Styling, Food + Photography at The School

A few Sundays ago I had the pleasure and the privilege of attending a food photography workshop as a guest of Olympus. It was two hours of fun at The School, led by the gorgeously enthusiastic Megan Morton and featuring some serious styling and photographing talent from the drool inducing Delicious magazine. 

This was a workshop in the true sense of the word. No sitting watching endless power points and taking endless notes - after a quick intro outlining some basics it was straight into an hour of styling and then an hour of shooting. I fumbled about looking slightly confused in the first hour. Even given the amazing surrounds and the treasures of The School's prop cupboard I struggled to style anything. Let's just say I have a new found respect for stylists and all of you vignetters out there in Instagram-land. 

I felt a bit more at home in the second half, the photo taking bit. It was heaps of fun playing with backgrounds and lighting; and picking the brains of people who do this each and every day. That's actually my favourite part of these kinds of things - the opportunity to talk to a professional, and to watch how they work. 

I learnt some stuff too. I realised I often get stuck in a rut; I reach too easily for the lighting and colours and angles that are known and comfortable. I need to break out of that. So I'm going to work on taking more vertically oriented (portrait) photos and trying different angles (not everything has to be shot from overhead!).

Here are some of my favourite photos from the day, taken with an OM-D E-M10 which Olympus lent to us all for the two hours...

Five Favourite Snaps From The Trip That Was : Water

We've had quite a busy period since returning from our luxuriously long holiday - getting back to some semblance of reality, working on the house, planning our next trip...* But this week I've been able to carve out some Lightroom time, for sorting and editing all of those many, many holiday snaps. 

It's been quite fun going through them all, especially revisiting the first few places we saw. I'd somehow completely forgotten that we'd spent a night in Matera, and that it was a pretty amazing city! It's like reliving the holiday again. Well, without the cheese and wine and warm ocean breeze. And without having nothing to do but stroll and eat and drink. And without the restaurants and hotels and someone else doing all the cooking and clean. Okay, actually it's nothing like reliving the holiday is it? But still, it is fun. 

I have quite a few favourite shots, here are five featuring water.

Tangier, Morocco. I know loads of people who adore Morocco, so I had high hopes that our first visit to the country - via two stops on a cruise boat - would whet our appetite and leave us hungry for more. It absolutely didn't. 

Our first port of call was Casablanca (one of my husband's favourite movies, but sadly the city itself had nothing to do with the actually movie). It was dirty and disorganised. There was chaos and poverty everywhere. We were harassed, constantly. I tried and tried to find something to like, something good. I'm definitely a glass half full traveller, but I just couldn't find any positives. It's one of the few places where I've said to the husband: "I'll stick it out if you want to but quite frankly I'd happily make a retreat back to the boat..." Actually, it's the only place where I've said that. 

Next was Tangier, which was better than Casablanca, but there'd be a lot of places in the world I'd put on my must visit list before I returned. I'm sure there are parts of Morocco filled with immense natural beauty, wonderful food and amazing handcrafts...but it wasn't in Casablanca or Tangier. The one saving grace was this shot I took as we were leaving the port of Tangier. I love how the mass of concrete and the enormous light dwarfs the lone security guy. And that endless blue horizon!

San Cataldo, Italy. This trip we explored some new turf, a region of Italy we hadn't been to before - the heel of the boot, Puglia. San Cataldo is a short drive from Lecce, the main town of the region. It wasn't an overly inspiring beach, especially compared to the breathtaking wonders of Amalfi or Liguria. Much of the region was like that. But whilst it wasn't necessarily amazing, it was never disappointing. It's still Italy after all. And the place was jam packed with local holiday makers - cars crammed with suitcases and kids and beach towels and dogs - which made for some pretty great people watching. 

Savelletri, Italy. Also in Puglia, Savelletri was a cute little coastal town. Again, not breathtaking, but really lovely in it's own way and yes - packed with local holiday makers. It had the perfect holiday vibe - kids running around town in board shorts, dogs wet and shaggy from the sea, little bars serving the perfect spritz, the roads given over to barbecues and deck chairs. 

