Letter From Paris: Back to Obsessions (In This Case, Photographing Food)

I have a confession.  I may be some degree of a research junkie and spend way too much time hurtling down the deep rabbit hole of the Internet, but I can't see it all.  I can't keep up with the run-of-the-mill news much less the well-written pieces I actually want to read and absorb.  Forget the poor jumbles of words and articles that have become commonplace since everyone in the world now thinks of him- or herself as a "writer."  

What we see now on the Internet is a mass of badly written articles with inaccurate information that pass for "expert advice"--and some on "expert" sites though I'll not name any names.  Have you noticed that everyone you come across is an expert these days--including some twenty-two years olds right out of college? 

Some of these youngsters may actually be authorities, especially those on a techie road, but most aren't--even if they have an expensive education with all the internships and jobs mommy and daddy arranged.  At some point in our lives, we all need to do get down and dirty with life.  We need to get our legs knocked out from underneath us to see how that feels--so we have to stand back up, catch our breaths, and reinvent ourselves.  This would go a long way in creating an attitude of compassion and gratitude to replace the greed, narcissism, and manipulation many of us have learned at home, and is now reverberating through the conservative media. 

Learning to negotiate through a materialistic culture and our dysfunctional families have trained us to be chips off the old dysfunctional block. As my friend Greg Elliott says, the apple doesn't fall from the tree. 

But what about this?  What if the apple evolved and rolled away?

***

How does anyone keep up in this information age and keep his or her brain from exploding?

One thing that helps me is that the Lone Wolf screens the New York Times for me.  And so it was he who found this fascinating article First Camera, Then Fork about the new obsession of people photographing their food before they take a bite.  From the New York Times:

In 1825, the French philosopher and gourmand Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” Today, people are showing the world what they eat by photographing every meal, revealing themselves perhaps more vividly than they might by merely reciting the names of appetizers and entrees.

I posted this article on twitter and on Facebook.  From my twitter feed:

@LostNCheeseland This describes me exactly: Photographing Food: First Camera Then Fork (thanks for heads up @betharnold) http://nyti.ms/bl9R9W

RT @princessblairdg @BethArnold I am not great about remembering to take a picture. I am usually way too excited about actually eating the food to photograph.

As for me, I photograph things constantly.  But I'm a picky food photographer.  I rarely photograph food, because it's hard to do--and still look appetizing.  If I can't take a good shot, I dump it.  But here are some shots of the oysters that L.W., our friend Mario, and I ordered at  Les Foudres a month or so ago.

Oysters with Potatoes (Photo by Beth Arnold)

Oysters with Butter (Photo by Beth Arnold)

Oysters with Potatoes and Butter (Photo by Beth Arnold)

The potatoes were cooked with garlic and ginger.  Yum yum yum!

Which photo is your favorite? 

Are you a food photographer?  What do you think about this trend? 

Tell me about your food and photo obsessions!

For all you food photographers out there, here is a New York Times piece that gives you some tips:  How to Take Photos of Food.

                                                                           ---Beth Arnold in Paris