29th September - It wasn't the best day for the two Mummies to attend a Food Photography workshop. TT lamented that her son is having exams next week, while I am just recovering from flu and don't have an appetite to eat, not to mention that Aidan too, has oral examinations next week.
But well, 11a.m. and we were seated in a nice restaurant 'Loola' at the Esplanade! What a treat for both of us, to be able to have a (kid-less) lunch date and also get to choose our main course of what WE want to eat and have time to eat them slowly.
I was also happy because I get to shoot what I eat, which is something I like but I don't do that often because my dining companions don't always appreciate that (including Hubby. His rules: char kway teow and bak kut teh are fine; but no taking pictures of that prawn and melon salad with vinaigrette dressing or squid ink linguine served with seasonal truffles in any places that require you to place a white napkin on your lap... if you know what I mean..) and another dear friend who rolls her eyes and says: "Wah lau eh, take photo again? You are just like a typical Singaporean." (but there is a difference - I don't post them on Facebook!).
So, as the instructor aptly put it, it was a right place for us to take our time to shoot our food and not getting any stares about it. It was fun for me too, because I got to meet like-minded people from all sorts of background who loves to shoot their food too! We moved around tables, 'borrowing' dishes to shoot because not one dish came out from the kitchen looking identical. TT's fish was a good example, hers came out too cooked, skin blackened and all so we were looking to other tables to search for a better-looking fish. No one on our table ordered the pork belly (think: fats) so we had to move to the other tables and asked for permission to shoot their food!
Not bad for us, there weren't many seats left when we arrived on the dot (photographers must be really punctual people) but we managed to get seats near the window which gave me this view and also, later, a lot of natural light.
Nice to look at but a tad too salty for my taste buds.
Bone Marrow (Tulang in Malay) with vinaigrette which had not much for a taste but texture close to foie gras.
The dish we borrowed: Looks yummy but I won't be able to stomach all those fats!
My yummy duck thigh marinated with Asian spices. Would taste even better with some white rice. Didn't like the pickles they served below, reminds me of those that came with sushi.
This must be the most interesting dish - maybe that was why the instructor took this as his sample when he took us through his presentation and samples. It has more colours, a variety of textures and types of food to play with. The poached egg was something most people were targeting at - to wait for it to be cut and have the yolk ooze out. Quite amused that we had 'visitors' who hung around waiting for TT to cut her egg!
Not a sweet tooth person but the chocolate based desserts were nice. Too much that I couldn't finish. The chocolate ice cream was the best (no photos, it looked just like any scoop of ice cream placed in a silver bowl). Smooth, creamy, not very sweet and totally chocolaty. The guy on our table first complimented it, then TT agreed and I had to nod when I tasted it, it's not like anything we have tasted outside before!
Here's the instructor which TT 'invited' over to ask him how to shoot an ugly-looking piece of fish.
His tip? Don't focus on the skin - zoom into the white flesh - and move the tip of the asparagus closer to the meat so that it provides some colour contrasts and beautify the layout.
Bottom two are my favourite shoots - thanks to TT whose idea was to ask me to help her hold the fork while she shoots. So I took a few shots myself and the roe really stands out. The last one's been photoshopped, not sure if you can see any 'fake' spots? Maybe I'll post a 'Spot the Difference' later on.
Top three photos sent in to Canon from this photo workshop will win a Canon Selphy printer. Not bad, I could use one at home. Maybe my printing of photos can become a monthly routine if I have one, so that I don't need to print 500-600 every half a year....
For the $60 that I have paid, I've totally enjoyed myself (could be better if I was hungry but I haven't missed food for more than a week). Thanks to TT for accompanying me. So honoured that her first reason to go was because I wanted to go and secondly because she could eat - if you are a Mom, you'd know why we say that. How do we have the luxury to shoot when we are eating with the kids? We don't even glance long enough at the food as we dive in to divide and spilt what's been served into smaller portions and dished out to separate plates to feed the hungry monsters.