And even though it was a small town, with small food shops, every single one of those food shops was mouthwateringly delicious. Picture your local milk bar, with all the baked beans and white bread removed and replaced with perfectly ripe tomatoes, different types of pasta piled up to the roof, fresh mozzarella, bags of olives and all kinds of cured meats. We found the best sandwich makers on the planet here. Yum.

Savelletri, Italy. Aside from that blue, blue water there's a few other things I adore about this scene. Firstly, the stripy umbrella. This trip made me realise we need more giant stripy umbrellas in our life. I hope I see these dotted all over Bondi Beach this summer. Secondly, the bikes. The way they're just kind of dumped there, like their riders couldn't wait to leap in to the ocean. They scream summer holidays, don't they?

Savelletri, Italy. One of the things I realised on this trip was that often it's not the prettiest places that make for the best photos. We visited some really beautiful, historic cities on this trip; places like Paestum in Campania, and Bologna and Modena in Emilia-Romagna. But most of my favourite shots come from our few days in Savelletri, a rather nondescript little holiday town, and from another few days spent in Lecce - a nice place, but not one of staggering beauty. 

Do you ever find that sometimes what seems more mundane on the surface actually makes for a better image? 

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FYI all of these were taken on the OM-D E-M10 loaned to me by Olympus as part of the Kidspot Voices of 2014 competition. I've recently handed it back, and I'm surprised by how much I miss it and how clunky and old my DSLR feels! 

*Do you do this too - plan your next trip as soon as you land back home? We actually started planning our big 2015 trips while we were away. There's just something about having some travel on the horizon that keeps us happy...

Bella Italia : A Favourite

Right now I'm travelling with my favourite person (my husband) through one of our favourite countries (Italy). My husband fell in love with the place many years ago, when he lived and worked here for a few years with his first wife. He learnt the language, the customs, the history, the food...the driving. And he adored it all. 

So now when we plan our holidays Italy always seems to come up. Occasionally we'll spend a week or two in Spain, or we'll go on an Asian adventure, but every year or two we always seem to end up soaking in the Italian sun. And with each trip Italy has become one of my favourite countries too. Here's some of the reasons why: 

Passeggiata. When work is finished and dinner is yet to come, when the heat of the day is just starting to fade, Italians go for a stroll. You can find my husband and me there too, not strolling but sitting - by the main square with a Campari soda (him) or Aperol spritz (me) - and watching the passing parade. Elderly gents and ladies, dressed with thought and care; teen girls with deep tans and tiny shorts; families juggling prams and perfectly dressed toddlers; and dogs, lots of dogs. 

There are no suburbs in Italy; it's all about apartments, medium density living. Communal spaces are vital, they are used, and the street life is vibrant and beautiful. Passeggiata is people watching at its finest. Next time you're in an Italian town, pull up a seat around 6 or 7 in the evening and enjoy! 

Stylish Women. A cliche, I know. But whenever we travel in Italy I'm reminded of what I aspire to when it comes to presenting myself to the world. Italian women, especially of the older variety, seem to have a knack for dressing. They never look overdone, or too casual, just perfectly put together. Stylish, and with personality. 

Old Things. All over Italy (and Europe for that matter) there are reminders of a grand history. We love visiting the archaeological sites, the museums and the galleries; pondering how society used to be and how it still is - the tensions, the weakness and the beauty. 

But in Italy old things are more than artefacts to be admired and strolled around, they are woven into the fabric of everyday life. They are in every city, in the centro storico - the old part of town which is often beautifully preserved (and even better, often pedestrianised). This is where you find the many, many churches; the grand government buildings, the palaces, the old houses turned into hotels, the flash new bars sitting inside buildings that are centuries old. This is where the marble paving the alleyways and promenades is smooth and shiny from millions of footsteps over thousands of years...

