Food as Art: Introducing Melina Hammer

If my weekly food photography favorites posts haven't made it clear enough =p, I love to discover and share with you inspiring artists who photograph food and/or blog about it. On occasion, an artist comes along whose work is so exceptional that it's simply impossible for me to choose just one photo to feature. When isolating a single example of her work would be insufficient to communicate the range of her talent. I'm talking about someone just like professional food photographer, Melina Hammer, who recently joined the world of blogging with her aptly-named site, Licking the Plate. I had the pleasure of meeting Melina in person during my recent trip to NYC and can honestly tell you that she's as sweet and beautiful as she is gifted with a camera. At my request, she's agreed to share some of her gorgeous photos as well a bit of the inspiration behind her work. Please give her your warmest welcome (plus I highly recommend following her blog and Twitter to keep up with her culinary and visual exploits)!

I am firstly inspired by the authenticity of food, and I love highlighting the nuances of each gorgeous thing as it relates to its nature. Incorporating richly textured elements and special objects to cohere the beauty or mood of a story is another aspect that brings me great pleasure. The opportunity to cook something dynamic and showcase the complexity - or ease! - of how I got there, along with a drool-worthy spread of the goodies is a third element that plays a key role in how I shape my story telling through the lens.

November Wedding Photo Shoot with Janice Cui

Today it's my delight to finally be able to share a few of the gorgeous photos from a wedding photo shoot to which I contributed desserts. I'm always trying to expand my repertoire, so I jumped at this chance to make ruffled gumpaste flower cake/cupcake toppers inspired by My Cake School. Thanks to wedding photographer Janice Cui for capturing everything wonderfully (I can't get over the bokeh in that first photo of the bride, can you?) and for getting me involved with this project to begin with. All the vendors involved did a splendid job, and I encourage you to check out their sites (linked below). Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

VENDOR CREDITS
Event Coordinator: Elegant Party Plans
Photographer: Janice C Photography
Flowers: J. Morris Flowers
Bridal Gown and Accessories: Layne Corban Bridal
Cake and Cupcakes: 6 Bittersweets
Hairstyle: A Cut To Dye For

My Food Photograph/Styling Post Syndicated on BlogHer!

Yay! I'm happy to share that BlogHer asked to syndicate my post from last year about food photography and styling! Please check out my article on BlogHer today. =D.

Washi Tape Holiday Photo Shoot with Pure Joy Events

I know I've mentioned before that I'm lucky to be able to work with talented local party stylist and my friend, Christine of Pure Joy Events. Well I was impressed anew by her creativity when we got together 2 weeks ago to shoot these fun DIY holiday craft ideas using pretty Japanese washi tape! Not only did Christine provide me with my first paying photo shoot, but she also pushed my dessert-crafting boundaries again by ordering cake balls (more squares hehe) decorated to match the washi tape and candy cane macarons (I used this recipe but added crushed candy canes to the buttercream).

It all turned out quite well, if I do say so myself =p, and I'm delighted to announce that our shoot's been featured today on The Sweetest Occasion! Trust me, you don't want to miss this post as it includes FREE downloadable gift tags from Frog Prince Paperie, plus a fabulous washi tape GIVEAWAY from Cute Tape. Thanks to Christine and all the contributing vendors for making this shoot a success! I've included some of my favorite photos from the shoot below (several of which didn't make it into the feature) -- enjoy!

Concept + styling: Pure Joy Events / Venue: The Pear Tree Cottage / Washi tape + boxes: Cute Tape / Stationery + printables: Frog Prince Paperie / Sweets + photography: me / Hanging wreath design: The Knock-Knock Factory

Snapshots of San Francisco (and the Bay Area)!

I just got back from an awesome long weekend in the San Francisco/Bay Area spent with my blog friends Stephanie, Prerna, and Joyti as well as my college friends M and G. Thank you guys so so much for making time for me! I had so much fun and hope to be back soon. Here are a few snapshots I took (now that I finally got over my fear of taking my camera outside haha). Hope you like them =)!

PS - Check out Steph's gorgeous shots of the same wine tour here and here!

Frog's Leap Winery Tour in Napa Valley

Grapes on the vine (left) and after wine has been pressed out (right)

Our tour guide!

Bouchon Bakery and Lunch at Bouchon Cafe in Napa Valley

Steph's French Onion Soup and Prerna's Scrumptious Gnocchi!

Angry Birds! Fondant Cupcake Topper Tutorial!

Happy Friday! I hope everyone's got something fun planned this weekend. Tell me about it comments, please. That way I can at least live vicariously as I prepare for another blistering round of exams 8). Boring things in my life aside, I'm excited to finally share this Angry Birds Fondant Cupcake Topper Tutorial that I was lucky to photograph a few weeks ago. This was one of several recent collaborations with Christine of Pure Joy Events, who recorded the directions while the incredibly talented Loan of PhoebeCakes demonstrated her surprisingly easy technique behind these adorable, edible Angry Bird cupcake toppers. I'm actually a bit behind the times with my dumb (not-so-smart ^_^) phone and have never actually played the Angry Birds game. But it seems to get people pretty excited, so I hope you guys enjoy this! Please head over to Pure Joy Events for the full step-by-step photo tutorial for Angry Bird cupcake toppers!

