Things I learned from my CATS!

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Jamie

I’m a cat person.  Have no fear, I won’t turn into one of those crazy cat ladies.  I’ve got my hands full with two.  But I love them dearly, and I thought today would be a time for some fun…

So….  Things I learned from my CATS:

1) Persistence

Meet Minnow.  This cat is very persistent.  He is also very vocal in letting us know what he wants.  When he is told no, he does not take it for an answer, and will continue to come back until he gets what he wants.  He is persistent.  Through him, I have noticed how persistence gets you want you want 😉

2) Just let it roll off your shoulders

Meet Pimmy.  He is the kind of cat that allows you to pretty much do anything to him.  Lift him upside down, bend him back and forth.  He trusts.  He is loyal, and he knows you won’t hurt him, so he lets you do whatever.  Through him I have learned how to go with the punches, and to just let the stuff roll off your shoulders even when you’re asked to take a picture with a hat you hate on 😉

3) Don’t TAKE no for an answer

Keep meowing until you get what you want.  It usually works unless you get a pillow thrown at you 😉

4) Enjoy your position until someone takes it out from under you.

In life, we all get to a point where life is good, but at any given point someone could come from under you and take the life right from you, or even your position (if work related.)  So, just be sure to enjoy it while you can.  In our household, it is Pimmy who always finds the prime spots to lay down, and Minnow eventually finds him and takes the spot away from him.

5) Know what fights are worth fighting

Pimmy, for the most part, just lets Minnow have the spot from him.  He gets up without a fight, but sometimes, he is stubborn, and will put a fight.  He truly knows what fights are worth fighting for.  Right now, the prime spot is out on the patio during the night because the weather is much cooler out there at night.  Pimmy has guarded his spot so far, and when Minnow did try to take it over, Pimmy won out.

6) If YOU are hungry, let it be known.

This means if you’re hungry you have to get up and make it yourself, or go to the store, or get it out of the fridge.  This is true.  Your body talks to you, listen to it, and eat when the time comes.  For a cat, this is hard because their food source is dependent upon the humans around them.  So, even if it happens to be 6 in the morning, and the food dish is empty, shout it out.   😉

7) When Boredom Strikes, Get up and Do something

My cats are pros at this.  If their bored, they get up, stake out the room, grab some food, walk out on the patio, then come back inside.  Repeat.

8) They love their Dad

Hey, what do you know, that makes 3 of us 😉

9) Nothing’s better than some Loving.

They both love to be petted.  Minnow yells at me in the morning right before I leave for work to sit down with him and pet his belly for a few.  And then Pimmy comes and ATTACKS me at night as he lays by my side.  But what can I say, they’re darn cute, so I have a hard time saying no.

some pretty important lessons, don’t you think? 😉


Categories: Fun Stuff, Life | Tags: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Making the most OUT of Food Photography!

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Jamie

Hey Food Bloggers!

Welcome to Minnesota Girl in LA.  Hey potential foodies, and those that just love to capture photos of their food.  I have recently taken a great deal of interest into food photography.  Although I’d more than call myself an amateur foodie, I have been questioning what makes a GREAT food shot.

There are a variety of issues that arise when it comes to taking photos of your food, and how does one even get that ONE good shot out of many.  Well, today, I thought I would give you some advice on making the most out of your food photography:

1) Get CREATIVE with your ingredients

One of the things I truly love to do is capture all the ingredients of my recipe.  I usually take a shot like above.  However, by looking through a variety of food blogs, I’ve realized this is where you, as a food blogger, can become really creative.  Utilize some of the ingredients as your background.  Put the sliced up tomatoes and cucumbers next to your frying pan.  Cut some of the lettuce and put it atop your potential burger.

2) It’s all about how YOU crop your shot!

When it comes to food photography, you want to keep it simple.  That means, when taking your shot, keep your shot tight as possible, and fixated on the food.  The more stuff that becomes apart of the shot, the more that is taken away from your shot.  Simplicity is best.

