Cornish clotted cream, fresh scones and strawberry jam served with Earl Grey tea. This shot was an unbelievable nightmare to set up — from sorting out the composition and lighting to getting the table linen straight (and crease free)! Even the silverware needed much polishing. By the time I was eventually happy with the shot, I was famished and desperate to scoff the scones — which were lovely!! #creamtea #scones #clottedcream #tea #teatime #foodphotography #foodstyles_gf #foodartstyles_gf #still_life #stilllife #markmakingdesign #most_deserving #photowall #all_shots_ #uk_potd #icatching #bd #niftyfifty #baking #foodporn #strawberryjam #oxfordshire #ig_captures

Homemade coffee cupcakes and fresh brew coffee — someone won't be sleeping anytime soon! The combination of clear glass and polished chrome made for some lighting challenges — there's a lot going on off-stage to control the light, reflections and highlights. A polarising filter cut some of the unwanted reflections plus enhanced the colour tones in the wood and cakes. White reflectors are used to catch highlights in the glass and chrome and black card is strategically placed to control the incoming light. Processed in PS Touch, iPhoto and Snapseed entirely on my iPad. #freshbrew #cona #desertporn #cupcakes #caffeine #coffee #coffeeporn #niftyfifty #foodphotography #foodstyles_gf #foodartstyles_gf #still_life #stilllife #markmakingdesign #most_deserving #photowall #all_shots_ #uk_potd #icatching #bd #niftyfifty #bokeh #dofaddicts #ig_captures #bakingporn #baking #greatbritishbakeoff #ketsourinemacarons

All the wind last night killed the electricity supply — a good excuse to break out the hurricane lamps and candles! Luckily the camera still had enough power to run off a few shots before I got to eat my supper! Lit mostly with the candle and hurricane lamp, I had to break out the off-camera flash for a bit of extra light — the neighbours probably thought I was letting off indoor fireworks! Decorated the scene with a few fallen leaves to represent the wind! #powercut #gales #hurricanelamp #candlelight #strobist #soup #niftyfifty #foodphotography #foodstyles_gf #foodartstyles_gf #still_life #stilllife #markmakingdesign #most_deserving #photowall #all_shots_ #uk_potd #icatching #bd #niftyfifty #autumn2013 #oxfordshire

More baking fun this wild and windy autumn afternoon. Two different sizes of cupcake and two-tone chocolate and coffee icings. Decided to colour tone with a complementary blend of pink rosebuds and azure espresso cups to contrast with the rich luscious browns of the chocolate. Very minimally processed in Snapseed to warm the image a little and slightly increase contrast. #desertporn #cupcakes #chocolate #chocolateporn #coffee #niftyfifty #foodphotography #foodstyles_gf #foodartstyles_gf #still_life #stilllife #markmakingdesign #most_deserving #photowall #all_shots_ #uk_potd #icatching #bd #niftyfifty #bokeh #dofaddicts #autumn2013 #ig_captures #bakingporn #baking #greatbritishbakeoff #ketsourinemacarons

This shot started out very differently and got changed half-way through — I was really pleased with the results. The light was so lovely that I wanted very minimal processing to preserve its quality and tone. #cheese #physalis #niftyfifty #foodphotography #foodstyles_gf #foodartstyles_gf #still_life #stilllife #markmakingdesign #most_deserving #photowall #all_shots_ #uk_potd #icatching #bd #niftyfifty #bokeh #dofaddicts #ig_capture #ketsourinemacarons #jj_food #honey #oxfordshire #uk

Adapted from a recipe by Nigella Lawson, featuring chocolate, cream and, bizarrely, marsh mallows. The result, though, is superb — a smooth, indulgent, creamy consistency and surprisingly light. Served in dinky little espresso cups, perfect for photography. Back-lit high-key shot, with natural window light gives a lovely airy feel to the shot and combines really well with a shallow depth of field. Again, from the camera's metering point of view, the shot is over-exposed, as the camera meter really can't cope with this sort of lighting. I set up the camera, on a tripod, connected to a TV as a monitor and compose and focus (manually) the shot using the camera's 'live view' function. This allows me time to tweak the composition, whilst looking at a TV screen, rather than the camera's tiny LCD (it's necessary to set the camera's auto-power off to off or 30 mins or so). Exposure set on manual, I dial in the aperture I want — in this case, for a shallow depth of field, F2.5 (stopped down a little to reduce chromatic aberration (nasty purple highlights) from the cheaper Canon 50mm F1.8). I then set whatever shutter speed is required to bring the exposure up to what looks right, eyeballing it for the most part, I've learnt how the particular TV screen affects what the final shot will look like. In this case, a shutter speed of 1/8 sec was required. You have to be careful on a day with cloud and sun, as the natural light levels are constantly fluctuating. #mm_tips #puddingporn #dessertporn #chocolateporn #chocolate #chocolatepots #nigella #nigellarecipe #chocolates #highkey #foodphotography #pudding #foodstyles_gf #still_life #stilllife #markmakingdesign #most_deserving #photowall #all_shots #uk_photooftheday #icatching #bd #niftyfifty #bokeh #dofaddicts

A little desperately needed touch of spring sunshine on this dark and stormy Autumn day. Torrential rain and gale-force winds are forecast, here in South Oxfordshire, in the UK — plus the clocks have gone back an hour and it's very very dark. Decided to cheer things up with a nice sunny shot with plenty of lemony zingyness! Shot in standard 6x4 for a bit of a different composition. #puddingporn #desertporn #lemonmeringue #lemons #niftyfifty #foodphotography #pudding #foodstyles_gf #foodartstyles_gf #still_life #stilllife #markmakingdesign #most_deserving #photowall #all_shots_ #uk_potd #icatching #bd #niftyfifty #bokeh #dofaddicts #autumn2013 #ig_captures #bakingporn #baking #greatbritishbakeoff

In the absence of any mushrooms to photograph, and with horrible weather, I decided it was time for a bit of baking — and food photography! A very simple (and delicious) crumble, made with harvested apples and the last of the year's blackberries. Photographed, on a tripod, with a 50mm lens at F2.8 for shallow depth of field; the focus was locked on the back of the crumble. Lit with natural light, from camera left, and a little fill-light from a reflector to camera right. #blackberries #puddingporn #desertporn #applecrumble #apples #niftyfifty #foodphotography #pudding #foodstyles_gf #foodartstyles_gf #still_life #stilllife #markmakingdesign #most_deserving #photowall #all_shots_ #uk_potd #icatching #bd #niftyfifty #bokeh #dofaddicts #autumn2013 #ig_captures #bakingporn #baking