by Linda
It happened to me this week as I was thinking about my post. I knew what I wanted to
I wanted to share the recipe for the fruit salad in my picture. It's really good, it's really easy and if your watching your waistline
It's a colorful fruit salad, I began to think about how to best photograph it so you could see how pretty it is and want to try a bite. I wanted to take the picture outside and I wanted the picture to show the fruit salad in it's beauty, resting in a lovely bowl that is perhaps sitting on a lovely salad plate, with a lovely spoon nearby, and a glass of tasty iced tea in a mason jar with a sprig of mint to complete the scene. Sounds easy, right?
First I had to wait for a sunny day. tick......tick.....toc..oh! look! the sun is shining! I dished up the fruit salad, grabbed a salad plate and spoon, brewed up some tea, snipped a sprig of mint, grabbed the camera and went out back.
I set up my scene on our big table. Click ... move the dishes around...click...move the tea...click...turn the camera...click...adjust the settings on the camera...click...stand up...click...move the dishes...click...sit down...click...squat...click...stand on a chair...click...chuck the spoon into the yard...click...move the tea...click...get closer...click...adjust the settings on the camera...click...scoot back...click...groan...click...move the dishes around...click...moan...click
I really wasn't liking any of the shots I had so far. So I thought I would set up my scene inside on a table I have near a window that has good light. Change the settings on the camera ... click ... move the dishes around ... click ... stand up ... click ... sit down ... click ... adjust the settings on the camera ... click ... stand on the chair ... click ...WT(!?#) ... click...
Still not liking the shots. What to do, what to do...Then I had a lightbulb moment. I needed to use a different lens! (insert chorus of angels singing here)
OK, swap out the lens, go back outside and set up on a small table this time and lose the salad plate (I wonder where that spoon went?), adjust the settings on the camera ... click ... ahhh! ... click ... oooh! ... click ... move the tea ... click ... get close ... click ... move back ... click... done.
I spent 45 minutes and took about 100 shots. As I perused them in Lightroom, most were quickly deleted. I actually had 3 I liked enough to use here. All 3 were from the abbreviated session once I changed lenses and all 3 were processed the same way - I flipped them horizontally, straightened them and applied a Matt Kloskowski preset-tonal contrast, medium, done. Processing time - about 10 minutes total. (Matt Kloskowski is a Photoshop guy and editor of Lightroom Magazine, he has a blog where he tells Lightroom secrets and has free presets. Go here to check it out.)
Luckily, it was not a hot day and the fruit salad was stable for the whole session, it did not melt, discolor, wilt or start to look yucky. The tea, however, needed new ice.
Now for the recipe -
Fruit Salad - makes 15 servings
(adapted from Food.com)
1 (29 oz) can sliced peaches, undrained
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks, undrained
1 (3 1/8 oz) box dry vanilla instant pudding
1 lb. strawberries, stemmed and quartered
2 bananas, sliced
1/2 pint blueberries
1 bunch grapes
In a large bowl, combine peaches, pineapples and pudding. Mix well till pudding mix is dissolved. Add remaining fruit and mix well. Refrigerate several hours before serving.
garnish with poppy seeds and/or fresh mint
Because I love ya, click here for printable recipe
The pudding makes a tasty sauce combined with the juice from the canned fruit. It will not be a thick sauce like pudding but it will coat the fruit nicely!
Look for fruit canned in juice instead of syrup.
This makes a BIG bowl! Serving size is 1/2 cup, each serving is 74 calories! yay!
Enjoy!
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The flickr gallery and the Instagram gallery (#focusingonlife) is full of beautiful things! Don't forget to add your pictures for this month's theme -"Flowers", while you're enjoying a bowl of tasty fruit salad!
xo,
7 comments:
Linda you had me laughing out loud this morning! First of all, the salad looks delicious and I will definitely print the recipe. (thank you for that), but secondly I did the same exact thing recently when asked to produce a photo for the summer banner here at FOL. I had a vision in my mind, did all of the set up, clicked a zillion shots, moved things a zillion times. Over an hour later I had my shot. People just smile when I tell them this story. They think, "an hour shooting a still life? Really?" But, here, well here, I know that you all understand. Beautiful, beautiful photo, and I hope you were able to sit down and eat that salad when you were finished!
Oh, I've been there! I once spent an entire day (off and on) trying to get a shot that I had in my head come out the way I wanted it to. But it was worth it in the end! Your photo is so inviting, making me want to sit down right now and eat that fruit salad! So sweet of you to give us the recipe! Can't wait to give it a try.
Oh that sounds yummy, and OH I was laughing right along with Judy. There have been days where I felt like I was just starting out and couldn't get anything to look how I wanted it to. And I can relate to trying to shoot outside, it's about to be our muggy, yucky humid self here. Never mind my hair....
I certainly like this image...it looks so cool and refreshing. Thanks for the recipe, it looks delicious!
Yes, I think we've probably all been there ... click, click, click ...shake head ... move, move, move ... more clicking. But in the end it's worth the effort and actually the fun of doing it. I am among those who cannot wait to try this recipe!Yum!!! Thanks for sharing it and for starting my day with a chuckle as I first read the post on my iPhone early this morning on my way to you-know-where.
Indeed, we have all been there. Totally loved your story. I was laughing and nodding my head as I read it. I recently went through the same thing. I was participating in a collaborative diptych challenge. My partner & I decided on something "simple" - eggs. Her picture wound up being a lovely bowl of eggs, with a few shells sitting in front of the bowl. I decided I wanted to have a cooked egg, sunny side up coming out of the skillet onto the plate in a table setting outside. A couple of hours later, I finally got the shot, but the egg was stone cold. I ate it anyway!
Indeed, we have all been there. Totally loved your story. I was laughing and nodding my head as I read it. I recently went through the same thing. I was participating in a collaborative diptych challenge. My partner & I decided on something "simple" - eggs. Her picture wound up being a lovely bowl of eggs, with a few shells sitting in front of the bowl. I decided I wanted to have a cooked egg, sunny side up coming out of the skillet onto the plate in a table setting outside. A couple of hours later, I finally got the shot, but the egg was stone cold. I ate it anyway!
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