Food Photography Challenge

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New challenges….that’s something that we should never shy away from. This semester I embarked on such a challenge when I was asked to be the photographer in the newly revamped course, “Food Styling, Photography & Writing” in the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at the University of Technology, Jamaica. I say this was a challenge because most of my time as a photographer over the past 20 years has been spent as a photojournalist, with not much time spent in the studio. So to say that I was a bit rusty is an understatement. However I took on the challenge because, as all teachers know, you never stop learning. In fact, if you believe that you have stopped learning, you might as well stop teaching.

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So what did this challenge entail? First of all, let me give you an overview of the course. The main lecturer was Chef Leroy Myers. I have no idea how his food tastes, but he is a very skilled food stylist. He was also able to teach the students how to creatively arrange a variety of dishes, under the themes of eggs, fruits, sandwiches, meat, ice-cream and beverages.

My task was to light and shoot the subjects arranged by the students. The shooting was easy (I so love my Nikon D800E!). The lighting…not so much. At least not during the first shoot. Why? Space. I shot in two main areas – a classroom where the students also used to prepare the dishes, and an outdoor atrium. Both had their unique challenges. For the indoor shoots, I ideally would like to have at least six feet between the table and the two lights and umbrellas that I had set up.  This was not possible, so the first set of photos had distracting shadows that I was not happy with. Fortunately the ceiling was white. So within the space, I bounced the two Smith-Victor lights off the ceiling and violà, I had created a soft-box. The outdoor shooting was easier. It was done in the morning when there was still shade in the atrium which provided soft lighting. Here I used the Nikon Speedlights wirelessly, the SB-910 as the main light and the SB-800 to fill-in when required.  Here are the best shots.

Kimona’s Black & White Challenge

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Guest Blog by Kimona Wickham

I’m not sure who started the black and white photo challenge but, like anything on the internet, it is how you contribute that makes the game bigger than before. A friend of mine received the challenge, who in turn also gave me the challenge, where I as well gave it to others and, as you guessed it, it expanded soon after that. The challenge is simple enough, you get five days to show black and white photographs. Whether original or appreciative pieces, you are restricted to one photo per day.

Day 1 Subject

Day 1 Subject

For each photo you show, you must tag a new friend to continue the challenge. Since the rules are that simple, interpretation can be more than complex. I can’t tell you if you’re allowed photos only taken on the day, month or year or you’re allowed time to conceptualize your idea and simply share these photos base on the timeline. My rule of thumb, at the end of the day, is be original and use the best method that shows that.

The beginning
So I chose the latter of the two. I’m definitely a person that needs to plan ideas ahead. Though to be perfectly honest, it’s always in good practice to strategize your idea before time, even if the idea seems minuscule at first. This practice saves you time from resolving issues on your shoot day and allowing you more opportune time to experiment with the elements around you.
I knew the challenge could be anything I put my mind to and I wanted it to be meaningful, especially for the person that gave me the challenge. Most of my ideas came to fruit because someone was by me as a driving force. That too is an element that can drive my shoots, the motivation to do more than just for myself.

The concept

The main focus for my photos had been to show plants in the closest and most intimate light. To see if the curves of a plant could recreate the swells of a human body. I may have the artist’s curse and view a few my photos as not quite reaching the same concept I had in mind, but by doing all my photos in black and white I was able to show detail in all the subjects themselves. Colour photographs are immediately pleasing to the eyes, but black and whites can bring the most honest of stories.

Day 2

Day 2

Day 3

Day 3

As I snapped each photograph, I saw the importance of getting physically closer to show detail. I found that the closer I got, the more implied the curves of a leaf could be; that features such as details and angles are just as important as focus and framing. At the end of everything, I had batches of photographs of plants in my garden, with one more idea to bridge the gap between plants and body.

 

Conclusion

I hope at the end the concept takes shape in the eyes of the viewer, but if not this challenge sparks interest in others to go and shoot. Just get out and bring your vision to life.

 

Day 4

Day 4

Day 5

Day 5

Kimona Wickham is a visual communicator with a BA. in Communication Arts and Technology from the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech). A creative with a passion for changing the way people “see”, Kimona applies the skills she earned at the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA) and sharpened during her time at UTech with voracity.

Follow her: @WickKim

Jamaica Tallawahs Shine at Sabina

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The Jamaica Tallawahs cricket team won all their home games in the Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 (CPLT20) cricket competition at Sabina Park in Kingston on the weekend.

Thursday’s match against the Antigua Hawksbills proved to be an easy romp to victory with captain Chris Gayle scoring a blistering 59 off 36 balls to lead the Tallawahs to 91-3 to overhaul the Hawksbills’  89-9 to win by six wickets. Jerome Taylor was the man of the match for his figures of 4/18. On Saturday the opposition was the Guyana Amazon Warriors and they fought to the last ball of Jamaica’s innings when man of the match Andre Russell scored a six to take the Tallawahs to victory. Scores were the Amazon Warriors 137/9 and Tallawahs to 138/4, with Russell scoring an undefeated 58 not out. Sunday’s match saw the Tallawahs batting first and made 147/8 with top scores from Owais Shah (42) and Chris Gayle (39). In spite of Shoaib Malik’s top score for the Barbados Tridents of 81 off 43 balls, Jerome Taylor’s second man of the match performance of 2/11 from four overs restricted the Barbados Tridents to 128/6.