Dogs. I was walking through Zara the other day and there was a dog - not a fluffy-stick-it-in-your-hand-bag kind of dog, a giant hound of a dog. At the bar for aperitivi, there was a dog. There were dogs at the airport and in the supermarket and in every restaurant. At the hotel we're currently staying in there's a dog by the pool, on holiday with it's owners. And we've patted them all (the other day we made friends with two handsome wire haired dachshunds!). Italy is such a dog friendly country. They are a part of life, a part of the community, and it just seems to be accepted that they go everywhere you go. It is wonderful. 

Food. I know, another cliché, right? But it's a cliche for a reason. Italian food is spectacularly good. And it's not because it's overly fancy or tricksy - it's greatness comes from respect for produce, climate and tradition. Every place we've been on this trip, no matter how small, has at least one shop that's guaranteed to make your mouth water - overflowing with cured meats, fresh cheese, pasta (the shape from that particular region) and whatever vegetables are in season. And every city, no matter how big, still has it's regional speciality featured on almost every menu across town. 

And do not even get me started on the tomatoes - treated with respect (vine ripened, never refrigerated) they are sweet, juicy and bursting with sunshiny flavour. Why oh why can't we get that in Australia?  

Balconies. And doors. Italians know how to work a balcony. And a door, for that matter. Perhaps it's related to the small living space, and the way life so often tumbles on to the street? I'm not sure, but there are so many perfectly placed pot plants and glorious colour schemes on show here. Even the washing looks artfully positioned... 

The Language. It may just be because I'm lucky enough to be travelling with someone who speaks the language, but I find Italian a lot of fun. Even in the face of my spectacular inability to learn a second language (three years of Korean and I can barely count to ten), I love trying on my Italian voice. Whilst in other countries I'm often shy and awkward, in Italy you can find me at the bar ordering "un caffe normale, per favore" or "due spritz aperol anche un aqua con gas". 

When I'm feeling especially ambitious I get the husband to teach me hilarious phrases like "ho molto fame, potrei mangiare un cavello!" (for when one is hungry) or "non sono polpo" (for when one is being asked to carry everything) or "tu sei il rei di pommodori" (for when someone has gone and got themselves sunburnt). 

And I haven't even mentioned the coffee, the bicycles, the fonts and signage, the road network and the driving (seriously!), the dramatic rocky coastline, the volcanoes, the stripy beach umbrellas... 

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Disclosure: As part of Kidspot's Voices of 2014 competition I've been lent a super awesome Olympus OM-D E-M10 for a few months. I'll be writing three challenge posts during that time and I'll have a chance to win some really awesome stuff. I'll be telling you a bit about the camera in each post too. 

I've had the OM-D E-M10 for about six weeks now and I am truly loving it (I've barely picked up my poor neglected DSLR...). 

I've already told you about how lightweight the camera is, and about the magical built-in wifi. And I've told you about how it captures images with amazing clarity. Well on this trip I've been testing out another nifty feature - remote control via my iPhone. 

If, like me, you're the photographer of the family you probably get home from holidays with hundreds of gorgeous images of your kids or your partner or your pets...but none of you. And when you do convince someone else in the family to take your photo it's normally blurry, poorly cropped or just plain terrible (yep). Well this little Olympus camera has a great feature which means you get to capture all those memories with your family, not just of your family - the phone app allows you to control the camera remotely. 

Once connected, on your phone you can see exactly what your view finder sees. You can adjust all the settings and then just tap the screen to take a shot. I have had a bit of fun playing with this. The other evening I set up a stealth cam at aperitivo time in Modena and captured some ridiculous photos of the husband and I (posted here under great danger*). I also took a few selfies (rare!) in my bathing suit (unheard of!) on our pool day in Savelletri and...I don't hate the results! There is so much potential here, I'm looking forward to exploring it a bit more.

