Birthdays (or celebrating any aspect of me) can be tricky. I have difficulty admitting that I like being the center of attention - to a degree. I'm not brave enough to admit it fully.
Modesty has become so engrained in my mind that being otherwise has subconsciously become labeled as being bad, arrogant, or self-centered. So how dare I want to be surprised, given gifts, or acknowledged just because I decided to waltz out of the womb on a day that happens to coincide with the mathematical constant, pi. Although I have no problem admitting being born on pi day is pretty much the coolest thing ever.
 |
| Awesome pi earrings I wear on pi day from Celina. (Click on photo to enlarge) |
But lets face it, I'm human and I respond to encouragement, positive feedback, and wrapped gifts with my name on it.
Self-acknowledgment was the crux of my therapy sessions while I was in graduate school. It was here that I began to attempt to keep my self-judgments for wanting to celebrate whatever it was about me to a minimum. It continues to be a work in progress.
So when AB asked where I wanted to go for my birthday dinner, with minimal hesitation I responded, "Roys". It is a pricey Hawaiian fusion restaurant I had my eye on since last March when I was in Anaheim, CA for a conference. Then AB and I happened to move into an apartment where there is a Roys in the shopping center across the street!
We went, we ate, and I loved every minute of it (especially the part where we didn't know how to eat the edamame). I completely underestimated how satisfying it could be to get something you wanted, not needed. The trick is to not feel guilty about it!
Here are a few out of focus photos of our meal:
 |
| Instead of bread they serve edamame. |
 |
| Mango Mojito |
Appetizers
 |
| Duck Confit & Roasted Mushroom Flat Bread Arugula, Parmesan Cheese, Balsamic Nitsume |
 |
| Korean Soup Braised Short Rib, Daikon, Carrot, Potato, Cilantro, Chili, Aromatic Beef Stock |
Entrees
 |
Boursin Stuffed Chicken
Potato Pave, Chinese Long Beans & Shiitakes, Orange Cranberry Compote, Pinot Noir Reduction
|
 |
| Shisho Crusted Salmon Bacon Wilted Spinach, Caramelized Onion Polenta, Roasted Red pepper Dashi |
Dessert
 |
| Pear Tart Puff Pastry, Goat Cheese Cream, Streusel Powder & Salt Caramel |
 |
| Roy's Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé Raspberry Coulis, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream |
So for everyone that took the time to wish me a happy birthday whether by phone, email, text message, or Facebook (it's a chance to reconnect with people you don't normally correspond with), thank you! And I'm obviously grateful and appreciative to those that gave me gifts :D. It does make me feel special.
I also have a tendency to feel guilty for liking pretty shiny things like jewelry because it's expensive and unnecessary. Well, check out what AB got me...
Happy 28th birthday to ME!
I really like your food pictures! I think the chicken (no sides is fun!), tart, edamame, and drink photos were the best. Do you have some trick for taking such awesome food photos? What I especially like about them is they look rustic, complex, and real, while maintaining a great depth of field and nice lighting. Most food photos end up looking plastic, flat, over lit, and generic. For example, the photos on Roy's website (http://www.roysrestaurant.com/cuisine/). Some of the food looks like it has been sitting out for sometime (definitely not ready to eat) or so plastic/flat/dry I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me it wasn't real. In contrast, your drink has a plate of food in the background, everything looks moist/alive/delicious/original. For the other photos I have some criticisms, which shouldn't probably be taken seriously since I imagine you were having a wonderful time at dinner and hopefully not obsessing over your photoshoot. Even though I love duck confit and it looks well prepared, the photo makes it look strangely gross (too rustic). Either the depth of field or the focal point of the soufflé seems off and the plating of the salmon didn't give you the best subject. So cool you found a job so quickly and it is relevant to your interests! At this pace we will be seeing Karen photos prominently displayed in no time! I am certainly no photo expert (please disregard the unsolicited advice above), but I do know what looks delicious, and I think half your photos look WAY more appetizing than the one's on their website. Maybe they think unappetizing/sanitized looks more professional or maybe they just trust their fancy food photographer who doesn't know what looks delicious. I suppose it is possible I am completely off base, maybe you should try showing people both photos and ask them which is more delicious (my money is on Karen). I feel like if you put some serious time into it you could make photos that would embarrass the ones on their website. Maybe this is crazy, but it couldn't hurt to take your favorite photos and tell them you did these in your short visit and could probably do better if they gave you a chance. Maybe say you will take the photos and if they don't want to use them they don't have to pay. Definitely would be a good challenge in being a ballsy entrepreneur/photographer and you would have a good subject to practice on. Should have had you take more photos while I had the chance! Remember this one: http://www.newpaltz.edu/chemistry/story.php?id=4017? In regard to feeling restless when you have little to do (from your first post), I feel the same way when I am inbetween things. Just remember, you are a hardworking, creative, and intelligent person and things will work out for you (even if it isn't what you thought you wanted or expected). Whatever you end up doing, even if it was something totally different, I'm sure you will be great at it. You will bring your talent and good heart to everything you do. In other words, your future employers/friends/family, whoever they are, will be lucky to have you. Miss you Karen!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments!! To be honest other than the pi earrings and edamame photos I wasn't trying on these other ones. I just shot them quickly on my iPhone because I wanted the food in my mouth. Although I think it's interesting for you to critique them because even if they are "just photos from my phone" there is still has to be some kind of process that goes through my mind when I am setting up the shot.
DeleteI'm new to editing photos, but my preference for working them up is to increase the contrast so the colors really pop. For portrait shots it causes the photo to become more dramatic. I think the contrast is what gives you the depth in the photos you're observing. "Depth of field" is something you set (via the aperture) when you're taking the photo, unless I suppose you blur out the background in Photoshop or something. For a device such as the iPhone your depth of field is really limited since it is setup to have the majority of subjects in the photo in focus. For these food photos in particular there was little I could really do to make them any better since they were blurry when I took them. Increasing contrast, definition, and/or sharpness can sometimes give the illusion that the photo is more in focus than it actually is.
I got lucky with the lighting and there happened to be a flood light right above me. That enabled me to have the subject stand out more. That also sets up a nice situation to work up the photos because when I increase the contrast the background becomes even darker.
I have heard of photos of people/companies using fake food in photos. They do it so they can achieve the exact color or look they want and essentially have an infinite timeline to take the photos. The reasoning seems ironic if many of the photos come out looking fake and plastic anyway. I'm really flattered you like my food photos so much and think I have the potential to do really well! I have actually thought about offering my services to take photos of dishes at mom and pop restaurants that don't have the time to resources to hire a professional photographer. I think a photo can sell a dish, but can also kill it too.
Really, thank you so much for your encouraging words. I have thought about how I could use you as a sounding board as I have in the past. I welcome you to comment as often and as much as you would like. I really value your opinions!