January in Orange County, CA

Red scooter, check. Full faced motorcycle helmet, check. Surfboard, check. Gotta love January in Orange County.

Temptations and Food Photography

It's really hard working with baker's and pastry chefs. That is, hard not to tear into and eat whatever delicious desert, breads, pastry, chocolates, etc they've set down to be photographed.

We're really not into the whole fake/inedible food-as-a-prop photography. We want it to be real.

For those who do enhance their foods for pictures, it doesn't have to be paint or noxious products. You can use all sorts of little gimmicks, glazes, colorings, gels, and nameless other Edible products to enhance a food to make it look more appealing. "Food Stylists" do this all the time. But still, put the two next to each other, and the real thing will be a bit of a let down. And that means you won't get to (read can't) eat it after the shoot!

Think about the latest fast-food commercial you saw. How great do their burgers look? Now think about the last time you ate one...it was squished, wasn't it? The lettuce and tomatoes really didn't look that fresh, did it? Most all of it, the burger included, was hidden beneath the bun- it's not overflowing, filled with the freshest, grandest ingredients, is it? Lets face it. If they advertised what their food Really looked like, who would would impulsively say, "I've gotta go get one of those!"

April Sweets stopped by a new Pecan Coffee Cake to shoot the other day. Still piping hot and gooey from the oven. It was the end of a late day, a day we hadn't really eaten dinner. Can you say special torture?

As always thank you for reading and sharing! Please contact us for all your photography needs (714-699-4397). Driftwood Photography Studios is conveniently based out of Orange County, California.

End Piracy, Not Liberty!

Don't let Congress sensor your internet! We're not Communist China here...this is the US! Please take a moment, read through the facts, and do what you think is Right!

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

Popcorn Fiasco

Popcorn is delicious. We make it here fairly often. I like it a lot, but oddly I rarely am the one to make it.  Come to think of it, I rarely ever made it. Growing up my sister usually did, then I'd just help myself. This led to some fights. It still earns hostile looks when the family gets together.

I made popcorn today. Giants are leading Green Bay, and will hopefully come out on top. Desperately craving a snack, but knowing there's a serious amount of leftover pork roast to tackle for dinner, popcorn seemed perfect.

How long do you put popcorn in the microwave for again?

I seem to remember 2 minutes/1o seconds, or maybe it was 2:30. We had a system growing up. A never-fail time that yielded the optimal kernels popped, no burning. I really think it was 2:10...

The house reeks. The dog is sneezing. I had to open the doors and get a cross-breeze moving through.

Yes, I burnt the shit out of the popcorn.

I've had this microwave since freshman year of college. Over nearly 12 years it's been to Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, and California. It's gotten some serious use in that time. You'd think I'd have made enough bags of popcorn to do it right.

2:10 failed me! I've since looked, and the damn thing actually has a "popcorn" button. Can't say I ever remember using it, though. Not once. Maybe this time I should have.

To top it off, this was to be a ridiculously good bag of popcorn. For the holidays we got a bacon lovers gift pack. Not to be confused with the bacon of the month club (which we will gladly accept and eat from any loving fans/readers!), but in essence a package of everything bacon, but bacon itself. Five different flavors of bacon salt. Bacon croutons. Back popcorn. Bacon mayonnaise (don't know if I'll personally be using this one...). Bacon flavored sunflower seeds. A lot of bacon flavored products. Sadly, I destroyed that bacon popcorn. It smelled so good, too...before it burnt.

Driftwood Photography Studios is based out of Orange County, California.