The camera also has a ton of filters built in - black and white, retro, arty - as well as the usual auto modes designed for different settings - sport, landscape, night. But - I haven't played which any of these. Photography for me is about capturing what the eye sees, it's about the natural beauty of the world around us. Heck, I don't even use filters on Instagram. For me, trialling the Olympus O-MD E-M10 has really been about whether it's good enough to replace my DSLR. And yep, I reckon it definitely is. 

The only frustration I've had is that I can't get the f-stop low enough to create the gorgeous shallow focus that I love so much. But this is all about the lens, not the camera. And the O-MD E-M10 has a massive range of lenses available (including low f-stop fixed lenses). They're not cheap, but when you compare them to the price of premium DSLR lenses they are far from expensive. 

One other thing to consider if you're looking at the O-MD E-M10 as a DSLR replacement - if you shoot in RAW you can't use the built in wifi function to send images to your phone. So I haven't been shooting in RAW but, to be honest, I haven't really noticed the difference when I've been editing in Lightroom. Most of the images haven't needed much editing, so having slightly less information to play with hasn't been a big deal. (And, if you really want to use the wifi function and really can't bare not to edit in RAW, you could always choose the RAW + JPEG option). 

In my last #myfamilylens post I talked about how the camera's stability makes it more suitable for video than I'd realised. So of course I was challenged to make a video. And of course I said yes. Why let a complete lack of ability as a cinematographer or video editor get in the way of trying something? Anyway, I shot some video and edited it in iMovie. Here's the end result - it's hardly ground breaking but I think it captures the mood of the day nicely. 

Italy : Pool Day at Bucadue from ejorpin on Vimeo.

*When I set up my blog I promised the husband I would never post photos of him (or my step-sons) here. In a desperate attempt to win the judges favour and get the chance to keep the camera I have now posted both photos and video of him. I may be in big trouble. Desperate times call for desperate measures...

Donuts and Gratitude. And Feeling Inadequate. But Mainly Donuts.

The expat life is generally awesome and exciting, and often somewhat perk-filled. As an ex-expat I do sometimes miss that awesome, exciting, perk-filled life (I especially miss the someone-else-paying-our-electricity-bill perk...). However, there is one big thing about being an ex-expat that I am very grateful for. And it's such a big thing that I think it makes up for missing all the good stuff that comes from living in another country. 

When I was living in Seoul, my family were a nine hour plane ride away. I managed to get back to Melbourne pretty regularly, so it was okay. But there were times when it really wasn't okay. I remember getting a call from my sister a few years ago, when we in the Korean countryside somewhere, skiing. Our Dad had had a dizzy spell and a fall. He'd been working on a loft bed when he fell (he's a - now retired, sort of - builder), so it was quite a big fall. He was in hospital and they didn't really know what had caused the dizziness and I was worried and a bit scared. I felt frustration and helplessness too, at not being there. And I felt guilt - my sister's a pretty busy lady, and she was dealing with all of that stuff whilst I was a millions miles away. Skiing. 

The annoying thing about getting older is that your parents get older too. And whilst my Mum and my Step-Dad and Dad are all in pretty good health, that phone call from my sister really made me think about being so far from home. I think it's something every expat wrestles with at some point - weighing up the benefits and joy of living abroad with the guilt and heartache you feel at being so far from the rest of your family. You feel the distance more as your folks get older, I think.

These day I live in Sydney and my family are only a 90 minute plane ride away and that is something I am so grateful for. I recently flew down for a weekend, partly to hang out with with my family, partly to eat donuts, and partly to take my Dad to a few specialist appointments. It was the first time I've been able to go with him to these appointments, to ask questions and hear what the doctors were saying to him. And I was grateful for that. Selfishly, it felt proactive (not helpless) and reassuring. The world isn't going to end tomorrow, provided this pill is taken and that thing is monitored. 

On the flip side, sometimes you get serious FOMO as an expat. Sometimes it feels like your family is doing all this cool stuff, all this exciting positive stuff, and you are not part of it (cue violins). If your brother graduates or your sister gets a big promotion or your Mum has her first art exhibition, it's not always easy to find the time or the money to get back home. But now, it's pretty easy for me to jump on a plane and feel a bit more a part of things. Which is good, really good. Although it can also make one feel just a little bit inadequate... 

