Isn't it normal to look forward to the food on your cruise? Or as you saunter through the streets of a new town, don't you admire layers of pastries and stacks of pretzels through the glass windows of shoppes? For most of us, the cuisine of a region is as interesting as the people, landscapes, wildlife or customs. I have to wonder, why don't more people include FOOD in their vacation photographs?
When I returned home from the Leeds Group Cruise to Italy and Greece last year, my first international vacation I might add, I posted my pictures online for my family and friends! I was surprised to hear, "Wow, you must really love food!" Well, I do, but that's not the point.
Food photography brings back great memories!
I have vacation pictures that I swear I can smell! Really! Doesn't everyone?
There are two other reasons I love to photograph the cuisine when I travel. First, people cannot hide how they feel about food. If it's really good, the pure joy is transparent! (The people here have been cropped out to preserve their moment privately, or at least semi-privately.)
Second, regional cuisine so often tells a story about the locale. In Venice, the pasta isn't that usual shade of buttery yellow, it's red and green and eggplant! The bright pink confection at the bakery looks more like a painting than dessert. Venice is a colorful place in many ways, and so is it's cuisine.
Third, food also brings back memories from a particular day of vacation. Forever, upon hearing the word "Gelato," I will remember a day spent strolling around Locarno, Switzerland, shopping along the modern day galleria then taking a sidestep down the alleyways to historic shoppes, all just steps from one another. The quest for gelato, between handbags and watches, was to find the perfect flavor... lemon, chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, oh my.
Speaking of the quest for cuisine, in Greece, our cruise excursions usually allowed us some freedom for lunch where we found ourselves in a quest for the much-loved Moussaka. This
lusciously-layered meaty potato-cheese-and-spices dish varied greatly from Athens to the islands of Mykonos and Corfu. It's a dish best served with a nice light white local wine that doesn't sneak up on you -- ask your Greek server for his/her recommendation! My choice was to give the fries away to the young people in our group, and grab another dolmas!
I personally would like to encourage more vacation photography that features food! That doesn't mean I'm suggesting to take less pictures of the scenery and the locals and your travel partners! But if you can capture a moment, such as upon arrival of hot steaming perfectly plated cuisine,
or when the repetition of an object like Gelato knives lures you to it, then seize the moment and freeze it in time! I personally love the display cases of a hometown deli or bakery because it says so much about the customary cuisine.
I also encourage taking your vacation photos at the largest file size your camera can shoot (if it's digital), buying a bigger memory card or simply more cards, and taking more pictures altogether. If you ever want to put your pictures in print, or make a poster, you'll need the higher resolution. You never know when
Bon Appetit may be looking at your Flickr account and, boom, you've been discovered!
(Contributed by travel friend, Diane Miano)