3) Get comfortable with angles.

Play around with different angles when it comes to your food.  Take a shot vertically, take an above shot, take a shot horizontially, or get in front of your shot completely.  Each angle will give a different perspective to your food.

4) Have fun with the background!

This is where I have seen the most success with a lot of food bloggers I read on an ongoing basis.  They add little details to the background.  It may be a fun placemat, icing on the side of the plate, or even a mixing bowl, or the simplicity of a cutting board.  Think of the recipe you’re making, think of what really makes this recipe stand out and utilize those pieces in your shot.  Trust me, you will love the way your picture will come out!

5) It’s all about the LIGHTING

Piece of advice: use natural light if you can.  This is seriously where you will get the most out of your shot.  However, if you’re like me, and you do the majority of your cooking during the evening, and there’s a lot of artificial lighting around you, know how to work white balance.  If you need to know more about white balance, please check out my post here.  

6) Environmental Shots

One of my favorite things I find from food blogs I read on a regular basis is how they change it up.  Meaning, they show us their experience of shopping at the store, or how they pick their ingredients out at the farmer’s market, or perhaps it’s the environment of the restaurant they just went to by taking pictures of the staff creating the meal, or the food trucks they’ve just visited.  It’s those environment shots that make the food blogger become human, and there’s a beauty to it.

7) Shallow Depth of Field

If you need to learn more about aperture and what is does for you and your shots, please check out my article.   A shallow depth of field will fixate on  your food in the front, and blur out the background in the back.  It can be a pretty awesome effect especially when it comes to food.

However, before you go out and buy that shallow depth of field lens, please know, that the lighting around you can affect the turn out of depth of field.  If you shoot in a lot of low light settings, it will be hard to go below a f-stop of 4.5.  Again, shallow depth of field works best in natural lighting settings.

8) PicMonkey is your friend.

All of the pictures above all received borders off of picmonkey.  This site has become my savior with some of my photos in blogland 😉

In the end, just have fun.  I know, as kids, we are taught never to play with our food, but when it comes to food photography, playing is the only thing that makes sense.  😉

If you have any questions you’d like me to answer, please ask them below, and I will either answer, or find the answer for you!

And I want to leave you with a list of some of my all time favorite food blogs:

Smitten Kitchen

Shugary Sweets

What Megan’s Making

Bibi’s Culinary Journey

Jolly Tomato

Gluten is my Bitch

 


Categories: Cooking, Photography | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

BlogHer 2013 Is headed to CHICAGO!

Posted on August 4, 2012 by Jamie

I officially believe my midwest pride has taken over for me.  From the moment I found out that BlogHer 2013 was headed to Chicago, everything inside me has gone off.  “I have to get there.”  “I will make it happen.”  “This would be a dream come true for me.”

Lo’ and behold, as I was browsing around online to find there is a giveaway happening for all BlogHeratHome individuals in the hopes of getting them to Chicago next year.  You can read all about the giveaway here: https://www.blogher.com/blogher-home-giveaway-3-more-swag-bags-and-blogher13-pass.

So, this is exactly why I am writing this post.  If I were to win this opportunity, first, I’d probably faint, and second, I’d be making a dream of mine come true, and I’d be one step closer to making it happen.

Why would I want to attend BlogHer’13 the dates of July 25th through 27th?

For one, sitting at home this past weekend, and seeing how much fun everyone was having out in New York made me want to be there.  2, it is the largest blogging conference around, and 3, I feel it’s time to make my presence known to other bloggers, other brands, and to truly begin the next step of my journey as a blogger.

All incredible reasons, I believe.   And well, I have huge midwest pride in me considering I am a Minnesota Girl at heart, so I truly believe BlogHer in Chicago will be a memorable experience for me, always.

Disclosure: This post was written as a sweepstakes opportunity chance.  All views above are my own, and I’m hoping to make a dream come true! If I am the winner I receive a free pass to BlogHer’13 in Chicago. 

 


Categories: Life | 7 Comments