The Honey Shot and Food Lust

The honey shot — a riff on the money shot. I was scrolling through old photos from back when I “lugged” around my DSLR camera and this got me thinking about name calling. While I understand where it comes from… I think it’s sad that the hobby of food photography is called, “food porn.” Maybe we could call it “foodlust” so that it’s more about the passion and less about bodily fluids. Equally so is the term, “money shot” which derives from the same business (and it is a business), so I posit the term, “honey shot” instead to denote something sweet and in keeping with the food field.

In that vein, I present to you, one of my favorite honey shots. It’s a photo of home made cabbage salad and egg pie from a picnic in New Zealand. Hark, how regal (purple is a royal color) and how glorious (gold like honey) it is!

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Do a Little Good While Shopping

A few friends told me about Amazon Smile, smile.amazon.com, where for every purchase you make through Amazon’s charity, a percentage of the cost on eligible items goes to the charity of your choice. You have to go to smile.amazon.com and choose your charity and then from then on, shop through that portal. Easy peasy. At 0.5 percent, it might not seem like a lot, but I bought a book recently and $13 went to my charity of choice.

In preparation for my move to a new adventure, where all roads lead to, I am buying lots of visual storytelling equipment, and now I am doing a little good at the same time (pats self on back). If you want to use it on your iPhone app, you will have to allow notifications. I prefer to use smile.amazon.com from my computer.

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As an aside, I bought a bespoke iPhone SE 2020 case on Amazon Smile from MTRONX Direct. The ink job on the case is well done and the case has the flat sides, like the iPhone design from the 5 SE. Good old days. It took almost two weeks to get the order, but it was worth the wait. Plus, the little holes for my lanyard/hand leash are an added bonus.

 

Zooming In – I Love It!

Zooming in at maximum capacity.
Zooming in to capture color intensity.
The parrot with a standard lens.
The parrot with a standard lens.

I got a new lens. For the geeks, it’s a 75-300mm. All I know is that it allows me to zoom in from across the plaza. Right in tight on people’s faces. Or bird faces.

Close up portrait.
Close up portrait.

These photos were taken in Peru, in Iquitos, on the Amazon. All the subjects agreed to be photographed (the humans put on their tribal wear during the day to participate in the educational tours given to tourists).

A boy getting ready for the show.
A boy getting ready for the show.

People have fascinating faces and this zoom provides another tool for portraiture.The real personality shows up when the camera isn’t right in their faces.

A beautiful woman of the Amazon.
A beautiful woman of the Amazon.

As I kept saying when taking these photos: “me encanta” or “I love it.”

Hidden Museum in the City of Free Museums

A non-stereotypical photo of a gaucho.
A non-stereotypical photo of a gaucho.

One of the things I enjoy about Washington, DC, is that almost all the museums are free. Most of the big museums are part of the Smithsonian but there are lots of smaller unknown museums like the one at the Organization of American States. Located near where Virginia Avenue meets Constitution Avenue, this small building has a great garden and some pretty tiles, plus a rotating exhibit. I went to see the photo exhibit about identity. Although the exhibit was Argentinian, a discussion of stereotypes is relevant to all nationalities, including Bangladesh and Colombia. My mental image of Bangladesh before I lived there was one of cyclones and floods. Colombia suffers from other stereotypes.

Every little girl and boy has their own knife for the barbecue.
Every little girl and boy has their own knife for the barbecue.

My photos are taken from the photo catalog because I did not have my camera with me. But, flash photography is allowed in the temporary exhibit. I was just amazed that they were giving away the color catalog for free. Not all the photos in the photo exhibit were of people but I thought they were the best. I’ll write more about art and photography in a later post. Certainly once I have been to the famous gold museum in Bogota. For now, these photographs allowed for a little armchair travel.

The cover shows a typical delivery "truck" in Argentina.
The cover shows a typical delivery “truck” in Argentina.

 

Feel Like A Celebrity in Dhaka – Paparazzi

One camera per 160 million cell phones.
One camera per 160 million cell phones.

If you want to know how the celebrities feel, come to Bangladesh. As a foreigner, you will have your photo taken almost all the time. At any wedding, any meeting, any corner of the street. If the big city types in Dhaka are not interested in taking your photo, you can go a few kilometers away from Gulshan and get ready for your “kodak moment.”

This crowd followed us around like fans.
This crowd followed us around like fans.

My experience with photography in Bangladesh has been non-aggressive. But, there will be many photos. I also take many photos of them, so I guess it’s only fair. In a country of 160 million people, there seem to be 160 million cell phone cameras. The photos on this blog posting are from the Gabtoli cattle market where our group of foreigners almost pulled a greater crowd than the cattle.

Personal paparazzi.
Personal paparazzi. This guy took several photos as he followed us around.