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You are here: Home / Events / Click / For the love of pasta…

For the love of pasta…

by Jeanne Horak on November 19, 2007 20 Comments in Click, NaBloPoMo 2007, Photography

pink and white heart-shaped pasta

I read recently that photography is the only form of visual art where you don’t consciously add elements (“shall I give David a fig leaf?  Naaah, my wrist is sore – leave him naked!”) but rather consciously have to exclude them.  You point your camera at a room full of people and it’s up to you whether to shoot the entire room or the detail on one woman’s hat.

 

Pink and white heart shaped pasta

Blogging is a little like that too.  You, as the blogger, can choose what to share with your readers and what to leave out.

 

You might choose to tell them about the souffle before the one that appeared on your blog.  The one that refused to rise and tended instead towards the consistency of a squash ball.  Or the muffins where you confused the amounts of flour and oil which were more amoeboid than muffinoid.

 

 

Or you might exercise your artistic license and exclude that little detail from your post.

 

Or you might post lovely pink and turquoise pictures of heart shaped pasta to build up to your entry into this month’s edition of Click! (a new event hosted by the lovely Bee and Jai over at Jugalbandi), leading readers to picture you flitting around your perfect home in your pastel-coloured apron, thinking sweet thoughts, smiling benignly and humming the Sound of Music under your breath as you click away at your pretty pasta.

 

Or you can tell them the truth, which is that you were in head-to-toe black, clearing a 1 square foot square space in the chaos that is your living room to accommodate the shoot, and that you had My Chemical Romance blaring as loudly as decency would allow on the stereo.

Nothing like boys in eyeliner for my creative impulse.

 

Follow me every day in November as I complete National Blog Posting Month – a post a day, every day, for 30 days! Here are all my NaBloPoMo ’07 posts so far.

Jugalbandi_logo The final picture above is in fact my entry into Click! for this month.  The theme is noodles and entries close tomorrow, so you’d better hurry if you still want to enter.  Check out Jugalbandi for details of how to enter.

 

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  1. Francesco says

    November 19, 2007 at 3:46 pm

    This is a crazy funny colorful post!!!
    First time I visit you (following the topless pastry link) … mind if I pass back sometimes?
    And I already discovered something new: click! and that pasta can have really many shapes!

    Reply
  2. Julia says

    November 19, 2007 at 4:28 pm

    Another My Chemical Romance fan! I love them……well actually I love Gerard but don’t tell Rob 😉

    Reply
  3. Sarah Pipilini says

    November 19, 2007 at 5:40 pm

    Ah the malevolent march of time…
    Then, boys in eyeliner;
    Now, men in babyliners!

    Reply
  4. Kit says

    November 19, 2007 at 6:48 pm

    Pretty pasta even if you’re not skipping merrily around it dressed in pink with nuns carolling in the background!

    Reply
  5. Andrew says

    November 19, 2007 at 9:25 pm

    Good choice of pic! Wont beat my Pot Noodle though 😉

    Reply
  6. Coffee & Vanilla says

    November 20, 2007 at 12:58 pm

    Beautiful picture Jeanne!
    I sent my entry as well, but mine is not sooo colourful 🙁
    Margot

    Reply
  7. Coffee & Vanilla says

    November 20, 2007 at 12:58 pm

    Beautiful picture Jeanne!
    I sent my entry as well, but mine is not sooo colourful 🙁
    Margot

    Reply
  8. Coffee & Vanilla says

    November 20, 2007 at 12:58 pm

    Beautiful picture Jeanne!
    I sent my entry as well, but mine is not sooo colourful 🙁
    Margot

    Reply
  9. ejm says

    November 20, 2007 at 12:58 pm

    I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear that you WEREN’T humming the Sound of Music. Not that there’s anything wro… (WHAT am a saying?! Why oh why did you even mention TSoM?! Thanks to you, I now have an audiovirus of “I am six-teen, going on…” aaauaghhhhhhhhhhhh!!)
    What cool photos!
    Where did you find those hearts?! Are there other shapes too?
    -Elizabeth

    Reply
  10. Gill says

    November 20, 2007 at 2:35 pm

    Like I need another reason to love pasta – those pasta hearts are too cute! Better not show my kids or my poor friend who is coming over from the UK in a week (yay!) will be bringing yet another parcel…

    Reply
  11. Freya says

    November 20, 2007 at 4:21 pm

    What gorgeous pasta! And it solves the problem of what to cook on Valentines Day, albeit a few months too early!!

