It seems hard to believe now, but when I started this blog, I did not even own a digital camera. My very first photos were taken using a webcam and involved carrying the food to where the laptop was then then all sorts of acrobatics as Nick held the laptop at an angle where I could see the screen, and I contorted myself trying to manoeuver the camera into a position where it could see the plate, and I could see the laptop screen to check what I was snapping. Most of the time, just ensuring that the food did not end up on the bedroom floor during this process was a good result in my opinion!
But time passed, the planets revolved, and eventually I purchased my first digital camera (my much-missed Canon Powershot A80) – and the rest is history. Or a steep learning curve, at any rate. But it still bothers me that I do not have photos for some of my earlier posts. In particular, one of my perennially popular posts – Paul’s famous butternut soup – went live in August 2004 without a single photograph. Seeing as I am currently on holiday and not hanging around my computer with lots of time to do extensive posts, I thought this would be as good a time as any to do a couple of posts highlighting old favourite recipes that I have now in fact re-photographed, starting with this fabulous soup.
I am not reproducing the butternut squash soup recipe here in its entirety, but please do go and read the original post – both for the recipe and the story of a dinner party involving a mid-meal delivery of a dining table and an unfortunate meeting of a very large truck and a garden wall. You can thank me later.
Lovely-looking soup. Butternut soup is one of my favourites – just love that velvety texture! Although I do have a digital camera, it is just a small point and shoot one. Still trying to save up for an all-singing-and-dancing version. My main problem is that we’re always too hungry for me to style my food nicely in the evening. Roll on the Summer, when at least there will still be some good natural light!
Hahahahahahaha, can just picture you & Nick contorting like crazy to get the food in view of the webcam – must say, that’s one of the more unconventional photography methods I’ve heard of.
PS: Enjoy your holiday!
Love your colour combinations here! Way up from a web cam!
I also never seem to get around to styling my food properly – usually having the whole family waiting to eat it as I hurriedly snap a shot in the fading evening light. I keep promising myself to start cooking earlier, but so far I’ve broken the promise every time. Enjoy your holiday.
I started blogging once I had the camera, but did not seem to take photos at the beginning.
I have to revisit some old favourites too.
How we have all improved, thank goodness for that! I cannot wait for winter, soups and stews are my fave!!!
Such fun! For the first two years of my blog, I didn’t photograph the food I cooked, so every now and then I like to go back and revisit the dish, and try to photograph it in a way that will make people want to eat it. Your butternut squash soup photo does that, beautifully.
What an excellent idea! 🙂 I was pondering such things about my blog just last night and your post today is the kick in the pants I needed. 🙂
I commend your tenacity of taking a photo before you got your camera – I do wish I could have been a fly on the wall to see all the antics.
🙂 Mandy
Butternut soup is my fav. I’m trying to picture you taking photos with your webcam. Hahahaha… Its a very funny picture.
It’s very comforting and amusing to hear about your early days.
I make this soup all the time. Like the addition of the “pepitas”. I like the story about when you first started…look at you now…all grown up.
I love hearing about the acrobatic photography of your early blogging days, it brings up memories of my own. I had grand plans for becoming this wonderful food photographer, but knew absolutely nothing and it always took me a hundred shots to get just one barely passable photo. Phil handles 99% of it now, because my wonderful talent never seemed to emerge. 😉