The weekend I was in Melbourne my brother-in-law was in the midst of successfully opening yet another delicious business (see donuts) and he'd just received an advanced copy of his cookbook (which I am so excited about getting my hands on - I had a quick flick through and wanted to immediately cook everything I saw...). Meanwhile, my sister was finalising the photos and words for her third book (yep, third) whilst doing all her usual amazingly amazing commission work. Oh, and she launched the home wares label of which she's the creative director and pretty much broke the internet. Even my Mum had managed to learn how to play Big Yellow Taxi on the ukelele.

Meanwhile, I was feeling pleased with myself for blogging more than once a month and getting to the bottom of the ironing pile the week before. Helloooooo inadequacy. See, there is a dark side to having such wildly talented and driven relatives only a plane hop away. 

But I wouldn't have it any other way. Sickness, health, achievement, inadequacy and donuts - I'm so grateful it's all just a state away.

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*Disclosure: As part of Kidspot's Voices of 2014 competition I've been lent a super awesome Olympus OM-D E-M10 for a few months. I'll be writing three challenge posts during that time and I'll have a chance to win some really awesome stuff. I'll be telling you a bit about the camera in each post too.

You all know I adore my DSLR, right? So the question is - am I loving this compact version? 

Well yes, I am. I already told you last time about how lightweight it is, which means I've been carrying it with me everywhere (even to donut pitstops on the way to doctors appointments...). Now I want to talk to you about the clarity of the images. Which is pretty incredible.

The OM-D E-M10 has a number of fancy things that lead to super fancy, super clean images (a lot of these have come from the flagship E-M1). First up, there's the amazing image stabilisation (check out this video to see a fairly dramatic comparison between having the image stabilisation off and on). Side note - kind of makes the camera even more awesome for video than I realised! Note to self - make a video. 

Then there's the 16 megapixel LiveMOS sensor. Sounds a bit tech-y but this is basically the thing that lets you shoot clean, crisp images in all kinds of light conditions. See the roaring fire photo below, for example. Clean? Check. Crisp? Check. Lowlight? You betcha. And lastly there's the TruePic VII processor, which is super advanced (and yep, pinched from the E-M1). This helps you achieve sharp photos at all ends of the f-stop spectrum. Nice. 

Still not sure about image clarity? Check out the pics below (full size image at top, zoomed in crop at bottom). It kind of blew my mind. Just look at the sharpness of those petals, the detail is really quite incredible. Makes me realise that my DSLR is basically a relic in terms of image capturing technology...

Photography + Memory (Part 1) : Some Thoughts

I've just got back from five chilly but beautiful nights in Tasmania with my good friend Shannon and my loan Olympus OM-D E-M10*. Five nights and I have 413 photos. Yep, you read that right - Four Hundred And Thirteen. Yikes. You see, this little Olympus camera that I've been playing with is much lighter than my beloved DSLR, so I've been taking it everywhere with me. I've even worn it around my neck, obnoxious tourist style. End result? I have taken a lot of photos. 

It does have built in wifi, which means I've already sent some favourites to my iPhone to edit and share them on the go (so nifty!). But it's going to take weeks before I get stuck into the rest of them with editing and sorting and tagging and publishing. And when I say weeks you know I actually mean months, right? It's ace but it's also all a bit overwhelming. And it got me thinking about memory and photography, and the role photos play in our memory, especially in this age of digital cameras. 

But first, some more of those Tassie shots...

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At my Mum's house there's a shelf loaded with photo albums. I have fond memories of flipping through them at various ages. As kids, my sister and I would cringe at all those crazy hippy camping shots of our folks (so much nudity!), and later I'd cringe at the hair cuts of my youth (I had a mullet, sob.). 