    Reply
  12. TBC says

    November 20, 2007 at 4:30 pm

    How pretty!
    I too took numerous pics but the hardest part was picking just one.
    Yours is so colorful!

    Reply
  13. bee says

    November 20, 2007 at 10:47 pm

    love the exuberance of colours and shapes. thanks for participating.

    Reply
  14. Annemarie says

    November 20, 2007 at 10:49 pm

    I love your imagery in this post, both verbal and pictoral! I’m off to find my frilly apron, in which to flit around the house…

    Reply
  15. S says

    November 21, 2007 at 9:54 am

    J – my sister is OBSESSED with heart shapes.
    Where can I buy these cuties?

    Reply
  16. Jeanne says

    November 21, 2007 at 1:39 pm

    Hi Francesco
    Glad you have discovered Cooksister! Do pop back any time 🙂 Maybe you can join us for the topless tart event?
    Hi Julia
    Hurrah! Another MCR fan over the age of 18!! I am thinking of changing my blog name to “Cooking with Mrs Gerard Way” – subtle, n’est ce pas?! Saw them live at the O2 on Thursday and they blew me away.
    Hi Sarah
    Speak for yourself, love. For me it’s ALWAYS going to be boys in eyeliner!
    Hi Kit
    I guess my secret is out – no carolling nuns in my CD collection!! Glad you like the pastel pasta though 🙂
    Hi Andrew
    I can’t believe you have actually made a Pot Noodle look vaguely edible! Who woulda thought. Now if YOU had been listening to MCR during the shoot, nobody would have been surprised…!
    Hi Margot
    You are right – pasta tends to come in a range of neutral and not-very-exciting colours, doesn’t it! That’s why these caught my eye. I’ve just had a look at your shot – it’s beautiful 🙂
    Hi Elizabeth
    Glad to hear your faith in me is restored by my taste in music…!
    I bought my pasta hearts at a funky kitchen store in Berlin, but I have seen similar ones on the web here: http://www.rosslyndeli.net/B13_special_occasions/B13C1_valentine.htm and here: http://www.pastashoppe.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=149&c=47
    Hi Gill
    Aren’t they the cutest? The only problem is that they’re far too cute to eat! Although I have started thinking in the direction of a lovely pink salmon and vodka sauce with them…
    Hi Freya
    They are gorgeous (the dark ones are flavoured with beetroot!) but as I said above, you end up not eating them because it just seems that they are too pretty to eat.
    Hi TBC
    Yup, editing was the hardest. I have read that this is the mark of a good photographer: the ability to edit your portfolio ruthlessly and to select only one good photo from a series. I’m still working on that…
    Hi Bee
    Thanks for initiating the event! The colours are great, aren’t they? The pasta was from Germany and the napkins from South Africa, so it’s a pretty international photo too!
    Hi Annemarie
    LOL – seems like I’ve now got frilly aprons and Sound of Music on a few peole’s minds! Glad you liked the tone of the post as well as the pics – I had a ball taking them 🙂
    Hi S
    I got these in Berlin at a funky kitchenware store, but I have seen similar ones on the web here: http://www.rosslyndeli.net/B13_special_occasions/B13C1_valentine.htm and here: http://www.pastashoppe.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=149&c=47

    Reply
  17. [email protected] says

    November 21, 2007 at 6:36 pm

    I love your photos 🙂

    Reply
  18. african vanielje says

    November 22, 2007 at 9:52 am

    Hi Jeanne. I kinda like the picture of you in goth black humming the sound of music. Love the pics, and where dod you get the pasta. I’ve got to get my daughter some. SHe’ll love it.

    Reply
  19. ilingc says

    November 22, 2007 at 11:30 pm

    I love these heart shaped pastas. They’re gorgeous. My favourite is the second one, where two hearts lie together. It’s very romantic 🙂

    Reply
  20. kadirecipes says

    April 8, 2011 at 3:20 am

    i REALLY wonder how you take photos. These pics are very nice, you are AN ARTIST ANT YOUR TALENT IS UNIQUE.
    http://www.kadirecipes.com

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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