Weekly Competition #177: The Culinary Competition

Thank you for participating in this week’s competition. I sense that the topic was challenging, so perhaps that may have diminished the numbers entered this week. Alternatively, the weather may have preoccupied many prospective entrants (and not surprising if so). Thus, for those that made the effort – kudos.

I thought I would begin by restating the criteria for this round:
“I'm looking for well-presented food (with or without drinks), and that is photographed with a flourish. …”

Cardiff Gareth – Peas
Bless ‘im! First in, obviously eats his greens (points for that ). I like the simplicity inherent in this shot – clean, green produce, clear water, a defined focal ‘zone’ that draws the eye. Pass the butter and the salt – and hang the political correctness!

John Riley – Feast For A Winter’s Day
Winter hath descended upon the Riley residence, leaving frozen meat, peas, and two raw spuds in its wake... Geez I’m glad the last Ice Age is over John (well it is here in Oz anyway!). Broken teeth aside, I actually like the variety of colours, and the composition here. The spuds are the guardians that funnel attention to the centre. Great stuff.

Gartmore – Apple and Paprika Chutney
This image has very effective and moody lighting, complementing an eye-catching arrangement of still life subjects, a compelling composition and focus. I imagine the latter would have been challenging to nail, under those lighting conditions. But nail it you did Ken – nice shot.

Dr Mhuni – Greek Beans
Such an appetising offering, caught so well in an inviting context. This shot conveys more than it shows – it suggests an informal and relaxed meal there to be enjoyed and shared with friends. It’s strength is in its simplicity. It is interesting that the food featured here is also a legume, as is Gareth’s.

Conexus – Cupcake
This could be a professional shot, for advertising purposes. It’s composed just right for me. There is a little noise visible however – was it possible to reduce that, or was it too difficult to achieve without sacrificing sharpness and detail? The presentation is appealing and appetising, and the way you’ve captured that pyramid of shapes is very effective indeed.

Mudge – Stir Fry
Delicious looking stir fry, close to my own heart! Does the image lacks a little sharpness though? Your shutter speed in the EXIF data looks quick enough, and I can see an area that is more in focus than the rest. Did you have a problem with camera movement or shake I wonder?

DrOrloff – Blackberries
This spray of Rubus Fruticosus is not what I originally had in mind, but it’s still food, and well presented against a simple white background at that. I think it meets the brief Adrian. The focus is on a ripe and edible berry, which is where it should be. The understatement lends this shot a certain elegance.

Malcolm Leader – Raspberries
Another member of the Rubus family – focus is good, yet I wonder if either a coloured container, or some food dye in the water may have spiced the image up just a little? With those elements, this image would have risen a notch or two IMO.

ArsenAl – Santa Claus cake
There is a hint of a very rich and complex cake under the (perhaps edible?) figurines here. I’m seeing what I believe are poppy seeds, and perhaps slivers of almonds? Very tempting… It’s a colourful image, well shot. If anything perhaps a little more focus on the cake itself would have been beneficial.

Tozza27 – Pollo con formaggio e prosciutto
One should have known better than to stage a culinary comp, all the while knowing there lurks in our midst a master chef… (Did you see the write-up he gave this pic??? ). I should have insisted on free samples as a condition of entry – oh well, next time then. I might have used a vignette or perhaps a different crop to focus the eye on the plated feast – the extras around the edges distract from the work of art our chef has conjured up here. Well presented all the same. Extra marks here Tony for performance under trying circumstances. All the best cobber – get well.

AxelLuther - Crème brûlée
A bit of post-processing magic applied to a very photogenic subject in this entry. The black background combines so effectively with the lighting, to focus attention on a spoonful of scrumptious dessert. The shot conveys the texture and consistency of the sweet very well. ‘Less is more’ has worked well for you.

Ben76 – Seafood
I see you left me a prawn – thanks Ben! This looks like it was a delicious platter. It’s a sharp and colourful shot. My suggestion would be to frame and compose this in such a way that the background does not detract from your image. Perhaps shooting it from a higher vantage point and close-up may have worked here?


Summary

You’ve all made me hungry now, and it’s nearly dinner time anyway, so let’s do the exciting bit. I’ve applied my own subjective evaluation to these images – they all fit the given criteria. The results are (my entirely subjective opinions):

1st: Gartmore – ‘Apple and Paprika Chutney’

This pulled me right into the shot with the subject matter, and the moody, complementary light. I was able to visualise this as a still life painting – it is just timeless. Congratulations.

2nd: Conexus – ‘Cupcake’

A slightly more contemporary feel to this one, and well executed (even with a higher ISO). Congratulations.

3rd: AxelLuther – ‘Crème brûlée’

The use of light and the background to focus my attention, coupled with the choice of the subject matter (by way of colours and quantum) made this another stand-out image. Congratulations.

Commended

Tozza27 – ‘Pollo con formaggio e prosciutto’

DrOrloff – ‘Blackberries’



Please feel free to disagree!

Thanks for the 1st place, now to come up with next week's theme...

Thanks for the judging i-Berg. Congrats to Ken and the others.

Thanks for the judging i-Berg and Congratulation to gartmore - a really perfect still life. Was really surprised to see so few entries - have to say - I also had nothing in my archive, but it is also kind of fun to make a new photo just for acompetition. People were perhaps too much in Xmas shopping stress

Nice one indeed! Well done all!

Many thanks i-Berg - at least I got to eat the subject matter the following day on a butty - the others waffled theirs immediately !

I had Ken down for my favourite too - looked like a print from one of my old food encyclopaedias and was very evocative.
Congrats to the others - some interesting photos there.

regards

Tony

Congratulations to Ken.
I had decided it has been too long since I entered one of these competitions and would have entered this one, but the technology let me down. ( PC problems ).

Congratulations Ken!

iBerg, sorry no entry from me. I could only find one decent food-related shot in my archives but I already entered it in a PUF competition a few months ago (and came 2nd or 3rd I think) so I didn't feel right about submitting it again.

Good Choice I berg I would have voted the same picture as the best,
Well done Ken

A very nice winning entry indeed. A small but perfectly formed competition.