There are many paths that we take in life. I started my professional life as a landscape architect. After many years of training and over a decade of experience in the planning and design field, I decided it was time for a change.

I have been fascinated with images in cookbooks since my childhood in Russia. We had plenty of cookbooks around the house, since my grandmother had been a chef on a cruise ship. I remember lingering in the kitchen every time she cooked for us. Because of those childhood experiences, food started to have a different meaning for me.

Food became a focus in my life once again when I got my hands on a new digital camera. Seeing the passion with which different cooks prepared food sparked my childhood memories of my grandmother’s kitchen and a renewed love of food. It was not long before I started to photograph food for different restaurants.

I believe in photographing real food. Real food portrays its true flavors, aromas, and textures in images. As challenging as it can be to photograph ice cream, I prefer to use real ice cream, including its signs of melting as it comes into contact with warm air.

Visit my website: arinaphotography.com/

Follow me on Google Plus: plus.google.com/u/0/107465890598208601959/posts

Follow me on Twitter

twitter.com/arinaphoto

My current equipment:

EOS 5D Mark III

Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT Flash

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens

Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM Telephoto Zoom Lens

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Standard Zoom Lens

BlackRapid BLRS4B RS-4 Classic Camera Strap with FastenerR-3

Vello VERCC2 ShutterBoss Timer Remote for Canon with 3-Pin Connection

Transcend TRCF400X64G 64GB CompactFlash Memory Card 400x UDMA

Manfrotto 190CXPRO4 4-Section Pro Carbon Fiber Tripod

Manfrotto 496RC2 Ball Head with Quick Release Replaces Manfrotto 486RC2

Tamrac 5786 Evolution 6 Photo Sling Backpack Bag

Clik Elite Venture 30 Backpack