Wordless Wednesday: Laduree Macarons in NYC

Mmm...worth. every. penny. Right, Joanne? 8-)

A Collection for the Cure! (Cupcakes and Photos for Breast Cancer Awareness)

Whether directly or indirectly, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone whose life hasn't been touched by breast cancer or another type of cancer these days. Raising awareness is so important since those who discover it early on have a greater chance of successful treatment. And believe it or not, it's not only women who get breast cancer. It's far more rare, but men can get it too! This is clearly an important cause, and one I care about. So when my friend Christine of Pure Joy Events asked me to contribute cupcakes and photograph Chickabug's absolutely gorgeous collection of FREE printables for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I couldn't say yes fast enough.

As you can see for yourself, Christine did an incredible job coordinating and styling the shoot, including borrowing props and furniture and transporting it ALL to my neighborhood. She came over last Sunday, and we took full advantage of the pretty park behind my apartment and the perfect early autumn weather. There weren't many people around, but I wonder what the occasional joggers thought of the crazy ladies awash in pink ^-^. I've included some of my favorite outtakes below, and please check out the rest of the photos and the *FREE* printables collection over on Amy Atlas Events!

Full Dessert Table and White Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Bottles of Punch with Printable Straw Flags

Printable Donation Card and Cupcakes with Fondant Toppers by Lynlee's Petite Cakes

Another Shot of Cupcakes and Printables

Incredible Decorated Cookies by JP Creatibles

Monday Favorites!

Hello there! I'm just dropping in to let you know that it may be a bit quieter around here in the next 2 weeks. Mostly it's because my first round of fall exams is next week, and you can bet I'll be busy trying to shove all that hard science into my cranium! Then any time I'm not studying will be spent making treats for a baby shower and adorable Little Mermaid-themed birthday party. But you know me...no matter how busy I get or what country I'm in, I'll always have a fresh batch of weekly food favorites to share with you!

Just one last thing before we jump into the visual feast. My good friend, blogger, and professional food photographer Joy is working with some friends on an online cooking show geared toward singles and couples called "1-2-Simple Cooking." Their goal is to provide "inspiration for joyous, healthy, and simple cooking on a smaller serving scale." I, for one, think the idea is fabulous, especially in light of my personal experience with having to eat the same meal for days on end after cooking a recipe meant to serve 8 people ^__^. They're trying to raise some money to get the episodes in gear. Please head over to their Kickstarter page to donate and/or learn more about this exciting project!

Watermelon Rounds with Tarragon Syrup and Lime Juice and Caprese Salad Photographs from Not Without Salt

Pizza Bianca from Sweet Paul Magazine

Chai Tea S'mores from Design*Sponge

Twig Mini Caramel Apples from Day to Day Wonderments

Dark Chocolate Sunflower-shaped Bundt Cake from Cook Republic

S'mores Cupcake Photograph from Honey and Jam

Pie Dough Lattice Cookies for Apple Cider from Not Martha via Styled. Magazine

Caramel Coconut Cheesecake Photograph from White Plate

Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips from Cupcake Project

Monday Favorites and Yet Another Giveaway!

First I want to provide a friendly reminder to you all that there's still time to enter my 2 ongoing giveaways for a super-stylish 6-piece porcelain appetizer plate set (ends Sept. 16) and a copy of i <3 macarons by Hisato Ogita (ends Sept. 18). Don't look away now, though, because I'm throwing one more into the mix!

I've tried my best to cover all the essential aspects of food photography and styling for bloggers in my original post on the topic, but we're still only scratching the surface. And if you're like me, you often get tired of staring at your screen and would much rather curl up with a good book. So if a great book about food photography/styling is what you seek, I'd like to offer you my copy of Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography & Styling by Helene Dujardin. Please note that this is not a new book, but one that I've used eagerly and hope to pass to someone who'll do the same. This giveaway is open to anyone with a US or Canadian shipping address. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post including a way to contact you should you win. This giveaway closes at midnight on September 25 -- Good luck! THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED!

• Leave a comment telling me what you look forward to learning from this book.
• Like 6 Bittersweets on Facebook, then leave a comment telling me you did or already do.
• Subscribe to this blog, then leave a comment telling me you did or already do.
• Follow 6 Bittersweets on Twitter, then leave a comment telling me you did or already do and including your Twitter name.
• Link to this giveaway on Facebook, then leave a comment telling me and including a link to the post.
• Tweet about this giveaway, tagging me @6bittersweets and linking this giveaway, then leave a comment telling me and including a link to the post.

Zucchini Pancakes and Zucchini Feta Dill Salad Photographs from Andrew Purcell

Pavlova Topped with Passionfruit and Raspberries from La Ciliegina Sulla Torta

Cowberries (Lingonberries) Photograph from Ingwervanille

Apples Photograph from Aisha Yusaf

Pumpkin Soup Photograph from Cintamani

Broad Beans and Dill Bruschetta Photograph from Sam Stowell

Cantonese Egg Tarts from 黛西下厨房

Unfrosted Blackberry Cupcakes from Call Me Cupcake