We poured over our parents' slightly kooky wedding photos - loving our Dad in his velvet top hat and Mum with her long, long hair. There were photos of my Dad's gentle old border collie; of my Step-dad building our house brick by brick; of my Mum and Step-dad's Grand European Adventure. Of me feeding baby goats in Nimbin and playing the ukulele in Queensland and blowing bubbles in our backyard with my sister. 

Seeing our younger selves reflected back at us, seeing our family and what they'd done, kind of helped us tell a story, create a story, of who we were and where we'd come from. Memories help create that narrative of identity, of self. And photos can help us remember. 

But here's the thing - how many photos are sitting on your phone, your hard drive right now? And how often do you pull them out and look at them? How many have been printed or scrapbooked or archived in a real, tangible way? How often do you sit around flipping through a collection of photos and laugh and talk and tell stories and ask 'remember this?'? 

Photos are a great reminder of your adventures, the things you've shared as a family (whatever 'family' means to you). They document past lives; they can show you how far you've come (even if it's just in dress sense...). They remind you of how young your kids once were, how time flies past so quickly and why you really should cherish the moment, the now. 

They can be our touchstone, our collective memory bank, our shared history. Something we can gather around and laugh about, or contemplate quietly. But - they can only do all this if we get them off our phones and our hard drives and out in to the world. 

Consider this a call to action, a rally cry! Print, share, publish, document, archive. Revisit and reflect. Don't just capture moments - create beautiful, tangible memories you can share.

(ps. If you come back for part two and three I'll share some practical ways you can turn your digital images into real life ones, including some tips on putting photo books together...)

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*Disclosure: As part of Kidspot's Voices of 2014 competition I've been lent a super awesome Olympus OM-D E-M10 for a few months. I'll be writing three challenge posts during that time and have a chance to win some really awesome stuff. I'll be telling you a bit about the camera in each post. I promise I'll tell you both the good and the bad.

Here's my initial thoughts: 

Switching from DSLR. To be honest it's taken me a little while to adapt to this compact camera. I have grown quite attached to my trusty DSLR and it's lovely fixed lenses, so embracing a new camera was always going to be tricky. Although the OM-D E-M10 has all the settings to give you the same freedom and control as a DSLR, the fact that it's mirrorless means looking through the view finder is a slightly strange experience - the light looks very different in the view finder compared to the end image. Having said that, I've found using the LiveView screen works pretty well for me. I've also changed the settings so that the image is displayed for a few seconds longer after shooting, which means I can do a quick check of the end result and adjust things as needed. If you're upgrading from a compact you probably won't notice this, but if you're switching from a DSLR allow a little adjustment time! 

Loving the light (x2). As mentioned the Olympus OM-D E-M10 is super light (just under 400 grams apparently) which means I do take it everywhere with me. I can throw it in my backpack and not even notice it's there. Being compact means it is perfect for travel and street photography, and candid family shots. 

In Tassie I also put the camera through it's paces under all kinds of light conditions - sunrise, sunset, night, high contrast, indoor, outdoor - and it performed admirably under all of them. The clarity of the image is consistently blowing my mind (more about this later!). 

Wonderful wifi. Through some kind of magic (pretty sure that's what the product specs say) the camera can talk to my phone. Built in wifi plus a free app means you can download photos directly to your phone (or tablet) and edit and post them on the run. I've been doing this for July's Photo a Day challenge and I reckon my Instagram feed has never looked so good! I'm thinking this feature is a dream for bloggers, especially those of us who travel a lot. 

That darn lens cap. The one thing I'm not so keen on so far? There's a teeny tiny lens cap that's not attached to the camera body in anyway. I'm amazed I haven't lost it yet and am taking this opportunity to preemptively apologise to Olympus Australia and Kidspot for losing it in the next month. It will happen. 

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I'd love to hear your thoughts on photography and memory - how do you manage all those images? Do you think it's important to create an archive, to share and reflect on your photos? And is there anything you'd especially like to know about my new toy?