

I love the colors and echo what Athena said on turning the knife inward.

Tech Note everybody: the images I posted were shot using only the ambient mixed artificial light in my kitchen (flourescent, light bulbs) well after dark - no natural light whatso. For those of you who don't have an Expo Disc I highly recommend it for presetting your white balance under tricky, mixed light. I hardly ever use the built in presets on my camera - it's either WB Auto or preset with the Expo Disc. A grey card of course works also but unless you're in your own studio who wants to carry an 8x10 grey card around w/'em?
Kinda funny I have at least a couple of folks who recommended turning the knife to face the other way.... I looked at it both ways and opted to face the blade away for some reason. Do any of you folks out there have any "rules?" You know - certain ways of doing things that work so well for ya that you always do it that way? Are there any .... "unspoken rules" in Still Life that everyone agrees on and yet have never actually been "put down on paper?"
Again thanks to you all for your help with getting the images posted, and your kind words as well. This is FUN! w/g

[Gremlin]

Originally Posted by Songman45

Cumin, yes - Cilantro, not so much. Texans tend to add too much cilantro, the resulting taste is similar to liquid dishwashing detergent. Thank you for the nice words about the equine stuff. Some of the work was shot under a covered arena with flash. Yes, a long fast lens. I feel very fortunate to have a 70-200 2.8 VR. Nice guess on the avitar, its actually a D200 with a grip and the long fast lens. I'm fairly mercinary about what I photograph, I do what pays the bills. However, I do enjoy horses most especially English events. I take some motocross pictures but I'm not into exhaust fumes, flying dirt and the noise. And like you, I'll jump and run for the chance to photograph some things. A flat track owner has invited me to check out his place not only do they race motorcycles but go-carts and (this has to be redneck) lawn mowers. I'm going just to see the souped up mowers.

Thanks for the link to the bicycle pictures. Yes, I'd eat that kind of shoot up.

Regards,
Steve

Speaking of dust and noise - check these images out:
Mad Cat Photography - Digital Imaging Solutions

Terrible Herbst 400 - Henderson, Nevada, December 2006.

[Gremlin]

OK here's another one (only took two tries to post it!). Not a still life, but food as art for sure. Compliments of the Garde Mange at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.